Misaki Mei
A solitary doll who reflects death with her pale blue left eye, yet protects those she loves with silent resilience.
Basic Information
Real Name | Misaki Mei (みさき めい) | Weight | 40 kg |
Original Name | Fujioka Mei (ふじおか めい) | Birthday | April 27 (Taurus) |
Alias | "The Person Who Does Not Exist" | Age | 15 years old |
Voice Actor | School Class | Yomiyama North Middle School, Class 3-3 | |
Portrayed by | Hashimoto Ai | Hobby | Drawing; always carries a sketchbook |
Gender | Female | Character Song | 《靜》 |
Height | Approx. 152 cm |
Introduction
Misaki Mei is the central female protagonist of Yukito Ayatsuji's mystery novel *Another* and its derivative works. She is a student in Class 3-3 of Yomiyama North Middle School. Due to her special left eye, which can "see the color of death," she usually seals this ability with a white eyepatch, beneath which lies a blue (green in the anime adaptation) prosthetic doll eye.
Appearance and Personality
**Contrast Beneath the Cold Exterior**: Although she projects an air of aloofness and emotional distance, this is largely a self-protective mechanism. In reality, she possesses a surprisingly endearing side; for instance, she was once frightened by a small octopus, fearing she would be eaten, revealing an unexpectedly timid nature.
**Symbol of Solitude**: Her existence perfectly embodies a core metaphor of the work—the "doll." Just as a doll lacks a soul and has a cold body, Mei Misaki consistently gives an impression of being inscrutable and lacking strong emotional fluctuations. However, this is not coldness, but rather a survival strategy adopted to protect herself in an extreme environment.
**Sense of Responsibility**: The resilience in her character leads her to willingly bear the heavy burden of being the "person who does not exist." She even believes that the calamities befalling her class occurred because she failed to fulfill the duties of this role, reflecting her profound sense of responsibility and guilt.
Background and Family
**A Substitute for Family**: Although nominally the adopted daughter of the Misaki family, Mei Misaki has confessed that she feels she is merely a replacement for her adoptive mother (Kirika)'s deceased daughter, akin to a soulless "doll." This identity confusion explains her tendency to maintain distance from others and makes her emotional bond with her twin sister, Misa Fujioka, all the more precious. To her, her sister is one of the few soulmates who can understand her and share the "everyday" solitude with her.
Special Abilities
**The Doll's Eye**: Mei Misaki's most central ability comes from her left eye, the "Doll's Eye." This eye grants her the power to "see the color of death," allowing her to perceive anomalous hues invisible to others when a person is nearing death or has already passed away. The "magic circuit" sealed within her prosthetic eye functions to capture the "color of death." However, this ability also poses risks, as prolonged use places a strain on her body, which is why she usually wears an eyepatch to suppress it.
**Alternative Explanation**: In the OVA *The Other -Inga-*, her heterochromia is alternatively explained as a congenital condition known as "iris heterochromia."
Plot Experience
1. The Beginning of the Curse: Encounter with Koichi
The story begins when the male protagonist, Koichi Sakakibara, transfers into Class 3-3 of Yomiyama North Middle School. He meets Mei, who is heading to the morgue, at the hospital and becomes curious about this mysterious girl. After enrolling, he discovers that the entire class ignores Mei’s existence. Despite being warned, he reaches out to her, unaware that this act breaks the class’s “countermeasure” for avoiding disaster, officially triggering that year’s chain of deaths.
2. The Double Non-Existent Persons: Joint Investigation
After Koichi breaks the rule, calamity follows, and students and their relatives begin to die under mysterious circumstances. In response, the class is forced to designate both Koichi and Mei as “non-existent persons,” leaving them completely isolated. Nevertheless, they secretly join forces and begin an in-depth investigation into the truth behind the death curse lurking in Class 3-3.
3. Revelation of the Truth: The Clue from the Audio Tape
As their investigation deepens, the two discover a crucial clue—an audio tape left behind by a previous class. The tape reveals that the only way to counter the calamity is to “return the dead to death.” This means they must identify and kill the “dead person” who has already died but has infiltrated the class, in order to end that year’s disaster.
4. The Final Choice: Ending the Calamity
Using her “doll eye” ability, Mei has already sensed that the “dead person” in the class is Reiko Mikami (Koichi’s aunt), the assistant homeroom teacher. However, out of concern for Koichi’s feelings, she bears immense pressure and pain alone. Eventually, during the chaos of the school trip, Mei reveals the truth to protect everyone. In the end, Koichi personally returns the “dead” Reiko to death, bringing the 1998 calamity to a close.
In-Depth Character Analysis
The Meaning of “Non-Existence”: In the class, she is regarded as a “non-existent person,” stripped not only of normal social interaction and the right to learn, but even of her basic existence as a student. This complete isolation allows her to deeply understand the shared essence of loneliness between life and death.
**A Helpless Observer**: She can foresee the approach of death but often feels powerless to change the outcome due to real-world constraints (such as being ostracized by the class or considering Koichi's feelings), leaving her to only watch tragedies unfold. This role as an "observer" deepens the tragic nature of her character.
**An Emotional Choice**: A significant reason she once concealed the identity of the "dead person" was to spare the protagonist, Koichi Sakakibara, from pain, as that "dead person" was Koichi's own relative. This gentleness and consideration beneath her cold exterior reveal her emotionally nuanced side.
跨媒體的細微差異
**Mei in the Original Novel**: In the novel, the suspense surrounding the "dead person's" identity is maintained for a longer period. Mei Misaki does not learn the truth until the story's climax during the school trip, through a cassette tape, upon which she reacts swiftly.
**Deepening in the Anime Adaptation**: The anime adaptation allows Mei Misaki to discern the truth much earlier. Consequently, she endures a longer period of immense internal pressure and conflict during the latter half of the story, enriching her character's depth.
**Sequel in the Side Story**: In the sequel novel *Another 2001* written by Yukito Ayatsuji, Mei Misaki, now a high school senior, has gone to Tokyo and disappeared. Nevertheless, she once again becomes the central figure of the story from the other end of a telephone line, assisting a new protagonist in confronting a new calamity, demonstrating that she has never been able to fully escape the shadow of Yomiyama.
Character Reviews
她是孤獨的「旁觀者」
Mei Misaki’s role in the story goes far beyond being a mere “tool for solving mysteries.” Her “doll eye” is not just a supernatural ability to break the curse; on a deeper level, it symbolizes her nature as a lonely “observer.” She can “see death,” yet struggles to integrate into society—a perfect reflection of her identity as a “non-existent person,” adding to her tragic aura. Without Mei’s presence, the curse would continue its cycle.She Is the “Bearer” of Tragedy
Mei’s strength comes from her familiarity with tragedy. To preserve her hard-won peaceful life, she even suppresses her emotions. However, her vulnerability lies in the fact that her only “normal life” and emotional anchor is her younger sister, Misaki. Therefore, when Misaki becomes the first victim of the calamity, the “normal life” that Mei relied on to sustain her world truly collapses—this is the core tragedy of the entire story.She Is the Intelligent “Actor”
Mei is not a character who passively waits to be saved. Whether it is swiftly proposing a plan after the school trip or her determination to kill the “dead person” alone to spare Koichi pain, she demonstrates calm judgment and decisive action, making her a key force driving the story forward.
In summary, Mei Misaki is far more than a character—she is the very embodiment of the tragic core of *Another*. Her coldness, mystery, and strength are fragile defenses built to protect herself and those she loves, adding a layer of sorrowful yet moving color to this death-laden work.