見崎鳴
Basic Information
- Real Name
- Misaki Mei (みさき めい)
- Original Name
- 藤岡鳴（ふじおか しめい）
- Alias
- "The Person Who Does Not Exist"
- Voice Actor
- Natsumi Takamori
- Actress (Live-action)
- Hashimoto Ai
- Gender / Age
- Female / 15 years old
- Birthday
- April 27 (Taurus)
- Height / Weight
- Approx. 152 cm / 40 kg
- School Class
- Yomiyama North Middle School, Class 3-3
- Hobby
- Drawing; always carries a sketchbook
- Character Song
- "靜》
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
🧊 The Contrast Beneath the Coldness
Although her appearance gives off a sense of "aloof and cold" distance, this is more of a self-protective mechanism. In reality, she also has a rather adorable side — she was once startled by a small octopus, thinking she would be eaten, revealing an unexpectedly timid side.
🎎 A Symbol of Loneliness
Her existence perfectly fits the core metaphor of the work — "the doll." Just as a doll has no soul and a cold body, Mei Misaki also gives an elusive impression, lacking strong emotional fluctuations. However, this is not indifference but a way of survival to protect herself in extreme circumstances.
⚖️ The Burden of Responsibility
Her resilience makes her willing to bear the heavy responsibility of being a "person who doesn't exist." She even believes that the class calamity occurred because she failed to fulfill this role, reflecting a strong sense of responsibility and guilt.
※ The following content contains spoilers. Please read with caution if you have not watched the work.
Background and Family
Another Interpretation: In the OVA *The Other -In'ei-*, her heterochromia is explained as a congenital condition of "iris heterochromia."Plot Experience
Special Abilities
👁️ Puppet's Eye
Tsukuyomi's core ability comes from her left eye, the "Doll's Eye." This eye grants her the power to "see the color of death"—when a person is nearing death or has already passed, she can perceive unusual colors that others cannot detect. The "Magic Circuit" sealed within her prosthetic eye has the function of capturing "the color of death." Prolonged use places a burden on her body, so she usually wears an eyepatch to suppress it.
🌀 Another Interpretation
In the OVA "The Other -Causality-", her heterochromia is explained as a congenital condition of "iris heterochromia."
Plot Experience
- Chapter 1 The Beginning of the Curse: Meeting Koichi—The story begins when Koichi Sakakibara transfers into Class 3-3. He meets Mei heading to the morgue at the hospital and becomes curious about this mysterious girl. After enrolling, he approaches Mei, who is ignored by the entire class, despite warnings, unaware that this act breaks the class's "countermeasures" to avoid calamity, officially triggering that year's death phenomenon.
- Chapter 2 The Double Nonexistent: Joint Investigation—Then calamity struck, and students in the class, along with their relatives, began to die under mysterious circumstances. The class was forced to designate Koichi and Mei together as "non-existent people," leaving the two completely isolated. Yet they secretly joined forces, delving deeper into the truth behind the death curse hidden within Class 3-3.
- Chapter 3 Unveiling the Truth: The Revelation of the Cassette Tape—The two discovered a crucial clue: a cassette tape left by the previous generation of students. The tape revealed that the only way to combat the calamity was to "let the dead return to death"—they had to find and kill the "dead one" who had long since passed away yet had infiltrated the class, in order to end the disaster from that year.
- Final Chapter The Final Choice: Ending the Calamity—Through the "Doll's Eye," Mei had long sensed that the "dead one" in class was none other than the assistant homeroom teacher, Misaki Reiko (Koichi's aunt), yet she bore immense pressure alone out of consideration for Koichi's feelings. In the chaos of the training camp, in order to protect everyone, Mei finally revealed the truth, and Koichi personally sent the "dead" Reiko back to death, bringing the calamity of 1998 to a close.
In-Depth Character Analysis
🌑 The Meaning of "Nonexistence"
She is regarded as a "nonexistent person" in her class, deprived not only of normal social interaction and the right to study, but also of her basic existence as a student. This total isolation makes her keenly feel the loneliness shared by both the living and the dead.
🎭 The Powerless Bystander
She can foresee death approaching early, yet she often feels powerless to change it due to real-world constraints (such as being isolated by her class or worrying about Koichi's feelings), and can only watch helplessly as tragedy unfolds. This role as a "bystander" deepens the tragic nature of this character.
💧 The Choice of Emotions
The main reason she once concealed her identity as the "deceased" was largely because she didn't want to cause Koichi pain—since that "deceased" person was actually Koichi's own relative. This gentleness and consideration hidden beneath her cold exterior reveals her emotionally delicate side.
跨媒體的細微差異
- 原作小說中的鳴: The suspense surrounding the identity of the "deceased" is maintained longer, and Mei Misaki only learns the truth through the audio tape during the training camp near the end of the story, reacting swiftly.
- 動畫改編的深化: In the anime version, Mei Misaki becomes aware of the truth earlier, so she endures a longer period of intense inner pressure and conflict in the latter half of the story, enriching her character's depth.
- 外傳中的後續: In the sequel novel "Another 2001," Misaki Mei, now a third-year high school student, goes to Tokyo and her whereabouts become unknown, yet she once again becomes the story's central figure on the other end of the phone, helping the new protagonist face a new calamity, showing that she has never been able to fully escape the shadow of Yomiyama.
Character Reviews
🌑 She is the lonely "bystander"
Her "doll's eye" is not merely a supernatural ability to break curses; on a deeper level, it symbolizes her nature as a lonely "bystander." She can "see death," yet finds it hard to blend in with others, perfectly echoing her identity as a "nonexistent person." Without Mei's presence, the curse would continue its cycle.
🕯️ She is the "bearer" of tragedy
Mei's strength comes from her habituation to tragedy; to preserve the hard-won peace in her life, she even actively suppresses her emotions. But her fragility lies in this: her only "everyday life" and spiritual anchor is her younger sister Misaki. When Misaki becomes the first victim of the calamity, the "everyday life" that Mei relies on to hold her world together truly collapses—this is the core tragedy of the entire story.
🗡️ She is the wise "Doer"
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.
"Her coldness, mystery, and strength are fragile defenses built to protect herself and those she loves, adding a sorrowful yet moving touch of color to this work steeped in death."
— Overall Assessment
