02/2015 Another

[Fanta]

Finished chapter 10. I'm curious about the case that the catastrophe stopped though it had started. I guess it's only the way they survive.

[Selena]

Fanta wrote: "Finished chapter 10. I'm curious about the case that the catastrophe stopped though it had started. I guess it's only the way they survive."

Therein lies one of the big mysteries of Another. That, and who the extra person is. :)

Speaking of, anyone have any ideas on the extra is? Once again, that doesn't already know from previous encounters of this series.

[Fanta]

I wonder who the extra is. The named students are Koichi, Mei, Teshigawara, Kazami, Mochizuki, Mizuno, and Akazawa, aren't they? Can we find it at present?

Finished chapter 11 and 12. Chibiki said that Yomi (夜見) of Yomiyama could be named from Yomi (黄泉 , Hades or hell). What did this part say in English?

I have a horrible feeling. Is the reason the catastrophe stopped fifteen years ago that the classmates sacrificed the two students in the camp? I don't want to see a quarrel!

[Selena]

Many of the clues have been presented already. :) It's possible to figure it out. Though, I've also seen the anime so I'm probably spotting clues most people would list.

I'm planning to read the chapters today and tomorrow, so I'll let you know what it says. :)

[Selena]

Ah. Teacher death. That one's pretty gruesome, even for Another.

[Fanta]

Did Mr. Kubodera die in the same way in anime? If so, it's gore like elfen lied.

[Selena]

Fanta wrote: "Did Mr. Kubodera die in the same way in anime? If so, it's gore like elfen lied."

He most certainly did die like that. It was rather gruesome. It was a great shot, too, the way they did it. They showed it from behind the teacher so you could see the student's horrified expressions as well as his death.

[Selena]

Fanta wrote: "Finished chapter 11 and 12. Chibiki said that Yomi (夜見) of Yomiyama could be named from Yomi (黄泉 , Hades or hell). What did this part say in English?"

I think I found the part you were referring to.

The English book says "...the mountain's name could have come from 'Yomi,' the name for the land of the dead." Basically, a more roundabout way of saying "hell," which has very different connotations in English than I think it does in Japan. That might be why they went with the roundabout way of saying it, actually.

[Fanta]

As you say, when I look at Longman English Dictionary Online, "hell" has many means that we don't have. Nevertheless, wow, how did you understand the part I were referring to!

"'Yomi,' the name for the land of the dead." seems like an annotation. I imagine that translated books have such explanation that is unnecessary to us.

[Selena]

Fanta wrote: ""'Yomi,' the name for the land of the dead." seems like an annotation. I imagine that translated books have such explanation that is unnecessary to us."

Yeah, this happens a lot when the meaning of kanji is brought up in translations. They either explain it in the translator's notes at the end of the book (DelRey/Kodansha goes into great detail, so I love reading theirs) or they try to do something in text like that.

[Fanta]

Finished chapter 13.

Let me hear the tapeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! I think.

In group read, you can't help but want to read the book beyond the schedule, especially near the ending, right? I'm attracted, but standing it. :)

What on earth did he recorded on the tape? I guess it's a horrible fact. If it's something about the extra, the tape would be changed to meaninglessness like Chibiki's list of names, but I don't think so because the back cover of my Japanese book mentions the tape. I'm looking forward to next week. About this time on next week, I may be more eager to read ahead. :)

[Selena]

You won't be hearing the tape for a while. :) If it's like the anime, you'll probably have to wait another two weeks. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

I love the genre awareness in this chapter, with Sakakibara talking about Dracula and saying, "I don't want to go up there at night" because of it.

So any idea who the casualty is yet? :)

[Fanta]

Selena wrote: "you'll probably have to wait another two weeks."

XD

Selena wrote: "So any idea who the casualty is yet? :) "

Does "the casualty" mean "the extra"?
Mei said that Koichi wasn't the dead in this chapter. She may be able to see who the dead is when she looks at a person with her left eye. If so, I think she must have looked at people in school, the dead is someone who she has never seen. Was there such a student?

[Selena]

Fanta wrote: "Does "the casualty" mean "the extra"?"
In the English version, they keep referring to the extra as the casualty (and only occasionally as "the extra" for some reason).

Well, Mei wears the eye patch at school all the time, so maybe she hadn't had an opportunity to look for the dead one?

[Fanta]

If she would do it, she could secretly do it because she was ignored, I think, unless her ability needed "face to face".

[Fanta]

Since when has the casualty been in the class? If it was April, I wonder if the reason people weren't killed in April is that classmates weren't aware of Koichi (an accidental talisman).

[Selena]

That's a good question... I don't think they explained that one in the anime, so I don't know.

[Fanta]

Finished chapter 14. The tape was frightening. As Koichi said, if classmates know the content of the tape, they'd be likely to begin Battle Royal.

At present, I don't know who the casualty is at all. XD Now we have only final chapters. If you had some clues, would you like to hint with spoiler tag?


The story is about to end. Whenever I finish a book, I feel sad a little. :)

[Selena]

Ok, some of the clues I've come across, made as un-spoilery as possible
(view spoiler)[
1. The causality is someone who died in a previous year
2. Sakakibara's grandfather has been commenting again and again about wanting there to be "no more funerals"
3. Sakakibara's dad seems to recall Sakakibara returning to the village 2 years prior. I wonder why Sakakibara wouldn't remember this? Perhaps... the curse? *dramatic music plays*
4. Mei has already figured out it isn't herself or Sakakibara somehow (I know how, son't tell yet)
5. It's someone who has been named who hasn't been bumped off yet. (hide spoiler)]

So those are the ones that stood out most to me, having already seen the anime. There's one more "clue" mentioned in the anime that is mentioned after things are figured out, but I don't remember having come across this in the novel yet, so I won't list it.

[Fanta]

I saw Selena's clues, but I still have no idea. XD

(view spoiler)[
Considering clue 2 and 3, Koichi is very suspicious. But clue 4 denies it. Then, grandparents and Reiko are suspicious, especially Reiko, because the grandfather said that Ritsuko is poor and then Reiko "too". But they aren't students. If the falsification of memory are there, Koichi would recognize them as students even if they were home, but there is no such description. I'm lost.
(hide spoiler)]

[Selena]

It's killing me not to tell you guys at this point. XD

[Selena]

I'm slightly disappointed that one of my favorite deaths seems to have been an anime only event.

In the anime, the character Junta Nakao was a walking time bomb. He went to the beach outside of Yomiyama (where the curse's affects supposedly don't reach) and died while in the ocean. They thought being hit by a boat and being chopped up by the propeller was what killed him (which shouldn't have happened, since they weren't in Yomiyama), but it turns out he had an aneurysm caused by hitting his head in his house that would have killed him no matter where he was.

I liked his death (as much as you can like death in a novel) because, for a while, it gave the impression that you're not safe, even if you leave Yomiyama.

Shame that it's different in the novel. Though, has he even been mentioned in the novel?

[Fanta]

His name is new for me, so he hasn't appeared in the novel, I think.

Anime often makes original characters of it, doesn't it? I'll check the anime site and Wikipedia after finishing the novel. Wikipedia usually has spoilers, you know, so you had better not check it before finishing it.

[Heather]

lol, I feel silly, I didn't even know there was a schedule for reading the book. I'm at about page 100 right now and it seems so predictable.

[Selena]

Heather wrote: "lol, I feel silly, I didn't even know there was a schedule for reading the book. I'm at about page 100 right now and it seems so predictable."

Page 100 of the first book, second book, or omnibus?

[Fanta]

I read them all. My heart was pounding and I was surprised, and then I feel sad. setsunai. T_T

I wondered how anime showed Reiko and Mikami, so I saw Wikipedia, which said the staff changed hair colors and made another fictitious voice actress's name. I saw the anime's site and actually these two people had different figures. Reiko wore glasses.

I felt it was a little sly that teachers' room's desks had been increased. "Teachers take it more seriously!" I think. XD

I enjoyed it. :)

[Fanta]

And I suddenly imagined Another 2. How is the story about a person who wants to meet the casualty again and has lived in Yomiyama of his/her own will? For example, there were two lovers, one was killed by the catastrophe and the other is alive. Before one was killed, they had a serious quarrel, so the other deeply regrets it and wants to make up with the lover. Something like this.

[Selena]

Fanta wrote: "And I suddenly imagined Another 2. How is the story about a person who wants to meet the casualty again and has lived in Yomiyama of his/her own will? For example, there were two lovers, one was ki..."

That's an interesting idea for a sequel to this series. The problem is, they wouldn't remember their regret that the other died after a quarrel, right? Though they might be super upset if they figure out who the casualty is and need to return them to death. :)

You beat me to the casualty. XD I just got to part 10 of chapter 15 and was going to ask everyone who they thought the casualty was one last time before they told us.

[Selena]

Just finished the book myself.

The ending is somewhat different than the anime's. Different people die in different ways than in the anime, and if I remember correctly, Sakakibara didn't have a lung collapse.

Overall, though, I liked the ending to this novel. It made sense in the context of the novel.

[Fanta]

I beat you, sorry. XD

At the point of part 10 of chapter 15, we could think, "The number of desks in classroom is correct, so..."

But Koichi cheated us...

[Fanta]

Another has the novel, the anime, the manga, and the film. It seems that each of them has a little difference. For example, the manga's spoiler, (view spoiler)[Akazawa seems to survive in the manga. (hide spoiler)]

[Selena]

Anime spoiler (view spoiler)[Akazawa survives in the anime as well (hide spoiler)]

[Fanta]

Really? Wikipedia and also other sites clearly said that (view spoiler)[she died except manga version (hide spoiler)]. By any chance, Japanese anime and English are different? Is it edited? I heard for example ONE PIECE is edited because of its violent and smoking scene by the U.S. law.

[Selena]

Another was not shown on TV, so it was unedited. I think I'm getting characters confused. There's at least one character who survives the anime that doesn't in the novel, but I don't remember who it was. I thought it was her, but I just looked it up on the Another Wiki and it proves me wrong with a screenshot. ^^;;;

One Piece was shown during a kid's block of programming on newtork TV, which is why it was censored.

[Selena]

So now that we finished, what did everyone think of Another? Did you guys like it?

[Heather]

Selena wrote: "Heather wrote: "lol, I feel silly, I didn't even know there was a schedule for reading the book. I'm at about page 100 right now and it seems so predictable."

Page 100 of the first book, second b..." I got the hardcover version from Yen Press and have read the first 100ish pages. Are all the books in the hardcover edition?

[Fanta]

Maybe I think vol.1 & vol.2 edition are there. In Japan too, and I participated with vol.1 & vol.2 of Japanese version.

Selena wrote: "So now that we finished, what did everyone think of Another? Did you guys like it?"

Though I've already commented, I enjoyed it and like it. :)

[Selena]

Heather wrote: " I got the hardcover version from Yen Press and have read the first 100ish pages. Are all the books in the hardcover edition?"

Yes. The hardcover from Yen Press is the omnibus and has both volumes 1 and 2 (all of Another)

[[deleted user]]

I realize it's kind of meaningless to comment on this thread when everyone's already finished with this novel, but I started reading "Another" and just feel like putting my thoughts out there. I've got 17% done right now - that's somewhere in chpater 3, I'm reading on kindle. Considering the prologue, I was expecting a ghost story thriller, but I should've taken the reviews more seriously.

It was extremely slow-paced after the prologue, plus it's obvious from the start that Mei Misaki is the ghost. I was starting to get worried, thinking "I sure hope this is not a boring book, because I'm really not in the mood for that." The school life and interactions with students reminded me of my past a bit, but it was hardly exciting. After a while, I somehow I got into the "slice-of-life" reading mood again and actually started to enjoy little things like Koichi's conversation with Reiko about getting into art. But anyway, getting into chapter 3, it looks things are about to get more interesting here.

[Selena]

I'm seriously biting my tongue here. I've both seen the anime and read the novel, so I don't want to say too much. ^^;;;

Another definitely slow-rolls as far as books go, but once the deaths start happening, things start moving a lot more quickly. I will say, the anime is a bit more terrifying than the novel, but part of that's because you actually see the deaths, not just read about them.

[[deleted user]]

Selena wrote: "I'm seriously biting my tongue here. I've both seen the anime and read the novel, so I don't want to say too much. ^^;;;

Another definitely slow-rolls as far as books go, but once the deaths start..."

Yeah, I can imagine it's tempting to give out a spoiler. About the deaths: well, that really depends on how an author handles the deaths. If the the person's death is described very well (the violence, feelings, stuff like that), you can see it happening in your mind.

[Selena]

The deaths are a bit more... passively explained since the main character isn't actually there for a couple of them and just hears about them later. The anime they aren't limited to just what our MC knows, so they can show the deaths that he's not around for.

Can't say much more than that without giving out spoilers. Let me know when the deaths start happening, and I might be able to say more. ^^;;;

[[deleted user]]

Selena wrote: "The deaths are a bit more... passively explained since the main character isn't actually there for a couple of them and just hears about them later. The anime they aren't limited to just what our M..."

Oh, I see it how it is. "I woke up the next day and heard my friend died last night." That kind of thing, right? That could still have a lot of emotional impact depending on how it's handled. Alright, I'll just read on for now.

[[deleted user]]

It was really frustrating the way nobody ever told Koichi about the whole Misaki story. Each time either the person gets cut off by someone else (like Koichi himself interrupting his classmates, cell phone calls, etc.) or they decide they just don't want to tell him.

After he tries to get the story out of Reiko later on, she just suddenly refuses and ends it with "There's a time for finding out about some things. And maybe once you miss your chance, sometimes you're better off not knowing." Or maybe you should just freaking tell him already!

Anyway, I'm a little past the point where Yukari Sakuragi died. I've also realized that things are more complicated with that Mei girl than I originally assumed.

Edit: Mizuno just died. Really got me surprised this time.

[Selena]

I've heard (and am inclined to believe) that the curse is somewhat responsible for people not filling Koichi in. I've also heard that they might have been afraid that addressing the Mei issue might also cause problems.

[[deleted user]]

Selena wrote: "I've heard (and am inclined to believe) that the curse is somewhat responsible for people not filling Koichi in. I've also heard that they might have been afraid that addressing the Mei issue might..."

I had the feeling that they weren't telling Koichi about the curse and stuff because something might go wrong if they did, I just can't tell what. Another thing that crossed my mind was that the whole deal (the curse, Mei, the Misaki story) is so complicated and weird that everyone thinks it's better for Koichi if he can somehow get by in school without knowing anything - and of course, they're assuming that he's not going to get curious and just play it safe.

[[deleted user]]

I finished the first half (or first volume) of the novel. Now that I've had the whole problem explained at the end, everyone's behavior kind of makes sense. I wouldn't say that the curse is causing them to act that way, rather I think they just planned stuff poorly and fumbled around. They just didn't have any good opportunities to explain such a situation to a transfer student suddenly coming in or kept getting interrupted before it was too late. As for Reiko and his grandmother, well they're likely just afraid of getting involved and possibly messing things up.

The only thing that doesn't make sense is how some bizarre curse like that could come about - why there would be an extra (dead) person appearing in the class, why people would start dying? I guess that's going to be explained in the next half.

On the side: For a while I suddenly accepted that that Mei Misaki girl might just be a regular human being, but then I got suspicious of her again at the end, even though I'm not sure what's up with her. When Koichi shook her hand after walking with her and found it "surprisingly cold" - that's a clue, isn't it? Not to mention the whole doll's eye thing. Although I'm sure things are far more complicated than they appear, considering I've got a long way to go.

[Selena]

I can't say much regarding the ghost, but I will say this: all the clues you need have been given at this point.

That's what I really liked about this book: all the clues are given before you know what to look for. So many red herrings. :)

[[deleted user]]

I still have to read the "outroduction", but I've basically finished the novel.

Selena: All the clues are given before you know what to look for. So many red herrings.

Well that's certainly true. And yet... you have got to be kidding me!

I did think some things were strange when back when I read them, like what Koichi's grandfather was saying. But while that made me suspicious for a moment, I naturally dismissed it when I had not the slightest reason to think that Reiko was part of the current third-year class.

I mean, seriously, how was I supposed to know that Reiko was Mikami when there's no mention about that in the book except at the end? It's like the author constructed everything so that every time Reiko speaks about the school or whatever, it comes off as based on her memories of her middle school days so you can't possibly know that she was going there as a teacher for the current class.

Okay, I probably seem annoyed with my complaint, but it wasn't at all a bad book. It was interesting and occasionally exciting, so overall it was good enough that I don't really mind it that the author did that.

[Megha]

I just finished watching the anime. As I read your comments, I sense the novel is interesting too. I have a few questions but I am afraid it will be a spoiler. Will wait...