Anazā [another]

Another (アナザー Anazā^?) is a Japanese fictional mystery horror novel by Yukito Ayatsuji, published on October 29, 2009 by Kadokawa Shoten. A mangaadaptation by Hiro Kiyohara was serialized between the May 2010 and January 2012 issues of Kadokawa Shoten's Young Ace. A TV anime series produced by P.A. Works premiered on January 10, 2012, and a live-action film will be produced in summer 2012.

Plot

In 1972, there was a student named Misaki in Yomiyama Middle School's 3-3 class. An honors student who was also good at sports, Misaki was very popular among his peers, and even the teachers were fond of him. When he suddenly died from an unspecified accident, the shocked class decided to carry on as if Misaki was still alive. However, when class 3-3's graduation photo was taken, they saw someone in the shot who should not have been there—Misaki.^[1]

In spring 1998, 15-year-old middle school student Kōichi Sakakibara moves from Tokyo to his late mother's hometown of Yomiyama, due to his father's work in India. There, he transfers to Yomiyama Middle School's 3-3 class. Because of a pneumothorax (a punctured left lung), he has to be hospitalized just before school starts.^[2] In the hospital, class delegates Kazami and Sakuragi go to pay him a visit. Before being discharged, Kōichi meets in the elevator a young girl in a school uniform with an eyepatch. She goes to the basement floor (where the morgue is located), saying she had to deliver something to her "other half", and leaves him her name: Mei Misaki.^[3]

Kōichi finally attends school and tries to adapt, but can't help but notice the strange behavior of his classmates. Mei, the girl he met at the hospital, is in the same class as his, but her desk looks old and different from the rest. She is always alone, and nobody seems to react to her presence or try to talk to her. Kōichi first thinks that is a case of bullying, but realizes that even the staff are acting the same way. He also notices that his class is also the only one that practices P.E. separately.^[4]

Kōichi asks his aunt Reiko and his new friends, Kazami and Teshigawara, about Mei; however, his classmates warn him to "stop hanging out with something that doesn't exist".^[5] His aunt also introduces him to the urban legends and "rules" of the school. Suddenly, on a rainy day, Yukari Sakuragi is killed when she falls down the school stairs, her neck getting pierced by the sharp end of her umbrella.^[6]

With the mystery growing around him, Kōichi tries to uncover the history of class 3-3. He learns of the "Misaki incident" 26 years ago, in 1972. Kōichi realizes that 26 years ago, his mother was a student in the same class, meaning that she may have died because of her link to that class.^[7] He tries to find if there is some kind of connection. In the process, he asks Sanae Mizuno, a nurse at the Yomigaoka hospital, to investigate the reason Mei was there.^[8]However, Mizuno dies the next month, when the hospital elevator she was riding falls down the shaft.

Main characters

Kōichi Sakakibara (榊原恒一 Sakakibara Kōichi^?)

Voiced by: Atsushi Abe

A 15 year-old boy who transferred to Yomiyama North Middle School into the 3-3 class, but because of a pneumothorax, he had to be hospitalized just before the start of classes.

Mei Misaki (見崎鳴 Misaki Mei^?)

Voiced by: Natsumi Takamori

3-3 Classmate. She wears an eyepatch over her left eye, which is a puppet's eye, and sits in a scratched desk different from other students. Kōichi first meets her on the elevator of Yūmigaoka Hospital.

]

Manga

A manga adaptation illustrated by Hiro Kiyohara was serialized between the May 2010 and January 2012 issues of Kadokawa Shoten's Young Ace magazine. Four tankōbon volumes were released between October 4, 2010 and December 29, 2011.^[14][15]

Anime

An anime TV series adaptation produced by P.A. Works and directed by Tsutomu Mizushima^[16] began airing on January 10, 2012. The screenplay was written by Ryō Higaki, and the chief animation director Yuriko Ishii based the character design used in the anime on Noizi Ito's original concept.^[16][17] The music was produced by Kow Otani, and the sound director is Yoshikazu Iwanami.^[17] The anime has two theme songs: the opening theme "Kyōmu Densen" (凶夢伝染 Nightmare Contagion^?) by the band Ali Project, and the ending theme "Anemnesis" by Annabel. Sentai Filmworks has licensed the anime series for digital and home video release in 2012.^[18]

source: WIKIPEDIA and GOOGLE