When Kouichi transfers out of Tokyo to a small town in the countryside, things aren’t going to go well for him.
What They Say:
Kouichi Sakakibara moves in with his grandparents in Yomiyama due to his father’s job, but is soon hospitalized with a collapsed lung. When he joins the 9th grade’s class 3 at Yomiyama North Middle School a month late, he is drawn to a girl with an eyepatch, Mei Misaki, whom he had coincidentally met in the hospital. Her mysterious air intrigues him, but though his classmates give him a warm welcome, none of them seem willing to acknowledge her…
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Based on the novel of the same name that came out in 2009, the new PA Works anime series is but one of a couple of approaches to bringing the property out as a live action feature is due out in the summer of this year in Japan as well. As a way to whet the appetite, it definitely works, especially as the four volume manga series concludes this month as well. Another, one of more awkwardly named English titles for a series in recent memory, plays in some familiar ground as it deals with a small, remote town where it has plenty of modern aspects but also that feeling of something from a different time blended into it. The darkness, the horror, comes largely through the atmosphere and pacing of things and the opening prologue here certainly makes it clear what we’re in for, even if it instills some feelings of Higurashi.
The focus for the show in its opening episode is on that of Kouichi, a recent transfer student into the town of Yomiyama. He’s come to live with his grandparents there as his father’s job has him going off elsewhere and his son needs some consistency in his life. Unfortunately for Koichi, his transfer didn’t go quite as planned as he ended up in the hospital and found himself missing a good chunk of the ninth grade. Kouchi’s time in the hospital is filled with a sense of dread as the three students who come to visit him question him repeatedly about whether he’d lived there before. And a chance encounter with another girl there with an eyepatch named Mei only adds to the spooky surreal nature of the situation. It’s all done in a way that while predictable in its execution and style does work well.
When Kouichi does get into the school system, it’s a pretty stiff affair there at first, but there are plenty of people who want to talk to him since he did come from Tokyo. He’s able to hold his own, but thankfully the show doesn’t try to name everyone quickly and push connections. It’s a lot of people who talk and get to know him and it showcases the way the class is structured a bit as you can see some of the cliques that have formed over time. With Kouchi walking around a bit and making some mild friends at the least, what ends up driving things is finding Mei there as well as it’s a surprise to him. The show brings in a great sense of unease, both through pacing and the music choices it uses, but it takes some time to really start showing where it wants to go and what it wants to be. But with the nature of the show, and its origins, it’s to be expected and what we get here certainly teases more than enough to draw the fans of the genre in and a few others as well.
In Summary:
Another isn’t the kind of show that’s going to reveal all its cards and that’s the way it needs to play it. The show doesn’t stand out hugely in terms of story here, but it’s offering up some real potential and a solid sense of self and genre without going for the over the top style and design. It’s hard to really point to much story wise here, but what it does is a whole lot of setting establishment and it does it beautifully. It has a rich design to it, great detail to the characters and backgrounds and really creates the right mood and atmosphere. It’s the perfect late night anime series to be sure and what they’ve brought to the table will certainly bring me back week after week since series like this don’t come along too often. With its origins in the novel world and a couple of other adaptations, there’s a good chance this could be a really fun, engaging and hopefully creepy series.
Grade: B+
Readers Rating: [ratings]
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70″ LCoS 1080P HDTV, Dell 10.1 Netbook via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.