The human mind is an amazing thing.
The premise of this curse in this class is that there was a kid, 26 year prior to the story, who was well loved, athletic, smart, and all that wonderful stuff. However, he met an untimely end – but because of how shocking it was and how much they didn’t want to believe it, the class refused to believe his death. So much so, they believed that he was part of the class still. And yet, when the graduation photo was taken and developed, the kid, Misaki, showed up on the picture.
Ever since then, there is an “extra” person
...
in the class that doesn’t belong. Then the disasters started.
Now, I will say that I have seen the anime version of this when it came out. I have less than savory views of the anime but I decided to pick up the manga now that I had forgotten the plot points and the major parts. There were plenty of questions I had about the series as a whole and I managed to pick up the manga for it finally.
The manga really is a lot better than the anime version. From what I understand, this series was originally a novel that just got adapted into anime and manga for a wider audience. I vastly prefer the manga to the anime, for sure.
The manga answers my question about how the deaths occur and when it does. It’s important to say that because, at first, Mei is purposefully ignored (something that everyone did in order to prevent the disasters from starting) and Sakakibara was not told about it when they should have. The kids dropped the ball on this one. It’s also important to note that the hints on who the another (or “casualty” to avoid grammar issues, I’m assuming) are way more subtle and the deaths that are shown are not as gruesome, or ridiculous, as it was in the anime.
Now, for the actual content – I really do like the concept. I really do like that they were not purposefully ignoring Mei because they were bullies – they did it because it was a tactic to avoid more deaths. However, because they dropped the ball in not telling Sakakibara about what’s going on – they start blaming him for it. I like that one of the characters survived while she tragically, and stupidly, died in the anime because it wouldn’t have made sense – especially in the grand scheme of things. There also weren’t as many deaths as I thought there was going to be.
Each death was treated with respect and with the appropriate shock that it deserves, especially in a series about death and how much it can affect not just one class, but possibly a whole town.
The manga version answers a lot more questions and goes into a lot more detail into the curse, its doing, and some ways to prevent the disasters from happening. Everything is much more laid out and it’s a lot easier to follow.
It doesn’t help that Kiyohara Hiro has finally put his skills into something really good – I was actually not surprised he did this story’s art because this seems to be something right up his alley in terms of horror and psychological. His art really drove home how horrifying the situation is.
And yeah, it’s still kind of stupid to bring in the fact that Mei could see “the color of death” when it was almost finished. I guess there wouldn’t be any better time to do it, especially since she also explained the connection between the girl who died and herself. It’s something I won’t hold it against the series since there are other things to be concerned about.
I really liked that there were characters who were human and not just anime characters who are either completely perfect or so flawed that nothing good could be said. They made mistakes, they fucked up badly, sometimes they do stupid things and sometimes they make really good decisions with their lives. With Akazawa, I can understand why she felt the way she did. She didn’t really seem to be a main character anyway like the anime made her out to be. However, she’s still a really powerful character. Her best friend was the second casualty. Her brother committed suicide. These are horrible, horrible things that she’s willing to try to fix before someone else she loves and cares about dies.
That is a real human being right there. They didn’t glorify nor damn it and I want to believe that Mei forgave her for trying to kill her, or at least, for poking her eye out.
If I had to pick a favorite character, it would have to be Mei. I understand her on so many levels. She’s not trying to be gloomy – she’s just trying to deal with what the world offers her. She came from, not really a broken home, but something that wasn’t right. Her mother does care for her, but Mei feels that it’s only because she’s her “doll”, since her mother actually makes ball jointed dolls in the series.
As for the anime version, it makes me even angrier that they took something as mysterious and as good as this and turned into yet another gore fest. This had a lot more charm and a lot more sadness than what the anime showed. There were a lot of funny moments in the manga sure (after all, while it’s understandable it’d be hard to cope in that situation, you really gotta try to at least live a little) but it didn’t derail the story as some others tend to.
I do have to say it’s really bittersweet and interesting to note that while Reiko was the casualty, she must have known that Sakakibara was coming back. Maybe not intentionally to see her but… for the fact she died before she saw him and for him to keep his memories, maybe she came back just to see him one last time. It’s understandable that, in the end, he still had to re-kill her in order to prevent any more disasters from happening that year. It’s understandable he feels incredible guilt for doing so. However, if he hadn’t, he probably wouldn’t be able to let go of his mother – who had died 15 years ago.
It’s frustrating for me that I saw the wretched anime first before I read this. I wish I had read this first. Instead, though, I’ll read it with better understanding and hope that one day, the casualty of class 3 will eventually rest.
 Alternative TitlesJapanese: Another More titlesInformationType: Manga
Volumes: 4
Chapters: 20
Status: Finished
Published: Apr 3, 2010 to Dec 3, 2011
Demographic:
Seinen
Serialization:
Young Ace Statistics Ranked: #21602 2 based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded. Popularity: #237
Members: 66,246
Favorites: 1,757 Resources | Reviews
Filtered Results: 10 / 11
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Jan 30, 2015
The human mind is an amazing thing.
The premise of this curse in this class is that there was a kid, 26 year prior to the story, who was well loved, athletic, smart, and all that wonderful stuff. However, he met an untimely end – but because of how shocking it was and how much they didn’t want to believe it, the class refused to believe his death. So much so, they believed that he was part of the class still. And yet, when the graduation photo was taken and developed, the kid, Misaki, showed up on the picture. Ever since then, there is an “extra” person ... 
Apr 8, 2012
Another was something new for me. I've never read or watched any horror manga or anime before, so... well, I was prepared to be terrified. I switched to the manga as the safer option--after nearly wetting myself watching the first two episodes of the anime--and it definitely lived up to that. Another wasn't scary. At all.
It started out quite interesting. I was curious to know what was going on, and it did keep me guessing all the way through--whether this was in a good way or not, I'm not entirely sure. In volume two a lot is explained... but badly. Conversations are disjointed and hard ... 
Feb 22, 2013
The only reason that I read this is because people have been saying that this is very different from the anime version. After reading it, I have to agree with it. Now I'll try not to get into too much spoilers of both the anime and manga versions, but I'll mention the ones that I felt stood out the most in the difference between the two.
Story 8/10: The story in this is very good and very original (to my knowledge at this time). It is about a curse that has occurred 26 years before the main story takes place. It being ... 
Mar 15, 2012
Another is a strange thing to try and describe. So, I'll start with my initial reaction to the series. The first chapter is really interesting, it immediately makes you interested in Mei and gets at least a little attached to Kouichi and makes you wonder about the town and the school.
Sadly, this is the high point. As the series goes on they just talk about the mystery surrounding the incident of the town and all the deaths, they never reveal anything about it. And the deaths, oh the deaths. If you've watched any of the Final Destination movies you are familiar with these deaths. ... 
Jan 13, 2023 Not Recommended Funny  Well-written 
God almighty, I never knew reading 20 chapters could be this tedious...
Most of us came across Another via the anime released in 2012. However, this manga is not the source material; both the anime and manga are adaptations of a hit Japanese mystery novel written in 2009. If you want to read the source material, read the novel. Regardless of you being here due to nostalgia or as a newcomer, I advise you go watch the anime, as it takes less time to finish than this dismal read. Of course, that is if you are that determined to experience Another; if not, I suggest you ... 
Apr 3, 2016
"Another" by Yukito Ayatsuki was a short manga series that consisted of only four volumes. Before starting this series, I'd watched the anime and completely loved the creepy vibe I got from it and everything that happened, so after watching it I thought: "why not give the manga a try?" And yes, I gave it a try and ended up loving it way more than the anime. Why? Well, keep reading and you'll see. . .
Plot: The story around this series, evolves around Kouichi Sakakibara, or aka, Sakakibara-kun, a transfer student from Tokyo that arrives at a new school on the third class on the ... 
Aug 31, 2023
So i am not too sure if it was just the version i read, but the translation was just awful. It was hard to read from time to time. Even though it was a short story it felt bland mostly. Nothing too crazy was happening other than the shocking deaths they had. The first one really caught my attention, and had me reading the rest, but after it kinda just fell off. Other than the surprise ending this manga was a 5 for me. The art style is nice, but the story was ok at most. I feel like the characters were not very good
...
Apr 24, 2016
Story -7-
The basic story of Another is that a new student moves in, only to befriend a girl that no one else seems to see. When he meets her and starts to seek her out to try and become friends with her, bad things start to happen. There isn’t much more that can be said about the story since that would give away far too many twists. Overall, the story was rather interesting, as it was not something I had seen before in a mystery horror manga. Many of the mystery horror mangas tend to follow the same story line of a lot of people ... 
Apr 9, 2018
"Another" had a great story, that evolved around Mei Misaki, and the secret that she keeps hidden away from her classmates. I enjoyed the way that the story developed, as you progress through, and the way that it reveals her secret eventually. Also the fact that all the characters get involved in the story, is quite good as well, because you don't see only the point of view from Misaki, but also the reaction that is given from her fellow classmates. This is the first I have read this genre of manga, but I am quite please with how the story has been presented. Overall,
...
Apr 6, 2024
If you're looking for a horror and suspence manga, you should definitely try out Another. The artstyle is gorgeous, every panel is very detailed. The story is very interesting, the main character is a young boy in which in the beggining of the story he is transfered in a new school. However, its not an ordinary school. There are many suspence and even deaths throughout the story. If you have already watched the anime I also recommend reading this one because it is way better. The main character in the manga actually have a good and unique personality which differs from the anime version. In
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