Forum - View topicAnother (TV).
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WhiteHairGirls
 Posts: 4713 Location: New York City |
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Another (TV) Genres: horror, mystery, psychological, supernatural Themes: curse, death, school Plot Summary: When Kōichi Sasakibara transfers to his new school, he can sense something frightening in the atmosphere of his new class, a secret none of them will talk about. At the center is the beautiful girl Mei Misaki. Kōichi is immediately drawn to her mysterious aura, but then he begins to realize that no one else in the class is aware of her presence. ---------------------------------- This will be my first time watching a horror anime, unless you want to count Higirashi which I do not, except for a couple of scenes likespoiler[ when one of the twins had their nails taken off.]. Anyway the first episode was very interesting. It didn't reveal much except what happened 26 years ago in the school. And it was so obvious the classmates were hiding something from Kouichi, especially the red head, who apparently told the remaining classmates not to reveal anything. The music and animation makes a spooky atmosphere. Like the roof looked liked it was all bloody but it was just an old and rusty roof. I also like Mei's black hair and red eyes. |
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DuskyPredator
 Posts: 15462 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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Sure are a lot of creepy things, there is not lots of actual movements, but it just makes it creepier. The OP artists are definetly recognisable, their songs often sound very similar, of notice is that they did Rozen Maiden, which kind of worked with all the creepy dolls. I noticed several cuts to creepy doll through the ep. Ghost Hunt, which is the only anime that has scared me, also had dolls in one particular arc, which was personally one of the creepier ones. There is also a lot of conversations hapening off camera, like the MC haveing a conversation, but looking at other students talking, or just staying in one character's pov in a two way conversation.
Anyway the ghost does not exactly look like the dangerous type, so how will it all work. Is there something even more sinister? Why were they so interested in knowing if he lived there before? Why can spoiler[only he see her?] |
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EmbraceMe
 Posts: 2013 Location: Growing old and jaded. |
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Same here, and I'd like to mention that these porcelain dolls scare me so damn much. It's just like... they're waiting to get you. It may be my paranoia but their lifelessness is what's scary about that. I half expect them to suddenly jump out and move. Onto my impression which is an editted copy paste of my post on CR: (Minor spoilers here and there) There's a very eerie atmosphere going on with the show which makes it particularly scary and creepy. The scenes cutting to porcelain (?) dolls sets a chilly feeling for me since I hate those things so much. Lots of hinting to be honest but the hints aren't so clear. There's definitely something occurring behind the scenes and we're not aware of it much like the protagonist. It's understandable in a sense why the classmates avoid telling Sakakibara what's going on. The fearful faces of the noteable classmates and atmosphere of the class really hints something malicious is happening to Class 3. Mei is particularly interesting because she's mysterious. Well, the animation is pretty nice, even with still scenes, and highly detail so nothing much to complain about. The music creates an eerie mood and the sounds were very nice to have, i.e. the thundering and crowing. We'll need a few more episodes to understand the general premise of the show though. The show builds up a mystery and I'm looking forward to watch what's going on. I don't recall watching many horror anime so I'm quite excited. |
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Spastic Minnow
 Bargain HunterExempt from Grammar Rules  Posts: 4609 Location: Gainesville, FL |
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Actually, very little was actually creepy to me, there's a lot of manipulation though. A lot of creepy music, and kids acting like the spectre of death is on them. So far there's little to suggest masterful story-telling Basically, it came off to me like 20 minutes of someone holding a flashlight under their chin and talking in a quiet voice.
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marie-antoinette
 Posts: 4136 Location: Ottawa, Canada |
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Yeah, have to agree, the music was the only thing really creepy about the first episode. Well, the doll imagery was creepy too but unless it connects more with the plot and thus has an actually purpose (and I would not be surprised if that happened) then it really just feels like the anime is trying to be creepy and shocking but coming across as forced.
The rest of it did, admittedly, seem odd though. And the mystery established is enough to keep me coming back for another episode but this is another anime from this season that I was interested in based on its concept but that didn't quite measure up, at least not in their first outing. |
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Ishmoo
 Posts: 413 Location: Fredericksburg, VA |
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I was left with the same impression. So far, it isn't terribly interesting, just annoyingly vague. It also bugs me that everyone acts all obviously creepy and hints at some great secret, yet the protagonist never just outright says, "Why are you idiots acting all creepy and what's this stupid secret everyone keeps hinting at?" Really, after a while it gets pretty ridiculous that he doesn't just call someone on it. Mei even tells him thatspoiler[ the people there associate his name with death] and he can't drum up enough curiosity to ask, "Um, why?" Still, I'll reserve judgement until I see a bit more. |
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ArsenicSteel
 Posts: 2370 |
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Who does that other than characters in parodies? We are supposed to believe that he is a transfer student that both sickly and a well-mannered Japanese teen. Bursting out and yelling at a bunch of strangers to give up their big secret doesn't sound believable and would ruin the suspense. |
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EmbraceMe
Posts: 2013 Location: Growing old and jaded. |
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You guys are all a brave bunch, or maybe I'm too paranoid... Anyways, I saw a screenshot of the show and noticed something interesting...
Look at this picture and examine it. Two seats are unoccupied, one for the MC and one for thespoiler[absent student, Akazawa was it?] Now, look at the seat that's supposed to be unoccupied. If you didn't notice it, spoiler[Mei's seat is occupied by... herself. It's all the way in the top right corner.] This is also definitely the class of 1998 because the students who visited the MC are sitting right there in the front. @Ishmoo I don't think Kouichi questions his classmates because of what his aunt told him - "Here in whatever village/town, the group is more important than the individual." Maybe that accounts for something, but I'm wildly guessing for that part. Actually, I might do a rewatch of episode one; it appears I have little memory of what really occurred from either being too creep out or the show having an insignificant impact on my brain. |
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Beltane70
 Posts: 3885 |
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One of the neat little touches, I thought, was the fact that the hospital elevator lacked a 4th floor This is actually the first time that I've noticed this given the fact that the number 4 is considered unlucky in Japan and China due to the word for it being similar to the word for death.
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WhiteHairGirls
Posts: 4713 Location: New York City |
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Yes spoiler[Mei's seat is suppose to be unoccupied ] but this is in the main characters perspective and he can see her. Last edited by WhiteHairGirls on Tue Jan 10, 2012 10:20 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Ishmoo
Posts: 413 Location: Fredericksburg, VA |
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Even in polite Japan, I think most people would ask what was going on if every single person in class was acting super hedgy. But I was intentionally exaggerating, poking fun at a commonly used device. You see this kind of thing all the time in lots of genres. It's overused and unimaginative. It takes more skill to write a truly suspenseful story without the lead character being terminally obtuse, but it is certainly possible. Check out Mononoke for a really well done and creepy series of stories with very little violence actually shown on screen. |
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ArsenicSteel
Posts: 2370 |
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I think you are being influenced your awareness of the back-story of Another and are over-reacting to the little things that the MC may or may not be witness to. I don't know about this overused and unimaginative malarkey. This just seem like jabs at anything story that doesn't try to be immediately different for the sake of being different. All I care about is if the characters fit the story and if the story provides enough incentive for me to continue watching week from week.
The MC was at school for one day and everything there seemed normal enough. Not only did he ask about Misaki, the single oddest thing he noticed since arriving there, he also confronted her and was told that what he will find out more things soon enough. His obliviousness is completely understandable because he knows nothing about what has happened there yet. I am going to more than 1 episode before I start questioning the writer's skill at writing a suspenseful story. |
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DuskyPredator
Posts: 15462 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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The MC has never lived out in a small country before, as far as he knows this is normal if he says the wrong thing he will make the rest of his time hell. Wasn't there a clue his aunt is a teacher or something, mixed with his sickly physique he must be pretty afraid of being a social outcast. Another thing was that he may not have wanted to bother his father of his hospitalisation, despite his father apparently being an open person, so he is likely very introvert.
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Ishmoo
Posts: 413 Location: Fredericksburg, VA |
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Well, we all see things our own way. For the record, I can't be influenced by the back-story because I'm not at all familiar with it. I haven't read or seen anything prior to this first episode. It's just very formulaic, like many other similar shows, so it's easy to spot the marionette strings in the background. IMHO, if a writer uses a contrived plot technique seen over and over again it's unimaginative. You can call it malarkey if you like, but it's still not particularly creative if it's that obvious in the first episode. Though, to be fair, I've watched so many shows at this point the tropes and standard plot devices pop right out at me. I do prefer to watch shoes that have exceptional writing, though being different simply for it's own sake wouldn't lift a show up to that category. All that being said, I did mention in my first post that I was reserving judgement until I'd seen more episodes. It still has time to improve and it may end up compensating for this one flaw in other ways. I was just voicing my opinion about some issues I see in the first ep. There's no rule that says we have to see it the same way. If you'll refrain from calling my opinions "malarkey," I won't call yours "pedestrian." Deal? |
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ArsenicSteel
Posts: 2370 |
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By back-story I meant the beginning narrative and the fact it is a horror story. The MC isn't aware of either so his suspicion levels were lower then the viewers for most of episode 1. What is the problem with seeing the strings at a puppet show again? If you analogy holds true then it should be very reasonable that everyone can see the puppet strings and understand the need behind the strings but chose to pretend to not see the strings in order to immerse themselves in the story. You're going to be hard pressed to find anyone trying to reinvent the wheel just because you are tired of it. Yukito Ayatsuji isn't going to invent a new way to structure horror/mystery stories just because other writers have told a billion scary stories before.
Honestly you have said that it's bad writing with no explanation other than the story uses tropes that you're tired of seeing. Which would mean being different for the sake of being different would be good writing to you. The use of tropes and cliches is not indicative of bad writing. The use of some tropes and cliches are necessary for a work to fit into a specific genre. You can call my view pedestrian all you like. Doing so might help you realize how high on that horse you really are. |
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