My Favorite Deaths In "Another", Ranked

"Another what?"

That's the inevitable question when you try to start a conversation about Another, a cleverly crafted horror mystery anime series based on the novel of the same name. Another features high school students killing one another, which is similar to another anime called Battle Royale. It's also like Attack on Titan, in that every other named character dies.

Graphic, gruesome spoilers ahead. You've been warned.

------

#6: Heart Attack

Another what?

Not the most unnerving death in the series, but it was memorable to me because of how normal it was. Another's greatest strength comes from how it slowly builds up its mystery to keep you guessing. The premise of the show centers around a spooky ghost curse causing people to die, usually in gory, visceral ways.

So when the character whose main trait is his heart condition dies from a heart attack a few episodes later, you really question whether everyone's just freaking out over a chain of tragic but unrelated events. You start to think there aren't really any supernatural forces at play.

In fact, no one dies a supernatural death. There are no creepy girls coming out of TVs, no murderers in the mirror, no tentacles. The heart attack death planted in me the idea that maybe it's just a bunch of dumb, superstitious kids giving in to their paranoia.

------

#5: Elevator

Who hasn't stepped on an elevator and thought, "What if this falls?" Well, Another answers that question in grisly, nauseating detail.

And this is before the elevator caves in completely and crushes the remains.

I know Asian countries may not take elevator inspections as seriously as the U.S., but you'd think you can at least trust the ones in a hospital, of all places. The unlikelihood of an elevator malfunctioning so catastrophically insinuated that there really was a curse, and it wasn't limited to just the students in the cursed class. 

------

#4: Boat

Another one of those things that crosses people's minds but is very unlikely to happen, one of the kids gets sliced up by a boat after swimming out to open water while chasing after a ball. It takes a special lack of awareness and self-preservation to suffer death by motorboating, but there you have it.

Protip: Don't Google "death by motorboating."

This death was significant to the plot because it challenged the kids' understanding of the curse -- they had thought being outside of the city would keep them safe. It's later found out that this poor student's death was actually from a brain aneurysm, caused by head trauma he suffered that morning. It's hinted at when he got a headache and felt carsick on his ride to the beach.

This is one of my favorite deaths because it was basically the curse trolling the kids. The rules of the curse are still technically upheld in the end, but delaying the boy's death until he was outside of the city served no purpose other than to make the protagonists freak out.

------

#3: House Fire

At this stage in the series, all hell has broken loose. Not only is their inn in the mountains on fire, but everyone's now aware that someone among them is "the extra," an entity that, once killed, will end the curse. So they pool their resources and testimonies to logically deduce who the spooky ghost is while calmly and safely evacuating the premises.

Or not.

Good hustle. A+ for effort.

As the students accuse and murder each other while the more reasonable ones are just trying to escape the burning building, these chaotic scenes of death stood out to me. I was really convinced at this point that these panicking, paranoid pupils were just suffering from mass hysteria. Left without proper adult supervision, they crumble under stress and can't even follow simple evacuation procedures. 

------

#2: Glass

The series goes through a lot of trouble to cast shade on Mei Misaki, the girl with the eye patch on the cover of the DVD. Most of the students don't acknowledge her existence, she has a tendency to appear out of nowhere, and she's into creepy dolls. It's no surprise, then, that the students eventually target her specifically, thinking she's the ghost.

And interestingly, those who attack her die pretty much immediately, and never by Misaki's hands. For example, Izumi Akazawa, a character who was around since the first episode, gets killed by broken glass when a sudden lightning strike shatters a window near her.

If you think someone's a supernatural entity, maybe don't try stabbing them?

Another student trips when striking at Misaki and stumbles into some cables, then gets strangled by them. Yet another falls out a window while chasing her. At that point, I swung right back toward the supernatural, and was convinced Misaki was unintentionally causing these deaths. I mean, it was happening so immediately that it was hard to call it coincidence.

But is she ultimately the one responsible for the curse? I won't spoil that for you.

------

#1: Umbrella

This is the first on-screen death, and boy does it set the tone. Right after spotting Misaki in the hallway, a girl panics, trips on her way down the stairs, and gets impaled on her umbrella, right through her neck. What are the chances?

My throat hurts.

This is my favorite death because it's not something I ever thought about. Seriously, tripping onto your umbrella? What an embarrassing way to go. But you better believe I'm a little more careful around stairs now.