Another is a Japanese anime series produced in 2012. It comes under adult animated horror television series produced by P.A. Works. There are 12 episodes of 25 minutes each. It was aired from 10 January 2012 to 27 March 2012. And it is based on the novel written by Yukito Ayatsuji of the same name, Another. The plot of Another is set in 1998, Koichi Sakakibara who was transferred from Tokyo school to Yomiyama Middle School of class 3. Class 3 was a cursed class. Koichi met a mysterious girl named Mei Masaki.
Mei Masaki was treated like she didn’t exist, and everyone stayed away from her. This series genre comprises horror, mystery, supernatural, suspense, gore and school. Koichi and Mei, and their classmates seem to disclose the mystery regarding the class 3 deaths. Another is classified as a horror and psychological anime series, which is mixed with mysterious happenings in a school environment. This series has some dark and saddest deep quotes. Let’s dive into it….
1. “The dolls…The dolls are hollow… you see… completely hollow, in body and soul. That void connects them with death. But hollow things seek to fill their emptiness.” –Mei Misaki
In episode 3, after getting off from school, Koichi followed Mei out of curiosity and bumped into a mysterious shop of dolls. He started taking a tour of the store and was wonderstruck when he found a doll resembling Mei. Mei told her about the doll and showed him the doll eye that she had.
She became telling this that dolls are hollow. They don’t have a soul in their body, and their body is also hollow because there is air inside them. The void in the body of the dolls connects them closer to death. She adds to the fact that hollow things need to fill their emptiness. And she was suggesting the fullness of the dolls.
2. “No matter how many relationships we seem to have, we’re all alone.” –Mei Misaki
Relationships are a way of feeling meaningful, interesting and complete. It helps us feel secure and feel protected. And it is a state of being connected. It can be through blood, bond and marriage or ritual. But at the end of the day, we are all alone. We die alone, and there is no one else when we die. It doesn’t matter how many friends, relatives, or loved ones are there in our life; at the end of the day, when we go to sleep, we are alone. We are lost in our own thoughts, and there is no one else who can help us out.
3. “It’s just pathetic to give up on something before you even give it a shot.” –Reiko Mikami
In episode 2, Reiko and Koichi were talking about the club which he should take and the interests Koichi. Koichi told her that he was interested in the art club. It interests him, and he is fascinated by the works related to arts like sculptures and paintings. Reiko motivated him and told him to give it a try even if he was not good at it. It’s pathetic not to even try to do what one wishes. We should do what our hearts say. Sometimes, we find our talent after giving a shot at random sort of things which interests us.
4. “Don’t mess with things that don’t exist. It’s dangerous!” –Teshigawara Naoya
While talking with Tomohiko, Koichi saw Mei at the terrace of the school and rushed in that direction. Tomohiko saw Mei and acted like he didn’t see them. But he tells Naoya, who is called Koichi, not to mess with the things that don’t exist at all. He mentioned Mei, who was died. Mei doesn’t exist in the real form as she was dead years ago. He warned Koichi to come back because it’s dangerous to mess things up.
5. “I hate those devices. Do we really need to be connected through them all the time?” –Mei Misaki
When Mei and Koichi were talking in the mysterious shop, which Koichi found while tailing Mei, Mei was telling her about the story from 26 years of Class 3, which no one was telling him about. In the middle of their talk, Koichi’s grandmother called and asked him to come home as it was getting late. After the call was disconnected, Mei commented that she hates devices meaning Mobile phones.
She hates them because you can be caught anywhere from this. Phones help in getting in contact with each other, which she hates and can’t understand. This quote is again said with this extension later at the end of the anime.
6. “Talent is a key factor, of course. So you’re likely to fail. But if that’s what you want to do, you might as well give it a try.” –Reiko Mikami
Koichi was interested in the art club. Arts and sculptures interest him more. He wanted to pursue his higher education in Arts. He admits that he is not good at it, but it fascinates him. Reiko tells him in this in episode 2 that talent is the key factor in achieving anything. If you have talent and passion for doing a particular thing, then you will excel in it. But it’s important to give it a try. She was motivating Koichi to opt for the art club because we couldn’t find our talent. It’s always a try at everything which helps us find our talent. So try and try and find what’s within you shines brighter.
7. “Death isn’t kind. It’s dark and black and as far as you… As far as you can see, you’re all alone. There’s no one else.” –Mei Misaki
We are all born alone, and we all die alone. Even the twins are born after minutes; no one is born alone. Death comes alone. It is not in nature. Their black void when we die is black. As far as we can see, everything is black, and we are alone in that void. There is no one else in that.
8. “It’s sad when people die.” –Mei Misaki
Mei mentions this after the death at Yomiyama Middle School. The death was occurring due to a curse which was prevalent for 26 years for Class 3 only. An accident occurred related to Mei Masaki, which initiated the curse. After this incident, people started to die every month related to their classmates and their families. When people die, it’s sad. It’s the most common feeling that everyone encounters when someone dies.
Mei is seen as a cold-hearted person, but she is warm-hearted because she believes that the death of a person becomes sad.
9. “There’s no point. Would apologizing serve any purpose? If it will, I’ll do it.” –Mei Misaki
Sometimes apologizing is not that help. Before we apologize, we should think it through. Apologizing means accepting the fact you have done something wrong and you are aware of it. You are apologizing because you find yourself guilty about it. We should think it through. Sometimes we are not in the wrong position; we tend to apologize for it, which we shouldn’t do. Mei asks if apologizing helps in any manner; then she will do it.
10. “How does it feel to not exist?” –Mei Misaki
Throughout the anime, we see that people treat Mei Misaki as if they can’t see her. She is treated like she doesn’t exist. In episode 3, Tomohiko sees Mei when Koichi tells him that he is leaving, but he pretends that he didn’t see her. Before Yukari’s death, she saw Mei and Koichi; she turned a blind eye to them and ran in the opposite direction. She treated her as if Mei didn’t exist. Mei says this Koichi gets treated in the same way that Mei gets. This happens in our everyday life also. There are some times when we feel that everyone is neglecting us as if we don’t exist.
11. “That’s important, isn’t it? Whether you look good or pathetic in your own eyes.” –Reiko Mikami
Reiko is taking care of Koichi while his father is in India doing his work. He stays with his grandparents. When Reiko was enquiring about his likes regarding the clubs in episode 2, Koichi showed his interest in the art club. He likes sculptures and wanted to pursue arts in his high school.
He also admits that he is not good at arts, but it interests him a lot. Reiko then told him to give it a shot because he should look in your eyes. We should not think about the people and their thoughts. Rather we should look for what interests us more. It’s important to look good in your own eyes because looking pathetic can discourage you. It will lower your performance. So look good, in appearance and also in your own eyes.