Another - Episode 3

Note to self: Beware of umbrellas with sharp ends

So it seems like the eyepatch hype was all for nothing; an anti-climatic turn of events. That honestly disappointed me and made me lose hope for the rest of the episode. However, as the minutes slowly ticked away, I was enticed by everything being shown - the dialogue, words and characters, all of which were mixed together well to create a eerily suspenseful mood. Confusion and shock took over in the last part of the episode as something that I wasn't expecting happened in the blink of an eye. This episode of Another is truly one to remember.

Looking more closely at parts leading up to the climax, I would say that Kōichi is like the medium between the living and the dead. His relationship with Mei and the fact that his mother was coincidentally in the same Class 3, 26 years ago, when the death of "Misaki" occurred, is enough to raise suspicions. This may be in fact the reason why his classmates are so cautious around him, not wanting to trigger any mention of "that" Class 3. Even when he questioned some of them about it, he did not receive an answer.

What I found strange about the episode was definitely the whole idea about Mei being invisible to everyone because she apparently "doesn't exist." First off, why is Kōichi the only one who can see her? Is it because of his mother's connection with the Class 3 of 26 years ago? Even if we assume this to be true, the answer to how Kazami and Teshigawa "knew" that Kōichi was attempting to interact with Mei (i.e. something that doesn't exist) still remains a mystery. Lastly, from the look on her face when she looked in Kōichi's direction, I am almost certain that Yukari actually saw Mei before her death. From that, I assume that, shortly before their death, one will be able to catch a glimpse of Mei. And since it seems like no one has laid eyes on the Mei that Kōichi knows, I willing to bet that Mei looks like (or is) the dead girl in the graduation photo 26 years ago.

The death itself was definitely unexpected. As Yukari slipped on the stairs, I thought she would just break her neck and die; never did I expect such a gruesome scene. Obviously that was a terrible way to go and I feel sorry for Yukari since I don't think she deserved to die. Speaking of the death, my friend brought to my attention a very interesting point regarding the ED. I'm quite sure that it's not a coincidence that Yukari shows up first before the other characters in the ED's animation. Is this a sign of things to come? If so, Kazami looks to be the next to die, followed by Teshigawara. It'll be interesting to see if my hypothesis is correct. I'll definitely be anticipating the next episode of Another.