Another - Episode 10

Another: Now with twice the Misaki!

That dream in the beginning, after the opening, set the tone perfectly for the remainder of the episode with a good mixture of emotion and mystery. Now that the school trip is finally here, the conclusion to the mystery is seemingly near. However, the previous deaths must have drained all the energy from the majority of the students who fear death, making the whole class look like a horde of lifeless zombies. Additionally, as the deaths and curse continue to pile up and instill fear, respectively, just when will the questions be answered? Well, it turns out that this episode does a great job in doing so.

Starting off with the tape, the solution to the calamity and how to stop it was nothing surprising. I found it weird how the name of the extra student was inaudible. This may turn out to be crucial in the near future when the others deal with the "extra". Nonetheless, now that Kōichi and co. know how to stop the curse, the next step is to obviously find out who the "extra" is. Easier said than done, though. With no way to tell the living apart from the dead (excluding the rumour that dead people have icy cold hands, which is probably false), what seemed to be critical information doesn't really seem useful at the moment. And even if they do end up identifying the "extra", will anyone actually be brave enough to become a murderer for the sake of the class?

What followed the disturbing dinner (in which Izumi blamed Mei for partially being the cause of the curse and in which one of the students started having trouble breathing) was essentially Mei giving out answers left and right. Like I had guessed previously, she reveals her doll eye can see who's dead and who's not, simply by looking for a color that can't be seen with her normal eye; the "color of death", as she calls it. Also, Fujioka Misaki, who Mei stated was her cousin in the beginning, was actually her twin sister. The pieces of the puzzle given earlier (Kirika's first daughter was miscarried and the significance of the Siamese twins doll) can now be connected to form the bigger picture. But most shocking of all is not the fact that the two Misakis were actually sisters, but Mei's revelation that her sister was the first victim of the curse, which apparently started in April instead of May. This leads to the confirmation that Kōichi isn't the "extra" since "it" must have already been there before he transferred to the school. While it wasn't explicitly stated, doesn't this also mean that Kōichi's interactions with Mei had nothing to do with the curse?

And just when Mei was about to reveal who the "extra" was (she used her eye to figure it out), Teshigawara just had to interrupt. However, I do forgive him as he had a good reason to. While his face was not shown, it looked like Kazami had died (falling over the balcony of his room, maybe?). Right now, my prime suspects for the extras are: Yuuya, Teshigawara and Izumi (I hope I'm wrong about this one) given that they are the side characters that show up most often. It'd be surprising if a no-name character ended up being the extra (there'd be no impact/drama if that were the case). Judging by the preview, I'd probably scratch Izumi off that list, but with great reluctance. I hate to say it, but it looks like it's going to be her turn in the next episode. I'll be preparing myself for extreme rage and/or for the waterworks to be turned on.