[haguruma]

Originally Posted by Marina2

Thank for the answer.

Spoiler for About Izumi fate in anime compare to manga&novel:

Now, I hope Izumi will survive in anime because I am really like her now >.< The whole personality change and her additional and orginal scene must have some meaning right? At least, there must be the ep. where she remember when did she meet MC before.

I'm glad to be able to help by providing some answers...though I'm always a little anxious about revealing too much to people who don't really want to know that much

Well there is reason behind her featuring in a lot more scenes in the anime compared to both other media.

Spoiler for whole plot-difference concerning Akazawa:

She takes over Kazami's character almost completely and is basically absent from the whole plot during the novel and merely features as an obvious antagonist in the manga (probably because they felt the story was missing one). Not only that she also takes over parts of Teshigawara's and Mochizuki's scenes.
This could prove problematic during a later scene where we have to start doubting everybody in the class, because the oly characters Kouichi REALLY associates with lately are the girls...

I agree that the novel wasn't without it's fair share of problems because we ever actually got to learn anything about those classmates besides their individual weakness when they became fodder for the calamity...except the 4 boys and Mei.
The anime doesn't really fix that but turns it around and focuses so much more on the girls that...while the boys are technically there, they are nothing more than staffage.

In the end her new scenes are merely building upon what is there in the source material as well, they only play it out differently. In the end it comes down to marketing to a largely male audience group who needs their fix of girls...or that's just me being mean.

EDIT:
Though most people won't go to this thread until the anime is over I made a list of what is different between the anime and the original novel so far. I found some of the changes good, some bad...I'm still pretty excited to see how they will pull off the very end. If anybody who has read the novel noticed any further differences I'd be interested if I missed some (I have that feeling I did)...or maybe anybody has an opinion about the changes XD

Spoiler for differences novel to anime:

1. The two neighbouring areas Yūmigaoka and Asamidai are mentioned, explaining that the names seem to refer to the beauty of the places in different times of the day. Asami (朝見) Yūmi (夕見) and Yomi (夜見) being morning-view, evening-view and night-view respectively.
   
2. Kōichi drinks coffee from the very beginning (but remarks that Reiko drinks it black)
   
3. Reiko tells one of the 7 ghost stories of Yomi North:
   “Well then I tell you this one, which was by the way the first I heard back then.“
   And so Reiko began to narrate that one ghost story sorrounding the animal stable behind the gym.
   One morning all the bunnies and guinea pigs had vanished from their stable. The door had been destroyed and inside were huge ammounts of blood. The police was called for investigation and it became a huge fuss, but not one of the animals was everr found and they never found out who did it. The stables were torn down after that, but apparently there were reports of seeing the blood-smeared bunnies and guinea pigs (maybe their ghosts?) on that site.
   “But that story has a strange addition to it.“, continued Reiko with a serious face.
   “When the police tested the blood samples they had found at the scene, it turned out not to be bunny or guinea pig blood at all. It was human blood. It was bloodtype AB negative*...“
   
   *AB negative (or all negative bloodtypes) are thought to be very rare in Japan and it therefore hints toward a strange and peculiar person.
   
4. Ritsuko explains more about the class rules:

   rule #1: If you go out onto the roof and you hear the crows cry out, you have to reenter with your left foot first.
   rule #2: After entering the 3rd grade of middle school, you may never fall down on the hill road outside of the back gate.
   rule #3: You must always follow the decisions of your class.

5. Akazawa Izumi is not part of the welcoming committee visiting Kōichi in the hospital. She is absent during those days and was thus unable to perform her duties as head of countermeassures.
   
6. Kōichi's reason for wanting to protect Mei against ostracism and bullying is explained further when the two talk about him being bullied after the 1997 case in Kōbe where 14 year old Sakakibara Seito was arrested as a child murderer.
   
7. Kōichi spends more time with Teshigawara Naoya and Kazami Tomohiko.
   
8. Teshigawara and Kazami show him around the school, including the old school building.
   
9. Akazawa Izumi does not become a part of the group of friends (in the anime she takes the role of Kazami, while he is completely removed from the gang). She is practically absent from every scene in which she features in the anime.
   
10. Along the way Kōichi visits Mochizuki Yuuya and Kazami at home.
    
11. Inose Tomoka (Anime version: Mochizuki Tomoka) is further explained to be Mochizuki's half sister by a different mother and therefore far enough removed not to be targeted as a victim.
    
12. The group never gets to meet Matsunaga Katsumi, they are merely being told about the hint towards the hidden cassette tape by Inose Tomoka who works at the café Inoya which he frequents.
    
13. The group does not take a trip outside of town. The only person leaving town for a few days is Misaki Mei who goes on a trip with her parents on her fathers boat.
    
14. Nakao Junta does not die in an accident at sea because of a cerebral concussion. He is stabbed to death by Takabayashi Ikuo's maternal grandmother Numata Mineko on her rampage at the lodge.
    
15. Ayano Aya and her parents have no actual role in the original plot and do not die at all.
    
16. Takabayashi Ikuo does not attempt to tell Kōichi about Misaki Mei and dies from a heart attack at home. Kōichi learns about this when Mochizuki is informed about it via phone by Akazawa.
    
17. Chibiki Tatsuji's lecture about the workings of the phenomenon and the ensuing calamity is much more elaborate. He tells Kōichi and Mei about the phenomena of previous years, the gradual progress of forgetting and also about the growing countermeassures
    
18. The tape they found in the old 3-3 classroom got damaged when they were to eager in removing the adhesive tape. They also don't use any school property to play it back but have to repair it first. Mei is not present during their search either.
    
19. Reiko seems a lot more distraught about her sister's death
    
20. Steadily we are told about several of the 7 school ghost stories:

    #1 bloody animal stables
    #2 bloody hand rising from the basins
    #3 secret library

21. Several death are explained in further detail to make them more of an accident that happened due to a heightened chance of death occuring:

    Sakuragi Yukari: Her death is happening unobserved, we are merely told through Koichi's perspective that she apparently opened her umbrella while storming down the stairs and then slipped and fell on it.
    
    Mizuno Sanae: She does not die from being crushed, but suffers a severe head trauma when the elevator hits ground. She is unresponsive afterwards and dies while the hospital staff tries to reanimate her. Also, the policemen say that the elevator was apparently in bad shape and was already rumored to be a death trap. Out of so far unresolved circumstances the emergency breaks activated but broke down immediatly.
    
    Takabayashi Ikuo: He dies of a heart attack while at his home, unobserved by anybody.
    
    Mr. Kubodera: His and his mother's background are elaborated upon. He has to care for his mother after the stroke made her practically unable to care for herself as well as making her grow more and more senile over the years. He silently started resenting his mother with whom he shared a very small appartment. The description when commiting suicide is also more focused on his speech, hinting at him already having crossed the border into insanity.

22. Koichi talks to the detective researching the cases sorrounding the calamity. The detective admits that he has heard about that infamous curse and has a personal interest, but because there is no perpetrator there is nothing he can do about it.
    
23. The detective mentions that he has a 12 year old daughter about to advance to Yomi North and that this is the reason why he has a personal interest in the curse. He tries to belief that the curse will be lifted until his daughter gets into the 3-3 by any chance.
    
24. After hearing about it from Teshigawara at the lodge Kōichi rushes out to look whether Kazami is dead. Kazami has only a minor injury that makes him unable to walk on his own.
    
25. The main proof that Kōichi's contact with Mei brought disaster upon the class, used by Akazawa at the lodge when she is accusing Mei is, that Sugiura Takako saw how Sakuragi reacted when she saw Kōichi talking to Mei on the corridor which made her run in the opposite direction.
    
26. Sugiura Takako does not go insane and also does not spearhead any witch-hunt against Misaki Mei at the lodge. She is simply stabbed by Numata Mineko when she surprises her and Akazawa in their room.
    
27. Akazawa Izumi is stabbed by Numata Mineko and then falls from the balcony where Kōichi finds her dead.
    
28. Ogura Yumi has no role in the original plot apart from her brother dying. She does not die at the lodge.
    
29. Ouji Makoto does not die at the lodge.
    
30. When Kōichi finds Maejima Manabu in the lodge after he has been stabbed by Numata Mineko, he immediatly tries to carry him outside to safety. Maejima still dies of bloodloss immediatly after.
    
31. Yonemura Shigeki goes along on the schooltrip where he is stabbed by Numata Mineko and dies of bloodloss. His body is only later found by the police.
    
32. Numata Kensaku is killed in the kitchen which is then set on fire by Numata Mineko. The fire causes a gas-tank to explode, spreading the fire through the lodge and causing the students to escape in panic.
    
33. Kōichi is chased by Numata Mineko and then saved by Chibiki who returned to the lodge.
    
34. All students immediatly head outside as the fire in the lodge starts. There are no random deaths except those killed by Numata Mineko
    
35. There is no lightningstorm that hits the lodge.
    
36. There is no past meeting between Akazawa and Kôichi
    
37. After Kôichi leaves the lodge to save Maejima and is in turn rescued by Chibiki he gets the call from Mei telling him that she is save but that he should stay where he is or he'll regret it.
    
38. Mei did not witness Mikami Reiko getting killed. This is only revealed later in the Outroduction chapter.
    
39. The last scene is set in Kôichi's hospital room.
    
40. It is not made clear what actions the 3-3 of 1998 will take after the events of the novel.
    
41. Kôichi and Mei are talking about going to Tôkyô together.
    
42. Reiko's biggest regret is being unable to see Kôichi at least once after his birth; as he has spent all his life in Tôkyô with his father
    
43. It's strongly hinted at that it was Reiko's wish for Kôichi, Kôichi's wish for a mother and their grandparents denial of Reiko's death which triggered her return as the one person more.
    
44. Reiko is filling the void of Kôichi's dead mother, which makes his act of killing her also in a mirror-matricide -> He was the reason his mother came to Yomiyama in 1983 and died and now he has to kill Reiko - his surrogate mother - to end the calamity.