Quote:
Originally Posted by Lord of Fire
I seriously don't understand why people have such a problem with the sudden rise in bodies. I saw it coming right after the tape revealed what had to be done in order to stop the curse. It was then that I knew that the secret would come out, and that the students would be going for each other's throats, especially Mei's or Kouichi's. You can't tell me I"m really the only one who actually saw all this coming (other than the true identity of the Another).
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It's not the body count that bothers me. I like my slasher movies just like any other cinema-goer who wants to enjoy popcorn entertainment. But that, to me, is the problem: It wasn't how
Another appeared to be at the start. It excelled as a mystery-thriller that made good use of sound, music and cinematography to build tension and a sense of dread. Unfortunately, all of that literally flew out the window in the closing episodes, descending into schlocky tropes, and wasting a golden opportunity to stand head and shoulders above other anime of its ilk.
I find it sad, for example, that I felt next to nothing about the students who died in this episode, when I actually pitied the way poor Ayano died a few episodes ago. Ayano was no less a bit character like the rest of the class, but the anime somehow managed to make me care about her with the use of just a few cameo appearances.
Just a few scenes. Imagine the difference that just a few scenes could have made, with regard to exposition about Kouichi and Reiko's relationship. But we had none of that, and are instead forced to accept a revelation that should have been stunning, but instead turned out underwhelming.
Most importantly, character development went completely haywire. I still find it very hard to believe that otherwise normal students could suddenly turn into psychotic knife murderers in a blink of an eye. There was next to no build-up that hinted at their emotional distress and, as viewers, we're simply expected to accept their stress-induced rampage on face value. I expected them to be disturbed, yes, but not
that disturbed. I read that the manga did not feature any of this massacre, so I really don't see why the anime had to go in this direction. If it's for shock value, then it failed doubly badly, since all it induced was laughter among many viewers, not horror.