(L) Another - Novel Discussion

[Cosmic Eagle]

Seeing as how it's getting animated, I might as well make a thread for the novels....

Another is a school horror story by Ayatsuji Yukito and published by Kadokawa Bunko.

Story spans two volumes.

Novel site: http://www.another-anime.jp/goods/#booksInfo

Synopsis:

Spoiler:

Sakakibara Kouichi is a transfer student at his mother's former school of Yomiyama North Middle School. He goes into the cursed class 3 of the 3rd-years, meeting Misaki Mei, a girl wearing and eyepatch who apparently does not exist to everyone besides him. In the class where the dead have been called back from beyond, his year is a year that does not exist.

Then after meeting Mei, the dying began.

Finished the first volume and it's really good so far. The kind that keeps you turning the pages to find out what happens next.

[endarion88]

it has 2 volumes? i've read around and all said it was a single volume novel

[Kleeyook]

It has 2 volumes. i want to know the ending though. I looked at the manga last chapters but i don't understand Japanese so I have no idea what the whole deal is. I wish someone could explain me the whole deal.

[Utsuro no Hako]

Originally Posted by endarion88

it has 2 volumes? i've read around and all said it was a single volume novel

Both according to Wikipedia:

Another is a 677-page novel written by Yukito Ayatsuji. The novel was originally serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's literary magazine Yasai Jidai in intermittent periods between the August 2006 and May 2009 issues. A compiled tankōbon volume was published on October 29, 2009[8] and a two-volume bunkobon version was released on September 25, 2011.

There's a teaser project at BT, but the comments I saw in their forums mentioned that this isn't a light novel so it'll be a lot more work to translate than anything they've done so far. I guess we can hold out hope that Vertical might publish it through traditional means.

[Exether]

I'd also would like to know how it ends. Read the summary on wikipedia but it doesn't cover the whole thing. A kind soul that has read the book would be appreciated.

[Cosmic Eagle]

Originally Posted by endarion88

it has 2 volumes? i've read around and all said it was a single volume novel

There's one IIRC which is both volumes bound into one book...mine is the bunko version which is the split one.

I'd also would like to know how it ends. Read the summary on wikipedia but it doesn't cover the whole thing. A kind soul that has read the book would be appreciated.

Haven't finished it since I'm reading other stuff but....

Spoiler:

Be preapared for various twists later on. The story of the original Misaki has changed a lot. Especially the cause of death....admittedly it's more WTF than the legend.

[endarion88]

well but if is only 2 book the anime will probably cover the whole story i hope

[Cosmic Eagle]

Most definitely. It's not very long.

[Kokukirin]

Originally Posted by Exether

I'd also would like to know how it ends. Read the summary on wikipedia but it doesn't cover the whole thing. A kind soul that has read the book would be appreciated.

I finished the manga.

IMO it's best to avoid any kind of spoiler in this series. It is not only a school horror mystery story. It is also a kind of detective fiction. The story gives you various hints from the very beginning. Revealing the ending will ruin the entire story.

[Cosmic Eagle]

Just wondering BTW, how many chapters does the manga have?

Yep...Spoilers here are really SPOILERS.

[Kleeyook]

The manga is already finished. I believe there's around 18 chapters for the whole manga.

[Kokukirin]

20 chapters in total for main series.

There is a new "Another 0" that tells story from 15 years ago.

[Exether]

Started reding the manga. So basically this has some supernatural stuff but is for the most part a horror thriller with some detective themes?

Just hope it doesn't end with a Deus ex Machina thing that throws everything in disarray.

[Xellos-_^]

so i just finish the manga.

Spoiler:

- so i like how they keep everyone guessing who the "Other" was.
- didn't used cliche characters
- But I didn't like the lack of clues through.
it was almost impossible to guess who the "Other" was

was it better address in the LN?

[Cosmic Eagle]

From what little I've seen of the manga, it's basically the novels condensed with certain details left out.

The novels actually furnish you with enough detail to make speculation fun.

[Doraneko]

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

so i just finish the manga.

Spoiler:

- so i like how they keep everyone guessing who the "Other" was.
- didn't used cliche characters
- But I didn't like the lack of clues through.
it was almost impossible to guess who the "Other" was

was it better address in the LN?

It is not a LN to start with.

I haven't read the manga yet, but seems like its approach of ending the story is a bit different from the novel. Maybe the plot in the manga has been adjusted accordingly because of the spin-off manga.

I can't say I am happy with the ending in the novel though, so I am interested in how the anime will handle it.

[rakusukira]

spoliers pleeeeeaaaaaasssssseeeeeeee.. hahaha!

[haguruma]

Originally Posted by Doraneko

I haven't read the manga yet, but seems like its approach of ending the story is a bit different from the novel. Maybe the plot in the manga has been adjusted accordingly because of the spin-off manga.

I can't say I am happy with the ending in the novel though, so I am interested in how the anime will handle it.

I'm still waiting for the 4th volume, but up to the end of volume 3 it's pretty much the same plot except for Akazawa having a more prominent role and some events being condensed. Don't know if you know anything beyond that, but I expected the finale to be a little longer anyway.

And can I ask which part of the ending exactly you disliked? I found it to be the best part of the novel (for me).
Do I actually need to put information about the novel in spoilers?! Well...I better do.

Spoiler for novel ending:

The whole sequence from when they found the tape to the "death" of the Dead One the pace finally picked up and didn't slow down that much anymore. It actually ended on a high note and left enough of the mystery so that we as readers can still debate about what actually went down.
Okay, the Outroduction is debatable, I would agree on that one. It gave the whole story this 90's post-Evangelion, coming of age, Anime feeling, especially with Kôichi and Mei being the last ones to remember.

But I did like it how it was never actually disclosed whether all the rumors about the curse and the Dead Ones were true and how much of it was a fabrication.

Originally Posted by rakusukira

spoliers pleeeeeaaaaaasssssseeeeeeee.. hahaha!

I'm writing a summary for the novel right now, but due to sickness it's tacking longer than I initially planned.

[Doraneko]

Originally Posted by haguruma

I'm still waiting for the 4th volume, but up to the end of volume 3 it's pretty much the same plot except for Akazawa having a more prominent role and some events being condensed. Don't know if you know anything beyond that, but I expected the finale to be a little longer anyway.

Spoiler:

No I haven't read the manga yet, and my previous post was only base on Xellos' post that the deceased one is never disclosed in the manga.

But then I reread it again and it seems like the subject of his last line of "it was almost impossible to guess who the 'Other' was" was the readers instead of the characters in the story. If it is so than my mistake.

As for the novel ending:

Spoiler:

The teacher = Reiko-san thing is really out of the blue. I can see enough hints throughout the story of Reiko being possibly the "one", but there is never any trait in the story for her being the teacher. The whole thing suddenly popping up at the end just sounds too convenient as a device to quickly end the story. Of course I may be not observant enough as I seldom read mysteries and horrors, but still...

I really like the story until the very last part. However unfortunately my overall impression of any series is to a large extent dictated by how it ends.

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by Doraneko

Spoiler:

No I haven't read the manga yet, and my previous post was only base on Xellos' post that the deceased one is never disclosed in the manga.

But then I reread it again and it seems like the subject of his last line of "it was almost impossible to guess who the 'Other' was" was the readers instead of the characters in the story. If it is so than my mistake.

the manga did reveal who "the other" is but there wasn't any clues in the manga itself for the readers.