Another - Episode 6 Discussion / Poll

[VDZ]

Originally Posted by DesuX2

I still maintain that there is a "human" solution to the mystery rather than relying on a supernatural explanation though.

After the umbrella death and hhnnnnnngggg? I doubt it. If it turns out to completely lack anything supernatural and lots of things just happened to be coincidence, that would be terrible writing.

Originally Posted by DesuX2

What I do know is that Japanese culture dictates that kids take the surname of their male parent. Then there's further confusion because Misaki can be both a surname and a given name.

Spoiler for Yomiyama Misaki:

First of all, we are introduced to Mei's Mom (Misaki, whom I will refer to as Kirika since that's what Mei calls her). Then in the second half, we find out that the person who died 26 years ago, Yomiyama Misaki, is a guy.

I find this highly suspicious and debatable due to the "memories can be altered" clause.

However, if I were to take the naming seriously, everything makes sense that Mei's mom is called Misaki Kirika.

Now, why is it that so? Why did Mei not take on her father's surname? And why is the shop called "The Hollow Eyes of Yomi at Twilight"? And how does that relate to the central mystery?


My answer is that Misaki Kirika and Yomiyama Misaki married/were a couple, and their child is called Misaki Mei. Misaki Fujiwara is Misaki Mei's twin sister, and for unknown reasons died in April. The tension between Misaki Kirika and Misaki Mei is due to the nature of the curse, and she sees Mei as bad luck.

Yeah, except memories are only altered to accomodate the life of the Another, not just to mess with people and make it impossible to solve the mystery.

Hey, another crazy coincidence: The town is also named Yomiyama. I personally think it's a lot more likely she named her shop after the town than that she named her shop after a dead person from 26 years ago. Yeah, that's kind of a hole in your theory as well, that since Yomiyama Misaki died 26 years ago, Mei would have to be 25 years or older, otherwise Yomiyama would've been dead before his supposed wife got pregnant.

Originally Posted by DesuX2

My second, more radical theory is that

Spoiler for Kirika = Misaki:

Yomiyama Misaki is Misaki Kirika. She changed her name after the events of 1983 to hide her connection to the incident. This is sort of hinted in the shop name. Studio M refers to Misaki, which is the common thread between both names, and if you look at the shop name carefully, the first two words in kanji are 夜见. The same as the kanji for Yomiyama.

Whether it is another case of bad translation "The Hollow Blue Eyes of Yomi at Twilight" is yet to be seen. But if it were me, I would read the shop name as "Yomiyama's Hollow Blue Eyes".

This, I hope, explains why I think Chibiki is mistaken about Yomiyama Misaki's gender.

Yep, and the best way to distance yourself from the 'Misaki incident' is by changing the lesser known (and more associated with the town itself) 'Yomiyama' name while keeping your 'Misaki' name. Makes perfect sense.

Originally Posted by DesuX2

We saw in this episode that even Kouichi's dad fell victim to the "memory-alteration" part of the curse if you believe in the supernatural.

Spoiler for To be honest:

I think he was just having a memory lapse. Because he's so distant from his son and busy with his work and all.

I think you missed the point entirely here. It was proven this episode that the curse only works within the city. The point here is that Kouchi's memories were altered, and his father was the one telling the truth.

[Unknown Soldier]

Originally Posted by Skyfall

On another note, perhaps I have overlooked it (wouldn't be the first time ), but why would an "Another" necessarily have to be someone who died due to the phenomenon previously ? Chances are I missed it indeed, but I can't seem to recall such being mentioned by either Mei or the librarian. (In case it was Mei who said that, I claim defense by being too distracted with her to pay attention to the words )

It's stated during a previous episode that the Other is someone who died during the calamity in a previous class. I think it's actually Mei who tells Kouichi this, as a matter of fact. :3

It's also why the conversation about Mami Asakura is so interesting, because the librarian is essentially using this person as an example of someone who died 3 years previously who then became the Other for that year's class and triggered the calamity.

[totoum]

Originally Posted by Skyfall

Though there are other things that point at it being 1.5 years rather than 15 years, ultimately it sill wouldn't matter much, like I noted above - the important part is whether Ritsuko died, at all, information beyond that would be mostly dressing.

Yeah,I thought it was important at first but after reading what you wrote I went back and checked what Mei said about who could be the "another"

the people connected to the class who have died over the years

For some reason I assumed they had to be connected to the class at the time of their death but that indeed might not have to be the case.They might just have to be connected to the class at some point in their life.

Also about Mei's cousin,we're told that the curse affects relatives up to 2 degrees of separation.
But don't cousin's have 3? (child of the sibling of your parent) therefore a cousin dying would be unrelated to the curse.

[DXMichael]

Ok, the bit where Kouichi imagined him and Mei dancing around in the middle of class made my day

[Skyfall]

Originally Posted by totoum

Also about Mei's cousin,we're told that the curse affects relatives up to 2 degrees of separation.
But don't cousin's have 3? (child of the sibling of your parent) therefore a cousin dying would be unrelated to the curse.

Indeed, a cousin should be unaffected, because that's 3 degrees of separation. As such, Mei's cousin dying would probably be unrelated the curse. The timing is off as well - she died some days before Koichi started going to school (and thus likely triggering the curse), so that's a double no.

On another note, one thing which has been bugging me for a while - is the "ignored" person also a potential victim, or would the "he/she doesn't exist" pretense actually serve as a shield of sorts, given how closely tied to the perceptions of class 3 the curse is?

If pretending that someone doesn't exist is enough to hide them from the phenomenon's radar well enough to avoid triggering the curse, then isn't the class, ironically, doing Koichi a favor by pretending he doesn't exist as well - and thus masking his existence from it ? (along with Mei). Wouldn't that be grimly amusing.

[djmaca]

Originally Posted by DXMichael

Ok, the bit where Kouichi imagined him and Mei dancing around in the middle of class made my day

I wish he let his mind play a bit more to "other" possible things he could do with Mei.

[EroKing]

Both Kouichi and Mei seemed to have had near-deaths experiences, I wonder if that would shield them from the curse and hopefully they won't die by the end of the series. I really want a good ending for these two >_<

[Forsaken_Infinity]

Whoa, lots of really interesting speculah here. I read through it all and the very first thing I want to say is to Skyfall. Man, you are confusing between Reiko and Ritsuko in your posts You keep saying "What matters is if Ritsuko died at all?" etc. when you mean Reiko. Ritsuko obviously died already because that's Kouichi's mom's name. Your theory about Reiko being the another is interesting otherwise. Mostly because of her "I can't stand that damn bird" comment. I like the idea that the Mynah and the grandpa are mourning for her while she is right before them in flesh and blood. So eerie and yet so freaking awesome

I kind of am giving up the no supernatural camp now. It'd appear that the purpose of the show is to play out a supernatural mystery and focus on how people act in face of it rather than work as a crime fiction. I'd be pleasantly surprised if a rational explanation was still made though. It'd be doubly awesome if they gave us hints as to that but left the thing ambiguous at the end.

However, I also like the idea that Misaki's mom is the original Misaki o_o. I have a thing for outlandish theories I guess.

Regardless, given how eerie the shop is, perhaps the name is indeed more significant than just a creepy title. "Yomiyama's hollow blue/green eyes", eh? It might also be why Kirika gave Misaki a freaking green eyeball. She must have known this Yomiyama person somehow.

Btw, most posters seem to be assuming that Yomiyama Misaki died along with his family in the fire. But Chibiki only said that his entire family died in a fire in May, right? Did that include Yomiyama for sure?

Oh and before I forget, Sakakibara and his imagination

Regardless, I want more blood and despair and more romance all at the same time. I am not worried one bit because the atmosphere in this show is already it's best asset. This is awesome. This season has some pretty awesome stuff going on.

Edit: Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Thanks to the poster who pointed out that Akazawa Kazuma, a deceased from 1996, has the same address as Akazawa now, I have a wild idea that she is that person and thus the another. I know that Kazuma's name is still in the roster of 96 but what's to say that the explanation given by Chibiki is wholly correct? If the another changes their name then there would be no need to modify the records of the original class. And given that Chibiki seems to have figured out who was the another for the class of 96 thanks to the record modification phenomenon (no idea how btw, considering his memory and the records are all supposed to return to normal), perhaps the curse or whatever it is that is responsible for the record modification got smarter and modified only the another's name?

I like that idea if only for the ironic humor that everybody else's hand would appear warm to Akazawa who is the dead one with cold hands

[warita]

Originally Posted by Kanon

I rewatched the scene at the library in the hope the librarian's explanation would make more sense, but I only noticed one more inconsistency: at some point during the conversation, he said he remembers Mami Asakura was absent from the records of 1993 and present in 1996, and later claims that once the school year ends, "Another" is erased from people's memories and the records go back to normal. Does not compute.

I said that myself, but nobody seems to care....

Originally Posted by warita

I wasnt paying 100% attention yesterday to the libriarians explanation, but if I remember correctly, he said that one of the anothers was a girl name Mami and she was originally a member of a different class, but that particular year she appeared on the roster for the thrid class. After the year was over, she reappeared in her original class.

Now, I didt quite get this? Was she a dead person even before she got "transferred" into the 3rd class..... or did the real Mami disappear for one year and a dead person took her identity?

On a side note, I really love how people speculate in this thread. I wouldnt have figured out half the stuff here on my own, it is just so nice to see all the ideas pool together.

[Forsaken_Infinity]

Originally Posted by warita

I said that myself, but nobody seems to care....


On a side note, I really love how people speculate in this thread. I wouldnt have figured out half the stuff here on my own, it is just so nice to see all the ideas pool together.

Actually, I think it's more like nobody knows what else to say lol. We must wait for more information in that regard. The only thing we can say for now is that Chibiki is suspicious.

And yes, speculahs and discussions about morality (I really wish people would be debating as to whether or not and how the another should be dealt with considering they are innocent, or are they even - considering the record modification and what not? Here's to hoping that once the show hits the point where something needs to be done, discussions will include morality etc.) are what make following a series live worth it. Those people who wait for a series end then marathon through miss out a great deal.

[warita]

I would like to throw something into the discussion.

Remember how the countermeasures girl said that she thinks Kouichi looks familiar to her.

Now, had he lived in the town before and just left for 1,5 years, then of course she would know him. And the curse is clouding her memories, but she faintly remembers him.

Had he just come for the funeral and left afterwards, it is unlikely anybody from the school would remember him or have seen him.

[DesuX2]

Originally Posted by Skyfall

Indeed, we don't know the first thing about Reiko nor her job, so I suppose she "could" have been (still is?) a teacher back then. The Librarian guy did say teachers and assistant teachers have died as well. Makes me wonder if said information about Reiko is deliberately being withheld from us.

On another note, perhaps I have overlooked it (wouldn't be the first time ), but why would an "Another" necessarily have to be someone who died due to the phenomenon previously ? Chances are I missed it indeed, but I can't seem to recall such being mentioned by either Mei or the librarian. (In case it was Mei who said that, I claim defense by being too distracted with her to pay attention to the words )

I'm quite sure that it was established that 15 years ago Reiko was a student at Yomikita. Whether she worked at the school afterwards is not/has not been revealed.

Most of the assumptions now are based almost solely on Mei and Kouichi's talk in EP5 and Kouichi and Chibiki's talk in EP6. I think the problem now is that they sort of contradict each other. It's getting good because you can interpret what is given multiple ways.

Should we take everything that Mei and Chibiki says at face value? Probably not. Because like someone mentioned earlier, Mei doesn't know the complete truth, neither does Chibiki either.Though it does feel like Chibiki has been researching on the subject for a while.

Essentially you would have to agree with Chibiki that there is no curse. That there's no malice in it. People die naturally by coincidence. And that there exists a photo with Yomiyama Misaki in it. That the range of the "curse" is only within the reach of Yomiyama prefecture. However all this knowledge is extremely dubious.

Spoiler for Chibiki:

Honestly, I think he has some memory impairment problem of sorts. That's the second time this show he asked about Ritsuko and with the same response. Either he's pretending to be a senile old guy or he's the killer/mysterious person X (?).

I cannot accept Mei's explanation of the "curse" either because

Spoiler for Mei:

Mei speaks in riddles and metaphors.The entire way from EP1-4, she was speaking in metaphor. So I find anything that she seems to be saying to be literal to be highly suspect too.

Then something else that I want to know: Is the Misaki of Yomiyama Misaki the same as the Misaki of Misaki Mei? That could be important. And since this is the Japanese we are talking about, names with the same pronunciation could have greatly different kanji, it's hinted that this might be important all the way back when Mei and Kouichi first talked.

One last question: Has it been confirmed that Kouichi's mom's name is Ritsuko Sakakibara yet? If it is Ritsuko Yomiyama or Ritsuko Misaki, I would laugh my face off.

I also think it's quite hard to find a rational solution to this because technically speaking, no crime was committed. Yet. Let's wait and see if someone dies an unnatural death by murder. Then we can start talking.

Spoiler for Random Stuff that doesn't matter:

Then there's this strange use of terminology in the show that's confusing. That "the deceased", "the dead one", is the guy who is socially isolated. It constantly overlaps with the idea that the guy is "physically dead", adding on to the confusion. It doesn't help that the phrase "another", "other" is used on the forums as a term for that as well, confusing the idea that this person, undead or not, is the cause of the deaths.

[FateAnomaly]

I rewatch the episode again. Firstly i think the librarian words have to be taken as perceived truths otherwise it will be too trollish.

The original Misaki is a guy and he positively died. Other than kickstarting this phenomenon i believe his purpose is done. (He probably is there on the second year as well since the Another has to be someone who died previously. No one died except him in the first year right?)

The librarian said 15years ago is Reiko's year. I think she said she wasn't in class 3 though. If she is to be believed then Ritsuko's death could not be attributed to her. Also something happened that summer that stopped the phenomenon. Could it be like Final Destination where giving birth (life) is a factor? (I know it ends up not actually working)

Regarding the records of 1993 and 1996 i think what happens is this. He memorises the roster for the previous years before hand. (He got too much free time) When the Another appears in 1996 the name in 1993 disappear leaving a blank and with the memory trick he couldn't remember who. End of 1996, the name reappears and he notes who the Another is in the 1996 section. Alternatively he could just wait for the name to appear since he is familiar with the phenomenon.

I also take back my suspicion on the MC being the Another. The pointlessness of the father calling a dead son is too strong. The MC also asked Misaki whether she could tell who is the Another but was interrupted. Could she have the ability?

There are a couple of points i am suspicious of. How did they come out with the counter measures anyway. Surely it is not something that happens as pure coincidence. Even a person who is a loner will have to take tests and exams. Or do they have a student who is sick for the whole year and everyone just forget about him/her. Another point is Reiko instructed the MC to observe the class rules. How would she know about it anyway. Non class 3 related personnel shouldn't be informed about it. Class 3 students are instructed not to tell it to even their parents.

[VDZ]

Originally Posted by Forsaken_Infinity

Edit: Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Thanks to the poster who pointed out that Akazawa Kazuma, a deceased from 1996, has the same address as Akazawa now, I have a wild idea that she is that person and thus the another. I know that Kazuma's name is still in the roster of 96 but what's to say that the explanation given by Chibiki is wholly correct? If the another changes their name then there would be no need to modify the records of the original class. And given that Chibiki seems to have figured out who was the another for the class of 96 thanks to the record modification phenomenon (no idea how btw, considering his memory and the records are all supposed to return to normal), perhaps the curse or whatever it is that is responsible for the record modification got smarter and modified only the another's name?

I like that idea if only for the ironic humor that everybody else's hand would appear warm to Akazawa who is the dead one with cold hands

A more likely possibility would be that in 1996, Kazuma and his sister Izumi died, then in 1998 Izumi attends 3-3 despite being dead. I'm currently placing my bets on either Mikami or Izumi being the Another.

[Squarecrow]

Originally Posted by Kanon

I rewatched the scene at the library in the hope the librarian's explanation would make more sense, but I only noticed one more inconsistency: at some point during the conversation, he said he remembers Mami Asakura was absent from the records of 1993 and present in 1996, and later claims that once the school year ends, "Another" is erased from people's memories and the records go back to normal. Does not compute.

I thought about this. The only explanation I can come up with (besides the old man being a liar) is that the memory of the Another is erased but the memory of there being a blank space in the roster is not.

The dancing scene was great but Kouichi needs to fake a heart attack.

"Oh my god he's dying, call an ambulance!"
"JKlol!!"
"FFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU---"

[Dengar]

Ok, before I continue my theories, lets just get a few facts straight.

It's ok if you don't believe these facts to be true, but the way I see the information, these are the current facts:

How the curse/calamity/what's in a name works.
1) At some point at beginning of the school year (but not right from the start of the school year), the amount of seats in the classroom stops adding up with the amount of students in the class, meaning an extra student has mysteriously popped up out of nowhere.

This is a proven fact. Everybody knows this. Therefore, Reiko-san can't be it, since she can't possibly the one causing there to be one too many students in the classroom, after all, she's not in that class, nor is she even attending that school, nor is she young enough to be attending school at all.

2) Up until that point, everyone is safe.

This means that the students can freely talk about what's going on and about what countermeasures are going to be taken that year. Mind you, this is apparently something that the students of Class 3 tend to keep to themselves. What outsiders know about it is usually either hearsay or just random rumors. Don't ask me why or complain about how that's stupid, that's the way things are.

3) All documents and memories are altered to make sure that nobody knows who the added student is.

ALL documents, and ALL memories. Unlike the deaths (which I'll get to in a bit), it seems that the memory alteration affects anyone. Including librarian guy (he said it himself), also the entire school staff, and most likely everyone in town and probably outside of it too. From what I gather from Sakakibara's conversation with his father, the memory alteration isn't an instant thing though. It's more like, the effect cascades every time somebody makes a statement that doesn't add up with the false "truth". Somebody who has already had their memory altered proposes that what they're saying is wrong, the one making the statement would then get a momentary brainfart, and proceed to say something like "you're right, I don't know what led to me thinking that".

4) After the "new" student is added, people start dying at least once a month, unless certain countermeasures are taken. None of the countermeasures work 100% and none of them are foolproof, but it's better to try than not.

Uhhh, I think this part has already been explained pretty thoroughly, including what countermeasures people have come up with. Cause of death can apparently be ANYTHING. Also, the countermeasures seem to be a double edged sword. Willingly/accidentally going against the rules seems to increase the chances of the calamity affecting you by an incredible amount. This is only a theory of mine, but unless there is a different factor at work, which I won't rule out, the reason Sakakibara has been safe so far, is because he has been unaware of the rules.

5) Deaths occur among the students, the homeroom teachers, and their family members, up to two tiers.

Here's where what I really want to talk about comes in. This is the one leading to a theory of which I am absolutely convinced that there is at least some merit to it. People who have so far been hit by the calamity so far fit within these boundaries. All of the family members who died were siblings, or parents. Library guy said two tiers, so there probably have been cases of grandparents dying as well. This means, that by extension, the ones who are also in danger are children, grandchildren, and possibly nephews/nieces. Let that one sink in for a bit.

Now that I've finished establishing the rules of the calamity (as far as we know), let me go into a different bit of info.

During Reiko's year, the deaths suddenly stopped halfway through the year.

Anyone see where I'm going with this?

[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by Forsaken_Infinity

...Edit: Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Thanks to the poster who pointed out that Akazawa Kazuma, a deceased from 1996, has the same address as Akazawa now.

Err... did you mean same surname?

Originally Posted by Forsaken_Infinity

Whoa, lots of really interesting speculah here... However, I also like the idea that Misaki's mom is the original Misaki o_o. I have a thing for outlandish theories I guess.

You know, for being the person who reminded everyone about Mei's dubious speculations, it's interesting that you didn't bring up a few suspicious things about her this episode. A number of things were quietly brushed aside that hinted at something more sinister, such as:

• her unusual relationship with Ririka, with her being treated like a doll that's "not real"
• her ominous silence about Ririka caring about only "certain things" about her
• the fact she had her life-threatening eye tumour at the age of four

With her being so much perkier in this episode — especially in that daydream, heh — it's easy to forget that a fair bit mystery still swirls around Mei, one that seems separate from the school "curse".

Incidentally, I find it interesting that Chibiki the librarian claims that the curse itself doesn't "feel" malignant. I take it that he was referring to the "extra", that it isn't feel like a malicious entity, whatever it is. It's curious that he would say that, because the deaths that occur after it appears are anything but "natural", like those caused by typhoons or quakes.

Especially not deaths caused by people who suddenly go, "Heeeere's Johnny!"

Originally Posted by Forsaken_Infinity

I like that idea if only for the ironic humor that everybody else's hand would appear warm to Akazawa who is the dead one with cold hands

Haha, that would be quite ironic indeed.

Originally Posted by Forsaken_Infinity

And yes, speculahs and discussions about morality (I really wish people would be debating as to whether or not and how the another should be dealt with considering they are innocent, or are they even - considering the record modification and what not? Here's to hoping that once the show hits the point where something needs to be done, discussions will include morality etc.) are what make following a series live worth it.

Morality? How does morality come into the picture? As of the moment, it's more a question of the ethics of self-preservation, rather than an issue about the "good" and "bad" of the students' decisions.

But perhaps it might make a good discussion topic in a separate thread? For one thing, I'd earlier observed that Another draws heavily on existential views about individuality and social identity that are uniquely Japanese. I still have a wad of raw notes from the Cool Japan Forum I attended last year at Anime Festival Asia, recording author Keiichiro Hirano's rambling views about maintaining "individuality" from a community perspective, how keeping multiple persona helps a person maintain individuality amid multiple scenarios (sound familiar? Mei echoed almost the same thoughts in this episode).

What struck me is that Hirano basically echoed an angst that appears frequently in anime and other kinds of Japanese media, which made me wonder what is it about Japan that puts people in this frame of mind. High-brow (not to mention, depressive) Japanese authors — from Natsume Soseki to Haruki Murakami — almost always obsess over such issues. It's like a sickness of sorts that just wouldn't go away from their collective consciousness. It's the 21st century. Why haven't the Japanese moved on from such pondering?

Anyways, TL;DR. It's still a bit early to tell if Another warrants such discussion, I feel, though I wouldn't mind chewing such gristly fat if Others are interested.




Sudden thought: It's interesting that we, the viewers, haven't been shown the names on the family altar in Kouichi's grandparents' home...

Originally Posted by totoum

Maybe he go cut off before saying "you were last here 3 years ago,time sure flies"

Not sure if a different date for Kouichi's visit would change much but it could be a logical explanation for the dad's behaviour

I belong to the camp who believes that this is evidence of the phenomenon's physical effect on people's memories. The weird static is the sound of actual electrical signals being manipulated by the phenomenon, an illustration of its preternatural power.

[totoum]

Originally Posted by Skyfall

On another note, one thing which has been bugging me for a while - is the "ignored" person also a potential victim, or would the "he/she doesn't exist" pretense actually serve as a shield of sorts, given how closely tied to the perceptions of class 3 the curse is?

If pretending that someone doesn't exist is enough to hide them from the phenomenon's radar well enough to avoid triggering the curse, then isn't the class, ironically, doing Koichi a favor by pretending he doesn't exist as well - and thus masking his existence from it ? (along with Mei). Wouldn't that be grimly amusing.

Well if it serves as a shield Kouichi isn't aware of it but maybe Mei is?

From episode 6

Kouichi:Be careful on your way home we're both close to death,afterall.
Mei:I'll be fine

She then went on to explain her whole doll eye thing again.

There is one thing I'm upset about though:back in episode 1 Mei told Kouichi that they associated his name with a cruel death that happened at this school.Kouichi still hasn't asked what that was about,if it's not the murder of the original Misaki then who is it?


And finaly maybe Kouichi's dad says "my mistake" but that doesn't mean he think Kouichi's never been there.


This is what Kouichi told him

This was my first time coming here since starting Junior High

This is what his dad told him:

Huh,no I'm sure that- Oh yeah,yeah you're right.My mistake

Maybe he go cut off before saying "you were last here 3 years ago,time sure flies"

Not sure if a different date for Kouichi's visit would change much but it could be a logical explanation for the dad's behaviour

[Skyfall]

Originally Posted by totoum

Maybe he go cut off before saying "you were last here 3 years ago,time sure flies"

Not sure if a different date for Kouichi's visit would change much but it could be a logical explanation for the dad's behaviour

Indeed, I was thinking along the same lines - that he was about to elaborate on his statement, the time part specifically, not retract it altogether. It's not like he would have imagined Koichi going there.

Which is a pretty important part - Koichi being brainwashed of the fact that he visited the place at all, be it 1.5 , 3 or anything in between years ago. The phenomenon doesn't just randomly change people's memories, it does so with a specific goal - in order to accommodate the "Another", to ensure that no one could look upon it and recognize it as a person who should be dead.

With that in mind, why did the phenomenon completely remove the memory of Koichi visiting Yomiyama 18 months ago ? Not just some bits or pieces of it, but the very fact he went there altogether had to be removed. From that we can draw the conclusion that Koichi simply being there at the time puts the identity of "Another" at risk. He mustn't recall of having a reason to go there.

Following the Reiko=dead theory, and assuming that Koichi would have visited the town for her funeral, it indeed makes sense for the phenomenon to completely erase said trip from his memory. Just having him forget some part of it isn't enough, he must forget of having gone there altogether - because the entire purpose of said would-be funeral trip endangers the "Another's" true nature, if Reiko is indeed it.

[haguruma]

Originally Posted by Skyfall

Indeed, a cousin should be unaffected, because that's 3 degrees of separation. As such, Mei's cousin dying would probably be unrelated the curse. The timing is off as well - she died some days before Koichi started going to school (and thus likely triggering the curse), so that's a double no.

On another note, one thing which has been bugging me for a while - is the "ignored" person also a potential victim, or would the "he/she doesn't exist" pretense actually serve as a shield of sorts, given how closely tied to the perceptions of class 3 the curse is?

Well, as long as the ignored person keeps being ignored everyone is supposed to be safe, the moment he or she is no longer ignored nobody is safe anymore.
Also don't forget that Mei was not yet being ignored during April because the number of seats was adding up and the council had only appointed her beforehand in case they wouldn't add up on the 1st day of school somehow. Mei was being ignored after the class was notified that Kouichi would be coming. When the committee visited Kouichi in the hospital Fujioka might have already been dead.

Of course the problem is Mei saying she's her cousin, which makes her too removed in terms of blood relations.

Originally Posted by Forsaken_Infinity

Btw, most posters seem to be assuming that Yomiyama Misaki died along with his family in the fire. But Chibiki only said that his entire family died in a fire in May, right? Did that include Yomiyama for sure?

The original line is 「五月のある夜、彼の家が全焼、両親と弟も含めた全員が死亡した。」 or "One night in May his whole house burned to the ground, killing all of them including his parents and younger brother."
So we have at least 4 deaths in 1972, Yomiyama Misaki, his mother, father and younger brother.

Originally Posted by totoum

There is one thing I'm upset about though:back in episode 1 Mei told Kouichi that they associated his name with a cruel death that happened at this school.Kouichi still hasn't asked what that was about,if it's not the murder of the original Misaki then who is it?

It's about a certain incident that actually happened in Japan in 1997 and has been mentioned several times. The novel goes into greater details but the anime apparently expected people to recognize the hint (well, if you've been living in Japan during the 90's you probably will).

Spoiler for novel being less obscure:

Mei actually said that Kouichi is lucky that his name isn't Sakakibara Seito and how it's that cruel death having school (not THIS school as the subtitle translator interpreted it) as a setting that probably makes people in 3-3 kind of affraid of him.
Kouichi remembers being mobbed about it when the incident happened but somehow blames it on children just being cruel and trying to rationalize how they made fun of him for having a murderers name.