Reviews for Another (6.33)
fangor
Ishii Yuriko
Mizushima Tsutomu
Overall, this show is uneven. But when it works, it really works. I would say you may enjoy this show, if you take it for what it is. It`s no masterpiece, but it does what it sets out to do ...
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- Unrated
05.05.2012 23:59 - direct link
(rs8596)
Overall, this show is uneven. But when it works, it really works. I would say you may enjoy this show, if you take it for what it is. It's no masterpiece, but it does what it sets out to do in a competent way.
This is a suspense story and as such it is really effective when it needs to be. Although it has it's flaws.
As a mystery it seems predictable, though it is not as predictable as it first seems. At times plot points that seem forced come together later. Which highlights a problem the show has. The first impression is not as good as it aught to be, at times even cringe worthy, but it manages to wrap things up neatly enough that you end up accepting them. So the word that keeps coming to mind is, competent, but not excellent. If it was excellent, you wouldn't stop to notice these things. Effort was put into it and there are some good ideas, but the execution could be better.
Beginning with first impressions, the opening didn't work for me. Visually it's not bad at all, but the song is so mismatched it's jarring. The song is popy and upbeat in a way that really clashes with the tone. What was probably the intention was for it give an unsettling expression. In the way the opening of Higurashi does, which is weird, but in a good way. Here it just seems forced for no good reason. The song does have some fleeting moments, but then it jumps right back to generic and boring.
This is important because where Higurashi had me hooked from the beginning by setting a good tone in the opening. Giving you the proper chilling feeling to set up the rest of an episode. With Another, I just ended up skipping the opening from the second episode and on... which doesn't help you get into the mood. A first impression that is just annoying, doesn't help the series at all... But I'd say give the show a chance to prove itself anyway. I generally try not to judge a show by it's opening, though a good opening certainly helps.
The first impressions though still haunt (pun intended) the first few episodes. The show tries too hard, throwing creepy visuals and plot twists at you, for the sake of "whooho, this is supposed to be scary". Honestly I wasn't really hooked until the 4th episode. Which is bad in itself, I almost dropped the series after 3 episodes but decided it was still decent, it wasn't really bad (like so many other shows that are so generic you can't bring yourself to care at all). So I gave it a chance to see where it was going. After that it had some pleasant surprises that made me rethink my first impressions a bit. The show grows on you.
Where Another succeeds is in the growing sense of despair and tension. The plot has some interesting themes and ideas that work for it. The quality of art and animation is also very good, which helps to build atmosphere. Which is ultimately what the show is all about. Too bad the soundtrack is just decent (apart from a terrible opening and forgettable end theme).
The story though is not that deep, it has good moments and is enough to keep you interested, but won't keep you awake pondering the meaning of life. Although the character interactions, social behavior and pushing your limits is what drives the story. Most of the time, it works. But the show has it's share of "why? because of plot convenience!" moments. It also suffers from "because of magic!" at times, but you can forgive that if you focus on what the show is trying to do, which is build suspense. It's not meant to be a great story.
Also there is the basic "creepy random deaths" theme, which was made popular by the "Final destination" movies. And sure, there are gory creative death scenes. For the sake of, well gory and "creative". But at least Another tries to tell as story at the same time, where as Final destination is just gore for the sake of gore, with no motivation or explanation whatsoever. The deaths here serve a purpose for the story, so while I'm not really interested in gore, I can accept why it's there. If you like that sort of thing, then bonus to you I guess.
There is also a use of horror clichés, but the writing is still competent enough to keep the show afloat. The characters are believable enough and the stereotypes are not overdone too much. There are good moments where some real depth shines though as well and that are even touching or clever. But overall neither characters nor story are all that memorable. Still for what it is it can still be enjoyable.
Another problem is overuse of "I can't reveal that yet" plot points and "I am being unnecessarily vague, for some reason". For the sake of padding the series out and building suspense by revealing a bit at a time. You see what they where going for, But it could be handled better. At times it's really obvious they just want to give you a reason to keep watching the next episode, but it lacks a natural flow and often borders on being forced. It's probably a good thing it was only 12 episodes, because with a tighter script, it could have been done in 6.
There is an obligatory cheesecake episode in the middle, but it's not too bad. The overall tone of the show is still pretty consistent. Which is a good thing, because comic relief for the sake of comic relief gets grating really, really fast. Way too many shows or films suffer from throwing in quirky characters or sudden change of tone moments, just to make it more "accessible". Which is a largely misguided notion.
The episode wasn't really needed, but at least it had some relevance to the plot, so I wouldn't go as far as skipping it. And if you're male, cute girls in bikinis. Enough said.
To sum up. If you enjoy suspenseful horror, give Another a go. There certainly is better out there, but if you don't know what else to watch, it's at least enjoyable.
This is a suspense story and as such it is really effective when it needs to be. Although it has it's flaws.
As a mystery it seems predictable, though it is not as predictable as it first seems. At times plot points that seem forced come together later. Which highlights a problem the show has. The first impression is not as good as it aught to be, at times even cringe worthy, but it manages to wrap things up neatly enough that you end up accepting them. So the word that keeps coming to mind is, competent, but not excellent. If it was excellent, you wouldn't stop to notice these things. Effort was put into it and there are some good ideas, but the execution could be better.
Beginning with first impressions, the opening didn't work for me. Visually it's not bad at all, but the song is so mismatched it's jarring. The song is popy and upbeat in a way that really clashes with the tone. What was probably the intention was for it give an unsettling expression. In the way the opening of Higurashi does, which is weird, but in a good way. Here it just seems forced for no good reason. The song does have some fleeting moments, but then it jumps right back to generic and boring.
This is important because where Higurashi had me hooked from the beginning by setting a good tone in the opening. Giving you the proper chilling feeling to set up the rest of an episode. With Another, I just ended up skipping the opening from the second episode and on... which doesn't help you get into the mood. A first impression that is just annoying, doesn't help the series at all... But I'd say give the show a chance to prove itself anyway. I generally try not to judge a show by it's opening, though a good opening certainly helps.
The first impressions though still haunt (pun intended) the first few episodes. The show tries too hard, throwing creepy visuals and plot twists at you, for the sake of "whooho, this is supposed to be scary". Honestly I wasn't really hooked until the 4th episode. Which is bad in itself, I almost dropped the series after 3 episodes but decided it was still decent, it wasn't really bad (like so many other shows that are so generic you can't bring yourself to care at all). So I gave it a chance to see where it was going. After that it had some pleasant surprises that made me rethink my first impressions a bit. The show grows on you.
Where Another succeeds is in the growing sense of despair and tension. The plot has some interesting themes and ideas that work for it. The quality of art and animation is also very good, which helps to build atmosphere. Which is ultimately what the show is all about. Too bad the soundtrack is just decent (apart from a terrible opening and forgettable end theme).
The story though is not that deep, it has good moments and is enough to keep you interested, but won't keep you awake pondering the meaning of life. Although the character interactions, social behavior and pushing your limits is what drives the story. Most of the time, it works. But the show has it's share of "why? because of plot convenience!" moments. It also suffers from "because of magic!" at times, but you can forgive that if you focus on what the show is trying to do, which is build suspense. It's not meant to be a great story.
Also there is the basic "creepy random deaths" theme, which was made popular by the "Final destination" movies. And sure, there are gory creative death scenes. For the sake of, well gory and "creative". But at least Another tries to tell as story at the same time, where as Final destination is just gore for the sake of gore, with no motivation or explanation whatsoever. The deaths here serve a purpose for the story, so while I'm not really interested in gore, I can accept why it's there. If you like that sort of thing, then bonus to you I guess.
There is also a use of horror clichés, but the writing is still competent enough to keep the show afloat. The characters are believable enough and the stereotypes are not overdone too much. There are good moments where some real depth shines though as well and that are even touching or clever. But overall neither characters nor story are all that memorable. Still for what it is it can still be enjoyable.
Another problem is overuse of "I can't reveal that yet" plot points and "I am being unnecessarily vague, for some reason". For the sake of padding the series out and building suspense by revealing a bit at a time. You see what they where going for, But it could be handled better. At times it's really obvious they just want to give you a reason to keep watching the next episode, but it lacks a natural flow and often borders on being forced. It's probably a good thing it was only 12 episodes, because with a tighter script, it could have been done in 6.
There is an obligatory cheesecake episode in the middle, but it's not too bad. The overall tone of the show is still pretty consistent. Which is a good thing, because comic relief for the sake of comic relief gets grating really, really fast. Way too many shows or films suffer from throwing in quirky characters or sudden change of tone moments, just to make it more "accessible". Which is a largely misguided notion.
The episode wasn't really needed, but at least it had some relevance to the plot, so I wouldn't go as far as skipping it. And if you're male, cute girls in bikinis. Enough said.
To sum up. If you enjoy suspenseful horror, give Another a go. There certainly is better out there, but if you don't know what else to watch, it's at least enjoyable.
