Another – 05

Episode 05 –

You know, this episode single-handedly invalidated every single attempt at “horror” in the first two episodes of this series. After all, a lot of the “horror” in the first two or so episodes relied on the false notion that Misaki was actually a ghost. Any supernatural status to Msiaki pretty much died with this episode, and you know what? I’m glad that it’s turned out that way. Now that the forced horror aspect to this series is starting to fade away, we are beginning to see signs the actual plot. For one, we can see a rudimentary alliance of sorts between Sakakibara and Misaki. Or at least, they are both now in the same boat with regards to their status in class, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they begin investigating this mystery more thoroughly in the upcoming weeks. We can also see Misaki’s class’ coordinated efforts to isolate the risk factors, all the way up to the faculty. Everything is starting to make more sense, though there are still huge issues that remain unknown.

The most notable aspect to this episode would be the revelation to the cause of the deaths in this series. The idea of a dead man wandering the realm of the living is an interesting conundrum to say the least, and it adds a shade of uncertainty to the members of the cast. After all, who is the “dead” classmate that is haunting this class? The series has actually done a rather fine job in developing the cast as a believable one, where everybody has their own little concerns and worries. This makes the idea of one of them being a dead person even more mystifying, mainly because of how well he/she has disguised itself amongst the cast.

It seems that Misaki and Sakakibara are finally on track to unraveling whatever is unfolding here, which is a very welcomed development. That, and the “horror” aspects to this show have been toned down, which has helped transition to a more prominent role for the plot. It’s sort of funny how the creators started this off as a comedy, but then gradually shifted away from it to a more mystery-centric affair. It’s a move that has worked out well for this series so far, and hopefully will be a good move for long-term developments too.

Overall Enjoyment: 3.6/5

Screenshots are later in the post.