Episode 11 –
Woah, it’s almost like all hell broke loose in this episode. Sure there are some huge, gaping plot holes, but this was by far the most intense, brutal, mesmerizing episode out of Another. The way in which the chaos unfolded almost felt like a domino effect, where you could see just how much of a mental strain this curse had put on the members of the class. I’ve also come to appreciate the story setup from these past few episodes; the presence of “another” is almost like disguising a tree in a forest, and figuring out which “tree” is the culprit has been developed in clever little ways.
You could say that this was a thrilling episode, but it also marks a rather stark departure from what had characterized this series up until this point. Up until now, Another had pushed it’s buildup in a slow, quiet but unsettling manner that continuously built up the mysteries in the story. The show was very precise in how it threw in little hints and details about who the “another” student could be, all while fleshing out the character relationships and personalities. A jarringly uncomfortable little plot twist here, a sudden death there, it was little events that pushed the mystery atmosphere forward.
This episode threw all of that out the window, and went all out in trying to set off a chain reaction of mindbogglingly chaotic plot twists. The method in which the story did so was fantastic; the story simply took advantage of the built-up anxiety amongst the students of the class, and let it explode by giving this pent up anxiety a target – Misaki Mei. The cause of this gargantuan mess of a conflict is simply human paranoia, a seemingly mundane but frighteningly powerful motivation for people under high pressure.
All the character’s actions just meshed together to form the conflict that unfolded; Teshigawara mistook Kazami for the another, Mochizuki made the critical mistake of letting others hear the tape, and Misaki made the mistake of hiding away crucial information. All of these little details came together to form the mess that’s currently unfolding, with a crazy old blood-thirsty lady and a raging fire to add onto the chaos.
With that being said, while this episode was downright nuts, there are some noticeable issues. For one, what’s up with the crazy lady? Why would she decide to just start murdering people? Then there’s the strange behavior of the fire; I kind of doubt a ravaging would be restricted to a locked up room until it’s opened, let alone explode in such a flashy manner. The continuous stream of plot twists is also a bit strange, mainly because it feels slightly too coincidental.
At this point, the identity of the Another feels even important, mainly because there’s currently a ridiculous situation to take care of. Amidst that, it seems that Mei has gotten the resolve to kill the Another. As of now, the clues point to Akazawa, Mei, and Kouichi not being the extra student. Kazami probably isn’t the Another, and I have doubts as to whether Teshigawara and Mochi are candidates. There have been hints at Aunt Reiko being involved somehow, but she’s definitely not on the trip (and thus, can probably be ruled out). There are probably tons of hints that can be used to narrow down the scope of the mystery, but I unfortunately haven’t completely kept track.
In the end, it seems that next week’s final episode will have to wrap up everything. It’ll have to resolve this mess of a situation, reveal the Another, as well as bring a proper conclusion to the characters and story. PA works has certainly managed to surprise with this series, and hopefully, the conclusion will be able to gracefully bring closure to this series.
Overall Enjoyment: 4.3/5
Screenshots are later in the post.
Distant Paradise 
I agree on the crazy old lady being weird but not the fire explosion. Its called a back draft that occurs when a locked room ie contain the fire to a location is suddenly opened and giving it a huge boost of oxygen. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backdraft) (/sigh @ remembering the movie of same title when i saw it) Can not wait for the final episode though i can’t think of who it is.
I guess I should have elaborated. After seeing the fire towards the beginning of the episode, it was rather strange that the fire never spread from that room. Unless the dining room was fireproof or something, fires tend to spread extremely fast (especially an old building with a wooden interior like the one they were in). There shouldn’t have been a backdraft because at least one or two walls should have been burned down at this point, thus there would have been no influx of oxygen.
The mildness of the fire was strange, and that resulted in a backdraft that was strange.
I really don’t understand how the old couple taking care of the place got involved in all this. Was there even a reason to kill the old guy so brutally and for the old lady to go on a murder spree?
And I wonder who the Another is and what is Mei going to do about it.
Lastly, Akazawa’s familiarity with Kouichi is still left unexplained
Yep, the old couple is baffling, and I have some doubts as to whether they will be fully explained or not.
As for the Another, it seems that Mei has gotten the resolve to go kill whoever it is. We’ll see if it actually happens (or if somebody, potentially Akazawa, interferes).
And as for Akazawa’s familiarity with Kouichi, the big hint here is that it seems that the Another might have actually been around when Akazawa met Kouichi. After all, Akazawa was crying about her older brother, which makes me thing that he may have died due to the curse.
Of course, this is just speculation on my part.
The old couple? You won’t get any explanation in the anime, but someone who read the novels said that the old woman is the grandmother of the student who died from the heart attack. She goes nuts when she learns that class 3-3 is staying over for the night at the pension, because she blames them for his death.