Another: The Other - Inga

Well here it is folks, 'another' Another episode (no pun intended). From the series that gave us a reason to enjoy Mondays comes forth this OVA bundled with the 0th limited-edition volume of Kiyohara Hiro's manga adaptation of Ayatsuji Yukito's horror novel Another.

Now, you're probably expecting a lot of bloodshed and mind twists right? That would be most of the cases for us die-hard fans into the mystery, thriller, and horror theme that the original series bought us.

However, in this OVA, we see a more brighter side of Mei Misaki and her "other half". Talk about a splitting image.

We also get to see a ... bit more about her past as well as her "other half". But you're still probably asking yourself "should I watch this even if I've seen the original series?" Let me answer that with a 7-letter word:

Depends.

Why? Because this is a mini-prequel. In other words, this is not what happens after the series or an anime that will throw bloodshed at your screen every 5 minutes. (well, there was one thrown in).

The OP song remains the same and as for the music, it's a bit calm but still retains that darkening mood. The art remains beautiful just like the original series with some added bonus fan-service like a cherry on top. ~desu

As for the characters, there are only two. Yes, it's the ones you see in the promo poster. What did you expect? I told you this is a prequel OVA, not the entire series. It is however quite interesting to see the relationship of Mei and her other half bond as well as her more energetic, cute, outer self.

This is perhaps the trailer for what some fans may expect before the calm of the storm if you decide to watch it first rather than the original series. And that calm will soon turn into calamity as disaster strikes into the heart of Yomiyama.

So, all in all, this OVA is entertaining but not something I'll remember by for a long time; at least not like the death of you-know-who in the original series or that Nice Boat episode when the class went to the beach. But, is this OVA worth your time watching?

Well, that's for me to know and you to find out.

This episode partially fills the only flaw that i spotted in the real series - the lack of character development and understanding on a personal level.

This is a very heartfelt special addition to Another, and contrasting greatly with the original series, it progresses fairly slow. This really helped to enhance the feelings of intimacy conveyed throughout, and to allow us to connect more on a personal level, to Mei.

I have no doubt about it that by watching this prequel, you'll come to understand Mei's back story much more vividly. It seems as though this was the reason behind releasing an episode 0, and especially due ... to the inclusion of real scenes from episode 1 (of the main) - the story comes together beautifully.

I really found it nice to see Mei so happy for a change, during this episode. The show reflects some Slice Of Life-like elements, and it works well in bringing out the thoughts, feelings and emotions of Mei and her Sister, that were originally going to remain untold. However, contrary to this supposedly "dramatically less dramatic" feature, i can say however that the show retained its sense of uneasiness. Contrasting with what i've said about it being a chilled out piece, it still manages to incorporate some of the show's signature fear inducing, edge of the seat presentation tactics.

This is an essential piece for fans of the show to watch!

Anothers prequel is definatly only a piece that will appeal to those who loved the series, it moves at it's own pace showing a Misaki Mei and Yomiyama we haven't really seen in the main series, one unclouded by fear and death.

Note that while there are no major plot expositions to be found here, i would personally judge this prequel to be spoilerific enough that people who haven't yet watched the main series may want to watch that first.

Story-6
The events of this anime move somewhat slowly from the beginning, we are shown the relationship between the 2 Misakis, heavily interspersed with Fanservice(significantly more than the ... main series ever demonstrated and much less subtly). From the midpoint it picks up a little in pace, however ultimatly the most you will likely get out of this OVA is some small fanservice and a few tidbits of information that weren't properly explained in the original series

Art-8
The art remains as good as it does in the main series, there isn't anything special to really set it apart from it's parent

Sound-8
The sound is good, though the errie and oppresive ambient sounds and creepy music of it's parent are toned back here, especially early on in which the music is largely peaceful or missing altogether, it's towards the end that the creepiness of the music slowly starts to work it's way in nicely giving the effect of a change from a peaceful beginning transitioning in to the events of the main series

Character-7

There is some character development for both Misakis which fans will appreciate, however little more

Enjoyment- 6

As someone who enjoyed much of the original series greatly the best term I can give to describe this OVA would be "Sufficient". There was just enough little tidbits of information, fanservice and even a cheeky tease that I didn't find it unenjoyable.

Overall - 7

It's fair to say most fans millages with this will vary greaty, some will find it an abysmal waste of their time, or be greatly dissapointed with it's choice of content. Others may think it a fine add on to the main series. Ultimately on it's own this OVA fails to be satisfying however as with the background lore of a video game or the notes of an author that were never published if you're willing to set aside a little time to peruse it you'll find some small bits of information that might interest you.

Yes! We finally get to know the background of Misaki Mei.

In the main series "Another" there was a very brief reference to her past and her sister, but it was that brief that I actually wasn't really able to imagine much about it.


Story: 10/10

The story is beautifuly done. It starts with a very calm beginning, showing, how those two adorable sisters try to live together, even so there are put many obstacles in their way.

The thing we know from "Another" (the main series), is that there is another Misaki Mei and that she passed away and that they were sisters.
...
While the story progresses, we get to understand, of how deep the bond between those two girls is. The story is beautifully bilding up to the dramatic and sad ending of this OVA, with even having a very shocking moment (*SPOILER: The scene, where Misakis sister falls of the Ferris wheel), where I literally jumped off the chair.

I could not think of a better way, how this story could have been telled.


Art: 9/10

The art doesn't differ from the main series. It's beautifully done, but not to the degree of absolute perfection.


Sound: 7/10

The music was good, but not outstanding.


Character: 8/10

The two main characters are very lovely and adorable. There is not much character developing, but that can hardly be accomplished in an single OVA.


Enjoyment: 9/10

I really enjoyed watching it. I very muched enjoyed the dramatic story, starting in the peaceful and harmonic environment of those two sisters, but concluding in a dramatic and very sad ending (at least in my opinion).


Overall: 9/10

The OVA is here and now I make a review, so what we have is an OVA which is pretty much a prequel of the parent anime "Another." Here we see Mei Misaki's twin sister Fujioka Misaki who is very dear to Mei. We also see the evil Kouichi who we know is gonna kill the soon to be extra and the other Kouichi whom Mei met in the hospital. This OVA is a bit different from its parent anime, co'z unlike the parent anime only the mystery and drama genre are in it, let's not forget that the time setting is before the start ... of the school year, so therefore what happen to Mei's twin sister has nothing to do with the curse of class 3-3. So for the story I give it a "Good" number 7, since the drama that is the meeting between the twin sisters is very touching. But, for the art........I'm not much into being an art critic, so a "Mediocre" number 5 will do and for the sound since the opening is still the same as its parent anime's opening theme, the same score applies.

Character: Good 7.

I really like the appeal of Fujioka Misaki, she seems to be a girl who probably knows that her time is coming and that she would like to enjoy it with Mei, but it is rather vague as to why the parents would prefer Misaki over Mei, and that is a mystery. Then again that mystery about the sister is why this part deserves such score.

Enjoyment and Overall: Good 7.

Unlike the parent anime were we the audience are made to wait for the climax, this OVA is more of the soft side, needless to say that the title alone is basically for Fujioka Misaki since it is all about her plus the tragedy for Mei to loose someone she cares deeply. Definitely, it is something which one would sympathize with Mei's loss as more tragedy awaits her as the school year starts....... which has already been shown from the parent anime.

I will come out and say, generally speaking, I'm not a big fan OVAs. More times than not, I find them to be nothing more than just padding to a series that is completed and provides nothing extra for the fan to really enjoy.

However, I found this OVA to be a bit different. While it didn't exactly provide anything that new to the original series, nor did it provide anything to anyone who watches the OVA before the original series, it still stung deep in my opinion. Why?

For those who did watch the original series before the OVA, this gives us an in-depth look at ... Mei's personality and her relationship with her twin sister, Fujioka...and a bit of a spoiler...how Fujioka dies. For those who watched the series, that doesn't come as much of a surprise as that fact is revealed pretty early on in the series.

What struck me about this OVA was the close, personal relationship the two sisters had for each other. If you look back at Mei's personality during the original series, it was dry, hollow, and essentially closed off from her classmates and family. Compare it to this. Mei had such a close relationship to Fujioka, apparently the only person she could confide in and act like herself. All things considered, it was tough seeing this because in one, short string of events, Mei lost her sister and best friend, has a distant relationship with her mother due to her not being her real mother, and became the extra in the class so she could talk to no one about what troubled her. I can't imagine the sort of sorrow I would feel if all these events happened to me at once. If anything, it makes me appreciate she was able to meet someone like Kouichi, who was the only one that would speak to her during this troubling time. I believe that's what this OVA does best...expresses the sort of sorrow Mei went through at this time and understand the significance of meeting Kouichi.

Now that I got that out of the way, here's how I scored it...

Story - 8
In retrospect, this OVA doesn't do a whole lot for the overall story. It does show the details behind the Misaki sisters before the start of the series...but that's about it. As far as the overall conflict in the original series, it doesn't have a big impact.

Art - 10
I find the artwork of Another to be really, really, good. The OVA certainly doesn't lack in that department.

Sound - 9
The music, as usual, fits pretty well and the voice acting is solid as well. Then again, there are only three characters that are actually dubbed so its hard to rip any of it unless it is really bad. I found both Mei's and Fujioka's voices fit perfectly.

Character - 10
If we're talking characters, I'd like to gives this more of a 13 or 14 score. It was really that good. As I mentioned in the previous comments, what this episode did for the character development of Misaki Mei was outstanding.

Enjoyment - 9
I'd say this is a pretty enjoyable OVA. I did think it was a little slow at times and wished it would've delved a little farther into the other aspects of Another (*spoiler* Like how Reiko died or Kouichi's transition to Yomiyama *end spoiler*). However, I really, really enjoyed watching the Misaki sisters relationship in action.

Overall - 9
Pretty close to giving this a 10, but like I said, this didn't provide a whole lot on the overall story. It's essentially a character profile on Misaki Mei, and I am completely alright with that.

Final Thoughts - If you read this and didn't watch the series first, shame on you. Although, don't let that discourage you. The series is also really, REALLY good. All this OVA provided was a small background snippet on Mei that didn't play a whole lot into the overall story. If you did watch the series first, I felt this OVA did a nice job giving us a closer look at Mei. It's hard not to admit that seeing Mei's cardboard personality during the series was a little hard to watch at times, but to me, this opened up a lot about Mei and explains why she acts the way she does. After watching, it is VERY understandable now. Looking at this OVA from that regard, it's hard not to admit it is a worthwhile watch.

The yuri and moe force is strong with this one.
That is really the first and the most important thing to mention about this OVA. Basically, watch this only if you like Mei or yuri. Don’t watch this otherwise, it’s a waste of time. Above all, don’t expect this to have a story.

Story: 6/10
This is supposed to be a prequel to Another. It does a nice job being a prequel, since it makes you feel with characters but it does an awful job being a prequel released after the original. Why? You’ll learn nothing new in this. Actually, you learn completely nothing that wouldn’t have been ... said in Another. Probably the only thing you’ll learn is why Mei was carrying the doll to hospital basement in the first episode but if you had at least one brain cell activated during the show, you'd have already known that. The only thing you can see in Another 0 is twins getting as close together as they can. There’s a bathing scene, “date” (sort of) scene, sleeping in one bed scene... you get the point.

Art: 9/10
Art fits MUCH better in this cuteness overload that it did in the brutal murder overload that was Another so not much of a problem here.

Sound: 6/10
It wasn’t bad but opening and ending from Another were used here and it affected the rating a lot. I actually liked them; the problem is that they completely didn’t fit in this. Cute girls having yuri moments constantly really shouldn’t have an opening that will make you expect a monster popping at you and an ending completely unrelated with it full of characters that didn't appear.

Characters: 6/10
The only thing I can say is a cold girl interacting with her exact opposite. That’s as far as characters go. There’s no one else with screen time longer than 1 minute.

Enjoyment: 4/10
To me it seemed like this wanted to get money from its moe factor and nothing else. Those scenes weren’t even proper yuri since they are twins. I’m not really into moe and cute characters being cute (squared here) so I was tempted to stop watching several times.

Overall: 6/10
This was boring to me. But if you like moe, Mei or yuri scenes watch this. You’ll enjoy it definitely more than I did.

When I saw the words "Another: Episode 0", I was excited

The episode does not share the same ominous atmosphere the TV series had. But for fans of the series (such as myself), it's a necessary episode to watch. Why? Because it's a missing "piece of the puzzle" that properly explains the reason behind Mei's forlorn personality and attitude towards the curse.

I feel that this episode reveals the reason why she chose not to interfere with the deaths of the curse victims despite having the ability to do so and also why she chose not to reveal the identity of "the dead person".
[Minor spoiler] Because while ... watching this episode I realised that Mei must have somehow predicted/noticed the impending death of her sister (probably through her "eye") and attempted to save her [see Ferris Wheel scene]. In the end however, her sister died anyway and Mei realised that she couldn't do anything about her sister's death afterall.
Which is why in the series, she felt that it wouldn't have made a difference whether she revealed or tried to help the victims at all.

Of course, that's just my personal opinion. Maybe I'm thinking too much but that's how I'm going to interpret the episode.
It's important for everyone to watch it and come to their own conclusion.

I almost never write reviews, but I thought I would do a short one to warn people interested in watching this.

No, don't worry, I am not saying this is a bad OVA. In fact, it was much lighter than the series itself and a pretty enjoyable watch. However, my warning is to not make the mistake of watching this first, a mistake that I had made.

One of the strong points of Another that I had found was the suspense. Many elements of the story, how it is told, and the music that accompanies it contribute to that. It was truly a horror series unlike any ... that I have seen, not that I have seen very many...

Nevertheless, I advise that if you want to enjoy the main series fully, you should watch this after rather than before. This nugget actually does endow you with some knowledge that makes the mystery in the series (especially the early parts) less of a mystery.

This OVA basically shows an aspect of the story that was mentioned in the series. It provides a little extra for the fans. It contains an ebb and flow of light and dark, but mostly light. For viewers who have already seen the main story, this is just a more detailed flashback. You'll find some wonderful moments of innocence and fun (a little fan service as well), but also moments where you're left dangling - literally in one instance. Overall if you liked the female protagonist, you'll probably find this to be an additional dosage to soothe your cravings. In fact, you get to see a side of her mostly devoid in the main story. But you'll understand why after watching this, if not already.

Unfortunately, if you are a viewer who has yet to see the main series, please save this until the end. As you can probably surmise, this OVA centers around the female protagonist and it illuminates some of the murky shroud that surrounds her in the beginning portions of the series. If you watch this first, you will not get the experience intended. I realized this as I watched the first several episodes; many moments meant to raise questions (or hairs for that matter) did not because I was armed with the scenes from this episode.

All in all, this is not a bad watch. It is well done despite the fact that some of the scenes shown in this were snapshots in the main series. If you've finished the main series and are looking for some relief, this would be it. Do save this until the end if you haven't seen the main series yet - you're welcome. Thanks for reading!

After blood baths and shocking deaths (Well not all too shocking but you get it right?), it's nice to get insight into the "ghost girl" and what troubles her past was filled with.

*This review is written in a way that only those who have seen the anime should read on, there could be spoilers especially if you have yet to get past episode 4 of the series. Also, if I have seem to be forgetting something about the series or have gotten something wrong, please feel free to correct me.*

This ova is the prequel to 2012's only, I'm really really sure of this, horror anime ... Another. This ova shows a little more into the main female character of series, Misaki Mei, showing what had happened to her twin sister, Misaki Fujioka. This ova is what I'd like to call an additional desert, something to snack on after you're done with the main meal, yet not something entirely required immediately (Unless you are one of those who just can't help yourself and want more) and this ova certainly does the trick.

The main point of the ova is to get you acquainted with Misaki's, I mean Mei's (I'm too used to just calling her Misaki) past, what she had gone through, her unexpected turns in life, and of course, her twin sister. And this does not squander on anything else, it's all about Mei and her sister. They were separated and barely get to see each other, one lives with their aunt (Whom Mei calls her mother) and the other remains with their parents. Naturally they try to see each other from time to time, showing the viewer how close they are as sisters, and it's done so well that it'll really make you dread what you and Mei will know what is going to happen to the other.

Which, to those who are heavily expecting something extremely traumatic, something to really quench your blood thirst that the anime series offered plentifully, well dash your hopes away now. Not to spoil anything, but the death of Mei's sister is rather ordinary, tragic, but nothing spectacular.

However, I'm totally fine with this, the main point was to establish the sister's relationship and it does it perfectly, to point that you'll get depressed when it does happen (Or at least I did...) because of how heartwarming it is of how close the two were. Though I will admit I was disappointed by the lack of a disastrous death, though it is still clear how disastrous it is to Mei herself.

The animation and sound isn't any upgrade of the anime, though it is more animated than what the series usually is, and there is also a bath scene with the twins, which of course is totally unnecessary but then again the series itself has its own share of pointlessness, so like two twins, it shares it's unashamed fan-service.

Ultimately, the ova is not what you should expect of it concerning bloody finales. Yet it offers a much needed development of Misaki Mei who is practicably an emotionless doll herself in the series and accomplishes what it sets out to.

Story:
This OVA fixed every problem in the original 12 episodes. It showed why Mei couldn't use her eye to save the other students. Plus there was actually character development!

Art:
The art was pretty much the same old creepy style it's always been...

Sound:
The soundtrack sets the moods of scenes perfectly and all the songs are beautiful aswell.

Characters:
... This is the main reason why I loved this episode! We finally got some kind of character development and it was for 2nd best waifu Mei :D (best waifu is Kurisu of course!). It showed how happy she was before everything happened.

Enjoyment: I loved this episode! It was very intense and gave me a lot of anxiety but was still somewhat fun to watch!

This is my first time writing a review so it is possible to see errors on my writing.

"Another" is one of the most notable series of Winter 2012 anime and might be one of the best this year. But do the OVA is worth checking to get the feeling of the series? Ill try to answer that here

Story:

As a prequel of the series, it deserve to get a praise on showing what to expect on the series if this OVA shown first. The story is simple, more like a prologue to enjoy the series. The story is about the 2 Misaki enjoying their daily lives ... after learning that they are twin. Simple as that. While it is as simple as that, before this OVA ends, it shown some important info about the series story.

Art:

The art is the same on the series. Way too outstanding and bright for a suppose to be horror anime but the art perfectly fits on the OVA cause of its simple story.

Sound:

Same songs used for the opening and ending sequence. No more no less.

Character:

Now this is the interesting part of the series. This shows why Misaki Mei acts cold to the point that being considered emotionless on the series.

Overall:

So it is worth checking? If you totally enjoy the series that you act like a hardcore fan, then it is worth watching. But if your one of those people who keep looking for a story, then it is doubtful to be consider as worth watching.

Okay. This is great. More Misaki Mei, my favorite character of all time. I think. Haven't watched too many anime, so I can't confirm that. But, Misaki Mei is pretty awesome, and this is an OVA all about her.

The story is about Misaki Mei's twin sister, Fujioka Misaki, I think that was her name. Or they were cousins, but I'm pretty sure they were twins. Yeah, they're twins. If you watched the original series, you would know what this is about, or you could just watch this episode before the actual series, considering this is episode 0.

This explains a lot about the actual anime, considering ... we didn't actually know much about Misaki's twin sister. This OVA was incredible, it was better than I expected. But, it was about Misaki, so I changed my mind and upped it another level.

The animation is normal, how the anime used to be. But that's the thing, because you never know how it's going to be animated. Makes no sense? Thought so. Execute me. I don't deserve to live. Anyway, the animation is great, moving on.

The music is used from the original anime series, because why create new music just for an OVA? I don't know. You could create a new opening, but that would be even more weird. Just for a one episode OVA why not create an entirely new opening? It'll be great!

Since this is about Misaki and her twin sister, every single character is awesome. I love Misaki's character, she is so awesome, I feel like I want to do stuff that I'm not proud of to her... uh... okay nevermind, I didn't say that.

I enjoyed this OVA a lot, considering, well, one it's about Misaki Mei, my favorite character and two, it's about her twin sister that we didn't really have much information on. But, other than that... I don't know what I dislike about it, I think it was the fact that I didn't know who the fuck the guy at the start was. I thought he was Sakakibara at first, but then I realized it was some random guy I didn't know.

I give this OVA an overall score of 9. Again, I didn't know who the fuck the guy at the start was, so therefore, ruined. I don't know if I'm dumb and I've actually seen him before, or just never saw him at all. This is an amazing OVA, mostly one of the best I'll ever see *coughs* because of Misaki *coughs* and... well... words!! Oh yeah, words!

Like any other prequel, “Another: The other - Igna” is the sort of prequels that act as the “episode 0” for their main show. It dives in something we didn't see much of in the parent series and ends in a majestic seamless way that translates to the first episode in a genius way.
Mei, before she was the lonely creepy student we've come to know got to spend some time with her twin sister where we got to see more on how Mei feels about it for what dispute led to it.
Now, it's been a long time since I last watched the parent series, over ... two years to be more specific, and I don't know if it always looked like this, but, the art and animation are truly gorgeous, Aesthetically pleasing to the eye. I'm talking like I was seriously surprised by the quality of that eye candy.
The same old opening and ending theme songs were used which are just so nostalgic and would have been a crime if they weren't included, to be frank. I think I might have enjoyed this more than I gave it credit for, actually, I've enjoyed this more so than I did with the original series and I'm just so lost in why I didn't watch it earlier.

Another: The Other - Inga is Good (7)

Ok, this OVA focuses on Misaki Mei and her twinsister. It sure feels like the natural choice for the OVA. I really liked It. The art was very consistent: Rating (8). Good story: (9). Sound was good but nothing special, i'm no fan of the intro nor the outro: (7). Characters are good, you did get some extra taste of what Mei and her twin is like: (8). So It's very enjoyable to me: (7).

Overall I think It's great. But why did you have to squeeze her boob!!?!! I also thought about some things that is left to ... be told in Another. Like how does Meis artificial eye predict death and stuff, how can It even see at all? There was lots of stuff that was interesting about this OVA. I liked how they connected It to the main series in a way that made you feel like home while watching. We even get to revisit the time they first met, at night in the hospital elevator...

If you're here, you're probably an Another fan. In which case, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? GO WATCH THIS!

As a massive fan of Another, this was a simply amazing prequel to watch. While the material of this was already somewhat covered in bits and pieces throughout the anime, this gives us the last piece of the puzzle to complete it.

To begin with, the story is fresh and light and adorable before it goes dark, setting the tone for the rest of the show.

The art, like usual, was neat and nice to look at, and appropriately dull and overshaded.

The opening theme has been one of ... my faves forever, and the background music always fits the events of the episode well.

The characters: oh boy. During the series, there's minimal character development, which they make up for here. Mei's character is so developed here that you won't recognize the girl at the beginning of the OVA and at the end of it.

Overall, this was an amazing episode that makes me want to rewatch/reread the entirety of Another all over again.

I would recommend this if you: are an Another fan, like angst

I would NOT recommend this if you: didn't like Another

Have a great day everyone!

Bizzare murder's happening randomly with a mysterious girl described as the key of all of the problems but is that true? In this special we discover about that mysterious girl Misaki Mei's past which clears her side of the story.

Story: 7 - We get to learn about Mei's life with her 'cousin' Fujioka and her point of view of what happened before the curse and the 'first' death. This special basically just shows us what Mei told us in Another so it isn't anything new except that this time we actually see what happens as this confirms Mei's story to be true. So basically even ... though there's nothing new you can watch for the 'moe' (?) factor of seeing Fujioka and Mei together.

Art: 8 - The art was pleasing as we got to see some nice views and character designs made this special worth watching.

Sound: 7 - Nothing notable but generally the soundtrack carried out it's job satisfactorily.

Character: 8 - The characters were the main point of this special as the past of a mysterious girl was revealed as we see her relationship with someone she cared for and what that person's 'illness' caused to make Mei as the aloof girl in Another.

Enjoyment: 7 - Though there was nothing new it was enjoyable as we got to see some eye-pleasing views with some emotional moments.

People who liked: Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni,Umineko No Naku Koro Ni,Elfen Lied,Shiki,Corpse Party,Mirai Nikki,Tasogare Otome X Amnesia,Dangaronpa - The animation and Denpa Teki Na Kanojo will like this series due to similarities in what's shown including the gore, disturbing moments and the emotional impact.

Overall: Overall I liked this special though it didn't make a major impact but for those who liked Mei's character this is a must watch.

Gorgeous addition to the show. It was super sad and lovely. I think I loved this episode more than the show. It was a perfect add on, a behind the scenes look into Mei's background before the terrible day her sister passed...honestly, if they would have went into some other character backgrounds on the show, or even implemented this one in as an episode during, it would have given the show much more life. I understand Mei much more now.

Overall, great addition. 7/10.

Watched - subbed

This is a spoiler free review:

If you watched Another then I think this should be a required episode to watch. It's a prequel of sorts but it's more than that, it's a look at why Misaki Mei is the way she is. This is a touching story and adds to the tragedy that is Another. It is impressive how one episode can add so much back story detail not only to the 12 episode series but Mei's character as well. If you watched Another, please watch this episode, preferably after.

Boy, if you didn't get the sadness of what the phenomenon does to the students and their families, you sure will when you watch this. ; ___ ;

(Note that even though this is a prequel OVA to Another, you're so much better off watching this after finishing the show, since (1) you lose out on one of the semi-twists of the later part of the show and (2) the impact is definitely much stronger with that, technically, foreshadowing. I'll try to keep as spoiler free as possible but just be wary kids!)

Story (8/10): Like I said before, this is a prequel the the main show ... that focuses on Mei prior to her introduction in the first episode. The whole thing is basically a look into her life before the phenomenon took over and made her into what she is there. I can't really go into what makes the story good, since it really does spoil something, but take note that while it's not a complicated story for an OVA, it's simple and gives us some much needed background to Mei herself.

Art (9/10): Not rehashing my art section from the Another review, but the art was just as nice as the series itself. If there is a problem, it seems like the backgrounds are really too plain, but I'll let it slide.

Sound (8/10): Again, same as the art section, the sound is virtually the same. It does lose a point since we don't get the full treatment of the scary sounds that make the show as atmospheric, but again, that's not what this OVA is about.

Character (9/10): I mentioned it in the story section, but this OVA is a HUGE bit of character development for Mei. Or, rather, her regression to who she is in the series. The only other character in the OVA is interesting, since we finally get to see a character that's just generally happy and positive, so she's like a breath of fresh air.

Enjoyment (9/10): The real enjoyment here is that this OVA adds to the story that we know and makes it more. I now honestly feel for Mei and it really saddened me to see where she ends up at the beginning of the show. It's also great to see that we'll still get out red herrings and foreshadowing even in an extra episode, along with an effective jump-scare.

The Another OVA is really a must see for fans of the series. It's a little weird that this wasn't just included in the series proper, but Japan and it's 12 episode rule. What are ya gonna do? But again, definitely give this a watch.