Since I have been on a horror anime binge lately, I may as well review the ever popular series "Another". This is a series that despite its popularity, is quite divisive in terms of critical rating. I will attempt to take a fair and objective look at it and separate the actual flaws from the popularity-backlash.
I'm going to get this out of the way early. The plot of Another isn't very good. Not only is it absurd in its premise and character actions, but it doesn't even feel creative or like it works within its own constructed world. The basic plot and mechanics that drive the show are VERY clearly borrowed from the shitty Final Destination movies. Another doesn't even try to cover this up. It is amazing to me that the Newline Cinema hasn't tried to sue Another for plagiarism. A curse causes character after character to die from wildly unlikely "Rube Goldberg" deaths in which object A bumps into object B, causing object C to fall down and spring object D into the air, ultimately concluding in a piano being dropped on a character's head and crushing them in gory fashion. In defense of Another, many horror classics don't actually have very good plots. Was "Nightmare on Elmstreet" a literary masterpiece? Hell No! Another can take refuge in the fact that it is clearly a horror series and horror is about generating scares regardless of logic or realism. A drama play like the works of Tennessee Williams should have a strong level of realism and complex characters, but a horror is unbound by such constraints and Another's shitty plot is therefore excusable.
Another has been criticized as one of those mystery series that "cheats" ,so not enough is revealed to the audience in order to give them a fair chance of solving the mystery in its entirety. I will say that this is a fair criticism, for Another does indeed cheat in that regard. However, that doesn't automatically make it bad. Many of the great mystery novels including the many short stories and novels of Sherlock Holmes refuse to play fair and withhold vital information from the audience. Yet the characters, prose, and enjoyability of the plot made that flaw forgivable. Keep in mind that I'm NOT trying to compare the quality of Another to Sherlock Holmes. I'm just saying that a mystery story refusing to play fair doesn't automatically make it bad and this criticism could be seen as a tad unfair towards Another.
One thing Another does well is that it actually DOES have a solid soundtrack that helps give it a creepy atmosphere. Unfortunately, the series often spoils this atmosphere with cheap jump scares, but unlike some other horror anime, Another does at times seem to sort of know what its doing. The art is also excellent! Both the character art, background art, and animation are the highlight of the series. I also love the sharp color contrast between the blood and everything else. Perhaps an homage to the cheesy, Hammer Horror films from the 1950s and 1960s? In summary, Another has a strong soundtrack, excellent animation, and at least SOMETIMES it tries to build appropriate horror atmosphere.
TLDR:
Another is a far cry from being a horror masterpiece that will scare the pants off you, but it isn't actually quite as bad as some critics make it out to be. Another actually DOES do some things right and although it has a weak plot and borrows far too much from Final Destination, it is a competently made series overall.
