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tyrshand's review
4.0
More of a three and a half. It was interesting by the very end, but otherwise was much more introspective and much less creepy than the original. The extra manga story was interesting and a bit heart wrenching.
vivian_bookaholic's review
4.0
Đắn đo suy nghĩ nên cho 3 sao hay 4 sao mãi, thôi ở giữ 3,75/5 sao nhen
2/3 truyện đọc chán, cứ lòng vòng về vấn đề của nhân vật chính mãi mà không thấy đi tìm hiểu gì cả, khá bị động. Mà do đọc truyện của bác Yukito nhiều nên biết rõ phong cách của bác, những câu nào của nhân vật mà cứ lặp đi lặp lại hoài đến phát chán thì đều sẽ chứa đựng mấu chốt rất quan trọng nên cũng ráng đọc tiếp xem sao. Và đùng, đúng là không phụ lòng mong mỏi của mình, cái plot twist gần cuối truyện chọi vô mặt làm muốn rớt cả hàm. Đã chuẩn bị sẵn tâm lí từ mấy bộ khác của bác là thể nào cũng có twist hết hồn nhưng thiệt tình là không đoán nổi! Cực kì bất ngờ. Tự dưng cái plot twist này làm mình nhớ đến truyện ngắn So far trong Zoo quá...
Bộ này cái bìa truyện lừa tình quá, nhìn bìa thấy hai chị em sinh đôi nhà Mei cứ tưởng câu chuyện sẽ xoay quanh gia đình Mei không hà, đúng là ánh trăng lừa dối mà. Mặc dù không hay và gay cấn bằng bộ Another thần thánh nhưng đọc cũng tạm được. Lời bạt khúc cuối bác Yukito còn nhử hàng sẽ có phần 3 Another 2001 nữa làm hóng quá đi! Một chuyến phiêu lưu bí ẩn của lớp 9-3 Bắc Yomi mới sắp bắt đầu rồi
Tính cho 3 sao rồi, nhưng vì thích bộ Another trước đó quá+ hôm nay tâm trạng vui => thiên vị cho 4 sao luôn!
2/3 truyện đọc chán, cứ lòng vòng về vấn đề của nhân vật chính mãi mà không thấy đi tìm hiểu gì cả, khá bị động. Mà do đọc truyện của bác Yukito nhiều nên biết rõ phong cách của bác, những câu nào của nhân vật mà cứ lặp đi lặp lại hoài đến phát chán thì đều sẽ chứa đựng mấu chốt rất quan trọng nên cũng ráng đọc tiếp xem sao. Và đùng, đúng là không phụ lòng mong mỏi của mình, cái plot twist gần cuối truyện chọi vô mặt làm muốn rớt cả hàm. Đã chuẩn bị sẵn tâm lí từ mấy bộ khác của bác là thể nào cũng có twist hết hồn nhưng thiệt tình là không đoán nổi! Cực kì bất ngờ. Tự dưng cái plot twist này làm mình nhớ đến truyện ngắn So far trong Zoo quá...
Bộ này cái bìa truyện lừa tình quá, nhìn bìa thấy hai chị em sinh đôi nhà Mei cứ tưởng câu chuyện sẽ xoay quanh gia đình Mei không hà, đúng là ánh trăng lừa dối mà. Mặc dù không hay và gay cấn bằng bộ Another thần thánh nhưng đọc cũng tạm được. Lời bạt khúc cuối bác Yukito còn nhử hàng sẽ có phần 3 Another 2001 nữa làm hóng quá đi! Một chuyến phiêu lưu bí ẩn của lớp 9-3 Bắc Yomi mới sắp bắt đầu rồi
Tính cho 3 sao rồi, nhưng vì thích bộ Another trước đó quá+ hôm nay tâm trạng vui => thiên vị cho 4 sao luôn!
danielled75's review
4.0
Read the story itself, still need to read the manga. Quick read a bit different from the actual story, but a bit of a nice tie into the "Curse of Middle three-year class 3"
lilyn_g's review
3.0
Gracie liked this a bit better than I did. I had had ‘Another’ for a while, and had actually read part of it and then walked away from it. I can’t say I would have picked it up again if it wasn’t for her poking me about it. What she said about the formal tone making some people feel detached from the characters is exactly right. That’s how I felt the whole way through.
I haven’t read manga and I don’t watch anime, so I have no familiarity with Japanese tone/style apart from the occasional Americanized version of a Japanese horror movie every now and again. Therefore it’s probably not a surprise that ‘Another’ felt truly ‘foreign’ to me, and I think that was another reason I had problems connecting. The quiet acceptance of things, the emphasis on unity, the formality, etc, all felt so wrong to me.
One of the things I did like was that questions were so clearly answered. This wasn’t what you could call a novel with ambiguous threads at all. Every question that was raised – even over small things – toward the beginning of the book was answered crystal clear in it’s time.
Overall, it wasn’t a bad book. I can see how people would like it. But to me it was ultimately just a bit boring and, yes, that end did feel very ‘cheatery’. Can’t say I’d recommend it.
I haven’t read manga and I don’t watch anime, so I have no familiarity with Japanese tone/style apart from the occasional Americanized version of a Japanese horror movie every now and again. Therefore it’s probably not a surprise that ‘Another’ felt truly ‘foreign’ to me, and I think that was another reason I had problems connecting. The quiet acceptance of things, the emphasis on unity, the formality, etc, all felt so wrong to me.
One of the things I did like was that questions were so clearly answered. This wasn’t what you could call a novel with ambiguous threads at all. Every question that was raised – even over small things – toward the beginning of the book was answered crystal clear in it’s time.
Overall, it wasn’t a bad book. I can see how people would like it. But to me it was ultimately just a bit boring and, yes, that end did feel very ‘cheatery’. Can’t say I’d recommend it.
nightxade's review
2.0
I grabbed this galley because I was really intrigued by the cover image. I later learned (incorrectly) that this was a novel based on a manga, which in turn spawned an anime. I was very curious about the concept, wondering how such a visual format could be translated into a novel. I'm a very visual reader and also a fan of anime and manga, so I was easily able to visualize the characters and setting. Unfortunately, that wasn't good enough to make this book interesting to me. Lost in translation is an apt way to describe the experience - though I don't merely mean the translation from Japanese to English. There are elements of culture and events that the non-Japanese person or anime fan will miss unless they spend a bit of time googling, but I didn't find this enough of an issue to deter me. I did, however, feel like the book dragged considerably and I grew increasingly frustrated with the main character, Koichi Sakakibara's attempt to unravel the mystery of Mei Misaki and the strange curse of Class 3 at North Yomi school.
With a mother dead shortly after birth and a father away on business in India, Sakakibara has moved away from Tokyo to the little village of Yomiyama to stay with his mother's family. He is unable to start his third year at his new school due to a genetic lung illness that forces him to miss the first few weeks. When he starts a few days into the month of May, he meets a mysterious girl name Mei Misaki and he is warned about the "North Yomi Fundamentals" - superstitions that apparently exist to prevent the occurrence of untimely accidents. Students at the school are friendly enough, but when Sakakibara tries to broach the subject of Misaki, everyone does their best to dance around the question and Sakakibara's subsequent questions about the curse of Class 3. Then people start dying.... (finally).
Around the time that the first death occurred, I was as frustrated as Sakakibara with the way everyone was avoiding his questions, but more frustrated with the amount of time it was taking for him to figure out the truth of his existence on his own. I admit, I was wrong in my assumption of the obvious, but I was still long bored by the amount of time it took to get to that point. There was a lot of repetition as Sakakibara went over his own circular thoughts and the events and at times, I actually thought I was reading the same page again. Given the length of the book, I could find no reason for it to have taken that long to get to the point and move on to solving the mystery, which I assume happens in volume two.
Believing this was a book based on a manga, it felt very much like descriptions were glossed over in favour of a lot of text, mostly in the form of Sakakibara's tedious thoughts. It failed to give me any sense of mystery and, when the curse started to take effect, it wasn't very shocking. However, upon completion I learned that I was incorrect in my assumption. The bunkobon came first and inspired the manga, followed by the anime and a live-action movie. So while I did not enjoy this book very much, I can see how it could translate into a very interesting story when powerful visuals and music can be used to create the right mood. The idea behind the curse of Class 3 and the way everyone decided to try to fight it was interesting, once we finally got to know what it was all about. But I think I'd much rather learn more in the manga or anime, than by reading the second volume of the original novel.
Review originally published at The BiblioSanctum.
With a mother dead shortly after birth and a father away on business in India, Sakakibara has moved away from Tokyo to the little village of Yomiyama to stay with his mother's family. He is unable to start his third year at his new school due to a genetic lung illness that forces him to miss the first few weeks. When he starts a few days into the month of May, he meets a mysterious girl name Mei Misaki and he is warned about the "North Yomi Fundamentals" - superstitions that apparently exist to prevent the occurrence of untimely accidents. Students at the school are friendly enough, but when Sakakibara tries to broach the subject of Misaki, everyone does their best to dance around the question and Sakakibara's subsequent questions about the curse of Class 3. Then people start dying.... (finally).
Around the time that the first death occurred, I was as frustrated as Sakakibara with the way everyone was avoiding his questions, but more frustrated with the amount of time it was taking for him to figure out the truth of his existence on his own. I admit, I was wrong in my assumption of the obvious, but I was still long bored by the amount of time it took to get to that point. There was a lot of repetition as Sakakibara went over his own circular thoughts and the events and at times, I actually thought I was reading the same page again. Given the length of the book, I could find no reason for it to have taken that long to get to the point and move on to solving the mystery, which I assume happens in volume two.
Believing this was a book based on a manga, it felt very much like descriptions were glossed over in favour of a lot of text, mostly in the form of Sakakibara's tedious thoughts. It failed to give me any sense of mystery and, when the curse started to take effect, it wasn't very shocking. However, upon completion I learned that I was incorrect in my assumption. The bunkobon came first and inspired the manga, followed by the anime and a live-action movie. So while I did not enjoy this book very much, I can see how it could translate into a very interesting story when powerful visuals and music can be used to create the right mood. The idea behind the curse of Class 3 and the way everyone decided to try to fight it was interesting, once we finally got to know what it was all about. But I think I'd much rather learn more in the manga or anime, than by reading the second volume of the original novel.
Review originally published at The BiblioSanctum.
yonnyan's review
5.0
"Mr. Sakaki passed away this spring. He died. So when I saw him this summer, it was his ghost."Yukito Ayatsuji illustrates once again just how mind-blowing of a series Another truly is. This sequel to the original novel was beautifully written with unexpectedly engrossing results. I will confess, when I learned of a sequel I was equally excited and hesitant in wanting to read it. My experience with horror serials aren't that great. I loved the first book so much, I didn't want to tarnish my experience with it. Yet, I sucked it up and picked up Episode S and I'm so fricking proud that I did.
A dubious feeling took a hold of me, and I darted me eyes from side to side as I breathed in the chill, stagnant air in the display room there in the basement of the Twilight of Yomi.
In this title, Mei Misaki recounts the experience she had encountering the ghost of a neighbour, when she visited her family's summer home, to her classmate Sakakibara. I will say that the book does contain very serious spoilers for [b:Another|7372466|Another|Yukito Ayatsuji|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1350767382s/7372466.jpg|24658691], so if you haven't read that, I don't recommend reading this.
I really missed the writing. Ayatsuji tells a story with such beautifully simple yet intelligent prose that I get swept away in the allure of the portraits he paints. The writing is very complimentary to the plot and mood, contributing to atmosphere with a subtle psychological impact that intensifies smoothly with each turn of the page. There's a lingering sophistication that carries itself from beginning to end.
The plot, while paced, is far more complex than originally meets the eye. With the slow build-up, we get suspense that's cunning as it creeps up all around you. You don't realize how engrossed you've become with the protagonist's plight until the climax slaps you in the face. The intrigue of the overall mystery keeps you guessing, compelling you further and deeper into the tale with childlike curiosity.
A different perspective is utilized in Another Episode S aside from Sakakibara and Mei. For familiars of the story, it can be slightly off-putting as you ponder the point of it all. But when all of the knots are undone, you realize how stupefying it all is. It's meticulously thought out and executed with fantastically precise details.
The last thing I'd like to mention is that the sequel is decidedly less horror and more psychological thriller. There's very little impending fear or dread. There's no mayhem of bloodshed and slaughter. While there is plenty of anxiety, there's no "slasher" vibe to it. Calling Episode S a thriller is a more apt description because the tension is far more focused on mental and emotional sensation rather than visceral, visionary sensation (if that makes any sort of sense). The shock isn't frightful or abhorrent. It is mysterious, exciting, and enthralling. I found it to be a great balance. Being able to read a story with multiple layers gives it a great amount of dimension and precocity.
After all of that prattling, I think it's safe to assume that I highly recommend Another Episode S, especially if you like a mind-fuck type of thriller. As I mentioned earlier, it shares some serious spoilers for book one of the series, so if you haven't read that, I'd definitely check it out before picking this up!
4.5 ghosts out of 5!
blakefarron's review
4.0
So, I heard the anime is supposed to be brilliant and horrific, so I hought it read the book first, as you do. It's 'horror' but it's not the gory horror I was expecting, it was more suspenseful. It wasn't as creepy as I thought it would be, which was quite a disappointment, but that doesn't mean it's not a good book. It is, the concept is intriguing, the idea fascinating.
The writing style is pretty cool too. Obviously parts are lost in translation, but it's an easy to read style. The main protagonist's thoughts are coherent, and somewhat entertaining. He isn't annoying, he isn't whiny, which is what I look for in a first person POV. So that was good. Mei was also a really cool character, I liked her personality, and how she wasn't completely emotionless.
It did drag though, quite a lot. I felt like the explanations could have been clearer, and they were repeated all the time, which got irritating. It could have been a bit shorter if there hadn't been as much waffling. It's a slow book, in interesting one, and I think the pacing suits it, but it really does waffle at points. There are also some deus-ex-machina stuff, the worst you could possibly do (colour of death, really?) and the ending wasn't exactly really dramatic. But ovr all it's a really good book (and can we just talk about how pretty that cover is? If only the manga had this art style!)
The writing style is pretty cool too. Obviously parts are lost in translation, but it's an easy to read style. The main protagonist's thoughts are coherent, and somewhat entertaining. He isn't annoying, he isn't whiny, which is what I look for in a first person POV. So that was good. Mei was also a really cool character, I liked her personality, and how she wasn't completely emotionless.
It did drag though, quite a lot. I felt like the explanations could have been clearer, and they were repeated all the time, which got irritating. It could have been a bit shorter if there hadn't been as much waffling. It's a slow book, in interesting one, and I think the pacing suits it, but it really does waffle at points. There are also some deus-ex-machina stuff, the worst you could possibly do (colour of death, really?) and the ending wasn't exactly really dramatic. But ovr all it's a really good book (and can we just talk about how pretty that cover is? If only the manga had this art style!)
rumblethumps's review
5.0
Another is one of my favorite anime, but I didn't even know there was a novelization of it! I almost didn't want to read it at first in case it didn't live up to the anime for me, but I really liked it a lot. It matched the anime more or less to a T, and kept the same not-quite-scary-but-definitely-spooky-and-unsettling atmosphere that the anime did. It would definitely be easy to follow and enjoy if you've never seen the anime before, too!
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