Another is one of my favorite horror franchises, and I couldn’t resist reading the manga. I tried to find the live-action movie, but there’s no official English sub-version.
So, I did the next best thing and looked up reviews. Unfortunately, they’re not promising, which is disappointing, considering Another would be perfect for a live-action adaptation.
But the manga captures the tension in the novels, and you can buy it in an omnibus edition for $30.00.
Why you should read Another!
I’ve already gone over the plot of Another in my reviews on the anime and the novels, so I won’t break it down here. However, if you’ve only seen the anime, there are a few differences to remember as the manga follows the novels.
But, just like the anime, the manga does have a slightly different ending than the other two. And it attempts to flesh out Izumi, and she survives in the end.
The manga and anime adaptations came out in 2012, but some characters look different. For example, Izumi has longer hair in the anime but the same hairstyle.
Yukari Sakuragi, our death-by-slipping onto the pointy end of the umbrella, looks completely different in the manga. And some characters never appear in the manga.
Like Keiko Numata and her husband, a fire somehow breaks out near the end of the story. And just like in the prequel manga, Episode 0, we see a shadowy figure at the end.
Which adaptation is the best?
Since I haven’t seen the live-action movie, I will focus on the anime and manga. Both do an excellent job of explaining how the curse works, and the tension is felt in both.
When it comes to endings, though, I prefer the anime. It’s more dramatic, the stakes are higher, and some of the remaining characters attempt to help the next generation.
While the manga attempted to make Izumi a more relatable character, it made her appear stupid near the end. If you’re going to stab someone in the eye, why would you aim for their fake eye?
And why would you be surprised that the person is still alive? For someone big on making Mei apologize for not fulfilling her “role.”
We never see Izumi apologizing to Mei for trying to kill her! Nothing in her backstory made me want to care if Izumi lived or died.
She’s a dramatic character who doesn’t leave an impression in any version. But I did enjoy the manga, and I’m looking forward to reading Another 2001.