Another (アナザー)

Shall I show you?

Shall I show you...

...what's under this eyepatch?

An artificial eye?

My left eye is a doll's.

It can see things that should remain unseen,

so I keep it covered.

Do you feel ill?

This might not be a good place for you, since you're not used to it.

Not a good place?

The dolls...

Dolls are hollow, you see.

Completely hollow, in body and soul.

That void connects them with death.

But hollow things seek to fill their emptiness.

Don't you feel as though this place is drawing something out of you?

Yeah.

We should go.

It's more comfortable upstairs.

Do you live around here?

Yes.

That thing about "Yomi at Twilight"...

Is that the name of this shop?

What is Studio M?

Kirika's studio.

It's on the second floor.

Kirika?

The person who makes these dolls.

The ones in the basement, too?

Yes, I think they're all Kirika's.

Why does that doll...

look so much like you?

Who knows?

When I first met you, weren't you holding a doll?

Yes.

I heard a girl died at the hospital that day.

Was it for her?

I mean, um...

I think her name was Misaki, or Masaki.

Something like that.

Do you have any sisters?

Apparently, she was an only daughter,

so her parents were devastated.

Why are you...

Why indeed.

I have no other customers.

Do you have something else to ask me?

Well, yes.

A few things seem strange to me.

Like...

I warned you not to get close to me.

But it may be too late.

Too late?

You don't know a thing about it, do you?

There's an old story in town...

...about the class 3 of 26 years ago.

I'm guessing nobody has told you.

A student in that class...

...excelled in sports and her studies.

She was kind to everyone.

She was loved by teachers and students alike.

But soon after starting 9th grade, she died.

How?

They say she was in a plane crash with her family.

But there are several other theories.

Some say it was a car accident.

Some say she died in a house fire.

Regardless, everyone in the class was terribly shocked.

They were overcome with grief.

But then, suddenly, someone said,

"She isn't dead."

He pointed at her desk and said,

"Look, she's right there.

See? She's alive and well."

Then, other students started saying the same thing.

"It's true, she's not dead."

That behavior spread through

the rest of the class, like a chain reaction.

They didn't want to believe the truth.

They didn't want to accept the cruel reality.

I'm sure you can relate.

Everyone in the class continued with that act,

insisting the girl was still alive.

Even the homeroom teacher joined in, saying,

"It's true, she's alive.

So all of you should continue to work hard as a team,

until the day you all graduate together."

The principal even arranged to have her seat

included in the graduation ceremony.

Is this... a true story?

Then, after graduation,

everyone went to the room for the class photo.

The whole class, including the teacher.

But when they looked at the photo they noticed something.

In the photo, off to the side,

they could see the girl who should have been gone.

Her face was deathly pale,

but she smiled like all the others.

That girl...

The student who died...

was named Misaki.

There's more to this story.

Oh, sorry.

I'm sorry, Grandma.

Yeah, I'm okay.

I just got a little sidetracked.

I'm heading home now.

I hate those devices.

You can be found, and caught, anywhere.

It's closing time.

Please go on home now.

1998 Midterm Exams Grade 9 Exam Dates Math | Science Social Studies | Japanese

Once exams are over, we start career counseling...

Having to discuss that formally with a teacher

is so depressing.

These days, high school acceptance rates are over 95%.

So don't worry.

Even you can get in, somewhere.

Is that supposed to encourage me?

That was my intent.

Where are you gonna go?

West High.

Are your grades that high?

I'm working on them.

Well, good luck with that.

At any rate, you're stuck with me until graduation.

Hang in there!

You're stuck?

We've been together since 2nd grade.

We're even neighbors.

When we were kids,

we did lots of stupid stuff.

Now he's this pseudo-honors student

who can't keep up with my improv.

To me, it just looks like you haven't changed.

I've changed a lot!

What do you know about me?

I know things about you that even you don't know.

Like what?

That's how we're stuck with each other.

Makes sense.

So, what are you gonna do about high school?

Go back to Tokyo?

Yeah.

My dad will be back in Japan next spring.

-Private school there? -Probably.

That's one way, I guess.

What do you mean?

Maybe I'll go to a private school in Tokyo, too.

What school are you going to, Kouichi?

K High.

K High, huh?

Akazawa, you're going to Tokyo?