Another by Yukito Ayatsuji

In the spring of 1998, Koichi Sakakibara transfers into Class 3-3 at Yomiyama North Middle School. But little does he know...his new class has a horrible secret. When he takes his seat in class for the first day of school, Koichi is unsettled by his fearful classmates. Despite this atmosphere and warnings from fellow students, Koichi is drawn to the beautiful, distant Mei Misaki, another classmate. But the closer he tries to get to her, the more mysterious she and their class become. And when a fellow student dies a disturbing death - the first of a long chain of deaths - Koichi seeks to learn the truth behind the curse of Class 3-3. But can he get answers before the curse kills him?

TW/CW for Another omnibus:

There are depictions of:
1) graphic violence
2) consumption of alcohol
3) death
4) blood

...Overall, it was a good manga. The first 200 pages are slow but after that, the pace picks up and stays consistent over the whole manga. Some parts that involved the main character's aunt did become... dull and repetitive but after finishing the manga it all makes sense.

The initial setup of Another was boring and most of the characters were bland until that first death happened. After that the plot and two main characters became interesting. There was an attempt at a "haunted/creepy" school vibe but I did not get that. Even with the mysterious deaths taking place the school still seemed "bright/happy". The only time I got the haunted/creepy vibes was when the students went to the abandoned part of the school and got that cassette tape.

There are awkward parts throughout the whole manga. I noticed it when I was around page 206 when the boys were talking about the curse of classroom 3 but never really talked about the curse. This happened a few times until that student became a "not here" as well.

As for the disturbing aspect of the manga, it was... Okay... If I am being honest. The audience does not develop any emotional connection to those deaths to make it more profound and/or disturbing. The concept felt rushed. It was like... "Oh, we need to hurry up and kill off all these side characters".