Another [Series]

[froody1911]

[ EDIOT: ohschitz ... the reason I was replying: @froody, just curious if you have links where you got those stats.  10:100,000 sounds shocking, but is still only 0.01%, which is quite low per medical conditions.  Death in childbirth is total statistics, and is often tied to other medical conditions and circumstances.  For a healthy mother, the numbers are probably ~1/100th of that, or less. ]

The data is what I remember from a school research project about 3 years ago. I think I had used WHO's reports back then, so I'd say it's quite accurate. Here's the link: http://www.who.int/whosis/mme_2005.pdf (check Annex 3)
Yes, it's not a large percentage, but it isn't by any means negligible.

[datora]

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Thanks for the reply.  Remembered my question when I ran across this earlier tonight on another project.  Alternate resource, the U.S. CIA World Factbook, which is surprisingly unbiased and accurate when it comes to fairly pure data:

The maternal mortality rate (MMR) is the annual number of female deaths per 100,000 live births from any cause related to or aggravated by pregnancy or its management (excluding accidental or incidental causes). The MMR includes deaths during pregnancy, childbirth, or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of the pregnancy, for a specified year.

Interesting: seems to imply that if both mother & child die, they are not compiled into this statistic.

Japan listed @6:100,000, or 161 out of 172 countries for very, very low maternal mortality.  Statistically, that is pretty close to insignificant, although I would never even try to imply that any mother dying during childbirth is insignificant.

United States @24:100,000.  Pretty shocking, actually.


Didn't get to watch anime tonight    Guess I'll have to wait for Another.  (he he he!) 

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I'm guessing that twins are involved, somehow.  Just going on the title for one, but also Mei's cryptic reference to "her other half."

[dbml]

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I'm guessing that twins are involved, somehow.  Just going on the title for one, but also Mei's cryptic reference to "her other half."

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That's what I originally thought as well. But her spirit/soul is walking around, so her "other half" would probably be her body, since the morgue was down there on B2. It's either where she last saw her body, or it was cremated there, or something along those lines. I don't see it being a twin.

[Havoc10K]

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It could have something to do with the doll as well, maybe the grudge/curse manifested when it was made ?

[datora]

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Oh, yeah BTW.  Haven't seen this detail mentioned in the thread yet, in case I missed it.  Meant to ask about it and forgot before.

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Why is there no 4th floor in the hospital?  Elevator scene where Kouichi meets Mei.  Three different indicators (lights and chart on back wall) all go from 3 to 5.  No 4.

Is there a situation where a 4th floor would not appear in Real Life anywhere in the world?  Culturally significant in Japan?  Like there's pretty much never a 13-floor building, either stops at 12 or they are 14 or more.  Based on old superstitions, although I'm certain there are exceptions around.

Would the 4th floor somehow be "taboo" or something?  I don't recall the number 4 being anything weird, like an unlucky number.  Perhaps something tied into spirits/ghosts/demons/ etc. ..?

[Havoc10K]

Probably something like that, or it's being renovated, or being a floor for doctors offices or nurses training grounds for night shifts. Can be anything but I did notice that, not enough info on that makes me reluctant to even think about it yet.

[Bob2004]

It's pretty standard for Japanese hospitals to have no 4th floor, I believe. The Japanese word for four is "shi", which sounds very like the word for death ("shin"), hence it's considered to be bad luck. You see the number 4 omitted in quite a few places, I think, but it seems to be most common in hospitals.

[shako11]

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It could have something to do with the doll as well, maybe the grudge/curse manifested when it was made ?

What was said here. I started wondering about this after she obviously pointed the likeness out herself.

[kakashi6613]

Out of curiosity, when you post your comments, reactions, please mention which encodes/subs you're watching?  And, maybe a thumbs up or down how happy you are with.  Not asking for comparisons (unless you want to) ... just interested if there's a different subjective experience.

I'm watching Underwater, and the only thing I can find to complain about is the lack of honorifics, which I'm not too upset about since I always mentally add them anyway. Good font and translation from what I've seen so far. I'm not sure, but I think they are just restyling Crunchy-subs as well.


As for whoever asked why there's not a fourth floor in the hospital - the numbers nine and four are unlucky in Japan. It's exactly why there's no 13th floor in hotels and hospitals here, except for they have a reason as to why the numbers are unlucky.
Four can be said as "yon" or "shi," and "shi" means "death" in Japanese. Likewise, a pronunciation of nine is "ku," which can also mean "suffering." Four is more common though (from what I've seen), presumably because it means death.

[risho]

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Oh, yeah BTW.  Haven't seen this detail mentioned in the thread yet, in case I missed it.  Meant to ask about it and forgot before.

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Why is there no 4th floor in the hospital?  Elevator scene where Kouichi meets Mei.  Three different indicators (lights and chart on back wall) all go from 3 to 5.  No 4.

Is there a situation where a 4th floor would not appear in Real Life anywhere in the world?  Culturally significant in Japan?  Like there's pretty much never a 13-floor building, either stops at 12 or they are 14 or more.  Based on old superstitions, although I'm certain there are exceptions around.

Would the 4th floor somehow be "taboo" or something?  I don't recall the number 4 being anything weird, like an unlucky number.  Perhaps something tied into spirits/ghosts/demons/ etc. ..?

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetraphobia

[dbml]

*jaw drop* Well. I didn't see that coming.

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Assuming Misaki is the harbinger of death, then Kouichi is the catalyst that awakens her. And the way in which that girl died... DAMN! That was insane!

[datora]

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Thank you, guys, for the explanation on the 4th floor thing.  Would have been far more interesting, it seems, if there was a 4th floor present.

'Kay ... so.  Ep. 3.  Really like how they keep the creepy mood up.  Y'know, instead of getting all screaming loud shock value in your face; hope that continues.  Some reason or another everyone knows about why they should not explain things to Kouichi, at least immediately.  Reminds me of the setup/plot device for Blood C.  And, we hope this show doesn't get that ridiculous ...

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Assuming Misaki is the harbinger of death, then Kouichi is the catalyst that awakens her. And the way in which that girl died... DAMN! That was insane!

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Not sure Kouichi is the catalyst.  Maybe more like a nexus around which events are pinned?  But clearly, for other people to see her, they seem to realize their time is at an end, or some similar disaster.

Dislike that Kouichi is so slow ... Mei says she's a close cousin to Misaki, used to play with and all, and he doesn't act shocked about the time discrepancy required for that to be a fact.  But, then, all like "Me so shock!" when she poses "What if only you can see me?"  Retard.    Also interesting that Mei's first-hand experience doesn't include knowledge of the exact way in which Misaki died.  She was there, she would know.  Gonna be unimpressed if these are the type loose ends the plot will ignore.

With (we assume) the death of Sakuragi (as opposed to "just" an injury), I was wondering during the end credits if anyone other than, maybe, Kouichi will survive all the way through ... and, what 'emergency' was Sakuragi running toward ..?  Damn, but that was a grim way to go ...

Apart from that, there wasn't a 720 [ReinWeiss] today (switched over to 1080 & my current machine pretty much struggles, at best, with most 1080), so I went with Underwater.  The Underwater video quality is significantly worse; lots of severe gradient banding, some scenes a blockiness festival.  Despite significantly poorer quality, used almost all my CPU and got a bit of lag regularly; far more intensive than the [ReinWeiss] encode (which appears to be Crunchy).

Did like the typesetting; font selected "feels" better for mood and readability.  Also, like that Underwater has Karaoke, something the [ReinWeiss] is missing.

[Havoc10K]

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I'm not sure she died because people actually CAN survive a wound like that, but I sure as hell did not expect that as well, I wonder though why a teacher from some place comes running with a serious face like that and she runs out, apparently sees her, and freaking accidents and probably dies? I'm not going to be surprised if she survives that.

I think the countermeasures were so to keep him from finding out about the story or even making contact with her.
I think that every new kid sees her but thanks to countermeasures of ignoring her presence would otherwise let them go. Since even she warned him not to interact with her and he just couldn't stop himself, this would mean that she is the just an omen and he is the trigger.

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He found out some of the truth, and keeps interacting with her. People tried to stop him but he didn't listen. And now the chain of events will spring. I suspected something like this and his mother being the only survivor from last time, probably the only one that was able to see her normally and was quite like him, now we need to learn the rest of the story since that will probably explain everything that connects him and his mother with that Mai.

Having nothing to do atm at work

[datora]

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There was a vase of white flowers, lilies I think, in the classroom flashed in the preview for Ep. 4.  I'd think that does not bode well for Sakuragi ... but the preview also seems to imply at least one more casualty next Ep.  Agreed, she could possibly survive, but she was pierced clean through the neck.  Vocal chords, spinal chord don't look like they survived.  She might be better off dead ...  It's pretty clear we are being lead to assume it at this point, but could end up being a twist.

The teacher running into the classroom & then Sakuragi running out ... I think the teacher was delivering news to her, probably Not Good news about a family member.  Previews suggested what looks like a car crash.  Relative of hers?

The theory about countermeasures to keep him from interacting with Mei.  Sort of makes sense, except that once it was apparent that he was already interacting with her, then it would make sense to come clean immediately.  Damage control would be logical countermeasures once Plan A FAILed.

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So, was Sakuragi shocked to see Mei?  Or, was she shocked to see Kouichi talking with Mei?  Guess she isn't going to be telling us any time soon.

The nurse seems about the only person in the town not in on the "countermeasures."  She's asking around and getting information on Misaki yet raising no flags with anyone.  Seems a glaring oversight.  Also, wondering what her chances of survival are.

Want to know more about the dollmaker, too.  Clearly not a trivial link.  I was going to comment on the OP where we see reflections in a left eye, which I thought might be Mei's.  The green color threw me off & I was checking other characters to see who it was, since Mei's right eye is red.

Other detail: notice that the crows all seem to see Mei.  In first two Eps. they reacted directly to her presence.  Watching for other animals' reactions.

[Havoc10K]

Countermeasures failed due to 2 factors:
1-When the CM Girl was away, a few things happened, and she was not told, assuming what trivial it could have been from the outside, could have grave consequences, as seen in last ep.
2-He wasn't honest with anyone so far, and was investigating into matters on his own.

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As for the nurse, I don't think she even talks to anyone, I suspect she knows very well about the case.

And there is the doll maker, which I suspect to being one of the students from 26 years ago, the doll resembles her so closely because it was made in her image.

Mei not having one eye and having it replaced with an artificial one could suggest that some chain events happened to her so she lost her eye at her death. If what Mei is saying to be true, and she really is the cousin, then most of the mystery is already laid out in front of our eyes, and we just need to figure it out.

[BMXgunnar08]

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And there is the doll maker, which I suspect to being one of the students from 26 years ago, the doll resembles her so closely because it was made in her image.

She must be bad at aging...

[jaybug]

Are you guys typing your posts as you watch this show, or are you just that into horror flicks that dissecting this show just comes naturally?

I do not think the girl will live.

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I see Mei, so far, as just the goth chick all the red necks from the small town hate. She is shunned, for either having done something bad, or some mistake, something she did in her childhood...or maybe she was involved in a car wreck. I think all the ways she can be/ is are manifold. I don't think her story has been limited yet. She could be a ghost, but I don't think so.

[Garret02]

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Why her?! She was the best!


I know, I will pretend she's still alive and well...

[AceHigh]

That's it. Getting rid of umbrellas in this house... 

[froody1911]

There's a reason most umbrellas these days don't have that pointy end.