Another Manga Reading Order — Start With the Complete Omnibus
Here’s the short version: Another is a four-volume completed manga written by Yukito Ayatsuji and illustrated by Hiro Kiyohara. It was originally published in Japan by KADOKAWA under the Kadokawa Comics Ace label between 2010 and 2012. The story is fully self-contained — beginning, middle, and end, all wrapped up.
For English readers, Yen Press released the entire series as a single Complete Omnibus collecting all four Japanese volumes in one book. That omnibus is the reading order. You pick it up, you start on page one, and you read straight through to the finish. No detours, no companion volumes, no required supplementary material.
The manga is based on a horror novel by Yukito Ayatsuji, but it stands completely on its own. You don’t need to have read the novel or watched the anime to follow the manga’s story. Everything you need is on the page.
As for what that story actually is — a transfer student named Koichi Sakakibara arrives at Yomiyama North Middle School and is placed in the infamous Class 3-3. Something is deeply wrong with this classroom. His classmates are terrified of something they refuse to explain, and a quiet girl named Mei Misaki sits alone, treated as though she doesn’t exist. What unfolds is a curse, a body count, and a mystery that keeps tightening its grip right up to the final pages.
English Omnibus vs Japanese Volumes — Which Edition to Choose
If you’re reading Another in English, the decision is already made for you — but let’s lay out the details so you know exactly what you’re getting.
Japanese Edition
The original Japanese release consists of four individual volumes published by KADOKAWA under the Kadokawa Comics Ace label:
- Volume 1 — Released October 4, 2010
- Volume 2 — Released March 4, 2011
- Volume 3 — Released September 3, 2011
- Volume 4 — Released January 2012
These are the standard collected volumes that gathered the manga’s individual chapters — originally published in a magazine — into book form.
English Edition
Yen Press collected all four Japanese volumes into a single Complete Omnibus. This is the only official English-language print edition of the Another manga. There was no volume-by-volume English release — Yen Press went straight to the omnibus format.
| Feature | Japanese Edition | English Omnibus |
|---|---|---|
| Publisher | KADOKAWA (Kadokawa Comics Ace) | Yen Press |
| Number of books | 4 volumes | 1 omnibus |
| Content | Complete series | Complete series |
The practical takeaway: if you want to read Another in English, the Yen Press omnibus is your only official option in print, and it’s a good one. Hiro Kiyohara’s artwork is fully preserved with no content cuts. The omnibus format actually works well for this series — Another is the kind of story that rewards sustained reading sessions, and having everything bound together means you won’t hit a cliffhanger and have to track down the next volume. At over 700 pages, you can comfortably finish it in one or two sittings.
For digital readers, look for the same Yen Press omnibus edition through major digital manga platforms.
The Complete Reading Order — Volume by Volume
Even though the English edition collects everything in one book, the story still follows the original four-volume structure internally. Knowing what each section covers can help you pace yourself and appreciate how the mystery builds, so here’s what to expect — kept spoiler-light so the story stays intact.
Volume 1 — The Curse Begins
Koichi Sakakibara transfers into Class 3-3 at Yomiyama North Middle School. Something is immediately off. His classmates are skittish and evasive. They seem bound by unspoken rules they won’t explain to the new kid. And then there’s Mei Misaki — a pale, eye-patched girl who sits alone and whom everyone else pretends doesn’t exist.
Volume 1 sets the atmosphere beautifully. Kiyohara’s art establishes an uneasy stillness in the school hallways, the kind of quiet that makes you hold your breath waiting for something terrible to happen. The curse that haunts Class 3-3 is introduced in fragments — pieces of a terrifying picture that the reader has to assemble alongside Koichi.
Volume 2 — Deaths Escalate
The curse becomes undeniable. Classmates and people connected to Class 3-3 begin dying in sudden, violent ways. What might have been dismissed as coincidence in Volume 1 turns into a clear and horrifying pattern.
Paranoia takes hold of the class. Students turn on each other, looking for explanations and someone to blame. Koichi’s relationship with Mei deepens as the two begin trying to understand the rules of the curse — and whether it can be stopped. The pacing accelerates here, with the tension ratcheting up significantly from the deliberately measured opening.
Volume 3 — Searching for the Truth
The focus shifts toward investigation. Koichi, Mei, and other classmates dig into the history of Class 3-3 and the curse that has plagued it for decades. The origin of the phenomenon starts to come into focus, along with a possible — if terrible — method for ending it.
The stakes are at their highest in Volume 3. The death toll continues to climb, and the pressure on the surviving students becomes almost unbearable. Kiyohara’s artwork gets more intense here, contrasting quiet investigative scenes with sudden bursts of horror.
Volume 4 — The Final Revelation
Everything converges. The identity of the “extra student” — the central mystery that the entire series has been building toward — is finally revealed. The climax is both a resolution to the supernatural puzzle and an emotional reckoning for the surviving characters.
Without spoiling specifics: the ending is satisfying. The mystery gives the reader all the clues needed to piece things together, and the hints scattered throughout the earlier volumes click into place. It’s the kind of conclusion that makes you want to flip back to the beginning and re-read with fresh eyes.
Anime and Novel — How They Fit With the Manga
Another exists in three forms: a novel, a manga, and an anime. All three tell the same core story — the curse of Class 3-3, Koichi and Mei’s investigation, and the final revelation. But they’re each standalone versions. You can experience any one of them without needing the others. In other words, the same story has been retold across different formats — much like how a Hollywood film might be based on a book, each version is a complete experience on its own.
Here’s how they relate:
- The novel by Yukito Ayatsuji came first. It’s the original version and the most detailed telling of the story. The English translation is published by Yen Press, so it’s readily available if you want to pick it up.
- The manga by Hiro Kiyohara is a visual retelling of the novel. It condenses and reimagines certain elements to work in manga form, with Kiyohara’s atmospheric artwork adding a distinct identity.
- The anime covers the same story and is another complete retelling.
If you want to experience the full series across all three formats, a good suggested order would be: novel → manga → anime. The novel gives you the original, most complete telling. The manga then lets you see Kiyohara’s visual interpretation of those same events. The anime offers yet another take with voice acting, music, and animation bringing the horror to life.
But here’s the important thing — none of that is required. Each version stands alone. If you only want to read the manga, you’ll get the complete story with a clear beginning, middle, and end. Nothing will feel missing.
There are slight differences between versions in pacing and emphasis. Certain scenes hit harder in one format than another, and the way suspense is built varies with the strengths of each medium. The core mystery and its resolution, though, remain the same across all three.
Tips for First-Time Readers
A few things worth knowing before you start:
This is genuine horror manga. Another features graphic death scenes and a persistently unsettling atmosphere throughout. The deaths are sudden, sometimes gruesome, and designed to shock. Kiyohara’s art doesn’t shy away from the violence when the curse strikes. If you’re sensitive to depictions of violent death, be aware going in. That said, the horror serves the story — it’s not gratuitous but rather a core part of what makes the curse feel threatening and real.
Guard yourself against spoilers. The central mystery of Another is designed to unfold alongside the characters’ own discovery. Knowing the answer to “who is the extra student?” before you read fundamentally changes the experience, and not for the better. Stay away from wikis, discussion threads, and comment sections until you’ve finished.
Kiyohara’s art is a huge part of the appeal. The manga’s visual identity is defined by eerie stillness — empty hallways, lingering close-ups on faces, quiet panels that build dread through what they don’t show. When the violence arrives, it’s all the more shocking for the contrast. Even if you’ve already experienced the anime or novel, Kiyohara’s artwork gives the manga its own distinct atmosphere worth experiencing.
It’s a great entry point for horror manga newcomers. At four volumes collected in a single book, Another is short, self-contained, and fully complete. There’s no multi-year commitment, no waiting for future releases, and no sprawling cast to keep track of. It tells one tight mystery story and wraps it up cleanly. If you’re curious about horror manga and dark fantasy — a subgenre that blends supernatural or fantastical elements with grim, frightening themes — this is a strong place to start.
Looking for more after you finish? Yukito Ayatsuji wrote a novel sequel called Another 2001 that continues the story beyond where the manga ends. Yen Press published the English translation in December 2022, so it’s readily available for English readers. If the curse of Class 3-3 hooks you, the sequel is a natural next step.
Start Reading the Another Manga Reading Order Today
Another is one of those rare series where the reading order discussion takes about ten seconds: get the Yen Press Complete Omnibus, open it, and read. Four volumes of tightly constructed horror mystery in a single book, fully complete with no loose ends and no future releases to wait for.
The story is genuinely gripping — a cursed classroom, a mounting death toll, and a central mystery that keeps you turning pages right through to its satisfying conclusion. Hiro Kiyohara’s artwork perfectly captures the creeping dread of Yukito Ayatsuji’s original story, and the omnibus format lets you experience it all in one or two sittings, which is honestly the best way to feel the full weight of the atmosphere.
If you’ve been eyeing this series, grab the omnibus and settle in for a dark, tense read.
Another (manga)