Yes, the Another Manga Is Finished — Here’s What That Means for New Readers
Another is a completed manga. It ran from 2010 to 2012 and wrapped up in 4 volumes. There’s no ongoing publication, no indefinite pause, and no cancellation — the story reached its intended ending.
That’s a big deal for readers who’ve been burned by series that drag on forever or get cut short before the story wraps up. Another tells a self-contained supernatural horror story set in a cursed classroom, and it delivers a definitive conclusion to that mystery. You can pick it up knowing you’ll get the full experience from start to finish.
Even better for English-speaking readers: the complete series is available as a single omnibus edition from Yen Press. An omnibus is a collected volume that bundles multiple books into one — in this case, all four volumes in a single physical book. One purchase, whole story, done. You don’t need to hunt down individual volumes or worry about out-of-print gaps. It’s one of the most accessible ways to experience a finished horror manga.
Publication History and Volume Count
Another began as a horror novel by Yukito Ayatsuji (綾辻行人). The manga is an adaptation — meaning the story was originally written as prose and then retold in comic form — brought to life visually by artist Hiro Kiyohara (清原紘). Published by KADOKAWA under the Kadokawa Comics Ace (角川コミックス・エース) label, it’s a tight adaptation that doesn’t overstay its welcome.
Here are the key publication details:
- First volume release: October 2010
- Final volume release: January 2012
- Total Japanese volumes: 4
- English edition: Complete omnibus collecting all 4 volumes, published by Yen Press
- Status: Completed — not cancelled, not on pause
That roughly 15-month publication window means the story moves at a brisk pace. There’s no padding, no mid-series slump where the story feels like it’s treading water. The manga knew what it wanted to tell and told it within a compact framework.
For readers used to dark fantasy and horror series that stretch into dozens of volumes, Another’s brevity is refreshing. Four volumes is short enough to read in a single sitting if you’re in the mood for a horror binge, but substantial enough to build real atmosphere and dread before the climax.
How the English Edition Works
Rather than releasing four separate English volumes, Yen Press collected the entire manga into one omnibus. This is the standard (and currently the main) way to read Another in English. It’s a chunky, satisfying single book that gives you the complete story without any waiting between releases. Both print and digital versions are available, so you can choose whichever format you prefer.
Does the Story Reach a Satisfying Conclusion?
This is the question behind the question, right? “Is it finished?” often really means “Is it worth finishing?”
Without spoiling anything specific: yes, the central mystery is fully resolved. The curse haunting Class 3-3 of Yomiyama North Middle School gets explained, the identity behind the supernatural threat is revealed, and the story reaches a clear, definitive ending. There are no dangling plot threads left for a sequel to pick up. No ambiguous non-ending that refuses to commit. The narrative closes.
The horror atmosphere builds steadily across the four volumes. Early chapters establish an oppressive sense of wrongness — classmates who won’t make eye contact, rules nobody will explain, a rising death toll that the school treats with eerie resignation. By the final act, the tension breaks into a chaotic, visceral climax that ties the supernatural premise together.
Now, is the ending universally beloved? Not exactly. Some readers find the final reveal and its execution divisive — the shift in mood during the climax can feel abrupt compared to the gradually building dread of earlier chapters. But “divisive in execution” is very different from “unfinished” or “rushed due to cancellation.” The story ends where and how it was meant to end. Author Yukito Ayatsuji wrote the source novel to completion, and the manga faithfully adapts that complete story.
For readers who value closure, Another delivers. You won’t be left wondering what happened next or searching online for fan theories about an ending the author never wrote.
What to Read Next After Another’s Supernatural Horror
If Another’s blend of cursed settings, school-based dread, and mystery-driven horror clicked with you, here are some specific manga worth picking up next.
Supernatural Curses and Mounting Dread
Another works because it takes a simple, terrifying premise — there’s an extra person in this classroom, and people will die until the curse is satisfied — and lets the tension build slowly. If that formula appeals to you:
- Corpse Party: Blood Covered traps a group of students inside a haunted, dimensionally shifted school where vengeful spirits enforce deadly rules. Like Another, it combines an enclosed setting with a supernatural system the characters must figure out to survive. The horror is graphic — more so than Another — so be prepared for intense content.
Mystery-First Dark Horror
Another is as much a mystery as it is a horror story. The question of who the extra person is drives the plot just as much as the death toll. If you enjoyed that investigative element:
- The Promised Neverland starts with children in an idyllic orphanage who discover a horrifying truth about their home, then must use intelligence and deduction to survive. The mystery-puzzle structure and the sense of being trapped within a system of hidden rules will feel familiar to Another fans, though the series runs much longer at 20 volumes.
- Higurashi When They Cry presents a rural village where a festival curse leads to disappearances and deaths, and the protagonist must piece together what’s really happening across repeating timelines. It shares Another’s small-community paranoia and “who can you trust?” tension, with a much larger story scope.
These series all share DNA with Another’s approach — atmospheric tension over spectacle, mystery over action, and dread that comes from what you don’t know rather than what you can see.
Where to Buy the Another Manga in English
The buying situation for Another is about as simple as it gets. There’s one edition you need, and it’s easy to find.
The Yen Press Complete Omnibus collects all four Japanese volumes into a single English-language book. It’s available in both print and digital formats at major retailers, so you can choose whichever you prefer.
This is one of those rare cases where you don’t need to comparison-shop between editions or worry about box sets versus individually sold volumes. There’s one book. It has the whole story. Grab it and you’re set.
The omnibus format also makes Another a great gift for horror manga fans — it’s self-contained, so the recipient doesn’t need any prior knowledge or commitment to a long series.
Another (manga)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many volumes of Another are there?
The manga ran for 4 volumes in Japanese. In English, all four volumes are collected in a single complete omnibus from Yen Press. So depending on how you count: 4 Japanese volumes, 1 English book.
Is the Another manga the same story as the anime?
Both the manga and the anime (an animated TV series adaptation) are based on the same source material — Yukito Ayatsuji’s horror novel Another. They tell the same core story about the curse of Class 3-3 at Yomiyama North Middle School. There are differences in how scenes are presented and paced between the two versions, but the central mystery and its resolution are the same. If you’ve seen the anime and are wondering whether the manga offers a meaningfully different experience, the biggest change is the medium itself — manga lets you control the pacing and linger on the atmospheric artwork in a way animation doesn’t.
Is there a sequel manga to Another?
The original Another manga that ran from 2010 to 2012 is a complete, standalone story. Yukito Ayatsuji did write a sequel novel called Another 2001, but the original manga’s story stands entirely on its own and doesn’t require any sequel to feel complete. If you’re curious about Another 2001, checking the publisher’s current catalog is the best way to find out whether a manga adaptation exists.
Is Another too scary for younger readers?
Another deals with death, gore, and supernatural horror. The death toll is significant, and some deaths are depicted graphically. It’s a horror title aimed at older teens and adults — think mature high-school age and up — who are comfortable with dark, violent content. If you’re buying it for someone else, it’s worth knowing that the series doesn’t shy away from showing characters dying in disturbing ways. That graphic content is central to the horror premise, not incidental to it.
How long does it take to read?
With only 4 volumes’ worth of content in the omnibus, most readers can finish Another in a few hours. It’s a great pick for a weekend horror binge or a single extended reading session. The pacing is tight enough that it’s hard to put down once the mystery hooks you.