Izumi Akazawa

""Honestly, you're terrible. You're supposed to say you remember, even if it isn't true.""

- Izumi Akazawa's last words.

Izumi Akazawa is the head of countermeasures and later on becomes the Class Officer of Class 3-3 of 1998 at Yomiyama North Middle School. She is in the drama club with Aya Ayano and Yumi Ogura. She remembers having met Kouichi Sakakibara somewhere previously, but cannot remember where or in what context.

Manga Continuity
Main Article: Izumi Akazawa/Manga

Izumi is a major character in the manga and fills much the same role as she would later on in the anime (her role in that adaptation having apparently been inspired by her larger role in the manga; Izumi was a minor character in the original novel).

Anime Continuity
One and a half years before the events of Another, Izumi had a cousin, thought they were raised more like siblings. Unfortunately he died as a result of the 3-3 class calamity, possibly either by suicide or accident. On the path next to the riverside, a distraught Izumi called her cousin an idiot for dying and furiously kicked a can lying on the ground. The can flew and accidentally hit someone on the path at the bottom of the grassy hill. As Izumi rushed down the hill to apologize she lost her balance and fell, landing at the bottom. The boy she hit with the can, Kouichi Sakakibara, offered her a hand. Touched, Izumi accepted. Kouchi noticed that Izumi looked upset, and she tells him that she lost someone close. He admits that he has also lost someone, having visited Yomiyama that day to attend the funeral of a relative. It is unknown how their encounter ended, but Kouichi later returned to Tokyo.

After the calamity began one and a half years later and the extra one for that year entered the class, Izumi's memory of this encounter was altered along with Kouichi's, but she still recalled the impression of Kouichi's hand when it held hers, and for most of the series she would struggle to recall her memory.

At the very first day of the school year (before Kouichi transferred), Izumi volunteered herself to be the head of countermeasures for Class 3-3, out of determination to ensure that the calamity that killed her brother never happens again. At the same time, fellow student Mei Misaki is chosen as the 'non-existant', to balance out the number of students and prevent the calamity, and it became Izumi's job to enforce this countermeasure. However, complications arose when Kouichi returns to Yomiyama to live with his grandparents and aunt Reiko and becomes the transfer student for Class 3-3. Since the non-existant had already been chosen, they, the class officers, the class teaches and his aunt Reiko an alumni of the class, failed to tell Kouichi about the curse, merely repeating mantra to "uphold class rules" without explaining what they were, as it would mean acknowledging that there is an extra, leaving Izumi and the rest of the class in a difficult position for the first half of the series.

In "Rough Sketch", the new transfer student Kouichi is admitted to hospital with a collapsed lung, forcing him to miss the first couple of weeks of school. As he was recovering, Izumi, along with class representatives Kazami and Yukari, paid him a visit on behalf of the class, and partly to see if he was the extra one that year. After they ask him several questions regarding whether or not he had been in Yomiyama before, Izumi offers to shake his hand, since there was a rumor that the extra one's hands felt cold to touch. When Kouichi accepted, Izumi's hand remembered the impression of his, but Izumi was unable to recall the memory.

Later she was upset with herself for being absent on Kouichi's first day in class.

Like the others, she hesitated to tell Kouichi about the class curse after Yukari's death, a decision she comes to regret later.

In "Put Flesh", she and Naoya had an argument in the background when they hear a huge crash through Kouichi's cell phone (which was Sanae Mizuno's elevator collapsing.) She held a grudge against Mei and Kouichi for disregarding the rules and therefore causing most of the deaths. Then in "Build Limbs", she apologized for no readily apparent reason to Kouichi, telling him it was for everyone's safety. From that moment on, she and the rest of the class ignored him. Later in  "Build Limbs," Kouichi returns to the empty classroom to see that the class had elected a new female class representative. Izumi had received 24 votes to 2 votes for Aya Ayano. Kubodera-sensei, walking past the empty classroom, confirms the election to Kouichi.

In Episode 7, after she witnessed Mr. Kubodera's death, she confronted Kouichi and the others on the rooftop. In the next scene, when Kouichi and Mei visit Chibiki-sensei in his office they pass Izumi leaving. Chibiki tells them that Izumi had been consulting him about countermeasures. Later on, Izumi met with Kouichi, Teshigawara and Mochizuki in the Inoya Cafe. They acquired information about Katsumi Matsunaga and decided to look for him for help to solve the calamity.

In Episode 8, the team went out of Yomiyama to look for Matsunaga and they had fun at the beach while waiting for his call; Izumi took her Countermeasures partner Takako with her, as well as their mutual friend Junta Nakao, a decision Izumi came to regret. While not accomplishing much, Izumi played with her friends at the beach while they waited for Matsunaga to get off work. There fun was cut short, however, when Junta was hit by a yacht and eviscerated.

In Episode 9, after Nakao's funeral she walked the still-shaken Takako Sugiura home; she took time out from looking after her friend to glare at Kouichi and Mei, who she held responsible for his death.



In Episode 10, at the beginning of the episode, Izumi dreams of the day she met Kouichi, while mourning her brother's death. During the first dinner the class trip, she gave a speech on the curse issue, demanding an apology from Mei for allowing the deaths to continue. The confrontation is cut short by Daisuke Wakui 's asthma attack, and he's sent to the hospital.

In Episode 11, she talks about Mei's past with Takako. Later when Kouichi and the others are in the hall, she heard the ruckus and went to check. They heard a scream and Izumi recognized Takako's voice. They hurried up to Izumi's room and found the door stained with blood. Takako was missing, but she later appears with a blade and tries to kill Mei. Izumi was shocked and was pushed to the side. Takako later escapes and Izumi tells Kouichi and Mei about how she, as the head of countermeasures, had to listen to the tape. A few seconds later, Takako broadcasts the tape and tells everyone that Mei is the dead one, asking everyone to kill her. At the end of the episode, Izumi finds Kouichi and Mei standing near Takako's body, much to her shock and horror. Izumi draws the wrong conclusion and thinks Mei killed Takako. She becomes enraged and vows to kill Mei.

In Episode 12, when Kazami attempts to kill Kouichi, Izumi steps in to save Kouichi and hits Kazami with a metal rod, knocking him unconscious. She then attempts to deal a fatal blow to Kazami as she believes Kazami does not deserve to live for murdering two classmates. However, she was stopped by Chibiki-Sensei as he feels classmates should not kill each other and Izumi runs off. Later, she finds Mei and attempts to kill her. However, Kouichi stops her to protect Mei and attempts to reason with her. She ignores him and says that she must kill Mei to end the calamity and protect everyone. When Izumi finally gets a hold of Mei, Kouchi knocks Izumi off of her then restraining her to prevent her from attacking Mei. Feeling the emotion of both anger and sadness she knee-jabs him in the groin then hits him with a metal rod causing him to fall backwards on Mei. Tears in her eyes, she shouts at him saying why he was protecting Mei and that all she wanted to do was protect him and everyone else. Asking if he had some sort of deathwish she attempted to kill Kouchi, but at that moment, lightning strikes. The lightning shatters the hall's giant window, and large glass shards are sent flying towards them. Izumi ends up being skewered against the wall by the glass shards. Kouichi, shocked, removes her from the wall. While lying on the floor bleeding, Izumi tells Kouichi that they had actually met before, one and a half years ago. She was upset over the loss of her brother and kicked a can from the top of the riverbank, which hit Kouichi who was down below. She rushed down to apologize but tripped and fell and had to be helped up by Kouichi. She asks whether Kouichi remembers this and he replies that he doesn't. Disappointed that he doesn't remember, she tells him that he should at least pretend to remember before she dies. Kouichi says her name, but before he could say anything else, an explosion occurs. The building buries Izumi in the rubble, as Kouichi and Mei escape.

Appearance
She has long reddish-brown hair that she wears in pigtails held up by two blue ribbons, and brown eyes. She is typically seen wearing the school's standard uniform, though she has worn different outfits - a pink-and-white dress in Episode 6 and a red blouse with a white miniskirt in episode 8. Her hair is shorter in the manga, though it's worn in the same style, except when at home, where she leaves her hair down.

In the live action film, she has dark hair, which she keeps cut short; ironic, as her hair is by far the longest of any character in the anime or manga.



Personality
In the manga, Izumi isn't very sociable to new people, rarely conversing with anyone aside from close friends such as Yukari Sakuragi. When she does speak with someone, she is straightforward and sometimes confrontational. This stems from a troubled home life, where she often has to deal with her reclusive and unstable older brother. Her troubles also cause her to resent anyone who is able to deal with heavy burdens with hardly any suffering, especially Mei Misaki.

As the calamity claims several people around her, including people she cares about, Izumi grows more and more unstable, culminating in her attempting to kill Mei after she becomes convinced that Mei is the extra. After Mei survives the assault and assures her that despite the calamity, she is still alive, Izumi regains her mental stability and even develops a sense of humor.

In the anime, Izumi is the straightforward, unabashed, and strong leader of the Countermeasures at Yomiyama Middle School's 3rd year class. She has a bit of a tsundere personality. Izumi is impulsive and irascible, even though she puts on a show of being tough she is actually rather fragile and can be shown to have a tender side. While she doesn't hesitate to blame others when misfortune occurs, she is humble enough to admit responsibility herself if she makes mistakes.

Izumi has a strong protective nature, which is probably why she volunteered to be head of countermeasures in the first place. On several occasions she can be seen trying to console her friends, most notably Aya after Kubodera's suicide, and Takako after the latter became depressed following Junta's death. Despite her outwardly harsh personality, Izumi cares deeply for her friends, and her inability to protect them (especially Takako) leads to her repeated attempts to kill Mei in the series finale.

Over the course of the series she grows to resent Mei for apparently starting the calamity, and also seemed to dislike Kouichi for constantly fraternizing with her. It was eventually revealed that she was actually quite fond of him, with hints of romantic attraction. However, at the end of the series, the death of her loved ones and the threat of the calamity eventually causes Izumi to put those feelings aside, as she concludes the only way to end the curse and protect her friends is to kill Mei...even if that means killing Kouichi in the process.

Kouichi Sakakibara
Izumi first seems intrigued by Kouichi as she feels that they have met before. Izumi had held suspiscions that Kouichi was the dead student at one point. When informed of Kouichi asking about Mei Misaki, she vaguely warns him and shows signs of beginning to dislike him, as he's putting the entire class in jeopardy. However later on in the series she begins to like him and appreciates his presence, rebuffing Naoya's advances to ride with him to the beach. Other points she tries to get closer or better to know him include her calling him by his first name, wanting to go to the same school as him to get closer to him, and sitting next to him in the cafe and car ride to the beach.

Whatever feelings Izumi had for Kouichi, she'd expressed to Takako, which actually saved his life, as Takako went out of her way to avoid killing him, as it would devastate Izumi. However, once Takako died, Izumi became actively hostile toward both Mei and Kouichi, holding Mei responsible for her friend's death and furious with Kouichi for defending her. However, she was still willing to protect Kouichi, beating Tomohiko Kazami to death when he attempted to murder their classmate. Still, when Izumi confronted Mei, Kouichi's intervention pushed her into attacking him and asking if he had a death wish when he protected Mei. However, upon being mortally wounded by flying glass, Izumi relented, finally remembering where she'd met Kouichi. Her last words were to him, half-jokingly telling him he was terrible, and teasing him for still not remembering her and not lying to make her feel better.

Izumi's first meeting with Kouichi left a strong impression on her, as she was able to remember bits and pieces of it despite the curse having altered events so Kouichi wasn't present at the time. This suggests, however briefly the two had known each other, she felt a strong connection to him.

In the manga, Izumi blames Kouichi for Yukari's death, and at several points glares at him, claiming she'll never forgive him for this. Izumi's angry confrontation with Mei at the inn is enough to cause Kouichi's lung problems to flare, and she never apologizes to him for this. The two aren't especially close or friendly in this adaptation.

In the live action film, Izumi and Takako take an interest in their new classmate and start following him one day after class; they are both horrified to learn he was going to Mei's home. Izumi's first major scene with Kouichi is at the inn, when she demands Mei apologize to the class for making the curse worse. Kouichi stands up for his friend, asking Izumi if she thinks everything is Mei's fault. Izumi doesn't reply to this, though Takako suggests Kouichi should bear part of the blame as well. The two don't speak again.

Mei Misaki
It is unknown how much of a hand Izumi had in Mei's being chosen as the student to be shunned, and because of the Countermeasures the two don't often speak. However, as more and more people die (including Yukari, one of Izumi's best friends), Izumi becomes increasingly hostile toward her, going so far as to single her out on the school trip in front of everyone and demand an apology, as she saw Mei as the sole person responsible for the calamity that year. This is possibly because Izumi may believed Mei could have resisted Kouichi's attempts to talk to her, but didn't.

Still, unlike the vast majority of her classmates, Izumi didn't believe Takako's broadcast and didn't attack Mei, instead going looking for her friend to try and reason with her. Unfortunately for all three girls, Izumi was too late, and upon finding Mei standing with Takako's body, having apparently just murdered her, Izumi flew into a rage, vowing to kill her in revenge. Izumi's hatred burned deeply, going so far as trying to kill Kouichi when he tried to protect Mei (something even Takako had hesitated to do). Izumi's vendetta against Mei led to her own death, when, about to kill Mei, a window exploded and impaled her to a wall. Dying mellowed Izumi, and she calmed down considerably before dying in front of Kouichi and Mei.

In the manga Izumi's relationship with Mei is much more developed, as Izumi resents Mei's stoic acceptance of her role as the nonexistent student. Though the two have much in common, Izumi is jealous of Mei's calm demeanor. She attacked Mei in the kitchen during the school trip, having convinced herself Mei is the extra student, and stabbed her in her glass eye, unaware of the prosthesis. Mei survived this, however, and bearing Izumi no ill will, instructed her to flee the now burning kitchen, lest she become another victim of the curse.

In the live action film, Izumi is more immediately hostile toward Mei. She follows Kouichi one day, and is horrified to realize he's been tailing Mei himself. At the inn, Izumi berates Takako for trying to sit with Mei and Kouichi, before digging into them herself, commenting how the class has so easily accepted Mei back into the fold and blaming her for everything. Later on, Izumi becomes convinced Takako is the Extra, and stabs her in the throat. Mei and Naoya arrive almost immediately afterward, saving the other girl's life. Tomohiko accuses Naoya of killing Yuuya, causing him to panic and flee, only to be electrocuted by loose wires outside their room. Izumi, realizing nearly killing her only friend hasn't solved anything, decides, therefore, Mei must be the extra, and chases her into the woods, only to decapitate herself on a cable. Mei is horrified by this, and stares at her body in shock for a few seconds.

Naoya Teshigawara
Izumi, doesn't have much patience for Naoya, seeing him as an idiot. After hearing of Teshigawara's promises to explain the history of Class 3 to Kouichi without her permission, she was furious.

In the anime and manga, Naoya has a rather obvious crush on her, which Izumi does not return, refusing to sit by him on the trip to the beach and generally disliking his attitude, often calling him a jerk or an idiot. The two interact the most on the beach trip, as Naoya had deliberately paired himself with Izumi as the kids tried to catch their lunch; however, Izumi spent most of the day either furious with Naoya or flirting with Kouichi, much to Naoya's irritation.

In both iterations (and the original novel) Naoya stands up to her when she confronts Mei in front of the entire class, showing however strongly he feels about Izumi, this doesn't extend to him allowing her to abuse his friends. However, in the manga, Izumi survives, and upon waking up in the hospital, finds Naoya waiting for her. This implies the two may at least be on friendly terms in the post calamity.

This relationship is not present in the live action film, however, as both Naoya and Izumi are minor characters. While trying to escape the inn with Mei, however, Naoya made a point of finding Izumi and Takako to warn them to leave the inn. Entering the girls' room, they found a horrified Tomohiko and an angry Izumi, standing over Takako with a bloody knife. Shocked by this, Naoya demanded an explanation, but Tomohiko interrupted and accused Naoya of killing Yuuya. Panicking, Naoya fled, only to get electrocuted outside the inn by a loose wire. His death caused Izumi to realize the curse was still active and attacking Takako hadn't solved anything, and prompted her to attack Mei next.

Yukari Sakuragi
In the anime what, if any, relationship Izumi had with Yukari is not developed. Though the two were apparently at least on friendly terms, they never interacted on screen outside of a handful of scenes. Yukari seems to be afraid of Izumi, confiding to Kouichi she and the others have to be careful lest "Akazawa yell at us;" later on, Yukari nervously tries to placate Izumi when the later expresses frustration over her faulty memories concerning Kouichi. While Izumi was upset over her classmate's death, the two don't seem to have been especially close.

This is different in the manga. Izumi and Yukari were shown to be good friends since they were young. Izumi cared a lot about Yukari, keeping a picture of them together on her desk, and blamed Kouichi and Mei for her death, as they ignored the class rules, which she believed activated the curse. After Yukari's death, Izumi can often be seen glaring at Kouichi, at one point even saying she'll never forgive him. In one chapter Izumi sat in her bed and despaired, crying for Yukari to save her from the curse. Yukari's death isolated Izumi, who felt alone and no longer had anyone to discuss her problems with. This loneliness led her to attack Mei at the inn. When Chibiki rescued Izumi from the burning inn, Yukari's name was one of the two Izumi muttered, the other being her brother's.

Takako Sugiura
Izumi and Takako are best friends, sharing a room together on the school trip. Izumi seems to care a lot for Takako, escorting her home after Junta's death and later expressing concern for her well being, commenting that ever since she's been increasingly unstable. Takako expresses relief upon encountering her in the inn, having just been attacked by the inn keeper, commenting she'd rather die if Izumi had been killed. However, Izumi doesn't listen to Takako's broadcast, refusing to attack Mei as she doesn't believe she's the Extra.

In Episode 11, Izumi went looking for Takako to try and calm her down. Unfortunately, she was too late, and Takako attacked Mei a second time, accidentally killing herself in the process. Arriving just in time to see this, but unaware of the context, Izumi flew into a rage, vowing to kill Mei in revenge.

In the manga, the two aren't especially close, though Takako is the only person to openly side with Izumi at the inn, though she stops just short of actually suggesting the entire calamity is Mei's fault, merely saying she thinks Yukari died avoiding her.

In the original novel, Kouichi comments Takako puts her loyalty to Izumi above all else, even common sense, and is usually joined to her at the hip. The two seem to be close friends; both are killed together at the Inn.

Likewise, in the live action film, the two have an odd relationship, as among other things Izumi never calls Takako by anything other than her last name, suggesting the two aren't especially close; their relationship tends to be much more abusive and unhealthy. While Izumi calms Takako down after she learns she's to be "the one who does not exist" for the year, the two aren't especially friendly. Izumi and Takako trail Kouichi to Mei's aunt's studio early on, and are horrified to learn where they are. The two sit together on the bus to the inn, and share a room. At dinner that night, Takako attempts to sit with Mei and Kouichi, only for Izumi to irritably snap at her and tell her to sit somewhere else. Like Izumi, Takako confronts Mei and Kouichi at the inn, telling Kouichi she blames him for the calamity.

When Tomohiko tells the girls how to break the curse, Takako adamantly refuses to kill anyone, which angers Izumi. A short in the inn's electrical system traps them in the girls' room and makes Izumi suspicious of her roommate. Telling her she's always pretended to be "a good girl," Izumi informs Takako she thinks she's the Extra, prompting an angry response from Tomohiko. The two argue, but Izumi wins and stabs Takako in the throat. Shortly thereafter, Mei and Naoya arrive and find Izumi standing over the injured girl, who was desperately trying not to bleed to death. Almost immediately afterward, Naoya is killed, causing Izumi to realize trying to kill Takako hasn't solved anything. Unconcerned, she attacked Mei next, leaving Tomohiko to help Takako escape.

Tomohiko Kazami
Izumi and Tomohiko worked together as class representatives, though their duties in this role aren't shown very often. In matters pertaining to countermeasures Tomohiko deferred to Izumi, as this was her area of expertise. Still, the two were apparently friendly, as Izumi referred to him as "Kazami-kun" at least once. However, as things began to unravel at the inn, Tomohiko opted to take matters into his own hands and start murdering his classmates. Having encountered the corpses of two of his other victims, Izumi put a stop to his rampage before Tomohiko could kill Kouichi, who Tomohiko was convinced was the extra student. After hearing Tomohiko blame Kouichi for their mutual friend Yukari's death, Izumi killed him with an iron bar she'd acquired earlier (presumably to kill Mei).

Standing over Tomohiko's body, she berated him for thinking Kouichi was the extra, as well as his earlier murders, before coldly offering to help him die as he didn't deserve to live. As a consolation, she informed him he'd be able to keep Yukari company. Izumi prepared to hit him again, only to be stopped by Chibiki, who informed her classmates shouldn't be killing each other.

In the manga, Tomohiko is a class representative and countermeasures officer, alongside Izumi. The two don't often interact, though Tomohiko was with Yuuya and Naoya when the latter went to check on her in the hospital, and often liked to tease his friend about his obvious crush on Izumi.

In the live action film, Tomohiko tells Izumi and Takako how to end the curse. Immediately afterward, the lights go out due to faulty wiring, sealing them in the girls' room. Izumi becomes convinced Takako is the extra, but Tomohiko defends her, prompting Izumi to ask him whose side he's on. Though he was against it, Tomohiko didn't raise a hand to protect his friend, who Izumi stabbed in the throat. However, Tomohiko was shocked by this, and rather than pursue Mei like Izumi, he instead opted to help Takako to safety.

Kazuma Akazawa
Kazuma Akazawa is Izumi's older brother in the manga and cousin in the anime. He was mentally unstable and often locked himself in his room. He does not appear in the anime, although his name was seen in the Class 3-3 list of 1996, and it is implied heavily that he is dead in that universe, and that furthermore Izumi first met Kouichi at his funeral.

In Chapter 17 of the manga, Kazuma commits suicide by hanging himself in his room. Izumi, who'd noticed his room was quiet, went to check on him, and found his body. His death devastated her, though she tried to hide this; this, coupled with Yukari's death, was what motivated Izumi to attend the class trip, in order to break the curse. After being rescued from the burning inn, a delirious Izumi muttered Kazuma and Yukari's names, suggesting their deaths were her motivations for attacking Mei in the first place.

Kazuma is only indirectly mentioned in the anime, during Izumi's flashback, as she was sobbing by the river and cursing her "stupid brother." This suggests that he'd killed himself, as Izumi was angry over his death. It was after Kazuma's funeral Izumi met Kouichi.

Kazuma is indirectly mentioned in the film, as Izumi worries for the safety of her parents and brother upon seeing Yukari's death.

Gallery
Main article: Izumi Akazawa/Image Gallery

Quotes

 * "In simple terms, I'm the one who's in charge of devising and executing countermeasures to protect our whole class."
 * "Don't judge a book by its cover."
 * "Let me apologize in advance. I'm sorry. But this is for all of us. Forgive us."
 * "Honestly, I miss one day of school, and this is what happens?!"
 * "Misaki...Mei...I'll kill you!"
 * "It's your fault."
 * "We're the same."
 * "Idiot, Kouichi isn't dead. But you...You've killed two people. You don't deserve to live. I'll help you die. You can keep Yukari company."
 * "Honestly, you're terrible. You're supposed to say you remember, even if it isn't true."

Trivia

 * She is ranked A+ in Another characters ranking.
 * In class she sits in the first row of the column of desks by the window. Behind her sits San Watanabe, and on her right sits Manabu Maejima.
 * Her first name, Izumi, means fountain or spring.Another 87.jpg
 * Her home address is 1-1 Akatsukicho Yomiyama City.
 * In the original novel, Izumi is a minor character that doesn't appear until page 256. While she is mentioned periodically, the first speaking lines she has isn't until her confrontation with Mei at the Sakitani Kinenkan near the conclusion of the book. Her role has been greatly expanded in every adaptation since.
 * In the manga, she tried to kill Mei, stabbing her left eye. A moment later, a cupboard fell on her, and she was rescued by Chibiki afterward. During this time, Mei disappeared, leaving the scene. Izumi later regretted her attempt to kill Mei. She was seen in the last chapter at the hospital, where she had cut her hair shorter.
 * Izumi's hand is said to be able to recall the impression of someone who once shook hands with her.
 * Izumi survived in the manga. She is, however, killed in every other adaption.
 * Izumi is the first of three people that the audience can see the color of death on in Mei's POV. The second being Reiko Mikami and the third being Misaki Fujioka (Though by airdate order she was the first).
 * Izumi is the only deceased character to appear in all of the openings and the only female to do so.
 * In the anime, Kouichi calls Izumi by her first name in Episodes 10 and 12 but in the rest of the series he called her by her last name.