Talk:Izumi Akazawa/@comment-25409301-20140911182738/@comment-397235-20140913183730

You could also see her lip biting as a sign she understands she has a temper and is making sure she doesn't do something stupid. She knows if she responds immediately she'll regret whatever she does, so she's trying to calm down.

Also, Takako didn't kill anyone; that's why I feel bad for her. That was Tomohiko, who she beats to death and then mocks.

And Izumi initially wanted to hold Kouichi responsible for Yukari's death (she does in the manga and the film, to a lesser extent); Takako's the one who tells her there's no way he could've known, and they'd better get their act together and explain things before it gets worse (in the anime, she furthermore gets the line Naoya uses to defend Mei at the Inn; she tells Izumi there wasn't anything they could've done, and trying to blame someone isn't helping matters). Takako's kind of Cassandra: nobody listens to her, but the one time everyone does is the one time nobody should have.

As for Izumi's voice breaking when she finds Takako:

I think most of us would be a little unnerved if the last place we saw our best friend was covered in blood, we heard her screaming in terror, we found one of our other classmates stabbed in the hallway, and when we did finally manage to find our friend later on, she's also covered in blood and more than a little off.

I don't think she's faking caring about Takako. On some level, yes, I think she enjoys the devotion, and she'll manipulate her to suit her own ends, but at the same time, I imagine she justifies it to herself. With the car trip, for example, she probably tells herself tricking Naoya into riding in her car ensures Junta's not mooning over Izumi, and Takako gets to spend some time with the guy she has a crush on; she also gets to be alone with Kouichi, so it's a win-win. She also cries when she finds her body. I read that as her figuring out the one person who unconditionally loves her is dead, and on some level it's Izumi's fault for letting things get so far out of hand. She's failed again and now her best friend is gone.

I never got the impression Izumi was insane in the anime (she's very insane in the movie, and she lets her paranoia run her in the manga). The anime Izumi is just very angry, and by that point, to paraphrase Judy Dench, she's so blinded by an inconsolable rage she doesn't care who she hurts.