Sora no Method Episode 3

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The drama in the latter parts of this episode was constructed cohesively. I particularly liked the use of cross cutting between Nonoka at the old kindergarten and her friends in the forest as a way to form a parallel about how they’re all trying to piece together the past.

This portion of the episode was strongly focused on recounting the past. The kindergarten scene was particular effective in communicating this theme.

When seeing an abandoned building, thoughts of its uses in the past and how it has been left behind by time come to mind. This scene illicit similar feelings. As Nonoka walks around the kindergarten school, the scenery stirs up thoughts of its past when the classrooms were filled with children and the playground was full of activity during recess. These thoughts of the past were strongly pertinent to the drama.
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This scene also effectively used insert shots to slow the pacing down to build up drama. The simple act of sitting down and putting down a backpack accentuated the lonely looking centered shot of Nonoka sitting by herself.
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This might look a bit gimmicky but I thought the use of quick zoom to an extreme close up graphic match was a creative way of transitioning in and out of a flashback. The abrupt zoom conveys the suddenness of Nonoka’s realization of the past.

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