Anime Cinematography Blog

During the conversation about Sakurako’s autopsy of her pet cat, there was a sequence of close-up shots that only partially framed the face or didn’t show it at all. This practice is quite common in anime, especially during dramatic moments. I think these are done for an effect. Watching a dramatic exchange without seeing the character’s face is visually odd and uneasy, which is an effect that can add tension to the scene. Another effect of these types of shots is they put more emphasis on the voice acting and body language, which at times might be a more effective emotional stimulant than facial expressions. The aforementioned reasons for these odd and uneasy shots hold true for this sequence in this episode but they also match the mood of the conversation. The visually uncomfortable framing accentuated the naturally unsettling idea of dissecting a pet, an idea that really bothered Shoutarou. There was also a tension between two differing personalities that this odd ...

The major conflict in this episode was the differing beliefs between Yuri and Isozaki about the issue of suicide. After failing to find the woman they assumed to be suicidal, their disagreement came to a head at the river bank. I thought the visual storytelling in this scene was effective at displaying the conflict, understanding and compromise between the two characters. Low Angle High Angle The first set of visual devices was the commonly used high and low angles. What made the high/low angle usage in this scene a bit different than the usual was it switched on the characters. These switches were narratively driven but also done in practical manner which made the switches feel natural. If you rewatch the sequence above it starts with Isozaki at the top of the steps and Yuri at the bottom. From a practical sense in order to account for differing elevations of the characters, a low angle was used on Isozaki and a high one on Yuri. Even after Isozaki came down the...

In this episode the side view wide shot of Araragi and Oikura was used repeatedly in order to function as a constant for the lighting changes. This made the changes in lighting more perceptible, which helped it visually convey the changes in the mood of Oikura. The first shot was in the beginning of the episode. This shot was at its brightest, which matches the relatively less serious start. As Oikura reveals more about her dysfunctional family, the lighting became dimmer and the shadows heavier which accentuated her state of misery. The third shot was especially apt, since at this point she was describing Araragi’s happy family as so bright to the point of being unsettling.   The contrast between her description of his family and the dimmed room visualized how comparatively miserable her family life was. In this second sequence of shots it again started off bright although not as bright as the first couple of shots. At this point she was still using A...