Anime Cinematography Blog

A look back on the first episode of a classic.

In the Episode 7 and  Episode 8 write-ups I talked about the show's great sense of scale and speed, and usage of camera movements and slow-motion. The scene below exemplifies all of that but what stuck out to me happened around the 00:20 mark. The camera tracks Nagate as he avoids another attack, it then pans to the rest of the platoon that are about to enter the Gauna. I thought this was a good use of camera movement to transition from out pivotal moment to another.

After the truth behind Kaori's selective memory loss was revealed, Hase withdrew himself from her out of fear of hurting her and getting hurt. Consequentially, a gap between the two has formed.  This episode uses the scenic shots of a bridge as an imagery of the reconnect and the closing of the gap between Hase and Kaori. Perhaps its usage was a bit strong and made the episode too predictable but it was still a good example of using scenery to complement the narrative. _____________________________________________________________________ Here's a couple of more examples of scenery being used for imagery. After the cold open, the episode title intro starts with a shot of the gray overcast with the camera panning down. This image is indicative of the cloudy and uncertain relationship between Hase and Kaori. After the two reconciled, the episode ends with the camera panning up to the clearer and bluer skies, an i mage reflecting the optimism  betwee...

Yuasa and his animators really went all out with the camera movement for this finale. The video below is only the warm up. It starts with a medium shot of Smile and Peco in their stance to establish the anticipation. Then cuts to a close-up and extreme close-up that ratchet up the tension as the match begins. Around the 00:13 mark there's a steady-cam like movement where the camera rotates behind Smile then zooms into the ping pong ball. At 00:31 mark we see a really quick push-in shot on Smile which cuts to a reverse tracking shot as Peco slams the ball. This was a frantic combination of camera movements and quick cuts that creates the initial excitement. This frenzied start was a quick glimpse of Smile being brought out of his shell by Peco. A long-awaited moment. This feeling of fulfillment is encapsulated by the last shot, a close-up of Smile smiling as the camera pulls away to show him absorbing the moment, the cheers of the crowd and the fun that is Ping Pong. ...

Who knew a gun fight between a loli and a cat eared loli using love-love guns would produce a fairly well shot action scene. For more than half of the scene below the combatants were fighting with a barrier between them and shooting through door openings. If shot normally, that is with medium to full shots of the two exchanging gunfire through the door, it would have been boring. This action scene was more about the feel of the combatants for each other's movements. To imitate that feeling the movement of bullets became the focus, hence plenty of close up shots, follow shots and slow motion shots of the bullets. A long shot from the video above. It uses warm and cool colors to differentiate the two combatants. Izuna finds no enjoyment in playing hence the blue while Shiro loves the excitement of a challenge, which is represented by yellow-orange colors.      _________________________________________________________________________ The video belo...

This episode neatly used long/scenic shots not just to establish the setting but to briefly introduce the peculiarity of the story. The opening scene begins with shots of snowy mountains, barren trees and typical winter conditions that are obviously unfit for agriculture. The scene ends with a shot of the green rice patties in the middle of dull winter colors. This contrast subtly introduces the viewers to the supernatural aspect of the episode.