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Today I re-watched the first episode of Denpa onna to seishun otoko, a cartoon that I had seen many years ago but which revised pleasantly struck me. The sakuga highlight of the episode was definitely this scene animated by one and only Hironori Tanaka.
(small thread)
(small thread)
in the first part of the episode many shots give particular importance to metallic architecture, representing an exaggeration of the city environment seen from a country boy perspective. Interestingly enough the protagonist states that he doesn't see, but smells the metal around.
The moments of discovery of the unknown related to big cliffhanger are all represented through this contrast between darkness and very white lights.
The denpa element and its inherently "sickness" is represented by these gross purple lights flanked by half-light moments. it is ironic that the scientific language of the "denpa onna" ceases to be omnipresent in the moments in which real discoveries are made about her nature.
Speaking of the language, I really liked how the screenplay managed to give some depth to the characters by giving a specific value to each linguistic register.
the boy while daydreaming ---> slow patched flow novel-like prose
the boy while being worried --> tsukkomi jokes
the boy while daydreaming ---> slow patched flow novel-like prose
the boy while being worried --> tsukkomi jokes
The aunt, guardian of the mistery element ---> a lot of different speech patterns, interchanded with one another in an impredictable way
the cousin ----> denpa speech when she doesn't want to connect with others, very childish and somewhat pure choice of word when she is serious.
the cousin ----> denpa speech when she doesn't want to connect with others, very childish and somewhat pure choice of word when she is serious.
The taketori monogatari reference was very well constructed too, first she looks like a bamboo with the futon arranged on her body and then she appears under the moon. During the episode there are a lot of sushi comparison but only in the end Kaguya is referenced.
