Japanese Animation and New Media
Lecture Two
Let me give another example of animetism, this time from Spriggan (dir. Kawasaki Hirotsugu, 1998).
In this sequence, the hero is traveling by car across a bridge in Istanbul. Note how the buildings in the landscape show a certain degree of three-dimensional modeling and scalar proportions in keeping with one-point perspective, and yet you can see and feel the gaps between different layers of the image. In other words, under conditions of movement, the landscape as a whole is not following the visual logic of Cartesianism.
As the car continues across the bridge, we see another car tailing them—a set-up for a car chase sequence. With these views down the road, we have some sense of depth in accordance with one-point perspective. Yet, if you look closely at the movement of automobiles, the sense of movement is mostly lateral, with the gaps between different layers of the image quite obvious. The viewing position is not moving into depth.
Nonetheless, as the sudden appearance of a gun suggests, we’re about to enter into a chase scene, and the logic of movement will change abruptly.
