Japanese Animation and New Media
Week Ten: Chapter Sixteen: A Face on the Train
Looking at Anno Hideaki’s hyper-limited animation in similar terms, we see less of a dualist structure with mythic struggle between tendencies and more of an overall tendency toward animetism. But what kind of structure emerges to provide a sense of orientation, however minimal?
ANNO
<<CINEMATISM<< >> ANIMETISM >>
<<CLOSED COMPOSITING OPEN >>
panning >>
sliding layers >>
action ballistics in gag form >>
<<explosions and ballistics
BETWEEN COMPOSITING AND MISE-EN-SCÈNE
Relative movement >>
Weird parallax >>
Collage-like editing >>
<<DEEP MISE-EN-SCÈNE FLAT >>
Multiplication of frames of reference >>
Schematic or iconic backgrounds >>
<<GRAVITY BETWEEN CHARACTER & MISE-EN-SCÈNE WEIGHTLESS >>
Unmoored >>
Documentary or monologue effects
<<FULL CHARACTER ANIMATION LIMITED >>
Full or hyper-limited animation >>
Color shifts >>
Cel bank >>
Solid backgrounds >>
Voice-over
Design over action
BETWEEN CHARACTER AND MECHA
Characters approaching mecha
Boys becoming ‘girly’
Girls becoming ‘boyish’ in diverse ways
<<BALLISTIC MECHA DESIGN NON-BALLISTIC >>
Retro mecha iconic >>
