Japanese Animation and New Media
Week Thirteen: Chapter Twenty-One: Emergent Positions
In Shirato Sanpei’s Legend of Kamui (Kamui-den) there is also an emphasis on action and affection over perception. If the action is somewhat disorientating, it is because we have so much emphasis on the direction of action through the use of bold, heavy action lines that the directionality comes to feel affective. It is as if the action were striking you, making contact, as if you were somehow in the midst of the fight. This strategy works well with this ninja-like fighting in which the fighting does not entail seeing the enemy move and reacting but involved anticipating her or his moves in advance, many moves in advance. So it all plays out in something of a perceptual blur, even though the actions and their effects are abundantly clear. The panel in which the guy’s eyes are torn out redoubles the sense of uselessness of perception. The fight wasn’t about seeing anyway, so if he needed those eyes, he wasn’t much of a fighter. This set-up is all about rapid action and visceral response.
