Best anime scenes: The unexpected reunion in Nagi no Asukara (epi 15)
Look past some... *ahem* I mean a lot of the childish melodrama in Nagi no Asukara and you will find some pretty neat scenes. The reunion of Chisaki and Hikari is one of the most well-executed scenes I have seen in anime.
First, for every good scene, there will be an equally good set-up for it. It's like one of the golden rules of anime or storytelling in general. Chisaki thinks back to how Tsumugu said that Hikari has not change just as the bus rolls by and we see the reflection of Chisaki's facial expression. Shocked and despaired. It was then the door opens and we see that Chisaki crotches down, unable to accept that she herself has changed. Prior to this, we were already beaten by the fact that Chisaki hates change so we can understand how devastated she feels. And if anyone didn't catch this, she goes on to explain how she is afraid to see Hikari in her current self to Tsumugu. Hikari on the other hand has a hard time accepting how everything around him has so drastically changed. And as an audience, we instantly could relate to him as well. I mean look at how much the setting has changed! Instead of having too much fucking blue, they have too much white now! GODDAMNIT! The scene with how Hikari broke down in front of Tsumugu is all we need to know to understand that Hikari is afraid to see Chisaki because of how much she could have changed. The central conflict of this scene is driven on change and how the characters deal with it.
Now that the stage is set, we instantly jump right into it with Hikari sweating through his eyes as he was so embarrassed about it that we didn't even get to see his face. Awww. The song starts playing and we instantly get hit with nostalgia. The ofunehiki song is played with a sharp yet somewhat gentle trumpet (I think) which echoed throughout Oshiooshi. For starters, the trumpet (I think) is a very effective tool to convey a hominess atmosphere. Don't really know why but just refer to our anime bible Sora no Woto 3:16 for reference. That hominess and nostalgic atmosphere is perfect as that is exactly what Hikari and Chisaki is feeling after hearing the song. In a state of confusion which they both are in, it only makes sense that they will gravitate towards the hill where the song is being played.
The audience is instantly hyped as there is no way in hell anime Jesus will let this chance slip by. But hold on, a good scene always need a good build-up as well, meaning tension. We can't just have them just bump into each other right? For that, we have some shots of Hikari slowly making his way up the hill. From the periodic shine of the sun through the moving trees to show movement, to Hikari making footprints in the snow as he climbs up the stairs and to showing Hikari himself is all done with enough care to effectively build up tension before the actual reunion.
As the song gradually gets louder, a strong gust awaits Hikari at the top of the hill. And this is the climax of the scene. As Hikari lowers his arm and the song cuts away in it's sharp tune, we see the reveal of Chisaki, the reveal being slow as if time has slowed down for both characters as well. I need to stop here to say how it is an ingenious tactic to reveal Chisaki in the way they did. The slow uncovering of the frame is much more impactful than a dry cut to the entire person. Note that this technique is also used in the scene where Manaka overheard the confession from Chisaki to Tsumugu. Nicely done!
Hikari's eyes widen in surprise and so does Chisaki as she calls out Hikari's name in disbelief. We then cut to a scene of both of them standing at the hilltop. Now this cut is absolutely wonderful. We have the pole of the loudspeaker cleanly dividing Hikari and Chisaki. This represents how both characters are still afraid of the idea of meeting each other, creating a sense of seperation. This technique is pretty simple yet I don't see a lot of anime doing this. Even though it is such as good way to represent a divide between characters. Not only that, the only thing that is moving in that scene is the salt flake snow which gives the sense that time is still moving as per usual yet the characters are still stuck in time, shocked with their sudden meeting. And of course, I don't think I need to mention the beautiful background in this cut which just breaths life into the scene.
Hikari tries to break the ice first but we can clearly hear the nervousness in his voice and even more so for Chisaki. After we find out the meaning behind the ofunehiki song, Chisaki jumps right back to tackle the main conflict. She is stuttering, but she managed to squeeze out her feelings, quite literally as well. Hikari is surprise and Chisaki feels dejected but Hikari being the cool boi that he is, says the words that Chisaki wanted to hear the most. After noticing how Chisaki is still the shy babe that she used to be, almost boisterously in a complete Hikari fashion, he closes the divide between the both of them and forces himself into the same frame as Chisaki, declaring how he is glad that Chisaki became an even hotter babe than before.
A hopeful sounding music starts playing as Chisaki tears up and pushed Hikari away, calling him 'baka!' AWWW DATS SHO CUTTTEEE! Breaking into a squabble from Hikari's teasing, you can't help but smile because this reunion is exactly what it should be. Two friends who playfully pushes each other around, it's so heartwarming that you can't help but smile like an idiot. Half from being happy that our characters have overcame their conflict and remained as friends, and the other half from how freaking adorable Chisaki is. Seriously, she is totally an A-class waifu material.
From that, having a huge weight off his back, Hikari springs across town like a stupid idiot, yelling out how he can see all. I think I don't need to say how Hikari is being a total Hikari. Of course, that fact alone always brings a stupid grin to my face.
This scene is set-up nicely and rewarded us nicely as well. A reunion of two childhood friends after a long time, I can't see a better and more emotionally-gratifying way to pull it off better than this scene.
First, for every good scene, there will be an equally good set-up for it. It's like one of the golden rules of anime or storytelling in general. Chisaki thinks back to how Tsumugu said that Hikari has not change just as the bus rolls by and we see the reflection of Chisaki's facial expression. Shocked and despaired. It was then the door opens and we see that Chisaki crotches down, unable to accept that she herself has changed. Prior to this, we were already beaten by the fact that Chisaki hates change so we can understand how devastated she feels. And if anyone didn't catch this, she goes on to explain how she is afraid to see Hikari in her current self to Tsumugu. Hikari on the other hand has a hard time accepting how everything around him has so drastically changed. And as an audience, we instantly could relate to him as well. I mean look at how much the setting has changed! Instead of having too much fucking blue, they have too much white now! GODDAMNIT! The scene with how Hikari broke down in front of Tsumugu is all we need to know to understand that Hikari is afraid to see Chisaki because of how much she could have changed. The central conflict of this scene is driven on change and how the characters deal with it.
Now that the stage is set, we instantly jump right into it with Hikari sweating through his eyes as he was so embarrassed about it that we didn't even get to see his face. Awww. The song starts playing and we instantly get hit with nostalgia. The ofunehiki song is played with a sharp yet somewhat gentle trumpet (I think) which echoed throughout Oshiooshi. For starters, the trumpet (I think) is a very effective tool to convey a hominess atmosphere. Don't really know why but just refer to our anime bible Sora no Woto 3:16 for reference. That hominess and nostalgic atmosphere is perfect as that is exactly what Hikari and Chisaki is feeling after hearing the song. In a state of confusion which they both are in, it only makes sense that they will gravitate towards the hill where the song is being played.
The audience is instantly hyped as there is no way in hell anime Jesus will let this chance slip by. But hold on, a good scene always need a good build-up as well, meaning tension. We can't just have them just bump into each other right? For that, we have some shots of Hikari slowly making his way up the hill. From the periodic shine of the sun through the moving trees to show movement, to Hikari making footprints in the snow as he climbs up the stairs and to showing Hikari himself is all done with enough care to effectively build up tension before the actual reunion.
As the song gradually gets louder, a strong gust awaits Hikari at the top of the hill. And this is the climax of the scene. As Hikari lowers his arm and the song cuts away in it's sharp tune, we see the reveal of Chisaki, the reveal being slow as if time has slowed down for both characters as well. I need to stop here to say how it is an ingenious tactic to reveal Chisaki in the way they did. The slow uncovering of the frame is much more impactful than a dry cut to the entire person. Note that this technique is also used in the scene where Manaka overheard the confession from Chisaki to Tsumugu. Nicely done!
Hikari's eyes widen in surprise and so does Chisaki as she calls out Hikari's name in disbelief. We then cut to a scene of both of them standing at the hilltop. Now this cut is absolutely wonderful. We have the pole of the loudspeaker cleanly dividing Hikari and Chisaki. This represents how both characters are still afraid of the idea of meeting each other, creating a sense of seperation. This technique is pretty simple yet I don't see a lot of anime doing this. Even though it is such as good way to represent a divide between characters. Not only that, the only thing that is moving in that scene is the salt flake snow which gives the sense that time is still moving as per usual yet the characters are still stuck in time, shocked with their sudden meeting. And of course, I don't think I need to mention the beautiful background in this cut which just breaths life into the scene.
Hikari tries to break the ice first but we can clearly hear the nervousness in his voice and even more so for Chisaki. After we find out the meaning behind the ofunehiki song, Chisaki jumps right back to tackle the main conflict. She is stuttering, but she managed to squeeze out her feelings, quite literally as well. Hikari is surprise and Chisaki feels dejected but Hikari being the cool boi that he is, says the words that Chisaki wanted to hear the most. After noticing how Chisaki is still the shy babe that she used to be, almost boisterously in a complete Hikari fashion, he closes the divide between the both of them and forces himself into the same frame as Chisaki, declaring how he is glad that Chisaki became an even hotter babe than before.
A hopeful sounding music starts playing as Chisaki tears up and pushed Hikari away, calling him 'baka!' AWWW DATS SHO CUTTTEEE! Breaking into a squabble from Hikari's teasing, you can't help but smile because this reunion is exactly what it should be. Two friends who playfully pushes each other around, it's so heartwarming that you can't help but smile like an idiot. Half from being happy that our characters have overcame their conflict and remained as friends, and the other half from how freaking adorable Chisaki is. Seriously, she is totally an A-class waifu material.
From that, having a huge weight off his back, Hikari springs across town like a stupid idiot, yelling out how he can see all. I think I don't need to say how Hikari is being a total Hikari. Of course, that fact alone always brings a stupid grin to my face.
This scene is set-up nicely and rewarded us nicely as well. A reunion of two childhood friends after a long time, I can't see a better and more emotionally-gratifying way to pull it off better than this scene.
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