Idle Master

Disclaimer: The following essay is an analysis of the first episode of Frieren: Beyond the Journey's End. Written by an anime-only. Hope you enjoy the read. The most poignant narrative device of Frieren is the purposiveness in when a scene should be silent, and when it should possess music. The return of our heroes is the first instance in which this contrast is established. As they arrived to the cheers of the citizens, trumpets were used to receive them. When they were gilded for their achievements, horns were there to exalt them. When they indulged in their nightly celebration, fiddles played a homey tune for them. However, it was only when our heroes stared into the distant skies does our next set of OST plays -- that of silence. Eisen commented on it being over , and Himmel would affirm to their adventure's end. Heiter would also contextualize this entire journey of theirs as a long ten years of their lives. The silence then is quite apt in respecting the solemnity of tha...

Adapting the manga for ' Chainsaw Man' comes with its own set of challenges. For me, the make-or-break has always been maintaining the insane pacing of the manga. This frenzied pace comes from its plot progression, mainly in how quick shit can hit the fan sometimes. But perhaps another one of Fujimoto's trade marks is in his page turners. The page of Denji being cleaved from eight different directions is impactful specifically because of how Fujimoto loves to structure his panels. You turn a single page and face a sudden rush of brutality, one that tears down any hope you have of Denji being saved. All that violence is also compacted into a single frame of action, emphasizing both the speed and mercilessness to which Denji is rended. Turn the page again, and the succinct imagery of gruesomeness would once again shock and leave you utterly speechless. This is one of the paneling techniques Fujimoto loves; A page-turning snapshot that loves to punch you in the face with cond...

Why does Odd Taxi's dialogue sound "natural"? This question seemed dubiously simple to me when I first considered it. I attributed it to be a similar situation as Your Name, whereby many of the voice actors including our main leads, are amateurish and have little experience in creating that 'anime voice'. However, that is not the case for Odd Taxi at all. With big names like Hanae Natsuki and Kimura Ryouhei, the element of professional experience may not be enough to explain why Odd taxi's dialogue sound natural. Perhaps then, we can consider the intentionality to act out a certain rawness; While Iida Riho can voice the highly-stylized Rin in Love Live, she too can tap into her own daily experiences to bring out a natural-sounding voice for Shirakawa. The tone, the pronunciation, the way someone breathes, the way someone tells a joke; These are all elements we can consider when trying to decipher how a professional voice actor can sound "natural". An...

  I think the sound design in 'Aharen-san' is phenomenal. That might be a strange statement to make for a slice-of-life anime. Phenomenal is a powerful word and it's not like there's a Hiroyuki Sawano track dropping when Raidou was at the claw machine. In fact, when we actually consider what sounds actually are in the first episode, you will realize that there's actually very little going on; Raidou and Aharen speaks in a monotonous voice with none of the usual tonal antics of a comedy; Most of the soundtrack consist of sparse piano notes that leaves a lot of "empty space" in between them; And as much as we like to diss Berserk for its horrible *pings and pongs* , you can't really say that nailing the sound design of bento boxes is comparable to how a mega-ton sword should sound on every conceivable metal, rock and bone. Thus, is there even a conversation to be had about sound design in a show where school kids just bumble about? Well, to consider that...

And so, we have come to the end of 86. I must say, what a journey this has been for me. Not just the show itself, but I have grown as a person watching it. I know that sounds cheesy as hell, but the truth is, I am so used to being a passive consumer, almost to a point of being an avid addict in my teenage years, mindlessly consuming Youtube and livestreams even till the point where I sometimes feel anxiety. And I still am doing so, but these past three months of watching 86 has changed me. I have vigorously enveloped myself around this show, analyzing every single detail it offers, writing essays that I am proud of and even learning a new skill with my recent video essay. I don't even feel bad for watching its episodes over and over again, an action that I would usually berate myself for wasting precious time. This is because with every re-watch, I dissect, I learn, I create -- I vent. Being a massive introvert, I have never had many friends in which I can share my excitement of an...