Forum - View topicTricks of the Trade
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selenta
 Subscriber Posts: 1774 Location: Seattle, WA |
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I was just thinking about all the little things that they do in some anime that are extremely effective in pulling all the emotion or w/e intended effect.
I've seen more than a few shows now that start the ending theme music 30 seconds to a minute or two before the end of the episode and it always seems to add a lot to the scene. For example i was just watching NANA eps 5, a show that I thought was clever at first but had started to lose interest with me. But watching eps 5 changed my mind again, it was done so well and the last 2-3 minutes of the show almost had me crying. I can't seem to put into words why these little things like that can have such a big effect on the viewer. If you can think of that, or can think of any other tricks producers tend to use, there's a cookie in it for you. 
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frentymon
Forums Superstar
 Posts: 2362 Location: San Francisco |
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I've seen this done with opening themes as well (for example, Air). It strengthens the impact of the scene, especially if the part of the opening theme/ending theme that is being played is a light, acoustic lead-in to the actual theme itself (and also if the song itself is just good). Another advantage of doing something like that is that you can put more chunks of the theme in, rather than stick strictly to the 1:30-1:50 time limit (or whatever it was). This is done really powerfully in Honey and Clover as well, especially with the awesome ending theme for the first 12 episodes (Waltz). If anything, I remember the scenes near the end of episodes when the music starts playing. It also makes the transition from episode to theme (OP or ED) flow better.
I can't really think of any other "tricks," except that I like how flashbacks are always faded (gives it a sense of "past"). One thing that amuses me though is when a flashback is already shown to the viewer, and then all the facts and details of the flashback have to be presented to someone else later in the series. They usually just show the "teller" of the flashback start his story, and either show scenes of talking or go to another scene and come back. And magically, POOF, this other character suddenly knows everything about this. Must be some good storytelling. |
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Vortextk
 Posts: 892 Location: Orlando, Fl |
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You know I meant to comment on this sometime, but you hit exactly what I think. The op/ed fading in.
In AIR TV, I loved the opening song. The opening is a very beautiful piano melody that always started a little bit into each episode and I have to say, it gave the opening and each episode just that "little bit more". I'd say the exact same thing for Honey and Clover. In this case, the closing song would always start to fade in. Atleast, the first closing song. I can't remember if the second one did or not as I didn't like it all that much. The first closer, Waltz, is a really great tune that had a wacky type of feel to the beginning of it. It was always great to see one of the characters do something completely insane and here the first guitar riff of Waltz come on. Now as to original ideas you haven't already brought up...I'll have to get back to you on that one. *Edit* Frentymon, I hate you, lol. I can't believe you posted that too. Maybe I should've hit submit quicker. |
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frentymon
Forums Superstar
Posts: 2362 Location: San Francisco |
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I was six whole minutes faster. I win
I actually can't think of many other examples of the fade-in OP/ED besides AIR and Honey and Clover. From the sample size available here (AIR, Honey and Clover, NANA) I would say that this is a more recent "trick" used by animation studios (all 3 are 2005 or 2006 productions). Except I can't say that, because I've seen this in Prince of Tennis as well, but it wasn't as connected, and the ending theme wasn't all that great. I thought of another "trick" (possibly). In ARIA: The Animation (the first episode at least; that's all I've watched) the opening theme plays DURING the duration of the anime running, so basically the storyline doesn't even have to be interrupted by an opening theme with the opening animation. It's really cool (and the song is really sweet), except I don't think it can be pulled off with an anime more heavy on dialogue. |
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jaybug39
 Posts: 552 Location: Oregon, Is it FOOTBALL yet? |
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How about the opening to Elfin Lied? We've all seen blood and gore watching anime, but wasn't this tougher to sit through to you, as it was to me? I think mostly it was the pacing, and the cross sections of cut human bones that made it so ghastly. I think this is why the film A History of Violence was so effective in their limited use of violence. Slow it down, and don't keep re-playing the scene over and over. Not slow the violence down, but the film.
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Zalis116
Moderator
 Posts: 6881 Location: Kazune City |
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Other shows with the OP/ED fade-in during the actual episode:
Please Twins! - often has an intro scene with the OP starting near the end of it. My-Hime - the ED starts early in almost every episode; that song, plus the visuals of Mai dancing in the flames at the end of episode 2, was what "hooked" me on the series in general. Angelic Layer - the ED fades in early in pretty much every episode. Full Moon - the ED fades in at the end of some episodes, just to add emotional impact (particularly in some 40s episodes). The use of music in general is one of the great emotional draws of anime; one other example from AIR is the song "Aozora," which is used at many point in the series. However, its finest hour is in episode 12, when spoiler[Haruko realizes that Misuzu really has died. The song comes in with vocals only, which lends a "raw" sort of power to the scene.] Another favorite moment is episode 20 of Love Hina, which uses music box/automaton music to go along with Moé the doll. spoiler[And near the end of the episode, Moé realizes that Keitarou will be all right without her as his bride, and breaks down; the music is perfectly timed to "break down" as well, just like a music box stopping.] I also like interlaced flashbacks--sure, flashbacks can be overdone, like in Naruto and some of the later episodes of Elfen Lied, but if they're done right, the alternation of main story scenes and flashbacks can give more significance to events or character actions. One good example of this is Angelic Layer, episode 16, where spoiler[we see Sai's flashbacks to visiting her younger sister Rin in the hospital, and as Sai loses to Misaki at the end, the flashbacks proceed to her sister's death, ending with the line, "Onee-chan, I'll always be by your side.] Some "tricks of the trade" require a bit of Japanese knowledge to understand--unfortunately, even I would almost label them as melodramatic manipulation. From what I understand, those ritual phrases said when entering/leaving one's house carry great importance, so anime will often have, "I didn't say 'itterasshai' to [family member] when they left, and that day, they died in an accident." This happens in Bleach and Fruits Basket, to name a few; it's a way to appeal to cultural tradition to make viewers feel more sympathy. FB has a roughly accurate wording of that phrase, "Please go and return safely) Not surprisingly, these scenes don't have quite the same effect in English (dub or subtitles). Another bit is okaeri nasai / tadaima (Welcome back / I'm home), which get used when someone is figuratively "home", like rejoining a group or organization. I noticed (over)use of this in Stellvia, where these phrases are often tearfully repeated. |
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LydiaDianne
 Posts: 5633 Location: Southern California |
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Wouldn't another "trick of the trade" be that the Hero feels sorry for or regrets the way the "Villain" dies? I don't think that I've ever seen that on American TV.
For example (if I'm remembering correctly  ) Inu Yasha said that Bankotsu shouldn't have died the way he did (the 2nd time around), by Naraku's cheating.
Feel free to correct me on this example (I've never seen the anime and read about this on this forum): The death of Wolfwood (?) on Trigun. And Vash cries about it. Friendly enemies? Hope that I've made some sense. I know what I'm trying to say but I'm not sure if it's comming out correctly. |
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Wolverine Princess
 Posts: 1100 |
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I'll tell you what doesn't grab me emotionally; When animators try to make it look like the "camera" is spinning around in circles by slowly moving characters' cells across the screen. And panscanning, too. Sometimes it can be done tastefully, but it's mostly just really cheesy. It's evolved a bit over time so it doesn't look quite so bad, but it's terribly hoaky-looking in older shows.
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