"Hats off, gentlemen. A genius!" said Robert Schumann on Chopin's variation op. 2 when both were 21 years old. Is it effusive to use the same words on Tomoyo Kurosawa's play in the scene on a bridge of "Sound! Euphonium" episode 12? At any rate, this woman who is a 19-year-old university student is obviously a gifted voice actress. This scene is a climax before the final movement of the entire story. At the beginning of the story, Kumiko did not seem to be enthusiastic about the activity of the band, euphonium, and almost anything. Kurosawa's voice has been suppressed from the beginning to express this. In episode 8, Reina ignited Kumiko by declaring she wanted to get better to be special. In episode 12, Kumiko got pulled off a technically difficult part by Noboru Taki, which fired her up definitively. Then the scene of running on the bridge. Kumiko walked by a river recalling Noboru Taki's notice, picked up the pace, started running screaming inwardly "Umaku naritai (Want to get better)," and finally shouted out to the river. Chagrined inner voice ran, tears couldn't catch up. Kurosawa did an extremely good job here - every "Umaku naritai" had a unique expression, agogics was emotionally stunning, and all were controlled musically, like this:
In this anime, Kyoto Animation decided to go classic of storytelling - a Bildungsroman of adolescent children. There are no aliens, no time-travelers, and no espers. This is a realistic story of high school students. What makes this anime special is Kyoto Animation's mastery and aesthetic. I don't trust anyone who wasn't impressed by the camera works and the background when Kumiko turned the corner of the bridge. "Sound! Euphonium" episode 12 Street view of the Uji-bashi bridge And Tomoyo Kurosawa also shouted out "Umaku naritai" on the bridge.
Today (June 22nd, 2015) is the day when one of the Angels firstly attacked Tokyo-3, in the animation "Neon Genesis Evangelion" 1st episode. The voice actress Megumi Ogata who played Shinji Ikari posted a tweet to commemorate the date. In the anime, the city Tokyo-3 is located in Hakone, Kanagawa.In real life, a part of Hakone has been a no-go zone due to the volcanic action since May 6th, 2015. Do you think no one pilgrimages these days? Megumi Ogata did today. Yes, as you may remember, Shinji talked to himself repeatedly "I mustn't run away!" And, she said it was peaceful there today:-)
"Shokugeki no Soma" is an anime of moving camera. The camera is moving most of the time. Not only in cooking battle scenes, the camera pans and tilts also in a scene of conversation or monologue. As a result, this anime gives us a thrilling impression from the beginning to the end. In this respect, this anime contrasts with "Nagato Yuki-chan no Shoushitsu (The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan)." In "Nagato Yuki" 11th episode, the camera moves sparingly. It moves only in some scenes. A typical example is that it moves very slightly at the beginning of a cut and then stops for the rest of the scene. We know both are techniques of cost saving, but how effectively they are used! In "Shokugeki" 11th episode, the camera sometimes shakes in a tense cut like a handheld one for a very short time (less than a second), which is a very effective spice for the thrilling flow of the story. Shokugeki no Soma, 11th episode And I like the ending song "Spice" by Tokyo Karankoron
In "Oremonogatari," the heroine Yamato calls herself "uchi" in a flat accent, which makes many people feel a little strange. "Uchi" as a personal pronoun for females is originally a dialect in Kansai region. As a Kansai dialect, its accent is on "u." Yamato's accent of "uchi" is flat, and she speaks with standard Japanese intonation typically used in Tokyo area which is quite different from that of Kansai dialect. In Tokyo (and many other non-Kansai regions), women usually use "watashi," but recently some young women use "uchi" like Yamato, so it is contemporary and natural for girls (this anime is based on a manga for girls). There are different stories about the origin - TV, magazine, etc. Anyway, for adults, it is still strange. Personal pronouns for men are different. Generally speaking (except for dialects), boys use "boku," many teenagers use "ore," and adults use "watashi" formally but "boku" or "ore" informally. In "Oremonogatari," both Takeshi and Suna use "ore, " which implies they are basically ordinary male students. There are many personal pronouns in the Japanese language. Each pronoun implies the speaker's role in a society or human relations, and/or the speaker's decision of taking a certain role in a society or human relations. Fictions use personal pronouns as basic character descriptions. "Ore" implies masculinity, one's higher status or familiarity. "Boku" implies innocence or obedience. "Washi" is for old men. When men use "watashi," the situation is formal. In "Nagato Yuki-chan no Shoushitsu (The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan)," Kyon, an ordinary male student, uses "ore," while Koizumi uses "boku" as an obedient servant of Haruhi. In "Arusuran Senki (The Heroic Legend of Arslan)," young Arslan uses "watashi" because he is always in a formal situation as a prince. In "Danjon ni Deai wo Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darou ka (Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?)," Beru-kun (Bell Cranel), an entry level adventurer, uses "boku." Now, do you know what does the goddess Hestia use to call herself? Oremonogatari, 9th episode (June 22, 2016, link updated)
