#im a sucker for camerawork like this

[scripturiends]

OHHHHH the mirror shot in this scene between joy and jerome is actually soo excellent i love a good intentional mirror shot because obviously this is a divisive moment for joy right like she has seriously fallen for jerome already but mara is determined to embarrass him so joy is at a crossroads whether to follow her heart or be a good friend. whereas for jerome, with his body almost fully turned away from the mirror, who is earnestly baring his soul, completely vulnerable and honest about his love for joy, noticing that she’s feeling down and determined to make her feel better. it’s like.. the world of difference between keeping a secret that’s eating you up inside on joy’s end and feeling so comfortable and so sure about the person on the other end that you can fully be yourself for jerome. same mirror, two completely different meanings.

i know this scene is so simple but it fits so well within the context of where these two characters stand emotionally because this is essentially the calm before the storm. after this scene jerome is going to learn the truth and there’s a shift in their relationship. both of them are going to be shattered by the end of this play. and it’s because jerome finds out what joy has been so desperate to keep hidden from him, and joy realizes she’s taken for granted all the vulnerability and honesty jerome offered to her only.

so to use these tools! the vanity for a play of all things! to create subtext… in a one-minute b-plot scene!!!! im foaming at the mouth actually. with this scene as well as the first time jerome asks joy out, why do i feel like the director and the editors approached their scenes with such care? like i don’t know just the framing and the actors’ blocking and everything.. is chef’s kiss

[diamondnokouzai]

just started extraordinary attorney woo. i like the camerawork and im a sucker for 'this persons supergeniusness is from being autistic and theyre a woman also' trope

[crowsent]

so i started watching kings avatar

this is a no-spoiler reaction mini-essay of the kings avatar anime; an action-adventure anime focused on high-paced fight scenes and an insane amount of dramatic one-liners but has like. a surprising amount of character focus and compelling narratives. the anime released a few years ago, around 2017, and i know its technically a “web series” and not an anime but consider this: anime is easier to type. so anyway, this anime is essentially an e-sports centred around a fictional mmorpg which is. not a genre i like. but for reasons i refuse to admit on this blog, i started watching this anime and im glad i did. because its good.

surprisingly good.

the animation, the music, the characters, the sound design, the environment, setting, killer one-liners, plot, character dynamics, emotional scenes...

its fucking good.

i expected something mediocre at best bc e-sports anime arent generally known for any profound themes and usually just funnel all their budget into fight scenes which certainly have a place in the anime community but its not my cup of tea but kings avatar just. decimated that idea.

8 minutes in and i already got a compelling amount of characterisation for the main character, the setting, and oddly enough, a discussion about the chinese gaming culture and how corporate commercialises the industry and leaves their talent (the gamers) ill-prepared for when they get their contracts released and/or terminated which is. not what id expect

obviously, the fictional depiction of the chinese gaming industry in an anime should not be taken to represent the chinese gaming industry in real life but like. 8 minutes in. i got THIS MUCH from kings avatar 8 MINUTES IN.

there is so much about this anime that i didnt expect and i was pleasantly surprised. for starters:

the music. the music of this anime is stellar. that ost during the first fight we see in the very beginning is just adrenaline-pumping. thats the kind of music youd expect to find from a AAA movie. the kind of music youd expect from a fucking video game boss battle. and its soooooooo fitting for the anime which is essentially about video games and battles. amazing score. 10/10

the animation. there is 3d animation mixed in w the 2d BUT its blended pretty seamlessly that it isnt super obvious. obviously the big boss we see in the beginning is 3d bc its cheaper/easier to animate, but there are some background characters and props that are animated with 3d as well. the animation is smooth enough and the amount of detail is made just so to ensure that the focus still remains on the 2d animation. not revolutionary by any means, but the inclusion of 3d anime allows for something that i found really appealing,

the camerawork. dont know if i talked about this before on this blog, but i am a fucking sucker for good camerawork in animated movies. which is why i ADORED kimetsu no yaiba which has PHENOMENAL camerawork that took all my uwus. kings avatar has the same phenomenal camerawork. huge panning shots of a beautifully rendered environment, action scenes with quick cuts and deliberate rolling focus, numerous perspective shots from different angles to achieve suspense, unease, drama, fucking ALL OF IT

the thing that i loved most of course, are the dramatic moments and one-liners bc im a dramatic motherfucker and i eat that shit up. the most unnecessarily extra tossing of a contract across a table, “rest for a year then come back” announcement, “50/50? id rather take 100″ and so on and so on. this anime is so fuckin EXTRA and i fucking love it

please do keep in mind that i uh,,,, may be a little biased for this anime. ive already mentioned that i usually dislike the genre but i watched kings avatar for a reason and for that reason, i may react to the anime a little more favourably than i would otherwise

but also keep in mind that while i normally post screenshots along with my reactions, i wasnt able to grab screenshots this time around bc i uhhhhhh did not pause the episode to grab the screenshots bc this stupid fucking thing got me waiting with bated breath so take what you will from this ig

dunno if ill do an episode-by-episode reaction or do one huge reaction at the very end with my formal review/opinion of the show as a whole. well see

[aretarers]

💢 star trek and uhmm 💕 for ace attorney

💢 on a surface level some episodes are just straight up boring as shit or Not Fun to watch. like whether its due to subpar acting or subpar writing... especially seasons 1 and 2 which also suffered from Really Not Great like, sets and costumes but also overall lighting and camerawork just Weren’t The Best. season 3 was a huge leap in quality tbh

on a deeper level... while it was very progressive in some ways especially for its time it also had a lot of flaws in other areas. for example the two main female characters--while they DID get good solid character moments and episodes, there was also often a lot of sexism evident in the way they were written--and the actresses often faced misogyny too. theres this one episode where the main cast has a fight and like, while the four (five?) male characters are fighting with swords, the two female characters only get to smash pots over heads... despite those two actresses being the only ones with Actual Swordfighting Training. it just sucks to see smth that was so progressive in some ways be so backwards in other ways yknow

💕 APOLLO i dont entirely know why...i think i just love that hes like. silly. its been like christ 8 months since i played aa4 but like, that part where hes checking out his hair horns in a window is so. njfnkdsfn HES JUST A GOOFY DUDE but also he has like a . lot of shit to work through. i hope he gets some therapy. hes like... hes similar to phoenix in the way thats hes goofy but i also think hes... more serious than phoenix usually, at least on the outside? i feel like he gets fed up easier but like hes too polite to show it a lot. though then again ITs Been 8 Months i might be misremembering to an extent NJKVDSNFDS

i also really like phoenix too like he seems so simple at first but hes got. so much depth to him? i looove hearing the resident phoenix analysts go off about him and i say that with as much sincerity as possible. im a sucker for analyses and phoenix has so much depth to be analyzed it slaps!!! hes like. a rude ass but also so kind sometimes too. n the way he just becomes a stupid cryptic bastard in aa4 is sooo funny to me like i get that hes goin through stuff but like cmon man. smarmy ass 

honorable mentions are miles and maya and trucy but i have even less coherent thoughts about them fdshjkfnsdkf