#princess watches anime

[oneshotprincess]

there are many cool things in dungeon meishi but the coolest thing so far has been how the red dragon clicks its flint-like teeth to light a fire, showing that the dragon only creates the gas in its belly through digestion. extremely cool detail.

[dykealloy]

*average person gets thrown through 3 windows a year* factoid is actually just a statistical error. average person gets thrown through 0 windows per year. Trafalgar Law, who has been experiencing defenestration since he was 10 years old, is an outlier and should not have been counted

[swampjawn]

God I love animation. I love it for the way it can bring anything to life beyond the constraints of boring ol' reality, but also the ways that it's inextricably linked to, and draws on the conventions of live-action film-making.

So fuck it, let's look at how Hayao Miyazaki straight up copies some camera framing techniques from his predecessor and the other most influential Japanese filmmaker of all time, Akira Kurosawa! (Kurosawa really was the master of framing scenes around his characters, so he's a great source of inspiration)

(btw, this is a screenshot from this TV special where the two met for the first time just after the release of Kurosawa's final film. It's pretty interesting, and also very cute how nervous Miyazaki seems to be to meet one of his idols.)

Specifically, how the two each choose to break the 180 degree rule (well, not technically 'break' in the case of Kurosawa) to show their protagonists' changing destiny in "Throne of Blood" and "Princess Mononoke".

For anyone who doesn't know, the 180 degree rule is a basic film-making rule of thumb which states that in any scene where two characters interact, you should draw an imaginary line between them and the camera should always stay on one side of that line.

("In the Mood for Love" - Wong Kar-wai)

This way, one character is always looking to the right of the camera, the other is always looking to the left, and the audience doesn't get confused by the geography of the scene. Crossing this line can be disorienting, but when done intentionally, it can convey a paradigm shift of some kind in the scene.

In this scene from "Throne of Blood," (a feudal Japanese retelling of Macbeth) Washizu's wife Asaji discusses tactics with him and tries to convince him to aspire to the throne and to assassinate his lord Tsuzuki while he sleeps.

As two servants appear to notify them that Washizu's sleeping quarters are prepared, the camera dollies left and around the characters' backs. This camera movement is motivated by the motion of the servants' torches outside the room, but it also signifies a change in Washizu's outlook.

Washizu is completely silent for most of this scene, contemplating his wife's advice. But as the camera slides behind his back and across the line of action, the scene is now re-framed, illustrating his change in perspective.

He's been convinced and the trajectory of his life is about to change - and now, facing away from the camera, is the time for action.

Because the camera slides smoothly across the line, Kurosawa isn't technically breaking the 180 degree rule. Miyazaki on the other hand, takes it a little further.

The complimentary scene in Princess Mononoke comes near the start when the wise woman of the village reads Prince Ashitaka's fortune after he's cursed by the wild boar spirit. She tells him that it is his fate to leave the village and travel to the west, where he may be able to lift the curse on his arm. The trajectory of Ashitaka's life changes in this moment too. As he accepts his fate, the change is symbolized by him cutting off his hair, but also by the camera jumping the line.

Throughout this dialogue scene and even as he cuts his hair, the simulated camera sits just slightly to the side of Ashitaka's left shoulder.

But once it's done, for the final shot, the scene is reframed and we jump to the other side, where Ashitaka is now looking to the right of the camera instead of the left.

Making the camera dolly across a scene like Kurosawa's version in 2D animation is no simple task, so this transition with a simple cut is in a way subtler, in another way a bit more jarring, but it conveys the same meaning.

This is the moment when our protagonists make the choice to embark on a new destiny and re-frame their lives.

This has been an excerpt from a short video essay I made a while back, which not many people watched. I think this is at least in part due to my failure to package it well, and it seems you tumblheads like this animation/cinematography analysis stuff, so this is an experiment to see if, with the help of y'all, and a new title and thumbnail, it's at all possible to give this video a second wind in the eyes of the Youtube Gods!

So if you found this interesting, I'd appreciate if you checked it out! Thanks for reading!

[redfirefox-55]

I saw these beautiful fanarts that @/fyuuu_14 on Twitter made of a crossover of Princess Tutu with (Genshin) Xiaolumi, so I had to go binge rewatch the anime, then draw my own fanart inspired by it lol

Their fanarts were much better than my doodle, but I just couldn’t resist taking inspiration- the idea was rotting my brain for the past four days..

Uh anyway, you should go watch princess tutu if you like magical girl type stuff! It’s a fun time!

[starredfishing]

did u know quack means i love you in

[yurianimemangaworld]

[t-e-n-s-e-i-g-a]

[eightyuh]

i've been re-watching princess tutu w/ some friends and am once again fawning over fakir

[voolfman]

What was your first traumatic doomed magical girl anime? Mine was Princess Tutu and to this day it makes me want to cry.

[romancemedia]

This is my official binge watchlist of 2024. It's a mix between shows I didn't get the chance last year and some new additions too.

[oneshotprincess]

my favorite thing about spy family is that bond's bark is just clearly a human man saying 'borf' into a microphone. no effort put in to make it sound dog-like. its the best

[familiarartistname]

CANDY KINGDOM

PRINCESS LOOLILALOO

MORE GUMMIGOOS

CANDY ROAD RAGE

FUDGE MONSTER

WHO KNOWS

JAX WITH A SHOTGUN

HEEELLLL YEAAAAAAAA-

[christyanimation]

checked out Princess Tutu last year and I just think she’s cute :))

[merciganimard]

Sara from A Little Princess was the patron saint of weird little girls. Passionately telling stories about her special interest the French Revolution and Princess de Lamballe getting her head cut off and carried on a pike

[isekaiscreencaps]

bbbut we're both girls

this is not the face of someone focused on thaumaturgy

[zeldathusiast]

Do you ever think that the heroes of the past watch over the newest hero as they embark on their adventure?

Maybe as Link dives from the Sky Islands, he thinks he sees a man falling right next to him, glee on the man's face as a saddled bird catches him midair before disappearing into the atmosphere.

As Tulin blows a final gale to position Link right over Colgera's weak spot, do you think that, for a moment, the breeze alongside Link becomes the face of a boy no older than 12, who smiles at him and then waves a swirling baton, giving Link the final nudge he needs to finish the fight?

Perhaps, as Link climbs the waterfalls of the Zora Domain, he sees another Hylian reflected back at him, one who dons a Zora mask and leaps out of the waterfall alongside him before becoming mist?

And when Link handles weapons carelessly or deals in elemental magic, sometimes one to four small Hylians in different colored tunics appear at his side, and sometimes they enjoy watching over the local blacksmith's shoulder when they can.

As Link takes on the monster forces of Lurelin Village, do you think that sometimes he swears there is another alongside him, a soldier in a royal blue scarf helping him to rid the village of the hordes?

When Link watches the packs of wolves run below him, sometimes one catches his eye- a striking black-and-white wolf with intricate markings on its forehead and muzzle greyed with age. Their eyes meet, cold blue to a deep cerulean, and the wolf disappears. But it will return to check on him again soon. It always does.

When Link slows time for just a moment to aim his arrows midair, sometimes a ghostly pair of armored hands steady his grip. And when recall is used, Link can swear he hears a somehow familiar tune echo in his ears: A, D, F, A, D...

And there are more.

There is a boy in a conductor's hat who cheers when Link successfully makes a machine work.

There is a teenager in a red tunic who helps Link with puzzles, snarking at monsters when they come near and sometimes talking to another ghost that looks like he could be the boy's dark world counterpart, often trying to snag rupees from Link lightheartedly, a bunny hood often covering his face.

And when Link finally faces Ganon for the last time, they are all there.

"It was once dangerous to go alone.

But you are not alone, now.

Not anymore."