The first episode was excellent in production and execution.
The Opening sequence establishes the tone of the series from the start with the music working in conjunction with the struggle that the main character is seen to face. Due to the overall lack of other characters within the opening it is understood that the primary conflict will most likely be internal as the character struggles with issues represented by drowning and being grabbed by the dark-vine like objects. This idea is further supported by the first 10 minutes of the episode.
The main character is told in a dream that his name Rei is accurate in representing the nothingness that overall surrounds his life. Rei does not speak for the first nine minutes of the episode to define his depressed state, as he goes through the mundane actions of everyday life with little to no apparent care. When engaged in the Shogi match Rei is still apathetic, yet later on his emotions are better expressed as he watches TV with the family. The family themselves are very important to the expression of emotion as Rei is seen nearly rejecting the invitation on account of feeling depressed, but when he does visit the variety in character shows the color and liveliness that exists in Rei's work that he is not a part of. The only emotions seen from Rei are those during comedic relief scenes and those when he cries; further displaying his depressive state. Finally as Rei goes to school he decides to "try" to go. This indicates that many times he neglects school because of either Shogi or emotional difficulty. All these emotional expressions are supported by the animation.
The animation and environments express the solitude of the main character as his eyes appear lifeless and his mouth is consistently in the shape of a frown. The animation style supports this as the mouths are drawn quite differently from that of a conventional style. It draws the attention of the viewers and it expresses the characters emotions effectively in such a manner. Furthermore, in the intro scenes nearly every single background character is unique. There are hundreds in the train station and on the train, but the only distinction between each of these characters and Rei is that Rei is less opaque and pushed to the foreground as a darker character in general. However, all these other characters have more character and feel more lifelike which furthers the idea that Rei is empty and representative of zero. This is seen even more when Rei enters the family's house with vibrant characters and colors that all bring an energy that was absent the first nine minutes of the episode. Unfortunately, Rei's darkness even touches this brightness as when the girl views Rei crying her smile is seen turning into a frown. This is done at night, in a darker room and this transition into a frown is accented by the unique mouth design.
In conclusion, the first episode is very strong, the themes are set out for the viewers and whether the viewer has touched the source content or not, it it understood what the series is about. The animation and audio work together in harmony creating a strong environment and emotional mood that effectively adds to the story being told.
Personal note: I actually love the mouths. I haven't read the manga so i don't know where this is going, but I really relate to the main character, his actions feel like i could justify them with both some past trama or just saying "depression" which allows me to fill the holes in his character that we have without much story for now. I think that in some ways it is probably both, he doesn't feel like every other stoic character it truly feels like he's lacking something and although the episode was fast and little happened, it feels as though there was a lot being shown to us. The best storytelling is down by being shown and not told. I definitely thing this is something to keep an eye on. Hopefully i'm not let down. |