Oh no guys, it’s all coming to an end. It’s nigh, nigh I tell you! After this only one more episode of Given… One more Thursday night of coming home to sensitive boys with guitars to cheer me up and give me feels. One more week of looking forward to what happens next. One more session of discussing the episode with Karandi afterwards. (Psst, go read our review here)
And only one more gallery post after this one…sigh…
Did you see that great dutch angle in my header gif. It’s such a nice inclusion in a sunny and happy scene to show the impact on Uenoyama and the mess of his emotions. This is classic cinema technique and once again, a showing off of the firm grasp Given has on film-making fundamentals.
I gotta say, I was expecting this episode to be sweet, not this goofy! The guys make some pretty crazy faces but we rarely get to see them in full on imagination mode like Ueno here. Great way to let us know right off the bat that you won’t need the tissues this time (unless you’re me!)
You can really tell that Yayoi and Ueno are related here. Her coloration is almost identical to his, right down to the undertones.
The first assortment of “nice people”…I talk about this with Karandi. Man, it really is a beautiful day! I don’t think the light has even been this clear in this show before! While the inside scene still have their characteristic warmth, the outside ones seem brisk and refreshing!
I hadn’t realized just how many faces Haruki was making in this scene. It’s pretty ridiculous, I like it!
The parquet flooring at Haruki’s cafe provides really great contrast for the top down scene. It’s like surrounding the characters with cross-hatching.
This was the fanservice sequence of the series and call me basic cause I fell for it!
Nothing much to say, it’s what you’d expect. A lot of beautiful rendered close ups of the boys, Mayu’s dishevelled hair in glorious detail. Everything in soft neutral colours. A few funny surreal visuals to bring the mood up. It was pure pandering and it was done perfectly! This scene hit all the exact elements you need to appeal to your boy loving audience. Right down to all the different camera angles that make it look like a collection of glamour shots.
You can sort of see the tension drained out of these scenes. It’s the big open eyes I think. Moreso than their mouths or the droop of the shoulders, everyone seems just a little more excited because they keep their eyes a bit wider open than usual. It makes them a look like their about to open presents on Christmas morning or something. And that makes everything else in the scene instantly more cheerful seeming.
Just look at Mayu looking at those strings! I go on about this scene a lot with Karandi.
Doesn’t Kaji have great handwriting but who takes a lined notebook just to write across the lines? WHO? Serial killer warning sign if you ask me.
This is just a little Murata appreciation blurb. He’s a great looking drawing of a boy and he looks great with Kaji. Visually, they make a wonderful couple, contrasting just enough in shape, colour and texture. I’m still team Haru all the way though! Cause Haru!
Compared to the very similar scene last week, these colours are so soft and warm, with the bright city contrasting around them. This was basically the scene I was expecting with Yuki and I am so happy I got to see it with Ueno instead.
Last week, I picked the lonely ocean scenery with a leading line to end my post on. It was this:
It’s a beautiful image in my opinion and one of the most hopeful of that entire sequence.
I’m going to do the exact same this week since the episodes were kind of bookended. You can instantly see how much warmer the second image is, even though the first is the warmest of the entire sequence last week. The clouds are fluffy and cute instead of grey and a little menacing. The ocean is that pretty teal colour (like the Indian ocean) you see in vacation promos while the truer blue last week reminds me of our northern seas.
They are both pretty images and both the last shot of their respective episodes. Neither gives us much information yet I think you can see the change in mood. The one that an ending and the one that’s a beginning. Or maybe I have a crush on this show and I think everything it does is great. Both can be true!
It’s nice to see Boy K-ON! is really good! I might give it a watch once it’s done.
I’m not sure you’d like it if that’s what you’re looking for. It is thematically, structurally and visually drastically different. It’s also a clear drama with an overarching and continuous narrative. The guitar is the only common point. I would say it’s closer to Amadeus.
Hahaha, guess that makes sense.
Boy Hibike Euphonium it is.
I’m kidding, I’ll give it a go.