I wanted to do a bit of an effortpost on
A Place Further Than The Universe 5. It'll be fairly basic I think but what the hell.
The central point of this episode is (spoiler alert) Megumi and Kimari's relationship of dependence and of Megumi not wanting to let Kimari go to Antarctica but not really knowing how to express it except through sabotage. To this end there's lots and lots of disquieting imagery used throughout to give a sense of wrongness to Megumi, though her truth isn't fully revealed until the climax of the episode (naturally).
Even before the OP starts up there's a stark contrast between the scenes with Shirase and Kimari and with Megumi and Kimari just in the simple tones of the lighting (though the latter also has the standard 'flashbacks are super overexposed' effect going). It's also worth noting that while Kimari and her other friends are often extremely physically affectionate, Megumi is always apart from Kimari in physical distance. In the flashback, too, she spends much of it standing over her.
And in the video game scene, Megu isn't playing games with Kimari, she's just watching her, narrowing her eyes and throwing a cutting remark when Kimari reminds her this is one of the few things that Kimari was ever better at Megumi at.
Worth noting that the game characters resemble the two of them.
A couple of close ups of Megu's face just for brief moments that really others her from the viewer, especially when she's referring to Shirase as "Antarctica", which is fairly telling.
There's a little sequence at the end of the video game scene which pretty much tells you what you need to know about the whole episode in minature, with a close-up on Megu eying the power cord and then 'tripping' over it, though for my money the real bit is when Kimari responds with an emphatic 'yup' to Megu's suggestion and Megumi immediately thinks about the sheepish Kimari from episode 1 - again, it's pretty much the entire setup for the episode in about three or four shots. Anyway, I thought the whole sequence was quite well done, with the music building and building and building and then straight silence, and letting the cable drop.
The next major relationship scene is in the park after Kimari's fairwell. Even as Kimari is saying goodbye to unnamed generic classmates in the classroom, Megu is sitting by herself looking on, and only forces a smile when Kimari looks her way. In the park afterwards, Megumi takes it upon herself to fill Kimari in on some disquieting rumours.
It's this shot here that really struck me - it's very basic, but again it sums up so much about the episode with that simple framing. Megumi and Kimari are conversing but they're separated hugely in physical space and not even really facing one another. Kimari has wandered out into the light and is warmly lit; Megu by contrast is in shadow and hemmed in by the wood of the shrine waiting spot.
Even when we cut for more cut-in shots we see Kimari's full face in the light, but we only see Megumi's back (from Kimari's POV, more or less). The dialogue is all a hint for the reveal, by the way, since she's gauging Kimari's reactions and trying to get her to stay behind in a gesture she knows is futile.
When Megu comes out to the light she still doesn't really approach Kimari; I get the impression she wants Kimari to come to her.
When Hinata and Shirase show up, Megumi more or less loses control of the situation; she only knows how to deal with Kimari. Here the light/shadow and distance vocabulary is reused, but with Hinata facing the three of them, it comes off across as the 'adult' giving advice to the kids more than anything else.
Anyway, the rest of the outing is fairly in line, with Megumi a bit out of focus since she's just 'there' compared to the more forceful personalities of everybody else. She does get a good bit in karaoke:
Sort of showing that she can release the tension if she needs to, as well as being a good comedic beat to force Shirase into doing her thing as well.
On the walk home, with the gathering night we get a good reuse of the shadows, with Megumi again shown from the shadow side and Kimari lit by the light of the window
There's some really nice shots at various distances as Kimari spills her feelings to Megumi, who doesn't really respond to them here and now, including this rather good distorted mirror shot. Worth noting that they're both in the light now as they face things that have been on the down low.
Megu gets a text from Kimari as she walks home. The glow of the screen and the moody lighting of the streets provides some really interesting shadows to highlight Megumi's 'aloneness'.
Worth noting the camera lingers on this last still shot for about 7 seconds without any movement or sound other than crickets.
Here we come to the climax of the episode, Megumi finally working up the courage to tell Kimari everything about her betrayal, about her wanting to keep her there, mother her, make herself feel useful by making Kimari never feel competant. This whole bit here is set up directly after the warmth of Kimari's family saying goodbye which is drenched in warm colours and warm feelings. Hell, the background noise is still that of the early morning birds, though it saves the BGM until the contrast with the warm guitars and innocent voice can really
really highlight the emotional breakdown.
This image by itself, even without dialogue, tells a whole story - Megumi's hesitance, the light diffusing across the scene, it's just a really effective setup shot.
Megumi is background lit throughout this scene by the rising sun - still in shadow, but highlighted in warmth. Possibly the first genuine smile you see all episode, matched with severely painful dialogue.
Another story-in-a-shot moment. The weight of the image is all on the left with the bulk of the tree, leaving Megumi a lonely and stark figure , who stands out in good contrast against her background.
Lots of shots of Megumi's face here with her mask of impassiveness broken, reversing the trend throughout the episode.
The expressionwork throughout this climax is masterful but there's a particular sequence here where just watching Kimari's face you can see three or four different thoughts shoot through her just based on her reactions alone.
The moment of release is here, the two of them finally caught in a hug as the music swells, Megu almost reflexively reaching out to Kimari as she rejects the break-up, both of them bathed in the warm light. There's several cuts to the other characters before this just to keep you on the tenterhooks the whole time.
Also I'm a huge sucker for the way this metaphor from the beginning of the episode is revisited here... or perhaps it'd be more accurate to say that the imagery at the beginning is revealed as a metaphor, but with the context made direct and obvious by Kimari's narration.
Anyway, it feels like each episode so far there's been a god damn climax which let me tell you is kind of exhausting and I'm probably not going to effortpost for each one. But it's fun to do a basic breakdown once in a while.
