Jex
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[Yu Yu Hakusho] - Early Akiyuki Shinbo
I imagine most people reading this thread are familiar with Shinbo's name, his style and 'his' various shows at SHAFT. In reality, while Shinbo is credited as the director of numerous SHAFT works in reality he doesn't actually do any direction on them, instead they simply replicate his very distinct visual style.
There was a time when Shinbo actually created directed anime personally and his earliest work is extremely distinctive. Even though Yu Yu Hakusho feels like a rather traditional shounen property his influence and style clearly shines through the material. While the first episode he directed was episode 7, I'd like to focus on his work in episode 16. This is because episode's 16 and 17 are actually part of the same fight sequence so you can easily compare and contrast Shinbo's style with that of another director.
As a director, Shinbo is extremely fond of canted angles, the technique where a scene is shot diagonally so as to suggest that the world if off-kilter. Ep 16 opens with a very distinctive example of this shot to demonstrate that our heroes our truly exploring a dangerous and alien world, that of the demon:
Shinbo remains committed to this extreme angle in his next shot:
We finally arriving at the our heroes:
In subsequent episodes directors will re-use Shinbo's extreme castle shot:
But then follow it up immediately with this shot:
Completely spoiling the effect. Shinbo creates a world out of sorts, an off-balance location where our heroes are not safe. If you start with an unbalanced diagonal shot and then immediately cut to a an shot that's heavy on flat, regular and horizontal lines you've immediately put everything back into balance and reduced tension. Which is completely wrong, because the characters here are still facing a demon and in mortal peril!
Now, back to Shinbo's episode 16:
You'll notice how even though we've arrived at our heroes the shot is still unusual. The characters are heavily framed by an thick window whose depth is accentuated not only by the very noticeable brick lines but by Kuwabara leaning on the frame itself. Moreover, the shot is tilted downwards noticeably.
Finally, pay attention to all the visible lines in the picture frame, not only of the bricks but the grid on the floor. These lines help the viewer keep track of the structure of the world by keeping it regular and they help to differentiate similar looking walls and floor.
Once we head inside to meet our characters you'll notice how even though they are shot normally from the front in a flat fashion there are really distinct vanishing points in the background, along with regularly spaced windows, to give the hallway a real depth. Shinbo is extremely good at creating tangible "3D" space.
Here you can see Kuwabara preparing his 'sword', and to accentuate this moment Shinbo chooses a really extremely low angle turning Kuwabara into an extreme longitudinal plane.
Later on we see the reverse of this angle in a shot accompanied by a camera movement upwards and really noticeable background animation, another trademark of Shinbo that re-occurs throughout this episode.
This episode is littered with unusual and stylish choices, such as this shot of Botan which is shot at a low angle in an apparent POV from an insect:
There's even a very unusual transition where a single frame contains Botan fighting a demon in the left of the frame and Kuwabara on the right of the frame. The transition is the passing of a body across the screen from left to right, effectively linking the two worlds in a single frame without a 'hard' cut:
You'll recall I mentioned that the gridlines on the floor helped to accentuate regular, straight lines and order? Well when our heroes encounter the boss of this area, Byakko, things get a little crazy:
This extremely high angle, coupled with the canted framing combines to make it look like our characters have stepped into a truly bewildering situation beyond their expectations. They're shocked by what they have encountered.
Compare and contrast with how another director fames the same location:
It just doesn't compare. Shinbo's shot tells you about the characters state of mind, the above shot is simply conveying information about a location. It describes, it does not inform.
Shinbo doesn't even 'reveal' Byakko in a normal manner. He appears to be going for a straight motion where the camera travels up this monsters body (notice that even in this shot he's not in the centre of the frame, putting us off balance):
Because Shinbo brought us so dangerously close to the monster, and in such an unexpected manner, we are now keenly aware of his his strength and presence in a way that would be impossible with a flat reveal shot like this:
For reasons unknown, episode's 16 and 17 actually share a minute or so of exactly the same fight. However, the animation from 16 is not reused for episode 17, instead episode 17 has an entirely different version of this sequence. It's instructive to see how Shinbo works with material compared to another director. Here's how the two directors handle shots of our other heroes (Shinbo on the left):
As always, Shinbo focuses on bringing out the emotions of the scene through the visuals, in this case once again the canted frame. Where as on the right we are still in a life and death struggle but everyone is shot as frontal planes, an image with no tension or emotion. It simply highlights that there are characters standing near each other.
In this next sequence Byakko finds himself gaining power and literally growing bigger. On the left, Shinbo:
Shinbo shoots the monster Byakko from below via a low angle and from slightly to the side. The low angle emphasises his strength and dominance over Kuwabara. As he's shot from the side he doesn't occupy the entire frame because of this, making him look strong but not fat. Kuwabara's head is barely visible at the bottom as a size comparison.
Meanwhile, as always, the other director shoots Byakko face on, completely flat. Because he takes up the entire frame he just looks fat, not strong. Moreover, even though he's clearly big without the low-angle to emphasise his height he doesn't feel as imposing.
In Shinbo's work (on the left once again) Byakko strikes a strong pose. On the right he looks kind of cuddly and dumb.
Notice how Shinbo's attention to detail with regards to the background art subtly alters the picture for the better. Because the floor is detailed it's clear that Kuwabara is standing on a tiny slice of floor at the bottom of the frame with no escape from the Byakko who occupies all other space. Kuwabara has no room for manoeuvre because there's literally no where for him to go in terms of floorspace.
In the other episode the floor has no texture and it's not even clear that it is a floor. More importantly, because the floor isn't clearly separating Byakko and Kuwabara they are now in the exactly the same space, with the 'floor' situated behind Kuwabara. So we've gone from a shot where Kuwabara is clearly isolated in space from Byakko by a sliver of floor which has tension (e.g. who will cross the gap brining both characters into the same 'space') from an image without that same tension because both characters are already in the same space.
Heck, he doesn't even appear to be standing on the floor as we can't see his shoes, so is it a wall in front of his feet? Who knows.
Also, notice the background art of the tower. In Shinbo's image the castle is clearly separated from the outside world at the right of the frame. This gives the image a location that you can understand in other words it's an exterior shot.
In the other version of this shot, the wall behind Byakko appears to go all the way to the left and the right. Are they indoors, in an enclosed space? Who knows?
You might not notice these details, but you brain will pick up on them and this will change how you react to the scene.
Anyway, I hope this has helped highlight how Shinbo's directorial style shone through from his early works but also just how talented he is at actually directing anime. It's a shame he doesn't do that anymore.
I imagine most people reading this thread are familiar with Shinbo's name, his style and 'his' various shows at SHAFT. In reality, while Shinbo is credited as the director of numerous SHAFT works in reality he doesn't actually do any direction on them, instead they simply replicate his very distinct visual style.
There was a time when Shinbo actually created directed anime personally and his earliest work is extremely distinctive. Even though Yu Yu Hakusho feels like a rather traditional shounen property his influence and style clearly shines through the material. While the first episode he directed was episode 7, I'd like to focus on his work in episode 16. This is because episode's 16 and 17 are actually part of the same fight sequence so you can easily compare and contrast Shinbo's style with that of another director.
As a director, Shinbo is extremely fond of canted angles, the technique where a scene is shot diagonally so as to suggest that the world if off-kilter. Ep 16 opens with a very distinctive example of this shot to demonstrate that our heroes our truly exploring a dangerous and alien world, that of the demon:
Shinbo remains committed to this extreme angle in his next shot:
We finally arriving at the our heroes:
In subsequent episodes directors will re-use Shinbo's extreme castle shot:
But then follow it up immediately with this shot:
Completely spoiling the effect. Shinbo creates a world out of sorts, an off-balance location where our heroes are not safe. If you start with an unbalanced diagonal shot and then immediately cut to a an shot that's heavy on flat, regular and horizontal lines you've immediately put everything back into balance and reduced tension. Which is completely wrong, because the characters here are still facing a demon and in mortal peril!
Now, back to Shinbo's episode 16:
You'll notice how even though we've arrived at our heroes the shot is still unusual. The characters are heavily framed by an thick window whose depth is accentuated not only by the very noticeable brick lines but by Kuwabara leaning on the frame itself. Moreover, the shot is tilted downwards noticeably.
Finally, pay attention to all the visible lines in the picture frame, not only of the bricks but the grid on the floor. These lines help the viewer keep track of the structure of the world by keeping it regular and they help to differentiate similar looking walls and floor.
Once we head inside to meet our characters you'll notice how even though they are shot normally from the front in a flat fashion there are really distinct vanishing points in the background, along with regularly spaced windows, to give the hallway a real depth. Shinbo is extremely good at creating tangible "3D" space.
Here you can see Kuwabara preparing his 'sword', and to accentuate this moment Shinbo chooses a really extremely low angle turning Kuwabara into an extreme longitudinal plane.
Later on we see the reverse of this angle in a shot accompanied by a camera movement upwards and really noticeable background animation, another trademark of Shinbo that re-occurs throughout this episode.
This episode is littered with unusual and stylish choices, such as this shot of Botan which is shot at a low angle in an apparent POV from an insect:
There's even a very unusual transition where a single frame contains Botan fighting a demon in the left of the frame and Kuwabara on the right of the frame. The transition is the passing of a body across the screen from left to right, effectively linking the two worlds in a single frame without a 'hard' cut:
You'll recall I mentioned that the gridlines on the floor helped to accentuate regular, straight lines and order? Well when our heroes encounter the boss of this area, Byakko, things get a little crazy:
This extremely high angle, coupled with the canted framing combines to make it look like our characters have stepped into a truly bewildering situation beyond their expectations. They're shocked by what they have encountered.
Compare and contrast with how another director fames the same location:
It just doesn't compare. Shinbo's shot tells you about the characters state of mind, the above shot is simply conveying information about a location. It describes, it does not inform.
Shinbo doesn't even 'reveal' Byakko in a normal manner. He appears to be going for a straight motion where the camera travels up this monsters body (notice that even in this shot he's not in the centre of the frame, putting us off balance):
But just when we think we're getting to the head, Shinbo pulls the rug out from us an cuts to a number of extreme close ups:
Each image represents part of this creatures animal nature. His dangerous claws, his enraged eyes, his powerful teeth etc. Once we've been treated to this uncomfortable close up with the monster we've treated to the shot we had originally imagined:
Because Shinbo brought us so dangerously close to the monster, and in such an unexpected manner, we are now keenly aware of his his strength and presence in a way that would be impossible with a flat reveal shot like this:
For reasons unknown, episode's 16 and 17 actually share a minute or so of exactly the same fight. However, the animation from 16 is not reused for episode 17, instead episode 17 has an entirely different version of this sequence. It's instructive to see how Shinbo works with material compared to another director. Here's how the two directors handle shots of our other heroes (Shinbo on the left):
As always, Shinbo focuses on bringing out the emotions of the scene through the visuals, in this case once again the canted frame. Where as on the right we are still in a life and death struggle but everyone is shot as frontal planes, an image with no tension or emotion. It simply highlights that there are characters standing near each other.
In this next sequence Byakko finds himself gaining power and literally growing bigger. On the left, Shinbo:
Shinbo shoots the monster Byakko from below via a low angle and from slightly to the side. The low angle emphasises his strength and dominance over Kuwabara. As he's shot from the side he doesn't occupy the entire frame because of this, making him look strong but not fat. Kuwabara's head is barely visible at the bottom as a size comparison.
Meanwhile, as always, the other director shoots Byakko face on, completely flat. Because he takes up the entire frame he just looks fat, not strong. Moreover, even though he's clearly big without the low-angle to emphasise his height he doesn't feel as imposing.
In Shinbo's work (on the left once again) Byakko strikes a strong pose. On the right he looks kind of cuddly and dumb.
Notice how Shinbo's attention to detail with regards to the background art subtly alters the picture for the better. Because the floor is detailed it's clear that Kuwabara is standing on a tiny slice of floor at the bottom of the frame with no escape from the Byakko who occupies all other space. Kuwabara has no room for manoeuvre because there's literally no where for him to go in terms of floorspace.
In the other episode the floor has no texture and it's not even clear that it is a floor. More importantly, because the floor isn't clearly separating Byakko and Kuwabara they are now in the exactly the same space, with the 'floor' situated behind Kuwabara. So we've gone from a shot where Kuwabara is clearly isolated in space from Byakko by a sliver of floor which has tension (e.g. who will cross the gap brining both characters into the same 'space') from an image without that same tension because both characters are already in the same space.
Heck, he doesn't even appear to be standing on the floor as we can't see his shoes, so is it a wall in front of his feet? Who knows.
Also, notice the background art of the tower. In Shinbo's image the castle is clearly separated from the outside world at the right of the frame. This gives the image a location that you can understand in other words it's an exterior shot.
In the other version of this shot, the wall behind Byakko appears to go all the way to the left and the right. Are they indoors, in an enclosed space? Who knows?
You might not notice these details, but you brain will pick up on them and this will change how you react to the scene.
Anyway, I hope this has helped highlight how Shinbo's directorial style shone through from his early works but also just how talented he is at actually directing anime. It's a shame he doesn't do that anymore.
