Small details in Erased
I'm writing an article elsewhere on this one as I think it shows a lot of promise, more so than anything I've seen in a while (Dimension W has a lot of potential as well, but more as a breakthrough to the West than a piece of art), but there were a few details I noticed that I really wanted to point out because they were pretty damn cool.
First up, the match cuts and graphic matches are beautiful. There aren't many directors who make use of them and the only one whose style was really defined by these types of edits was Satoshi Kon, a name I'm sure everyone is more than familiar with. So to see them used so effectively gives me a lot of hope that our dear Tomohiko Ito has actually been a diamond in the rough this whole time.
Along those same lines, the symbolism in this is off the charts and while I'd love nothing more than to write paragraph after paragraph on this very subject, I really want to do a standalone article when the entire series wraps up. Look forward to it! Or.. you know, don't. In particular though, the scene that stood out to me the most must be...
This scene is absolutely perfect. The tree provides a dividing line in the frame, separating Satoru and Kayo. Only when they can be honest with each other is that divide crossed - Satoru being the one closing the distance both physically and emotionally - and we see that they are now together on the same side of the frame. I'll say it over and over - this shot is a masterpiece, especially when rendered so beautifully.
Like I said, there is a lot more I'd like to talk about but I won't (the quality of animation being one of these things). Those two I just couldn't leave out. Oh! The usage of cars to set tension and motion in the scenes was really cool too. It happened twice in this episode, so I'm hoping we keep seeing it going on.
