Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’ll be embarking on a new project that’s also a bit of a homecoming, as we explore the second season of Kyoto Animation’s Tsurune. Tsurune was the last drama Kyoto Animation produced before the 2019 arson attack, and therefore the last show they produced in the mode that essentially drew me back into anime. Back in 2012, Hyouka was one of the first anime to rekindle my interest in the medium, after I’d largely fallen out of watching anime during college. That was followed by poignant, delicately animated dramas like Sound! Euphonium and A Silent Voice, all of which collectively solidified Kyoto Animation as my favorite anime studio, and the studio that best exemplified what I found compelling about the medium.
When Kyoto Animation suffered that attack, my hope for anime’s future, as a medium that prioritizes intimate human stories and captures life as it is truly experienced, was nearly extinguished. The years since have largely proven my fears correct; though other studios have tried, only Naoko Yamada’s own Heike Monogatari has achieved the level of brilliance embodied by KyoAni’s best productions. Anime has been significantly poorer for KyoAni’s absence, but with a new season of Tsurune, it seems like we’ve reason to hope again. After far too long away, let’s see how our young archers are faring!
Episode 1
Goddamn this is a beautiful show. We open with a shot that’s already showing off, as our archer’s form is reflected on the shimmering waxed floor, with just the right degree of distortion built into the animation of that reflection. What impressive animation and compositing – KyoAni never take the easy route!
Also that keen focus on character movement conveyed through partial body shots. This is part of what I meant when I say KyoAni’s best stories “capture life as it is truly experienced” – in moments like this, you truly do feel like a mass of knees and elbows, your entire conscience self focused into the micro-movements that will define your future. It works perfectly for either sports or romantic drama, or really anything where you feel hyper conscious of your own body
The lighting is also gorgeous. Love the different ways they’re illustrating the light filtering in from outside the pagoda, ranging from a halo of light rimming a character blocking the sunlight, to details like motes of dust glimmering in the sun
The contrast between light and shadow here offers a natural reintroduction to the show’s drama, as our characters rise slowly in darkness like they’re preparing for a stage performance, then step out into the light via their arrow’s flight
And then the camera spins entirely around Minato, and surges back to follow the arrow in flight. What preposterously luxurious movement of the frame! This single cut must have required so many redraws of the background scenery!
The opening shots of the OP offer a clear thematic parallel with the first OP – rather than ropes binding Minato to symbolize his target panic, he now bears a rainbow of ribbons that connect him to his friends, emphasizing his way forward
Ooh, seems like this season will be rising up towards some kind of major tournament
Something that’s common for KyoAni shows, but which I’d forgotten how much I appreciate: all the background characters of these establishing shots at school are traditionally drawn and possess distinctive designs, making it that much easier to believe in this school as a living place, rather than just a set for our protagonists
A delightful conceit for rounding up the troops here: as each of them discuss things with their various other sports teams, that unmistakable sound of an arrow’s strike calls them back to the range
The gang demonstrate their easy rapport as they all yell at Minato for getting ahead of them. Some nice slightly deformed character acting in these mid distance shots
Apparently we’re in the midst of the school sports competition, which means all club activities are currently banned. Seiya is predictably the one to lecture the others
Nice subtle moment here as Kaito motions for Minato to push back against Seiya. Only a KyoAni level of animation acumen allows these quiet moments of conversation, which underline truths like Kaito’s growing maturity and understanding of this group’s internal dynamics
“If you can’t switch in and out of kyudo mode, then you won’t be prepared when we need you.” It also makes sense that Seiya, the most composed and frankly duplicitous member of the group, has the least trouble “turning off” his archery passion
Man, I was a little worried I wouldn’t be able to pick up these characters’ dynamic after five years away, but basically every thirty seconds spent with characters in a KyoAni show offers a perfect microcosm of their relationships
Just stupendously expressive animation as Kaito scores a soccer goal, in spite of a relatively low drawing count
And of course Seiya’s got his own little soccer play board
Even things like the connections between shot transitions are just handled in an intelligent, uniquely energetic way. Our journey around the field to check in on our competitors is conveyed from sightline to sightline, with each new focus character turning from the previous cut’s characters to address their own companions
And then we get a brief cut of the school’s covered walkway before cutting to the gym, as if we’re actually traveling around the campus
And again for our path out of the gym, as we cut from Nanao glancing up at the window, to a shot echoing her eyes’ gaze, to a jump out through that window and back to the boys outside. Incredibly graceful movement across all these micro conflicts, all facilitated by a camera that’s persistently moving where the audience’s own eye desires
Seiya can’t help but rub in his victory over Keita. This sports festival has provided an excellent opportunity to reestablish all the cast dynamics without the distraction of some new narrative objective
In spite of Seiya’s machinations, Ryouhei ends up winning MVP via his single-handed victory in the kendo competition
Ryouhei’s reason for not pursuing kendo is quite simple: he doesn’t like pain, whether causing it or experiencing it. His admission of this is accompanied by some mildly nervous character acting, as he scratches one ankle with his other foot
Minato agrees, saying he enjoys how kyudo is essentially a competition against yourself. That makes it a good topic for this sort of character drama, too; your teammates can help, but kyudo ultimately requires achieving a strong independent mental state
The restless energy conveyed through all these archery-reminiscent hand movements at the restaurant is unleashed when Minato proposes a trip to the shrine; all stillness for a moment, and then they spring forward like an arrow, racing together towards the shrine
Masaki is indeed at the shrine, and appears to be firing in finer form than ever. Ridiculously narrow spread on his five shots
We get some nice nitty-gritty mechanical discussion here, as Masaki discusses the different ways one can choose to assess the target while holding a fully extended bow. KyoAni sports dramas are more about characters than tactics, but a little bit of mechanical sturdiness certainly doesn’t hurt
A lovely montage of partial body shots as the group prepares, making it feel as if kyudo practice is some sort of religious ceremony with its own attendant rituals
God, the sound design is so good. This whole episode is unified through that familiar sound of draw and release, a sound that clearly feels like home to these boys
I love how their shots here frame kyudo as a vehicle for judging your true mental state – each archer in turn seeks validation through the arrow’s path, but only Minato is fully satisfied with what he sees
The boys all offer different, uniquely appropriate answers for why they like kyudo. The hyper-competitive Kaito likes that he’s competing against himself, and thus can put one hundred percent into it. Meanwhile, the generally logic-oriented Seiya likes that kyudo includes an element of chance, allowing it to challenge and exceed his calculations
We get a brief flashback to Minato training with Shu and their old teacher, setting up the rekindling of the rivalry
The way they animate the folds and shadows on Minato’s robe as the wind rushes past him! Dear lord!
And Done
Ah, what a delight to be back with this crew, and enjoying the absurd splendor of a Kyoto Animation drama in action! This episode offered one wildly ambitious and gorgeously realized feat of animation after another, with the storyboards drawing us smoothly through every single transition, making it easy to feel like we in the audience were sharing this auspicious day with the team. And all of that beauty in service of what I love best in anime: humanity captured in all its frailty and glory, our innermost feelings realized and made universal through character acting, layouts, and all the other tools that make animation so uniquely evocative, the lived experience of a moment made tangible in aesthetic form. Thank you so much, KyoAni. It’s good to be back.
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