[Magnugiga]

When you started talking about Toujou/Sano symbiosis a couple episodes back, all I could think to myself was "I can't wait to see this guy's reaction to that part", but even then I didn't expect this

After all that, I had to go back and watch the Toujou-Sano scenes and the climax of this ep myself... and boy, I forgot how insanely good the visual framing/composition was for this. The last few minutes in particular; Sano staggering while yelling repeatedly at the piece of glass, each sounded progressively more desperate than the last (fantastic piece of acting, by the way). Yuri standing in desolation under the rain (she didn't got much screentime or lines even, but we could tell how badly she wanted this to work out). Last words from Sano. Glass shattered. Impeccable trio of shots to close out in complete silence: the empty street, bird in a cage, the empty room.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

I think that's why these four episodes, focused so squarely on two side characters that everything involving Shirou and Yui somehow becomes the B-plot, they're really good. There's some spectacular characterization going on, and the gut-punch tragic ending is among the least forced that kind of Inoue melodrama gets. Like, it's legitimately a little haunting, and I've always remembered it visually super strongly even all these years later, which made a lot more sense to me when I went to check the director credits for these episodes and found out that the 43 and 44 were done by Hidenori Ishida, who I keep finding out I apparently have nothing but good things to say about.

I'm not as well-versed as you guys regarding the names of KR directors/screenwriters and their respective stylish trait, but this makes me want to learn. I have a sudden hunch that there may be a common thread among the moments that most affected me, emotionally speaking, from the Phase I shows (Ryuki and Faiz in particular).

(Also I was going to watch a newer KR show for the first time after I'm done with the current shows I'm watching... screw that though, I'm going to re-watch Ryuki instead :v Blame this whole thread).