You're going to regret this
So, I’ve previously talked about Shinbo’s contribution to [B]Yu Yu Hakusho[/B], specifically his key work on episodes such as episode 58. One really noticeable aspect of Shinbo’s approach to directing these episodes is that when he takes over in the middle of the fight (as most fights tend to last at least two episodes) he’ll often re-create the last moments of the previous episode. One thing this does is highlight to the audience how two different directors can approach literally the same scene but create two completely different sequences, which is fascinating.
One clear example of this is the sequence in the Dark Tournament where Hei finally unveils his perfected secret technique. Suffice to say that, as an audience member, you’ve been waiting many episodes (and possibly many weeks) to witness this pivotal scene so you should be pretty excited already. Here’s how it’s handled in episode 57:
Bui taunts Hei and demonstrates his immense battle aura by literally flying above him. The low angle demonstrates Bui’s dominance in the frame, not to mention that his power and dominance are also being demonstrated via his ability to fly and project a huge aura (in this show a sign of your fighting strength is the size of your aura).
The tension mounts as Hei reveals that he’s about to unleash his true power by removing the bandages on his arm that keep it contained. A simple close up on the bandages indicates their significance.
In a move surely designed to boost tension we cut away to reaction shots of the other characters just so they can explain what’s going on. I feel this move is questionable at best for reasons we’ll see shortly but it really feels like a classic example of telling the audience what’s happening rather than simply showing it. It also interrupts the crucial ‘unwrapping’ sequence which takes some of the energy out it. Nevertheless we cut back to Hei:
The bandages have come off and we cut a to reaction shot of Bui as he starts to see Hei’s true power.
Finally, his power is unveiled and we through a cut showing both characters we can see that Hei has released a sizeable 'aura’ of his own. Canted shots suggest that this new power is making Bui very uneasy as it’s clear that the power dynamics in the situation have changed. Now the fight can begin.
Now, here’s how Shinbo handles the [I]exact[/I] same material in a completely different (and I’d argue more effective) way:
Hey, it’s those same shots again, except the art is much nicer! More importantly, the angle on the shot of Bui floating in front of Hei is shot at a far more extreme angle which really enforces the dominance that Bui is demonstrating at that point in the scene.
Hei removing his bandages, Shinbo-style. At first glance this looks totally badass, but it’s worth highlighting why. Firstly, Shinbo chooses to hold the shot on Hei and rather than focus on what people in the stadium think of his actions he literally removes them from the shot by fading everything to black except Hei. His actions and movements are the only thing that matter. I don’t know enough about colour to explain why the particular colours chosen here work but the extremely limited colour palette creates beautiful imagery that makes Hei look truly threatening. Many of his features are obscured by shadow leading to this feeling of building threat. There’s also something of a ritualistic nature to this movement and actions.
Now this is what I call a reaction shot. The focus is just on the top of Bui’s face with everything else obscured by shadow. The most important features are his eyes and eyebrows which are accentuated by the shading.
Like any good reveal, we can’t rush to final shot. We have to get their slowly, in pieces via shots focusing on a single aspect of this unveiling. It’s so important that each and every moment gets it’s own totally isolated shot. We focus on nothing else. Nothing in the world exists but these movements. This is because Bui, watching Hei do this, is concentrating extremely hard. As we’re about to see when we cut back to him:
Finally, the time is right:
Shinbo’s choice to depict Hei only in white and black (with blue eyes) really pays off here as the orange of his fire contrasts so heavily with the rest of the shot. There really is no turning back now, the fight is about to begin.
Just in case that this hasn’t made it clear how different these two interpretations are, just check out this direct comparison:
It’s pretty night and day.
