The Fire Hunter – Episode 1

Whats up people, and welcome again to Unsuitable Each Time. Right this moment I’m wanting to set out on a brand new journey, as we discover the primary episode of the latest manufacturing The Fireplace Hunter. This present was introduced with a lot fanfare a number of years in the past, owing each to its distinct supply materials and eminently noteworthy key employees. First off, the sequence is predicated on a set of conventional fantasy novels by Rieko Hinata, quite than mild novels, which is maybe the only most dependable delineator of narrative high quality in animation. That implies that each its world and characters will probably be constructed by a practiced hand; a spot folks may truly dwell in, populated by characters who presumably converse like people quite than favored archetypes.

Secondly, the present marks one other return to animation by the unbelievable Vladlove duo of Junji Nishimura and Mamoru Oshii. Vladlove apart (it’s clear the pair have been feeling some nostalgia for his or her Ranma days), each Nishimura and Oshii are supremely succesful artists; Nishimura’s Simoun is likely one of the nice unsung masterpieces of animation, and Oshii presumably wants no introduction. Between Angel’s Egg, Patlabor, Ghost within the Shell, and his many different tasks, Oshii has left a singular mark on animation, and stands alongside such titans as Satoshi Kon and Masaaki Yuasa as one of many nice auteurs of the medium. With the 2 of them dealing with route and writing, we couldn’t be in safer fingers, and I’m wanting to be taught what about this story drew them again to the medium. Let’s get to it!

Episode 1

An attention-grabbing aesthetic proper from the start; delicate linework and complicated eye designs, however a normal lack of shading for this primary woman. Additionally some actual nuance to the character performing, which feels applicable for this group, however I think about gained’t be sustainable over an extended manufacturing

We open simply after the inspiring occasion of the narrative, with a wounded hunter standing over this woman, saying his canine’s title is Kanata. A neat method to each open with a hook and draw the viewer into this woman’s perspective, echoing her feeling of issues transferring too quick by robbing us of the context for no matter she’s reacting to. If you need the viewers to really feel as a lot panic because the characters, you typically need to restrict what info you give them – we in our seats will at all times really feel a sure dramatic distance from the fabric, so you have to shut the hole in some way

Love these watercolor-style painted backgrounds. The largely unshaded character artwork feels cohesive inside these environments, avoiding the compositional divide that haunts a lot of recent anime. Additionally like how we by no means get a transparent have a look at this beast, it’s simply an ominous form

“That night, a man they called a ‘fire hunter’ died, leaving behind only his hound and his sickle”

The OP provides a clearer demonstration of our total aesthetic; mild shading, skinny linework, a method gesturing in direction of each watercolors and chic pencil sketches

Plenty of austere character portraits, alongside photos of destruction and renewal – a tree rising and collapsing, grass sprouting, fires burning

We return on that younger woman praying to 1 grave amongst many. The model of shading they’re utilizing for her jacket is kind of distinctive – they’re truly drawing within the cross-hatching on the underside, akin to the ornate model utilized in The Girl Referred to as Fujiko Mine (a present Nishimura truly scripted for)

Jeez, it’s not cross-hatching, it’s individually drawing all the seams of her shirt, a preposterously intricate job

We’re already previous the occasions of the chilly open, as this woman calling for Kanata demonstrates. A direct signal that that is based mostly on a conventional novel – the arrogance of storytelling, not explaining every thing to us in a rush of exposition, letting the scene breathe and the narrative clarify itself

A doll sits in a roadside shrine

Outstanding cuts of animation as we return to the second of disaster, a mixture of formless fluidity contrasted towards one evocative nonetheless body, like a postcard reminiscence in the course of an motion scene. Apparently Yasunori Miyazawa animated this sequence, a person whose credit run from Yuasa and Kon collaborations to Moomins

Kanata carries the sickle to the woman. No phrases are wanted

The woman’s title is Touko

“You must give the dog back, alongside the warding stone and the sickle.”

Touko is knowledgeable she should journey to the capital to return the canine

Splendidly distinctive, lumpy-faced design for Touko’s grandmother. The character designs are robust usually; not intentionally ostentatious, however every distinctive in their very own methods, and crucially convincing as fellow inhabitants of this world. So far as character design priorities go, I are likely to favor “do they look like they could exist within their own world” over maximizing particulars and appeal factors

“Up until about sixty years ago, we were skulking around in the dark. Now we have villages. We have the fire hunters to thank for that.” It’s actually an evocative phrase, “fire hunter.” Its ambiguity provides a pleasant air of secrecy to this opening sequence; quite than eagerly explaining them, it will possibly usually be extra dramatically efficient to go away the distinctive points of your world undefined, which each fosters reader curiosity and extra convincingly illustrates how characters who take these points with no consideration would work together with them

“They risk their lives to harvest flame so that you can live with your eyes open.” A flame can imply many issues – life, inspiration, ardour, intelligence, civilization, braveness, anger, or oblivion. It’s the cornerstone of human mastery over the weather, a strong motif that performs a special position in numerous tales

“I’ll speak to the papermakers.” Plenty of incidental allusions to points of this world which might be past our grasp, however nonetheless bolster its solidity by the characters’ confidence of their presence

Good music to date; your ordinary violin strings within the again, however the melody is led by a koto, giving the scene an era-appropriate really feel

The warding stone is marked “Tokohanahime”

“Put that light back. You’re wasting it.” A visible parallel is drawn between the golden liquid that gives their fireplace and the vivid gold of Touko’s eyes, the one shiny or attention-drawing a part of her design. A pure implication that she holds a hearth inside herself, that her soul is brighter than her garb would indicate

Her older sister considers her a burden. Great delicacy on this reduce of her swallowing the damage her sister induced

Touko’s mom asks the papermakers for just a few sheets of “muku paper” for her daughter’s journey

“You do realize that one sheet of muku is enough to keep the lights on. It’s a sacred offering. You can trade it for bottled lightning.” Not solely does this form of incidental revelation of worldbuilding supply a gradual drip feed of mysteries and discoveries, it additionally simply lends itself to a extra targeted, significant narrative. Simply because there’s a particular historical past of papermaking right here doesn’t imply we have to be taught each element of the trade; greatest to solely illustrate a lot as occurs to cross the highlight of the energetic narrative, which has its personal priorities. Too many authors see worldbuilding as the target itself, versus a stage on which your precise dramatic/thematic priorities play out

This papermaker’s frank evaluation of Touko’s prospects underlines the poverty and brutality of this world

“Lots of villages sell to factories, but only a handful make offerings. And muku paper is what the gods write on.”

“We’d shame ourselves if we sent a girl to repay a debt without properly preparing her for the journey.” Touko’s mom cleverly ties Touko’s fortunes to the fame of the village at massive

He in the end guarantees 5 sheets

“You went to get medicine from the treefolk, didn’t you? Touko, they won’t give you eye medicine. You can’t use it.” Extra emphasizing the hyperlink between eyes and identification, this time within the context of Touko’s mom’s failing imaginative and prescient

And the picture of that lone tree, its branches tossed by the winds

We lastly be taught some context relating to this world – that humanity was as soon as ready to make use of fireplace as they wished, however have been at one level “remade,” such that approaching even a spark of pure flame would trigger their our bodies to “ignite from within”

Thus the hearth we see Touko’s eyes is definitely fairly literal, a warning that she may at all times be consumed by her fascination. One other thematic use of the extremely versatile machine that’s fireplace – trying to grasp it’s actually “playing with fire,” inviting spoil for humanity

Now the world is stuffed with darkish forests hiding “flame fiends.” This world truly fairly jogs my memory of Shinsekai Yori’s harmful people and forest fiends, a connection bolstered by their shared somber, post-apocalyptic tone and confidence of storytelling

“One day strong winds rustled the treetops, conjuring a spark that claimed the lives of Touko’s parents and her neighbor’s husband.” I see – so the wind within the timber can also be a transparent marker of coming catastrophe, and Touko’s “sister” begrudges her as a result of she was truly adopted into her household

“Come back home. We’ll be waiting. I promise we’ll be waiting.” Akari permits herself a second of real sentiment earlier than sending Touko on her method

And eventually, the “collection truck” arrives, a pair of automobiles that look extra like armored trains. The absurd armaments of those vans and excessive partitions of the village all emphasize the unseen risk of the hearth fiends

The truck stays for 2 days, buying and selling for items and operating a store within the village sq.

An engineer named Enji lays out the dangers of journey and lengthy journey to the capital for Touko and the viewers alike

“I promise I’ll try not to get underfoot. Please take me to the capital.” Touko’s practiced little speech is heartbreaking

Enji’s options are as gentle as his have an effect on; I doubt he’s lengthy for this world

He introduces his boss, Sakuroku

Extra lovingly exact character animation as Touko crawls up the practice’s ladder, taking a final have a look at the village. Her adopted sister’s face is obscured, hidden behind the masks she bought from the practice

An surprising title card, studying “Koushi and Hinako”

Our narrator ponders how folks in previous eras would cremate their useless, explicitly conflating fireplace with human destruction. I ponder if we’ll meet this narrator

We eventually meet our presumed second protagonist, who seems to be attending his mom’s funeral. The ceremony takes place underneath an remoted tree very similar to the one from the OP and Touko’s village

She died from the toxicity of her work at a manufacturing unit. Koushi returns dwelling to a letter from the Okibi household

Oh wow, this ED is attractive. Like a reduce paper or stained glass tapestry, mixing ornate illustrations with a contact of cubist colour design, very similar to the distinction of historical and trendy embodied by our setting

And Accomplished

Whoof, what a premiere! A narrative that proceeds with absolute confidence, a world that invitations curiosity and surprise, and an overarching tone of luxurious melancholy, sifting for human connection and happiness within the wake of world-shaking tragedy. The artwork and sound design can also be completely suited to the fabric; the entire present’s aesthetic appears embodied in these last sequences of wet departures, as we are saying goodbye to family members and muster our braveness to face a hostile, unfamiliar world. A lot of this manufacturing’s narrative and tone recall to mind the mournful ambiguity of Shinsekai Yori, however right here utilized to a extra private story, a drama with a transparent curiosity in Touko’s hopes and struggles. General, the manufacturing provides a reassuring impression of practiced storytellers conjuring exactly the story they want to inform; with such confidence in its execution and such sturdiness in its fundamentals, I’m wanting to discover extra of Touko’s fallen world.

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