xxxHOLiC" depicts order and chaos, mystery and vulgarity, depending on the composition.

SHIROBAKO the Movie" directed by Tsutomu Mizushima is now in theaters. And "xxxHOLiC" (Holic), directed in 2006 by Mizushima, who has directed numerous TV anime since the 00s, is based on an original story by CLAMP.

Kimihiro Watanuki, a high school student who can see demons and evil spirits invisible to normal people, enters a mysterious mansion tucked away in the middle of the city. The owner of the mansion is a mysterious and beautiful woman named Yuko Ichihara. In exchange for exorcising the evil spirit that has been tormenting Kimihiro, Yuko hires him as a part-time job.
The first episode, "Hitsuzen," describes the encounter between Kimihiro and Yuko. Although the interaction is mainly comical, Yuko is a peculiar character who is knowledgeable about mysterious events that are invisible to the human world. It is necessary to impress the viewers with both comical and serious aspects in a short period of time.

Symbolic composition, just like in "The Shining

Now, at the beginning of the first episode, Kimihiro is drawn against his will to Yuko's mansion. As if waiting for him, Kimihiro is greeted by two mysterious girls named Mardashi and Morodashi.
From the scene where the door to Yuko's mansion opens, the symmetry of the composition increases.

Speaking of symmetrical compositions, the famous cut in Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining" shows the twin girls standing in a hallway. In exactly the same way, Mardashi and Morodashi stand symmetrically side by side in front of an open doorway.
Kimihiro is pulled by both arms by Mardashi and Morodashi and pulled into the back of the pavilion. The few shots are not symmetrical, being ordinary angles taken from diagonals or right beside each other.
However, when Kimihiro stands in front of the fusuma in Yuko's room, the composition becomes symmetrical again. Kimihiro's shadow falls on the bran. The cut is also symmetrical.
Next, MARUDASHI and MORODASHI open the fusuma from both sides of the screen. Kimihiro is surprised to see Yuko's figure through the opened fusuma. The symmetrical composition continues for a total of five shots so far.
The above shots are accompanied by Yuko's line: "It was inevitable.

"Because it was inevitable. ....... That you would visit here."

The conversation between Kimihiro and Yuko has many over-the-top movements and gag elements, but when Kimihiro tries to leave, the fusuma (sliding door) closes on its own. Kimihiro is positioned on the left side of the screen, but the fusuma in the background is still drawn in perfect symmetry. Then, Yuko said to Kimihiro, "I told you ...... that it was inevitable, didn't I?　I told you it was inevitable," she tells Kimihiro.
In other words, no matter how gaggy the conversation is, when Yuko says "inevitable," the composition is always symmetrical.

Why not include Yuko in the "symmetry" composition?

A symmetrical composition has a sense of balance and order on the left and right sides.
Shrines and temples, Christian churches, Islamic mosques, and most religious architecture are symmetrical and built to be seen from the front.
Not only in "xxxHOLiC," but also in animated and dramatic films, people are captured from a 45° angle, and when two or more characters enter the screen, they are placed in a ratio of 6:4 or 7:3, which is a good fit.
However, when people or buildings are captured from the front, the picture inevitably becomes symmetrical, and some kind of religious order or symbolic meaning is created. The twins in "The Shining" are frightening because their symmetrical alignment gives them an unidentifiable meaning.

At the end of the first episode, "Hitsuzen," Yuko tells Kimihiro as he leaves the pavilion, "There is a meaning to your meeting with me. As if to corroborate her words, the composition of this scene is also symmetrical. In other words, in a visual work, no matter how much dialogue is used to say "there is a meaning," it is not effective; the meaning must be given by the composition to be convincing.

In this sense, there is a composition that requires more attention than symmetry.
Yuko, who is at the back of the open fusuma, is lying on a couch, her face tilted at an angle, and often conversing with a streaming eye. In advance, she has a pose and facial expression that is difficult to symmetrical. This is because, although Yuko is an enigmatic figure, she also has a human side, being a drinker and a party-goer. In order to depict Yuko's common nature, it is best to avoid symmetry that would give her excessive "meaning". By choosing the composition, it is even possible to depict the character's personality differently. ......, and this is what makes video works so interesting.


(Text by Keisuke Hirota)