Hear the truth I used to overlook
Until I’ve caught up with some of the other spring anime, I’m stalling on watching more of Kaiba, but for the sake of curiosity, I can’t stop myself from streaming an occasional clip on YouTube. The above excerpt (from episode 3) is wonderful. You don’t need to understand the dialogue to feel what’s happening, just listen to the music and check the facial expressions. A nostalgic, tired-looking grandma sits to play her piano, and with each sad note, another long-forgotten memory rings back into recollection. Her sister, her child, her husband, she suddenly realises all of what she’s lost, and now, life having passed her by, tears roll down her wrinkled cheeks. Full of regret, she remembers everything, she’s all alone. The music stops. You know, this is what great animation is capable of, sweeping, moving, sad, wonderful human feeling.
6 comments
Such a beautiful song. I feel that clip is what Kaiba’s all about.
Yup, certainly is Roy. At this point, I’m powerless to resist Kaiba’s beautiful blend of music and visuals. It’s turning out much better than I could ever have hoped and, suffice to say, when the soundtrack’s out, I’ll be one of the first in line.
I’d be curious to see how watching this clip changed your experience of the whole third episode. It is a beautiful scene, but context makes it so much more than that. Did watching this before the episode itself spoil it somewhat?
I’m not sure yet (as I haven’t seen the episode), but I don’t think Kaiba’s the kind of series that can be spoilt in such a way. Of course, having a better understanding of the tragedy involved is bound to deepen my reaction to the ‘drama’ (for lack of a better word), but I’m not sure if Kaiba’s the kind of series that implicitly relies on that narrative to evoke feeling and emotion. I suppose I’m trying to say that it has an abstract quality that’s fairly unique to great animation, as if you can see and connect with the imagination and emotion on-screen at an almost subconscious level. The music helps too
And just because I can, this is another fantastic clip from the third episode.
I just re-watched the clip posted above and it’s hard to believe all the stuff I missed the first two times I saw it. It still gives me chills. I don’t know how many times I will end up watching, I’m even tinkering with the idea of watching each episode twice every week.
Kaiba so far has been unique (from what I’ve seen) that it has a serious plot, but each episode is separated and it pulls it off. I also just noticed in the clip above how in the last scene with the little girl the vocals are cut out but the SFX is still there. It gives off a feeling of rejection and loneliness but it feels real at the same time.
Love the banner and I didn’t notice where the title came from until now, hehe. Maybe I’m just passive.
Hehe, it’s strange how music effects me in that, first time watching Kaiba, I really loved the OP, but not so much the ED, but with many replays, I’ve grown to prefer the ED. In particular, the ED animation is beautiful (I remember reading it was created by just one guy too); my favourite sequence involves the lightning forking through the clouds. I’ve never seen it drawn in that way, but it’s so eerily evocative.
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