For a lack of a better description, that is what I call the two shapes that appear over the character's heads when they listen to the A2 recording.
Here is an example.
http://ykk.misago.org/Afternoon2002/73
The shapes' meaning or representation totally evades me. I wouldn't think of them much if it wasn't for the fact that Ashinano-san has redrawn them exactly the same each time. What finally led me to post about these shapes, is the fact that on the back of Volume 10 is a colour painting of the two shapes on a clear blue sky.
Coloured, they seem more like flower petals. They are light pink (more consentrated near the top) with a touch of yellow at the bottom points. Some quick searching on the internet gave me very few possible matching species of flower. Pink Water Lilly, and a japanese breed of Mary Lou where the closest matches I could find.
Anyhow, I'm just looking to see what you guys think/speculate/know about these mysterious shapes.
- Ced
Thursday, January 1, 2004
Howdy,
I wouldn't assign the shapes too much meaning. In that panel, Ashinano had to indicate both the sky (clounds) and Kokone's feelings. The bunny ears, as you call them, evokes both nicely. But if you look, the artist uses a lot of swoopy zip-tone backgroups to nice effect in many chapters, and the bunny ears are not too unusual in that context.
In particular, they don't appear when Konone listens to the record either time, just in that one panel when she is reminicing.
Best,
Dave
- dDave
Thursday, January 1, 2004
Hmmm you may be right.... but I still beleive it is more than just some random stylistic shapes made to fill out an empty panel. It's repeated a few times, and he picked those shapes as the subject for the colour piece he used as the back cover of Volume 10.
The example I give above is in chapter 93, and it's called "hito no hana" (Humanity's Flower(s)). So I think they ARE supposed to be flower petals, but he might have found that it wasn't properly conveyed in the black and white panel, and then he did the colour illustration for the back cover of Volume 10.
I also like the idea of them being flower petals. Since Kokone listens to the record and she somwhow blooms. Further driving Kokone from her old human-mimicing self, towards the happy and proud of being what she is self. This whole transformation was triggered by her meeting Alpha, but I think the record really sealed the deal for Kokone.
Either way Ashinano-san must also like the "idea" behind the flower petals, since he picked that as the subject for the back cover. Not that all the back covers are all important pieces, but they are chosen pieces that reinforce the ykk'ness of it all (Volume 4's is my favourite).
Obviously it's all part of the humanity's legacy theme. I like the indirectness of "Humanity's Flower(s)", it's more appealing to me.
- Ced
Friday, January 2, 2004
Howdy,
Sorry, I didn't mean to indicate that there wasn't any meaning at all in the shapes - Ashinano is an extraordinarily precise artist in that he pays excruciating attention to details, after all. Just that they probably don't have the level of import of a leitmotiv or anything. He's been very careful not to tell us what to think or feel in this series so far.
I do like the associate with flower petals, and agree that the record does mark some sort of turning point for Kokone.
Best,
Dave
- dDave
Friday, January 2, 2004
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