It’s Twilight Out of Focus episode 3. Most viewers understand the trajectory of the story and its characters, and have a vague grasp of the overall quality of Janome’s series here. So please, Watanabe, for the love of all things BL- step aside. You do good work with the series… but also annoyingly plain work. You make some moments really outstanding, but others fall flat and enter a sea of comparatively similar cuts. I can’t keep doing these ups and downs with every episode. I would just really like to enjoy every moment of this series for just one episode, at least.
The rest of the staff are ready and willing to deliver on that, so give them the space. It is highly commendable that Watanabe’s stuck around to board for three consecutive episodes, but the constant panning just kills a lot of the drama and yearning that the characters exude. The one piece that Watanabe excels at exists on borrowed talent- except in this episode. With Twilight Out of Focus episode 3, conflict bubbles up into desire and our pair end up in bed together. In the manga it’s a surprisingly explicit (though still well done) affair, but in the anime it’s totally different. In this case, a huge shout out to Yoshimi Narita is deserved for their excellent rewrite of the sequence. Skipping the intense and landing instead on tender, they put forward some really great work that plays into the dramatic streak of the series. On top of that, Watanabe’s boarding is actually able to excel. Introducing their sparkly geometrics to the equation, they drop a letterbox over the scene and let Hisashi and Mao sell the moment themselves. It’s very pretty and quite well done (bar a single odd line), successfully circumventing the more challenging parts to air while maintaining that strong sense of emotion and importance.
In general though, the dialogue of Twilight Out of Focus episode 3 is quite strong. The previous two episodes were dancing around the problems, leaving them a little high and dry with potential, but in the third episode Hisashi and Mao are able to make the most of it. The strong sense of yearning and desire bleeds through in their conversation as they wax poetic about one another in monologues or dialogue. Sometimes getting too into that side of things can cheapen the effect, and that’s something this series is well aware of. Hopping and skipping over to director Ichikawa, the episode is able to successfully diffuse tension and hit a nice bright reset button on the romantic theatrics.
Even though Twilight Out of Focus episode 3 really leans into Hisashi and Mao’s relationship, it really does still do a good job of balancing everything. Ichikawa may get singled out as the comedic relief character, but the supporting cast has a surprisingly solid role to play in the series at large alongside the theme of cameras. In particular, I found it really great how the duality of Mao’s interest in Hisashi is expressed via cameras. At first, he looks through that lens when filming and sees someone standing opposite Hisashi that isn’t him. It fills him with jealousy, boiling over with bitter emotions. After one (long) night with Hisashi where he doesn’t run away from his emotions though, Mao is able to see more clearly, to express his true self in front of the camera. With that, the next time he looks through that lens, he sees Hisashi looking back at him. It’s a very sweet bit of development that’s well executed, I feel.
It’s almost as good as Yui Azumi’s color design and Youko Kikuchi’s character design. I will honestly never shut up about these two for this series, and I don’t really feel bad about it. They do damn good work, and Twilight Out of Focus episode 3 is a perfect playground for them to express that. Azumi gets to really explore a fun range of colors, dipping into those oh-so-rich sunset oranges, and an exciting range of midnight blues during Hisashi and Mao’s first night. Kikuchi on the other hand is putting forward an outstanding effort alongside their fellow chief animation directors. Incredible amounts of effort to deliver those beautifully done close-ups of our characters.
It’s really great work to see, as it accentuates the core appeal of Janome’s work. The manga covers alone are enough to explain why that is. Featuring very heavy composition, sharp and bright colors, and even something akin to Watanabe’s geometry, Twilight Out of Focus has always leaned into its theme of film and movies. Speaking of that, it’s a little detail but I do quite like how dedicated they remain to accuracy with cameras. The types of user interfaces they show, and the little technical details like the shutter speed on the film club’s camera make for nice nods. They’re hardly important nods, considering the more shallow nature of the involvement of that side, but I still appreciate their continuation nonetheless.
So, much like the majority of this season, Twilight Out of Focus episode 3 (and the series at large) has surprised me. The work isn’t drawing itself out or wearing thin anywhere, instead delivering something that points viewers in a fresher direction. The results are not quite a wholesome or fluffy romance, but it turns to face that way just a little bit more with today’s episode. Only time will tell how far Mao and Hisashi will be able to run in this anime, but at the minimum viewers can rest assured that even if Watanabe storyboards the entirety of the series, it will still have its (very pretty) moments throughout.
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