Wow, halfway through the season already? Admittedly, a lot of that surprise in pace certainly comes from tipping into the second story of the series, but it still feels rather quick. Regardless, Twilight Out of Focus episode 6 is actually… very good underneath Kiyotaka Oohata despite the issues with their previous episode. Taking full advantage of the flair and energy and Kikuchihara and Ichikawa provide, it’s a great step forward in both isolating itself stylistically, and providing the first episode that really captures the charm of this series.
Honestly, hats off to Oohata here with Twilight Out of Focus episode 6. They still retain quite a bit of what they were interested in with their first episode, but this second showing is so much more mature. It’s not jumping up and down and trying to drag the viewer over to a corner and induce an seizure with how excessive its visual effects are. Of course, they’re still present, but in just so much more moderation- to the point that it matters as a visual vehicle for storytelling. Additionally, with pulling in the reigns there, Oohata’s effort to draw focus away from faces comes off really well. It… can, you could say, gravitate towards the opposite end of the body quite a bit, but I still think it’s a really nice change to see. As much as I love Kikuchi’s character designs, it’s great to see some creative exploration that doesn’t exclusively lean upon them. Of course, as I mentioned previously though, it feels like it comes at the cost of wasting a lot of Yui’s great colors.
One of the best things to arrive in this episode though is its comedy. Mao and Hisashi’s story had a much more tender and dramatic flair to it, but Twilight Out of Focus episode 6 really proves how the intense personalities of Kikuchihara and Ichikawa butt heads so often. Oohata’s best move is taking that humor and effectively applying their penchant for visual effects to it. Approaching exposition and recaps with the appeal of an old timey movie really helps a great deal in selling them- as well as making it cheaper to draw.
Another piece that I only really touched upon above is the visual effects. Alongside their decreased frequency, Oohata has… “shrunk”, them. Where they would isolate a small sliver on the screen before, they’re now making more liberal selections that don’t waste the majority of the screen. It’s a simple change, but alongside being more uncommon, it makes a massive difference in terms of reception and overall quality. Instead of bemoaning the umpteenth use of it, you can actually find yourself thinking it was a good choice in Twilight Out of Focus episode 6.
Very much unlike Ooahta’s sudden turn for the better, the narrative of Twilight Out of Focus episode 6 continues to be really stellar. Personally speaking, Kikuchihara and Ichikawa’s story just has so much more pull. It certainly helps having such strong characters, though. The ability to isolate the pair from what makes them so passionate was a great idea in the previous episode, and they really deliver on its conversion in this episode. The dorm room was previously a “no-club” room to the pair- a mutually agreed upon decision to keep things civil. In this episode though, passion can’t hold itself back and struggles come to their front door. Push comes to shove and tensions reach a boiling point with movies at the center of it.
You’d think it would be a ploy to reset their dynamic, but Janome actually uses it to drive forward their relationship. It’s like breaking down a wall, so to speak. Where they were being nice and civil at home, but tearing out each other’s throats at work, they now find that compartmentalization has fallen apart. It forces them to address all of each other, and it works wonders. The romance leaves the lips of the individual and begins to intermingle, much like the two lives they held at an arm’s length.
Additionally, I love how committed Twilight Out of Focus episode 6 remaining “Kikuchihara’s story”. Sure, Ichikawa has some monologues here and there, but they get played off as him mumbling aloud. That, alongside having other characters verbalize a good bit for Ichikawa, really sets the tone that Kikuchihara is our lead here- something that Oohata really successfully manages from a visual perspective as well.
Twilight Out of Focus episode 6 might not be completely perfect as a product from DEEN, but it’s hard to say that this hasn’t been the best episode in the season this far. Backed by a really strong and engaging slice of story and romance, Oohata steps up to the plate and hits a solid triple into left field. It’s a little shy of hitting the stands, let alone being out of the park, but it’s the best action the team’s seen all game here. Baseball analogies aside, it really does show how successful DEEN can be when paired up with the right amount of everything. The studio may stumble and trip every so often, but when people are ready to create something, they can manage things like today’s episode.
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