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Part 5 - Characterization II (Obata Takeshi, DEATH NOTE)
Part II of the Characterization essay, using the intro panels of DEATH NOTE characters. Read Part I for the introduction to DEATH NOTE and why the names I'm using differ from the names in the panels. Panels are from Chapter 59, but no plot spoilers.
Near's introductory panel is a study in contrasts to Mello's.
There's a few similarities - they both dominate their panel, and there are interactions with other characters - but that's about where it ends. There's obvious differences: Near's inside, Mello's outside. Near's quietly amusing himself with a jigsaw puzzle while Mello's whanging other kids upside the head with a soccer ball. Near's interactions with other kids are quiet and reserved, while Mello's are antagonistic. Mello's dressed in a solid dark color while Near is in a solid light color. They both have light-colored hair, but Mello's is solidly defined, with straight lines and is controlled, while Near's is less definite, a bit wavy, and slightly messy. Mello is turned towards the other kids and is actively interacting with them while Near is turned away from them - facing in the opposite direction, actually, and his interaction with them is distant and a bit formal.
Remember the dominant triangle in Mello's panel? Near's got one, too, but it's got different characteristics:
Mello's triangle was off-kilter, balancing on the lowermost point, ready to move or fall over one way or the other. Near's is solid, resting on a flat base. It's also in the center of the panel solidifying the composition, while Mello's is off to one side
Near is just as much of a solid block element in his panel as Mello is in his. Near's all in white right now. I pointed out back in the Saiyuki essay that Gojyo and Sanzo both had dark elements framing their faces. Near doesn't. This makes you lose his face amongst his hair and clothing to the extent that you can see his profile (and believe me when I tell you it still works like this in a later chapter when you see more of his face). This is a deliberate choice - Near is supposed to be a bit more of a cipher than Mello is. He's introverted and withdrawn, and he makes a big white blotch on the page.
Next up: the Red Line o'Doom. Only keeping in with the general gist of characteristics, it is now the Blue Line o'Doom:
Not too much to say here, except that the strong lines of the speech balloons and the architectures along with Near's back draw you through the panel without too much effort.
Now, the lines. Mello's panel was full of straight, solid lines all pointing to his head. There's something different going on in Near's panel:
See how there are so few straight, solid lines here? If there's a straight, solid line, it's broken - by Near's head, by a speech balloon, and so on. There also really isn't much pointing to Near; his solid whiteness is what draws you to him, because big light areas are almost always a focal point, but due to the lack of arrows pointing to his face, your eye sort of slides off his head. Most of the lines here are soft and give an effect of curves, as opposed to Mello's straight lines and sharp corners. I put circles in the speech balloons to remind me to tell you something: because this panel is set indoors, the architecture has some very strong lines. However, the speech balloons are placed - boom, boom, boom - exactly over the strongest corners. If the balloons weren't there, the doorway would frame the kids in the background and pull attention off of Near, but it would also soften the effect of all the curved lines, because the straight lines and sharp corners would dominate the composition.
Near also has a little bit of darkness surrounding him to make him pop out, but there's no darkness around his head, so it de-emphasizes his head and you focus on his posture and clothing. Near dominates the panel because of his size, the angle of the camera looking up at him, and the solid blank expanse of his clothing. Mello, on the other hand, covers a much smaller percentage of his panel - and it's probalby significant that he got a panel twice the size of Near's - but he dominates it because of the solid dark shades and all the lines pointing to him.
So - after seeing this panel, what can you say about Near's personality, as opposed to Mello's? Which one would you rather have over to dinner? (You might get more conversation and entertainment with Mello, but I suspect you'd end up with less collateral damage if you invited Near.)
That's it for Near right now. I've got one more essay to work on which looks at another page and one more panel from later in the chapter, and I'll post it when it's ready.
Index to the Series
Near's introductory panel is a study in contrasts to Mello's.
 |
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There's a few similarities - they both dominate their panel, and there are interactions with other characters - but that's about where it ends. There's obvious differences: Near's inside, Mello's outside. Near's quietly amusing himself with a jigsaw puzzle while Mello's whanging other kids upside the head with a soccer ball. Near's interactions with other kids are quiet and reserved, while Mello's are antagonistic. Mello's dressed in a solid dark color while Near is in a solid light color. They both have light-colored hair, but Mello's is solidly defined, with straight lines and is controlled, while Near's is less definite, a bit wavy, and slightly messy. Mello is turned towards the other kids and is actively interacting with them while Near is turned away from them - facing in the opposite direction, actually, and his interaction with them is distant and a bit formal.
Remember the dominant triangle in Mello's panel? Near's got one, too, but it's got different characteristics:
Mello's triangle was off-kilter, balancing on the lowermost point, ready to move or fall over one way or the other. Near's is solid, resting on a flat base. It's also in the center of the panel solidifying the composition, while Mello's is off to one side
Near is just as much of a solid block element in his panel as Mello is in his. Near's all in white right now. I pointed out back in the Saiyuki essay that Gojyo and Sanzo both had dark elements framing their faces. Near doesn't. This makes you lose his face amongst his hair and clothing to the extent that you can see his profile (and believe me when I tell you it still works like this in a later chapter when you see more of his face). This is a deliberate choice - Near is supposed to be a bit more of a cipher than Mello is. He's introverted and withdrawn, and he makes a big white blotch on the page.
Next up: the Red Line o'Doom. Only keeping in with the general gist of characteristics, it is now the Blue Line o'Doom:
Not too much to say here, except that the strong lines of the speech balloons and the architectures along with Near's back draw you through the panel without too much effort.
Now, the lines. Mello's panel was full of straight, solid lines all pointing to his head. There's something different going on in Near's panel:
See how there are so few straight, solid lines here? If there's a straight, solid line, it's broken - by Near's head, by a speech balloon, and so on. There also really isn't much pointing to Near; his solid whiteness is what draws you to him, because big light areas are almost always a focal point, but due to the lack of arrows pointing to his face, your eye sort of slides off his head. Most of the lines here are soft and give an effect of curves, as opposed to Mello's straight lines and sharp corners. I put circles in the speech balloons to remind me to tell you something: because this panel is set indoors, the architecture has some very strong lines. However, the speech balloons are placed - boom, boom, boom - exactly over the strongest corners. If the balloons weren't there, the doorway would frame the kids in the background and pull attention off of Near, but it would also soften the effect of all the curved lines, because the straight lines and sharp corners would dominate the composition.
Near also has a little bit of darkness surrounding him to make him pop out, but there's no darkness around his head, so it de-emphasizes his head and you focus on his posture and clothing. Near dominates the panel because of his size, the angle of the camera looking up at him, and the solid blank expanse of his clothing. Mello, on the other hand, covers a much smaller percentage of his panel - and it's probalby significant that he got a panel twice the size of Near's - but he dominates it because of the solid dark shades and all the lines pointing to him.
So - after seeing this panel, what can you say about Near's personality, as opposed to Mello's? Which one would you rather have over to dinner? (You might get more conversation and entertainment with Mello, but I suspect you'd end up with less collateral damage if you invited Near.)
That's it for Near right now. I've got one more essay to work on which looks at another page and one more panel from later in the chapter, and I'll post it when it's ready.
Index to the Series
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