Minimal dialogue

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Jul 2012

48248

It works in anime that are more focused in world building or has a lot of action.

I can't think of a situation where minimal dialogue would be wreck a show. Maybe, a slice of life drama series focused on characters? Because it's better to have character interactions and monologues to expose their personas and thoughts, instead of keeping it within them.

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Oct 27, 2015 1:40 AM

NaturalPerm

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Jan 2013

1544

Worked quite well in Texhnolyze or Cashern Sins. I guess the post apocalyptic kind of shows don't need that much dialogue because the world speaks for itself.

Oct 27, 2015 1:49 AM

Aria-da-Capo

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Jul 2014

2800

Love them. Both in anime and cinema.
The Sky Crawlers is one of my favorite examples.

Oct 27, 2015 1:51 AM

removed-user

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564612

I thought it was fine in Texhnolyze. Can't say that I've watched a lot of minimalist stuff to compare it to though.

Oct 27, 2015 2:01 AM

notsomacho

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Sep 2014

1042

Well, porn's pretty good so yeah, I guess I like movies with minimal dialogue

Oct 27, 2015 2:07 AM

Halkenburg

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Mar 2015

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I thought that Angel's Egg pulled it off perfectly. Generally, I think it's much better suited for a 70 minute movie than a 2 cour show like Texhnolyze. You can only get by for so long on a visual journey alone.

If we're talking live-action movies, Tarkovsky's Stalker is by far my favorite example of this. Those who like Texhnolyze should definitely watch Stalker. It does more in under half the time.

Oct 27, 2015 2:38 AM

Shocked

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Jan 2010

7156

Short answer

Aria-da-Capo said:
Love them. Both in anime and cinema.

Long answer

Speaking just on anime, it lends to a lot of atmosphere building, and I love atmosphere, so it works terrifically for me. There's a bunch of shorts that do this, such as The Diary of Tortov Roddle, Battle Fairy Yukikaze, and The House of Small Cubes, but as far as full-length shows and movies go, Ryuutarou Nakamura, Studio Ghibli, ABe Yoshitoshi, and Mamoru Oshii works are what I think of first with regards to quiet scenes. There's something great about having scenes just play out, leaving the audience to interpret what they can without being spoon fed.

I can also think of shows like the Haruhi Suzumiya series and The iDOLM@STER, which had a few quiet scenes that really surprised me with their amount of restraint and tact. These are still shots held for a couple of seconds with little movement and no dialogue, and they're great. For shows such as those that revel in excitement and energy, the quiet moments stand out, slow the pacing down, and gives the show a different feel than their appearance would imply. I mean, it's one thing to go heavily dramatic with lots of heavy emotion, but just letting a scene play out really challenges the viewer to fill in the blanks.

This particularly works as well in comedies, where a scene also plays out, but as part of a joke. I can think of things like The Daily Lives of High School Boys, where something embarrassing would happen and the characters could only walk away slowly with their heads in shame. There's nothing needed to be said, the idiocy just speaks for itself. There's also Strawberry Marshmallow and the second season of Working, where there are these small quiet scenes before and after jokes and cuts that really stood out to me. They're small moments, but they provide this beat that lets you realize what just happened, leaving you to react first before the characters. Or, perhaps, there was no reaction, and the gag simply happened offhandedly.

I love me some silence, but I think they're more powerful in shows that aren't typically quiet. They're more impactful when used sparingly, and are thus more memorable. Entertainment, I'd imagine, is typically loud, energetic, dramatic, funny, or gripping in one way or another. There should be something to keep the audience's attention somehow. So, having a scene or entire show quiet seems counter intuitive, and it's risky since stuff like, say, Evangelion's train station or elevator scenes, may not work for everyone. Because of that, I appreciate a show for having the ability to pull it off successfully.

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Oct 27, 2015 2:48 AM

Dresta

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Sep 2015

Anime where characters are not main focus of the story.

Oct 27, 2015 2:51 AM

#10

romagia

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Feb 2013

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all those silly shorts like pucca, there she is, poppy the performer, usavich, ...

Oct 27, 2015 3:13 AM

#11

amateur

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Oct 2008

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Texhnolyze had almost no dialogue in its first episode , and because of that lot of people dropped it.
In retrospect that was actually a good barrier from those who want instant gratification...

Oct 27, 2015 3:24 AM

#12

Deathko

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Jul 2015

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amateur said:
Texhnolyze had almost no dialogue in its first episode , and because of that lot of people dropped it.
In retrospect that was actually a good barrier from those who want instant gratification...

Yeah, I read something about it being a deliberate move from the director to scare viewers. Sadly, Texhnolyze's first episode was the best one.

BTW the train station scene in NGE is probably one of my favs :p

DeathkoOct 27, 2015 3:51 AM

Oct 27, 2015 3:49 AM

#13

jal90

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Oct 2010

11734

Damn, there is nothing left to say after Shocked's post.

Silence is a valuable resource because it can be used in multiple ways to evoke multiple emotional answers. Looking through anime where it's prevalent, Serial experiments Lain uses it to evoke physical isolation, 5 centimeters per second equals silence to lack of communication, Angel's egg builds an atmosphere where characters have simply nothing to say to each other, and a lot of shorts play it for slapstick comedy or observational drama with absolutely everything in between.

But if we go more to specifics, scenes and such, there's literally no show that doesn't make use of silence. Even in something as monologue and dialogue-heavy like The Tatami galaxy there are little instances of quiet understanding among characters, sometimes trascending the monologue or dialogue we are hearing at that moment. Or maybe a better example with Sora no woto, the scene at episode 10 where Rio and Kanata have a talk while they walk through Seize; it's a scene where characters open their souls to each other through dialogue but at the same time you can feel that there's something moving in the background. Particularly when Kanata stops replying and just listens, letting Rio express her feelings without restraint.

But if we talk about pure silence, as in absolute lack of dialogue, I'd say that various anime have managed to master these instances. Shocked mentioned for instance its use in comedy and I'd emphasize the use of long pauses in Azumanga Daioh, to the point that sometimes the whole joke lies in the awkward pause, as a way to flesh out the freakish personality of the characters. Dramatic silence can be great as well, if done well enough it is a way to connect with the audience that trascends verbalization.

It's not about verbal being better than non-verbal or the other way around, as much as it is about giving some emotional significance to and being able to evoke through them. Shows that succeed at making silence meaningful in whatever way can be really memorable.

Oct 27, 2015 4:11 AM

#14

Aria-da-Capo

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Jul 2014

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Clebardman said:

Yeah, I read something about it being a deliberate move from the director to scare viewers. Sadly, Texhnolyze's first episode was the best one.

Definitely agree. Though the rest was good as well.

Clebardman said:

BTW the train station scene in NGE is probably one of my favs :p

My fav is the long silent scene towards the end of the series, I guess you can imagine which scene I'm referring to. I can still remember the goosebumps.

Aria-da-CapoOct 27, 2015 4:39 AM

Oct 28, 2015 1:56 AM

#15

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May 2015

16469

Clebardman said:

I can't express how stupid, silly and pointless this thing is. Making your work inaccessible on purpose just to scare viewers is like putting tits to attract viewers.

mayukachan said:
It works in anime that are more focused in world building or has a lot of action.

I can't think of a situation where minimal dialogue would be wreck a show. Maybe, a slice of life drama series focused on characters? Because it's better to have character interactions and monologues to expose their personas and thoughts, instead of keeping it within them.

How does it produce worldbuilding?

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Oct 28, 2015 1:56 AM

#16

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TheBrainintheJar said:
How does it produce worldbuilding?

Not talking = more focus on the scenery and surroundings

Oct 28, 2015 2:04 AM

#17

Ryuzar

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Nov 2012

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That reminds me of Angel's Egg movie.

Oct 28, 2015 8:28 AM

#18

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May 2015

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mayukachan said:

TheBrainintheJar said:
How does it produce worldbuilding?

Not talking = more focus on the scenery and surroundings

You can still show the scenary while people are talking. I'd say the world feels more alive and real when you see how people live and interact with it. That involves talking.

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Oct 28, 2015 8:38 AM

#19

Caelidesu

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Feb 2015

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FloatingIdiot said:
I thought that Angel's Egg pulled it off perfectly. Generally, I think it's much better suited for a 70 minute movie than a 2 cour show like Texhnolyze. You can only get by for so long on a visual journey alone.

Well put.

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Oct 28, 2015 8:52 AM

#20

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Jul 2012

48248

TheBrainintheJar said:

mayukachan said:

Not talking = more focus on the scenery and surroundings

You can still show the scenary while people are talking. I'd say the world feels more alive and real when you see how people live and interact with it. That involves talking.

No, but that would make you focus more on the dialogue and less on the world.

Oct 28, 2015 3:30 PM

#21

I watch movies/I write about movies (in Spanish)/I watch anime

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May 2015

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mayukachan said:

TheBrainintheJar said:

You can still show the scenary while people are talking. I'd say the world feels more alive and real when you see how people live and interact with it. That involves talking.

No, but that would make you focus more on the dialogue and less on the world.

Isn't the dialogue part of the world? How people speak, what they speak about, and so on?

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Oct 28, 2015 3:32 PM

#22

royaldocks

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Nov 2014

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ryuuji_xvii said:
That reminds me of Angel's Egg movie.

I actually liked it a lot of people I met called it pretentious but I enjoyed the atmosphere and art style a lot.

Oct 28, 2015 4:08 PM

#23

Kruszer

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Dec 2012

9380

The only thing I can think of is Texhnolyze's first episode. Judging by that I hate that method.

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Oct 28, 2015 5:48 PM

#24

jal90

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Oct 2010

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Lancehot said:

Damn ;__;

Oct 28, 2015 5:52 PM

#25

Nefayn

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Apr 2011

5277

Silence and minimalistic dialogue is pretty underrated in shows.

Oct 28, 2015 7:16 PM

#26

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Jul 2012

48248

TheBrainintheJar said:

mayukachan said:

No, but that would make you focus more on the dialogue and less on the world.

Isn't the dialogue part of the world? How people speak, what they speak about, and so on?

Minimal doesn't mean none at all. lol You need something to push the story forward still.

Oct 29, 2015 3:13 AM

#27