Foo Hui Xin || 0351665
Illustration & Visual Narrative || Bachelor of Design in Creative Media
Lecture Report 2 - Chiaroscuro
Kakegurui
(MAPPA Co., Ltd)
"Let's gamble." // "掛け狂いましょう。 (Kakegurui masho)"
Yumeko Jabami, the main character of Kakegurui, would say this line right before when the gamble gets serious and is played at very high stakes. The line, seemingly simple in the English translation, is actually delivered in a frantic or crazy way, in a way that Yumeko seems out of her mind. It also can mean "Let's get our gambling freaks on". "Kakegurui" also means "Compulsive gambler". This scene shows how out of control Yumeko gets from gambling due to her addiction for gambling.
Even without context, the scene still delivers a message clearly. The character in the chiaroscuro lighting seems to be bloodthirsty for pleasure of some kind. The lighting emphasises her emotions due to the contrast between the negative and positive space, translating the emotions to the viewers. It's just that, without the context, the viewers do not know what stimulated this wild emotion in her.
Whenever Yumeko says this line, the lighting changes to give a chiaroscuro effect which increases the dramatic tension of the scene. The light would focus on her face wearing an intoxicated expression. Yumeko is usually seen calm and collected, but the lighting and focus on her purely intoxicated face makes the audience nervous at how uncontrollable she becomes when she gets high on gambling. Even with knowing how high the bets are, that information itself is not enough to make the viewers feel nervous and excited without the scene. The lighting falling on only half of her face makes it more dramatic as well. Her black hair acts as the negative space of the background, so her face and emotions is focused on as the positive space. The highest point of hierarchy in this scene would be her facial expressions because it is the main point.
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| Fig 1, Yumeko in bliss |
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| Fig 2, Yumeko's usually calm and collected look |
Usually, when Yumeko is not gambling, she appears calm (Fig 2). During non-gambling scenes, there is no chiaroscuro effect, making the scenes not as attractive or dramatic.
This scene does not just appear once, but several times throughout the series. This scene is important to stimulate excitement for the viewers to see Yumeko unleash her true self, who is a compulsive gambler. The scene creates a sensational effect which helps elevate the emotions of Yumeko to the viewers. It is not everyday that someone can gamble on stakes high enough to end their lives, or gamble on stakes high enough to put them in debt for life. So, to a point this scenarios are pretty extravagant and unrealistic. Through the chiaroscuro effect for Yumeko's expressive emotions towards high-stakes gambling, viewers are able to feel the same ecstasy, portraying their dark desires on her.
The line and scene became unique and iconic to both the character Yumeko and the series.
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