2012-01-08, 22:34 | Link #1 |
Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2011
|
Has anyone here ever noticed... (crow noises in anime)
Has anyone here ever noticed that a lot of animes (practically every single one I have seen recently) tend to have a lot of crow noises in them? I know this is random, and maybe I am just paying too much attention, but ever since I started watching anime seven years ago, it seemed that they all had "caw caw caw" sounds when scenes are switching. Sorry if this is weird, maybe no one knows what I am talking about even! I just had to ask after wondering for all these years.
|
2012-01-09, 06:17 | Link #5 |
Senior Member
Artist
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Normandy SR-2
Age: 29
|
Maybe it's because there're just a ridiculous amount of crows in Japan? Seriously, they're everywhere, even in the middle of Tokyo. It's like how they use the rooster in Western cartoons and things, I guess, just cultural.
__________________
|
2012-01-09, 08:10 | Link #6 |
Knight Errant
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Age: 35
|
Cicadas are also used a lot for a similiar reason.
I think this goes back the Yasujiro Ozu. It's being used as a "Pillow Shot". It breaks up the action and gives time for the audience to ruminate. It's a very Japanese thing. It's used a lot throughout Anime, seemingly purposeless shots of the sky, or the side of a building or some other part of the environment. Often accompanied by some kind of ambient noise, like Crows, seagulls or cicadas. You're actually quite canny to have noticed it, because in Anime everything has to be added, it has to be drawn and inserted in, so they have some reason or other to add in such a seemingly pointless shot. |
2012-01-09, 09:49 | Link #7 |
Obey the Darkly Cute ...
Author
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: On the whole, I'd rather be in Kyoto ...
Age: 66
|
Anytime one starts a question with "Has anyone here ever noticed..." ..... stop. Because I can guarantee the question should have started "Is there anyone who *hasn't* noticed...".
Crow noises, crickets, the shriek of a lone hawk in the sky -- are all ingrained parts of movies, cartoons, and such. And not just in Japan but in US cartoons and movies. Often people don't realize the iconic sources of the use (like spaghetti westerns and that hawk, or Daffy Duck and vaudeville sources of the crickets). Crow noises generally signify an "idiot" moment because the sound of a crow sounds a bit like "ba-ka" or "a-ho" to Japanese.
__________________
|
2012-01-09, 10:09 | Link #8 | |
You're Hot, Cupcake
Join Date: Aug 2008
Age: 42
|
I thought that in some cases, they were also a signal of foreboding/danger. The crow is considered an animal to be wary of in some cultures. Although in East Asia, they are considered to be bearing luck in some cases. May depend on the context. In more grisly situations, they're a sign of death or danger. There was an episode of Witch Hunter Robin, Episode 4, where a criminal kept being hounded by crows to signify her guilt, which drove her to revealing her true nature.
The three-legged crow, Yatagarasu, is a figure in Japanese mythology. Quote:
__________________
|
|
2012-01-12, 00:50 | Link #9 | |
Ghostbuster
Join Date: Dec 2011
|
Quote:
I think it's something we've all noticed at one point or another, whether consciously or unconsciously. What I find most amusing, though, is that all these clips sound like they've come from the same sound bank -- which they probably have. It tends to detract from the quality of a anime when you notice that those chirping cicadas are the same damn cicadas you've been hearing for the past 10+ years.
__________________
|
|
2012-01-12, 20:32 | Link #13 |
Obey the Darkly Cute ...
Author
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: On the whole, I'd rather be in Kyoto ...
Age: 66
|
Hmm, I've heard several animal noises used in "d'oh" situations --
1) cicadas, the japanese equivalent of crickets and tumbleweeds after the punchline is delivered. also used to indicate to the audience its SUMMER TIME AND DAMNED HOT 2) The hawk shriek made famous in spaghetti westerns (used for various situations, usually a confrontation or such) 3) crow call, usually delivered in a "I'm a baka" realization moment. I wish I had some clips but tvtropes will have to do. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/IdiotCrows
__________________
|
2012-01-14, 12:43 | Link #15 |
You are Reading this!
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: In the study room
|
Cicada sounds are frequently heard during hot days or summers, in anime. In fact, its hard to imagine a summer/hot day scene without the 'wavy' animation of the road due to the scorching sun and the sound of cicadas.
Personally i think its even more weird that in many series during the OP, the title will be shown while the view is moved to the sky. ( having some slight problems finding the correct words for the phrase here ) |
2012-01-15, 08:34 | Link #16 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Half Australia, Half Tokyo, Bits and pieces in US
|
Quote:
I believe crows are used in - How stupid moments (ahoooo) - It's late afternoon, almost dusk (from the lyrics in a Japanese kids song "the crows are crowing so I better get home") - signs of danger especially if the crows are shown in during the day time (not dusk) |
|
2012-01-15, 08:54 | Link #17 |
Knight Errant
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Age: 35
|
I didn't believe Cicadas were any more then an "Anime thing" until I happened to be in Virginia one August(or was it in may...). They are loud. Ireland has no such loud insects.
I still stand by the whole "pillow scene" thing. You often see these seemingly pointless interludes between two scenes, where it's just the skyline and the cicadas "singing". It helps set the mood, and give a breather. It doesn't have a direct counterpart in western cinema. |
Thread Tools | |
|
|