Essays: Signifiers
Sep. 29th, 2003 03:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
branchandrootThis is a very partial catalogue of signifiers in anime, for instance, what meaning attaches to certain hair colors or tableaus.
This was the first batch of signifiers I really took note of.
Scarlet red hair on a woman means that she's a villain.
Orange hair means a hot or impulsive temper, though usually a good heart, eg Tasuki of FY, Kyou of Furuba or Ichigo of Bleach.
Golden blond hair and dark blue eyes almost always appear on the "heart" of a group, eg Usagi or Quatre. This is the one who will argue and work to draw people together as a team.
Black hair and gray eyes mark the serious one. In sentai, this is often the battle leader.
Clasped hands are the signifier for sex happening offscreen. One example that springs to mind is in the Kenshin OVA, when Kaoru insists on sleeping with Kenshin despite the fact that he has a terminal and contagious illness. Another is in the Saiyuki manga, the volume about Hakkai and his sister.
Stance. A perfectly upright stance is a normal-person attitude. If someone stands with their back a bit arched and weight forward, it signifies that they are a bad-ass. The very best example of this is actually in Yuugi-ou. Yuugi stands like a normal person; Pharaoh stands like a bad-ass. Big surprise there.
Nudity. Particularly during a transformation sequence or opening animation, this is not a sexual thing. (There are exceptions, of course, but if the show isn't hentai you can take this as a general rule.) When characters are suddenly nude in a oddly lit, transparent or generally mystical way it is, instead, usually an expression of spiritual purity or intensity. Good examples: Usagi's nudity with wings on, in ep 200, and the nudity of Kira and Lux in the Gundam Seed opening.
Colors
This was the first batch of signifiers I really took note of.
Scarlet red hair on a woman means that she's a villain.
Orange hair means a hot or impulsive temper, though usually a good heart, eg Tasuki of FY, Kyou of Furuba or Ichigo of Bleach.
Golden blond hair and dark blue eyes almost always appear on the "heart" of a group, eg Usagi or Quatre. This is the one who will argue and work to draw people together as a team.
Black hair and gray eyes mark the serious one. In sentai, this is often the battle leader.
.
Body
Clasped hands are the signifier for sex happening offscreen. One example that springs to mind is in the Kenshin OVA, when Kaoru insists on sleeping with Kenshin despite the fact that he has a terminal and contagious illness. Another is in the Saiyuki manga, the volume about Hakkai and his sister.
Stance. A perfectly upright stance is a normal-person attitude. If someone stands with their back a bit arched and weight forward, it signifies that they are a bad-ass. The very best example of this is actually in Yuugi-ou. Yuugi stands like a normal person; Pharaoh stands like a bad-ass. Big surprise there.
Nudity. Particularly during a transformation sequence or opening animation, this is not a sexual thing. (There are exceptions, of course, but if the show isn't hentai you can take this as a general rule.) When characters are suddenly nude in a oddly lit, transparent or generally mystical way it is, instead, usually an expression of spiritual purity or intensity. Good examples: Usagi's nudity with wings on, in ep 200, and the nudity of Kira and Lux in the Gundam Seed opening.
