Memories of Emanon is a short manga by Kenji Tsuruta. I would like to work with sequential art for my next project. Manga is an important media to look at for me because of the highly variable panel structure which influences the way a viewer flows through the illustration. Memories of Emanon is of note because of how Tsurata develops the atmosphere and mood through the panel flow. The story of Memories of Emanon is ethereal in nature and he uses these complex panel layouts to complement it. In general, the large panels are the main show and the small panels accentuate the moods that the large panel wants to impact the reader. Controlling the pace of the reader’s flow across the page is of the utmost importance and it is natural to spend longer looking at the larger panels. Also, small panels such as the hallway sign (image 1) and sky (image 2) set up the scene, but also slow down the eyes so the larger panels can feel more impactful (comparable to syncopation in music). By following complex small and large panels like images 1 and 2 for several pages and suddenly shifting from that standard, it can create large impact moments like image 3. Tsuruta tightens the page with a white border and simplifies the panels to three widescreen illustrations. This plays to the appeal of triplets and changes the pace that the reader had grown accustomed to. He ends the three illustration “beats” by zooming out on the much-anticipated kiss scene and further strengthening the impact.
For more on sequential art and manga focusing on directionality
Zachary Holloway 