Comment by unabst | Hacker News Reader

Comment by unabst | Hacker News Reader

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I can't believe I found it, or rather, that someone uploaded just it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=II9GZrKztXQ

When I heard power lines, for some reason one scene from Patlabor came to mind.

It's the quintessential Tokyo city view from the window, and the quintessential view inside a window from the city. Outside there are power lines. You cannot avoid them. And looking in, you see the tatami flooring and dudes in their underwear.

I thought it might have been Patlabor 2, but it was the original movie. So that's 1989. Both movies are staples of Japanese anime.

But power lines can also be found in episode 1 of the TV series.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFTs97NpnUo

So my short answer would be Patlabor, but that's just from my own memory.

I think the commonality here is that the power lines are used to portray a sense of scale for the robots. A kid growing up in Tokyo knows exactly how high those lines are.

Ashita No Joe (1970) is the earliest anime series I can think of that features power lines, at least in the opening episode as it sets the scene. I'm sure there are manga earlier than this that feature them too, but I'm not sure about anime.

I just checked out Bubblegum Crisis (1987), and that also has multiple shots with crazy power lines in the background. For instance, 11:38 here:

https://youtu.be/JlFGbBPQGLo?t=698

The shot has power lines in it, but they're not really the focus. It's a busy nightlife scene, and the power lines serve that effect.

In the Patlabor shot, the detailed power infrastructure is a bit more purposeful, adding to the atmosphere of an average suburban neighborhood full of average people. But again, it's not the star of the shot -- it's just one of a handful of choices that create the mood.

In Evangelion, the shots are framed to draw your attention to a wooden pole with a transformer box that was probably designed in the '60s, serving as a stark contrast with all the futuristic technology around it.

It's not just that - both Patlabor and Evangelion often would take a slow, languid tone to observe the city. Evangelion spends a lot of time on Shinji grappling with his depression - scenes of him just sitting on a train back and forth listening to a mix-tape on an endless loop.

Patlabor The Movie, similarly, is about Hoba taking them on a tour of the city with their investigation. Half the movie is a travelogue of futuristic Tokyo.

I think both in general were representative to of the change from the faster-paced action shows of the '70s and '80s to the languid artsy style we see in 90s anime.

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