Sho Tsukikawa is the greatest director in the world in the “terminal romance” genre. You may ask what’s so special about him when there are countless others in Hollywood as well as his homeplace Japan itself — well, it’s because Sho Tsukikawa has carved out a type of atmosphere and texture in his films that was just so rarely used elsewhere, and never this immersive. I have a term for it :
The “ICED TEA COMMERCIAL” cinematography.
So, first of all, it only works in a romance story; love has to be in the air. And then comes the light source: the white light — it can be the windows and doors when inside, or the natural outdoors, or lamps, or bulbs, or even the moon itself, but it’s always there, quite prominently in the backdrop, overexposed to such an extent that everything else is less saturated than normal, bathed in a hazy feeling as if it’s all a dream.
LEMON YELLOW
Since the people are always in high school, or college, dressed in dark teal uniforms, he balances it out through the walls of the school or the yellow bulbs in study lamps that are never so yellow, but light lemon yellow, just like an iced tea.
TEAL and ORANGE
Teal occupies the frame as if it’s drenched in a teal color rain, but there are tinges of Orange to balance out. Teal and Orange fall on opposite sides of the color palette, hence called complementary colors. But again, it’s never like the teal + orange in superhero or sci-fi films where it’s neon and bright, here it’s minimal and hazy and less saturated.
Teal (serenity and calmness)
Orange (optimism and hope)
RED
The most striking color used is red (in her hospital room lamp and her high heels). It stands out and perfectly plays the role of the most obviously non-subtle sign of love, like a gift from a lover.
SKINCARE
Another palette is when the colors strongly emulate the “SKINCARE BRAND AESTHETIC” that you can regularly find on creams, moisturizers, soaps, etc. It’s used to symbolize cleanliness, purity, and youthfulness (obviously) and so it comprises of:
White (#FCF6F5FF),
Pink Lady (#EDC2D8FF)
and Sky Blue (#8ABAD3FF)
PINK
There are tiny dashes of pink (femininity) splashed here and there, like clips and wall art and table decor in the restaurant or Mei Nagano’s room.
You would never feel the harsh burning sunlight; it’s a cool moonlight that gently touches you. Every shot, every space is an excuse to make you fall in love with this soothing environment– school classrooms with gossamer windows hiding behind their curtains and then hospital terraces where the sky becomes a canvas.
edil christian 