MovieChat Forums > Batoru rowaiaru (2000) Discussion > Mitsuko in the classroom

Mitsuko in the classroom

posted 8 years ago by Samurai_Kenshin
3 replies | jump to latest

At the beginning, when almost everyone in Class B has their name called, Mitsuko doesn't. Does anyone know why this is? She's definitely there but I don't think she's even seen after a majority of the students left. The same with Chigusa. Maybe they ran out of filming time but who knows?

[–] jadecoloredglasses 8 years ago

almost everyone

Nah. Quite a few of them, including some of the more prominent characters like Mitsuko and Chigusa, were skipped over because showing everyone would get really boring really fast, and the tension of the scene would gradually dissolve.

The classroom departures we do get to see are there because they're important. The first handful of name calls sets up Mizuho and Kaori's friendship, Sakura and Shogo's rebelliousness, and Kiriyama's disturbingly calm approach. There's nothing else that we really need to be shown until it's time for our hero Shuya to leave.

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Don't give me songs, give me something to sing about.

[–] ajb8487 8 years ago

Shogo's rebelliousness, and Kiriyama's disturbingly calm approach.

Those always stood out to me. You already knew the two guys who were dressed differently were going to play a big role but that scene was a good establishing character moment. Everyone else is (understandably) panicking and disoriented; some of the characters drop their bags that are thrown at them. When Shogo's name is called he takes a couple extra seconds to tie his boots, sprint down the classroom and catch his bag in stride showing that he's all business and not someone to mess with.

Meanwhile, when Kiriyama's name is called, he slowly gets up from his desk (most of the rest of students were standing up in fear and anticipation.) He calmly walks/saunters to the front of the class, looks at the bloody corpse on the ground with a mild curiosity and catches the bag thrown at him without flinching. All while casually chewing his gum.

Then when Shogo bumps into Kiriyama, defiantly tells Kitano the soldiers that he's got the wrong bag and gives Kazuo one last, "don't even try me" look on the way out.

Amazingly directed scene that set the tone for the two coolest characters.

[–] Samurai_Kenshin 8 years ago

That's a good way of looking at it.