Akane Senri's Sorrow

 

Figure 1. Akane Senri walking in a black dress surrounded by an entourage.

Akane Senri. A fierce devotee of reason and logic and denier of supernatural occurrences. The Occult Club’s fearless but uninterested leader. At times, an avid gamer…to the point of avoiding school. Or so Akane appears, as presented earlier in Rewrite. Though she can be seen as all of these things, Akane Senri’s appearance in the above image casts doubt on all those identities and creates a new one. Though life is presented in the image through the presence of multiple women, one man, and some greenery, the scene is clearly close to dead. The emphasis is placed directly on people wearing some dark, lifeless color that has no strong color contrast. The framing suggests broad daylight while minimizing its importance; thus the scene may appear dark even amongst sunlight. Though a number of colors are present, the light dynamics clearly favor realistic uses of darkness – that is to say, not simply drowning everything in shadows. The attention is drawn away from the other people because they have no facial features of note asides from noses. 

Thus, the perspective singles out Akane as the person of focus. Her slightly lowered eyelids and almost-neutral yet barely frowning expression convey clear discontentment; a serious atmosphere is thus perpetuated by her arms resting by her sides. Akane’s dark dress signifies a funeral – clearly the whole scene then becomes elegiac, with the procession being akin to that of transporting a coffin. One technique that creates further desolation is the creation of a wind: Akane’s black dress, navy blue ribbons and straw hair billow towards the right, as if facing a wind from the left. She moves against an unknown resistance that seems to target only her; at least, that conclusion is the most logical. As a whole, Akane Senri is moving past this obstacle protected by a group of people but she and only she is singled out. Then her expression can be perceived as quite sad, indicating that she feels to bear a heavy burden only she can carry. Whatever awaits her, she is not enthralled but simply saddened. Thus this image manages to capture Akane’s emotions without directly announcing them, paving the way for one to learn more about her backstory. Rather, her suffering that other people cannot hope to understand or alleviate.

In this image, the straw-haired girl can be seen as a woman that jumps out straight from archetypes and mythology. Truly, she is a mythic holy woman who is carried above by her followers. Akane calls to mind the heads of maternal societies that are no longer in favor across the world; in some cultures, she would be called a Head Priestess because of her gothic black dress. Here I am reminded again of Tombs of Atuan by Ursula Le Guin which echoes a similar story about a teenaged girl being assigned a high position in a maternal society. This process is not carried on by strictly lineage but by selection which in theory is a more egalitarian approach. But the person assigned to such a role of holy woman or selected for ascension to the role is not necessarily empowered – in this case, Akane’s dismal expression clearly reflects her desire to not be in this role at all. When viewed in light of this archetype of the holy woman, the scene is cast as not elegiac strictly but lachrymose. Akane is chosen for the holy role but she would rather not carry such a high role because of the immense burden. Thus the archetype is, if not obliterated, then reduced and contorted to allow for her pain.