.

When watching a show with what people would perceive to be quality visuals you first notice the most obvious aspects, for example the art style and animation. I believe these are all par for the course in a good anime from a visual standpoint. Sure, having a really polished art style and use of sakuga when required can make a show look gorgeous. But what separates a good anime from a great one, from a visual aspect, for me is the direction. One example of a show that I believe excels in this is Koi wa Ameagari no You ni. Unlike shows that are flashier with their direction this show does it in a more subdued manner that really helps accentuate the kind of show it is. A scene that I believe really shows the quality of direction in this anime are the scene in Kondou’s apartment in episode. The shot choice is one of the really great points for the scene, the vast majority of the scene is just two characters sitting in the room with limited movement, but the shot choice never lets us feel that it is a boring scene with nothing going on. Numerous shots of the apartment are interlaced between a variety of shots of the characters which both really help the flow of the conversation in the scene. The shots of the apartment give us a look into Kondou’s life subtly, they also help mirror the dialogue when he says that he isn’t as special as Tachibana thinks he is showing things like unwashed dishes. I particularly like the two shots of their umbrellas as a visual metaphor. A lot of anime use colour changing in scenes for impact, this scene makes great use of this without it distracting from the scene. They appear more like overlays than flat out changes emphasising the emotional highs without distracting from them with a bigger tone shift that a more obvious effect would give.