A Study On The Artistic Style Of Song And Dance Forms In Masaaki Yuasa’s Animation

In the historical panorama of the development of Japanese animation over the past several decades,director Masaaki Yuasa has left an indelible mark with his distinctive and vibrant style.His films such as "Mind Game," "Night is Short,Walk On Girl," and "Lu Over the Wall," as well as his animated series like "Ping Pong," have won numerous awards and garnered critical acclaim both in Japan and worldwide.One of his notable characteristics is the stylized treatment of dance and music in his works,which often serve as emotional and narrative climaxes rather than being purely formalistic.Despite being a form of artistic medium closely related to animation since its inception,there is a paucity of academic research on animated dance and music,particularly on a comprehensive analysis of their stylistic features.This study aims to use animated dance and music as an entry point to analyze the stylistic features and aesthetic tendencies of Masaaki Yuasa’s works,and to examine the underlying spiritual connotations based on the theory of carnivalization.This paper will present a four-part analysis of the dance and music in Masaaki Yuasa’s works.It will explore the application of three dance forms,the influence of the no-shadow drawing style,the dual functions of sound,and the expression of the carnival spirit.These parts are interwoven to form Masaaki Yuasa’s unique animated dance and music style.The paper will be divided into four chapters,each offering a detailed analysis of these features.Chapter one will summarize Masaaki Yuasa’s use of dance forms based on Nie Xin’s analysis of three dance styles and character performance.Chapter two will analyze the basic elements of dance,such as "dancers," and their aesthetic tendencies in Masaaki Yuasa’s works,based on the analysis of his no-shadow drawing style.Chapter three will discuss the expanded narrative and emotional functions of songs in Masaaki Yuasa’s works.Finally,based on the theory of carnivalization,the paper will conclude with an analysis and summary of the spiritual connotations of Masaaki Yuasa’s animated dance and music.