[Categories: Anime Reviews]
Dennou Coil: First Impressions
There have been a couple excellent shows this season that have proved that we as fans are as spoiled as a rich kid on Christmas morning…my coverage of them has sadly gone on temporary hiatus now that they’re licenced. With a bit more spare viewing time and a slew of recommendations, I gave Denno Coil a try - and what a hidden gem it is.
The first couple of episodes are a tad confusing, given that they’re set in a near-future city in which computer and internet technology has worked its way into the fabric of real life. Terms such as ‘meta tags’, ‘firewalls’ and ‘viruses’, well-known to people who are infinitely more I.T.-literate than I am, will be in their element here but it’s an eye-opener to see theoretical concepts and techie jargon words taking on tangible forms. One character’s (virtual) pet dog falls ill, so she has to download a cure to remedy it; with the help of special glasses and goggles, characters can walk the streets and ’see’ beings and objects from the electronic world superimoposed onto our own.
This is all a bit hard to envisage without seeing the episodes for yourself, but it reminds me of two very opposing types of anime - the first being, rather obviously, the high-tech masterpiece Serial Experiments: Lain. As in Dennou Coil, the ‘virtual’ world is blurring with reality and various aspects of each spill into the other. The other that sprung to mind is, more surprisingly, the family-friendly fantasy fare of Studio Ghibli. The virtual critters and bugs could have walked (or crawled) into the Lain worldview from a Miyazaki movie, although Dennou Coil, for all its talk of dangerous software and missing pets, remains quite a harmless show that is unlikely to frighten younger viewers.
Given my Lain and Ghibli comparisons, it comes as no surprise that I fell in love with the artwork of Dennou Coil straightaway- I was overjoyed and not unduly surpised to learn it’s a product of Studio Madhouse. In my experience they have given us almost 100% pure win, although DC’s visual style is quite different from the likes of, say, Paranoia Agent. The palette is quite subdued and washed out, giving it a ‘watercolour’ feel that’s unusual for a sci-fi show; the character designs are also very distinctive and remind me once again of Miyazaki’s and Takahata’s very simple but expressive creations.
Initially I thought there was a problem with my player (there is, but this isn’t it), but the ‘virtual’ objects appear blocky and pixellated, making them stand out from the normality that surrounds them; small touches like these gently reminded me that DC is a show whose production values are high but their quality is not immediately apparent.
The story is introduced at a pretty well-measured pace, setting things up for a fun romp in which our heroes fight hackers and save cute, fluffy creatures of various types. There are also half-forgotten memories and more nasty-looking manifestations but I think it’s unlikely that this show will deliver a shock to the system like Bokurano has. Because of the young protagonists, it appeals to a wide demographic that encompasses even yong children; on top of this, visually and thematically it’s the most fresh and imaginative series I’ve seen in months. If you haven’t watched this show already, I’d highly recommend you check it out.
Posted on July 16th, 2007 @ 6:26 am
Excellent. Another fan is born. -rubs hands together menacingly-
Posted on July 16th, 2007 @ 6:42 pm
Yep, I got into it purely on blogsphere recommendations! Oddly, VLC still doesn’t like the particular format of eps 1 and 2 (they played on the first time around but that was it…weird) so I’ll have to try the alternative one for #3 onwards. It’s a really refreshing change as a series though - definitely one to stick with to see how it pans out.
Posted on July 17th, 2007 @ 5:55 am
I’m a big fan of this series too, can’t wait to watch it on dvd again.