The End of the World

[Categories: Anime Reviews]

Dennou Coil 3-6 and the Internet Generation

Posted by Martin  [Tags: Dennou Coil]

Now that I’m getting used to the terminology in this show, I’m finding it easier to follow the story and get taken along for the ride. Yuuko Amasawa is introduced properly as a new classmate to Yuuko Okonogi and Fumie (I’ll be calling the Yuukos by their nicknames from now on to prevent confusion!), and after some amusing incidents involving class prankster Daichi, she exerts her authority as an ‘encoder’ to use him and his gang of hackers for her own ends.

I was chuckling out loud at the ‘class hacking’ incident, which takes the schooltime playing around and updates it for the Dennou Coil universe: Isako’s skills allow her to fend off Daichi’s spam-bombing, and delivers a comeback without breaking a sweat. We’re also introduced to the enigmatic Haraken, whose shy and taciturn demeanour makes him a great contrast to Fimie’s brash personality but is even more interesting; the story behind his drive to research is really quite tragic, and that moment at the end of episode #6 where he finally smiles feels like a real milestone for him.

We’re being introduced to more and more details as the show progresses, but I still feel we’re scratching the surface here. The series’ Wiki entry states it’s been in development for over ten years now - a startling fact which isn’t overly surprising considering the amount of thought that appears to have gone into its every level. The smallest details, from the way a table jolts when Fumie slams her fist down, to the textures of materials of the online world, are realised with an attention to detail that is, for want of a better word, staggering. I thought I’d seen imaginative sci-fi and impressive Madhouse efforts, but Dennou Coil is already promising to sit up there with the best of them.

Haraken is an example of the character-driven aspect of the show, which also exhibits a remarkable amount of complexity: Isako’s exchange with Yasako speaks volumes about them both, but her motives are still unclear. The social politics will no doubt be familiar territory to the middle/high school aged the target audience, but Isako’s arrival at the school brings up good old fashioned schoolroom drama with some profound truths about how we all interact as youngsters. If only school really was as interesting as it is in Daikoku…

The worldview of Dennou Coil may be set in the future, but it had me thinking about how the online world has already progressed. Ever the technophobe at the time, my first experience of the internet was seven years ago in my first year of university; unlike Daikoku, my high school had only one internet connection and anyone wishing to e-mail to the school had to phone the library in advance (this is going back twelve years or more, don’t forget). These days, this is unthinkable! The ‘net has become an integral part of my own life but we’re now seeing a generation of kids grow up with the concept from the get-go - like Kyoko, they’re exposed to the ‘vast and infinite’ online world at such a young age that it’s second nature to them. For a show such as Dennou Coil to connect with its young audience, it must mean that the jargon of the series is also second nature - all of a sudden I’m feeling as old and clueless as my parents!

I’m now seeing Dennou Coil as not only a downright brilliant anime series but, as all good science fiction is, a reflection of how our world is today. Kids can play in a different world that is limited by their own imagination and will to explore; it also hides hidden dangers. As much as I feel like a dinosaur for struggling to get my head around a series intended for Japanese schoolkids, I’m addicted to immersing myself in a richly-realised parallel world. Although there is the possibility of serious injury such as in the case of poor Kanna, the worst that normally happens is a broken pair of glasses and pocket money down the drain. Credit must go to Mitsuo Iso for creating such a mind-blowing environment - the kids can go digging for buried treasure, keep their own pets, become master hackers and literally make an entire city their playground. Who hasn’t dreamed of a childhood like that?

[Filed under Anime Reviews]  [Tags: Dennou Coil]

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