Reviews for Dennou Coil (8.2)
_engoria
Honda Takeshi
Inoue Toshiyuki
Iso Mitsuo
Itazu Yoshimi
Dennou Coil is about young teenage girls and boys being all in elementary school and stuff. It`s also a better cyberpunk/sci-fi show than Matrix is. Awkward! Art & Animation De...
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28.12.2013 01:02 - direct link
(rs9197)
Dennou Coil is about young teenage girls and boys being all in elementary school and stuff. It's also a better cyberpunk/sci-fi show than Matrix is. Awkward!
Art & Animation
Dennou Coil looks simple - a bunch of children doing realistic stuff in a warmly coloured and sparsely populated suburban world. At the same time, it's very well-made with good animation and excellent atmosphere, even if this atmosphere is the seemingly trivial world of elementary school. There are no extravagant designs, some of what is there might even be seen as sorta, well, ugly, but even these ugly bits or, rather, especially the ugly bits reveal the purity of this show. There is no moe, no lolis, these are children, this is their fat cyberdog, and that creature is their granny, god spare me from her visage. The other side of the coin - the cyber world - shares the simple and pure designs, but swaps the colour palette and portrays an often confused virtual world, glitchy, unfinished or no longer true to the world not so virtual. One might wish for some better looking designs or more intricate portrayal of cyber reality, at the same time the one we got serves the purpose of the show perfectly. I'd say that the conceptual purity and fine execution deserves a 9.
Sound
Just like with the Art section, it's a fine work done here, in the sound department. Dennou Coil uses audio hints in the show in an effective manner, characters are often guided by sounds, and this is portrayed very well. I'd say that the actors have done an amazing work, too, portraying practically children very faithfully. Not all of them are perfect for their roles, Isako's voice is just that tiny bit too adult-sounding, but the acting itself is very good. OP/ED were above average tunes, but nothing too extraordinary. They weren't annoying and even had some atmosphere, so props for that. I can't remember any particular BGM, tho, so it must have been very fitting, haha.
Solid job, but not distinctive enough to net a 9.
8/10
Story
Story is a bit confusing, and not all of it makes sense even after some thinking, at the same time it has several qualities that I find very impressive. I'll try and break it down into a few core points I find the most important.
(1) the way cyberworld is portrayed here feels like a pretty fresh way to cheat the senses enough for awesome cyberpowers and stuff, yet it is also quite plausible technologically. Well, some of it is. Servers are obscured from sight, their boring computer processes portrayed instead in an exciting graphic way with viruses (or rather the ocassional cyberbeing) being black and glitchy, but creatures very much, and things like anti-viruses looking like silly, but deadly (to viruses) laser blow up dolls or the process of formatting data being shown as elaborate digital devices wiping everything off the damn place like some sort of digital superweapons. Why do I mention this? Well, because aspects like these might seem like they're stretching the plausibility, but the concepts behind them actually remain fairly solid, and all of this does make for a more exciting watch, don't ya think. The basic tech behind this world is very plausible.
(2) the characters (well, most of them) act in a very emotionally realistic way. Children are just children - yeah, sure, they're quite brave, but they also engage in silly children like things, but none of it is overdone here (well, there might have been a "poop" too many here and there, but eh...). Their obsessions and fears and silly sympathies, it's all shown here, and it all was very genuine, I feel. Some might not be as moved by this as I was, but perhaps it's a problem with their childhood, haha (but, really, I'm sorry if this is the case).
(3) related to the previous point is the separation of the children and adult world. When it's said in an episode that some of it feels like a dream, meaning the virtual world, I feel that this can also be attributed to the whole experience of children - the bare streets, interactions only with other children, and the only adult figures being the not-entirely-grown-up Auntie and the way-past-being-an-adult Granny. The parents of Yasako play only a symbolic role, and when their worlds do collide, it's in an affectionate way, yet there's a clearly visible gap between the world of the children and the world of the adults. This gap, while portrayed only from one side, is being observed from the other, and it makes for a great display of how important their world is to the children (or, rather, early teenagers? ugh, it's such a messy age they've chosen!).
(4) the mysteries of the cyberworld are very intriguing and, while their resolution wasn't entirely satisfactory, it makes for both a material for thought and an emotional journey. Not sure how to expand on this without spoiling something, but I will say that the mystery parts are where the fiction part of the sci-fi are the strongest in the show, and, what's worst/best, is that this fiction is of the kind that people are unsure about even in our very real world. Souls, deaths, and other sides? People don't agree well on these topics at all. This show doesn't subscribe to any of the sides in these debates too clearly, but it does explore these notions to an extent, thus, making for an interesting thought material. These topics are always emotionally loaded in the real life, too, and this show uses this to great extent, squeezing out emotional, yet conceptually loaded tears. If that's a thing, even.
(5) there was a nice and consequential buildup of intrigues and questions during the show, and it even resolves and answers most of them, but some of the answers, well, might not feel adequate enough for all that buildup. The core issues get resolved pretty satisfactory, but there was some residual disappointment. But nothing's perfect, prepare for that.
8/10
Characters
I already touched slightly on this, but this is the best aspect of this show, imo. I already noted that I feel the characters are emotionally and psychologically very believable and realistic, and, even more so, due to most of them being children, I also feel that the world of a child/early teenager (messy age.... messy!) is portrayed very faithfully as well. What's more, is that the characters are kind-hearted and cute - it's easy to grow to like these kids, and the attachment makes for a nice and cathartic emotional experience. The themes this show visits and makes the kids experience are all a bit on the heavy side, even if they seem silly at first, and their experiences are genuine, and I'm not sure if you even can call them naive - well, sure, they're just children, but I don't think that even all grown up people can deal with most of this stuff effortlessly. At best, they've learned to accept that some of this stuff is sad and confusing, and you get no answers.
A special mention goes to Densuke, who carries the heaviest emotional and conceptual burden in the show, imo. You were great.
9/10
Value & Enjoyment
this show is great for both those looking for a heartwarming (and tearing) emotional fix and those looking for interesting sci-fi shows. it's an unusual combination, but one that works extraordinary well, and is an easy recommendation. it's also a good show if you're tired of edgelords and focus on tits in your anime, this show has little of that. how awesome is that? (it's 9 awesome on a scale of 1 to 10)
I personally really liked it, too, as you might have guessed by now. I was reluctant to watch this show, because of, well, elementary school, I mean, they're just kids, right? Haha, I'm glad I finally watched this. 9/10
Art & Animation
Dennou Coil looks simple - a bunch of children doing realistic stuff in a warmly coloured and sparsely populated suburban world. At the same time, it's very well-made with good animation and excellent atmosphere, even if this atmosphere is the seemingly trivial world of elementary school. There are no extravagant designs, some of what is there might even be seen as sorta, well, ugly, but even these ugly bits or, rather, especially the ugly bits reveal the purity of this show. There is no moe, no lolis, these are children, this is their fat cyberdog, and that creature is their granny, god spare me from her visage. The other side of the coin - the cyber world - shares the simple and pure designs, but swaps the colour palette and portrays an often confused virtual world, glitchy, unfinished or no longer true to the world not so virtual. One might wish for some better looking designs or more intricate portrayal of cyber reality, at the same time the one we got serves the purpose of the show perfectly. I'd say that the conceptual purity and fine execution deserves a 9.
Sound
Just like with the Art section, it's a fine work done here, in the sound department. Dennou Coil uses audio hints in the show in an effective manner, characters are often guided by sounds, and this is portrayed very well. I'd say that the actors have done an amazing work, too, portraying practically children very faithfully. Not all of them are perfect for their roles, Isako's voice is just that tiny bit too adult-sounding, but the acting itself is very good. OP/ED were above average tunes, but nothing too extraordinary. They weren't annoying and even had some atmosphere, so props for that. I can't remember any particular BGM, tho, so it must have been very fitting, haha.
Solid job, but not distinctive enough to net a 9.
8/10
Story
Story is a bit confusing, and not all of it makes sense even after some thinking, at the same time it has several qualities that I find very impressive. I'll try and break it down into a few core points I find the most important.
(1) the way cyberworld is portrayed here feels like a pretty fresh way to cheat the senses enough for awesome cyberpowers and stuff, yet it is also quite plausible technologically. Well, some of it is. Servers are obscured from sight, their boring computer processes portrayed instead in an exciting graphic way with viruses (or rather the ocassional cyberbeing) being black and glitchy, but creatures very much, and things like anti-viruses looking like silly, but deadly (to viruses) laser blow up dolls or the process of formatting data being shown as elaborate digital devices wiping everything off the damn place like some sort of digital superweapons. Why do I mention this? Well, because aspects like these might seem like they're stretching the plausibility, but the concepts behind them actually remain fairly solid, and all of this does make for a more exciting watch, don't ya think. The basic tech behind this world is very plausible.
(2) the characters (well, most of them) act in a very emotionally realistic way. Children are just children - yeah, sure, they're quite brave, but they also engage in silly children like things, but none of it is overdone here (well, there might have been a "poop" too many here and there, but eh...). Their obsessions and fears and silly sympathies, it's all shown here, and it all was very genuine, I feel. Some might not be as moved by this as I was, but perhaps it's a problem with their childhood, haha (but, really, I'm sorry if this is the case).
(3) related to the previous point is the separation of the children and adult world. When it's said in an episode that some of it feels like a dream, meaning the virtual world, I feel that this can also be attributed to the whole experience of children - the bare streets, interactions only with other children, and the only adult figures being the not-entirely-grown-up Auntie and the way-past-being-an-adult Granny. The parents of Yasako play only a symbolic role, and when their worlds do collide, it's in an affectionate way, yet there's a clearly visible gap between the world of the children and the world of the adults. This gap, while portrayed only from one side, is being observed from the other, and it makes for a great display of how important their world is to the children (or, rather, early teenagers? ugh, it's such a messy age they've chosen!).
(4) the mysteries of the cyberworld are very intriguing and, while their resolution wasn't entirely satisfactory, it makes for both a material for thought and an emotional journey. Not sure how to expand on this without spoiling something, but I will say that the mystery parts are where the fiction part of the sci-fi are the strongest in the show, and, what's worst/best, is that this fiction is of the kind that people are unsure about even in our very real world. Souls, deaths, and other sides? People don't agree well on these topics at all. This show doesn't subscribe to any of the sides in these debates too clearly, but it does explore these notions to an extent, thus, making for an interesting thought material. These topics are always emotionally loaded in the real life, too, and this show uses this to great extent, squeezing out emotional, yet conceptually loaded tears. If that's a thing, even.
(5) there was a nice and consequential buildup of intrigues and questions during the show, and it even resolves and answers most of them, but some of the answers, well, might not feel adequate enough for all that buildup. The core issues get resolved pretty satisfactory, but there was some residual disappointment. But nothing's perfect, prepare for that.
8/10
Characters
I already touched slightly on this, but this is the best aspect of this show, imo. I already noted that I feel the characters are emotionally and psychologically very believable and realistic, and, even more so, due to most of them being children, I also feel that the world of a child/early teenager (messy age.... messy!) is portrayed very faithfully as well. What's more, is that the characters are kind-hearted and cute - it's easy to grow to like these kids, and the attachment makes for a nice and cathartic emotional experience. The themes this show visits and makes the kids experience are all a bit on the heavy side, even if they seem silly at first, and their experiences are genuine, and I'm not sure if you even can call them naive - well, sure, they're just children, but I don't think that even all grown up people can deal with most of this stuff effortlessly. At best, they've learned to accept that some of this stuff is sad and confusing, and you get no answers.
A special mention goes to Densuke, who carries the heaviest emotional and conceptual burden in the show, imo. You were great.
9/10
Value & Enjoyment
this show is great for both those looking for a heartwarming (and tearing) emotional fix and those looking for interesting sci-fi shows. it's an unusual combination, but one that works extraordinary well, and is an easy recommendation. it's also a good show if you're tired of edgelords and focus on tits in your anime, this show has little of that. how awesome is that? (it's 9 awesome on a scale of 1 to 10)
I personally really liked it, too, as you might have guessed by now. I was reluctant to watch this show, because of, well, elementary school, I mean, they're just kids, right? Haha, I'm glad I finally watched this. 9/10
