HomeAnimeDennou Coil Part 1 - Review

Dennou Coil Part 1 – Review

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Dennou Coil Part 1 - Review 1Title: Dennou Coil
Published by: Siren Visual (Australia / New Zealand)
Based on: An anime-exclusive series
Genre: Science Fiction
Audio: Japanese Dub
Subtitles: English
Aspect Ratio: 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen
Runtime: 300 minutes
Cost: $49.95
Classification: This title has been classified M for Animated Violence and Mature Themes
Blurb: Dennou Coil is currently only available in Australia outside of Japan. This series follows a group of children in the year 2026 where cell phones and ipods are obsolete, and in their place is a virtual world accessible wherever and whenever and can do everything from accessing maps, phoning a friend to owning virtual pets. With this however, becomes the ability for these youth to have varied abilities in hacking, allowing them to alter space for their own benefit or profit, and main character Yuko Okonogi who has just moved into the town of Daikoku gets dragged into the Coil Cyber Detective Agency where the members hunt for viruses known as illegals and the many mysteries and rumors that lie in the town. While the storyline does not resolve much over the first half of the series, it managed to capture my attention and made me want more after watching it. Design is a bit different from what you may be used to, but works very well and the music isn’t half bad either.
Special Thanks: Siren Visual PR Team for providing me with a review sample of this title.

In Australia, we are faced with the unfortunate scenario where it is not that uncommon to miss out of anime series released in North America. However, this is one of I think two cases where we can jump up and down and gloat at the fact we currently hold our own exclusive anime title that is not available anywhere besides here and Japan. This series is Dennou Coil, a series which from my own readings has a considerable fanbase but given its genre and styling, was questionable as to if we would actually ever see a release outside of Japan. Enter Siren Visual, an anime company who have released a number of noitaminA anime series such as Welcome to Irabu’s Office and The Tatami Galaxy and whilst these series may be considered less-mainstream, seem to have produced a sizable fanbase of their own in Australia. Dennou Coil isn’t actually a noitaminA series, having aired on the NHK Educational network originally, but if you are after an anime series different from the norm, I can safely say you should not be left disappointed with this series.

Dennou Coil Part 1 - Review 2

Imagine if the internet was ‘projected’ over the living world and you interacted with it using a portable device – glasses and visors which connect you to an augmented reality. In 2026, this technology becomes reality. Yuko Okonogi moves with her family to Daikoku, home of an ever expanding tech network which makes up the interactive virtual world. Her grandmother runs an agency to investigate missing children who appear to have vanished from the ‘real’ world and entered the city’s Dennou – literally meaning ‘electronic brain’ – a term used to differentiate between the virtual and ‘real’.

A hacker culture is emerging amongst the children of the city. Yasako is soon introduced to Isako, whose powers for hunting computer viruses known as ‘illegals’ belie an agenda that might have sinister motives.

As the years go by, it is evident that a child’s computer skills are developing at a much younger age then perhaps you or me would have learn’t how to use them. In the world of Dennou Coil, where a tool that is utilized as a phone or namely an essential component of everyday life might be used by adults, the younger generation attempt a hacker culture in the name of self-profit or benefit and where doing so can have a profound effect on society. The story surrounds a group of elementary school students in an ordinary modern town and generally whilst they all have an interest in such equipment, have their own purpose for taking part in the events and have their own allegiances. They carry out their tasks and hackings in the name of both good and potential evil, and at the same time, must escape the anti-virus software Sacchi (Searchmaton) and perform tasks such as hunting for metabugs (As the name suggests, a software bug that can be exchanged for funds) to rescuing pets from ‘Old Space’, which shall  be discussed later in this review.

Dennou Coil Part 1 - Review 3

The storyline primarily follows Yuko Okonogi (Aka. Yasako) who moves to the town with her family and whilst having her glasses (Bequested to her from her grandfather) from a young age and proficient in its use, remains ignorant of the “added” capabilities that can be used to protect or wreak havoc. Upon arriving however, her virtual pet dog Densuke goes missing and found to be trapped in an old zone. She gets her first glimpse at the reality of what hacking can do when she enlists the aid of Fumie, a member of the Coil Detective Agency to rescue the dog. From there, she herself (is forced to) becomes a member of the agency and her life is dragged into the abnormal. Whilst the underlying storyline doesn’t diversify from being the everyday lives of these students, there are many different plots going on which get equal focus during the episodes.

These storylines include the war between Fumie and the Male students of the schools (cyber)Biology Club, the mystery behind the transfer student Yuko Amasawa who is introduced as being a ‘coder’ type of hacker and is herself hunting Illegals and Yasako and Fumie helping Kenichi Harakawa, member of the detective agency and president of the Biology Club undertake his own ‘research’. There were also a few episodes at the end of the second disc which acted as fascinating filler episodes that offer a unique perspective to the Illegals, such as what would happen if their cyberbodies faces were colonized by them. There is a nice mixture of single and series-long storylines that should no doubt keep you interested in the series for all the included episodes.

Dennou Coil Part 1 - Review 4

The one component that is most enjoyable about this series is not so much the storyline as it is the setting. As a worldwide technology, it was I suppose critical to place the story in what would not be considered a modern high-tech area but instead a town that would not be of greater focus to the developers of Dennou. Due to this, there are bugs which allow old spaces, deviations of area versions which can either support or harm cyber lifeforms to thrive and when the user is wearing the glasses, a false sense of the environment around them due to older versions of the environment. The presence of anti-virus ‘software’ is a creative mechanism that poses as a hinderance to both child and cyber object alike and a commonly used implication that can be halted by the authorization of the software itself – leaving shrines, schools, parks and homes safe from them. There is quite a bit of cyber warfare in this series, thus the M Rating for the title which can harm cyberbodies (not physical bodies) and poses a financial cost of failing – often referred to in “# of New Year Allowances”. The series doesn’t seem to run dry with concepts that are presented as a quote in the beginning of each episode and will most probably be touched upon further in Part 2.

For those who like series surrounding fanservice or over the top combat, this will not be a series for you and could quite possibly be one of the reasons that companies seem to have been hesitant in picking it up prior. However, for those who have enjoyed other more intellectual and ‘unique’ series such as noitaminA series or something like Ghost Hound, then what you have upon you is a hidden gem worth picking up. To quote one of my friends: “It is actually one of the hidden gems left unnoticed by fans.”. Whilst there is nothing much in terms of a resolution to the many storylines in this series, it does a brilliant job at starting them off and introducing us to the multiple ‘worlds’ concept.

Dennou Coil Part 1 - Review 5

The overall design quality involved in this series is brilliant. You will find anime series with fancier designs in every aspect if you were to browse your anime collection, but the level of design and detail suits the environment intended for the storyline well. The series takes place in what would nowadays be a normal ordinary town, without the need for unnecessary skyscrapers or areas of town that are filled with nightclubs that have blinking lights. Instead, it captures what a normal peaceful town should look like. This can be evidenced in the images above that show environments enriched with detail and a high animation quality that does not decrease as the episodes continue on. Character designs are supposed to represent normal elementary school children so they aren’t all wearing futuristic outfits from the 50th century or anything whereas the cyber characters including the Illegals and the even creepier looking Sacchi ‘software’ look rather good in terms of putting across a cybernetic work.

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Opening Sequence
Prism by Ayako Ikeda

The song Prism is quite a beautiful song but not one I would personally listen too alone. Instead, the primary cause this sequence proved enjoyable was the animation. Covering primarily Yasako and Isako (Yuko Amasawa), the animation shows off the darker side to the cyber world with suitable colour scheme choices and slight hints at other characters in the series.

Ending Sequence
Sora no Kakera by Ayako Ikeda

Another beautiful song that shares many similarities to Prism in terms of my overall thoughts about it. However this time the animation took a slight drop in interesting things going on, featuring Yasako’s dog Densuke walking left across the screen passing the many environments and characters in the series. Simple… yes… effective…. yes.

Dennou Coil Part 1 - Review 9

Whilst nothing in the music listing for the series stood out, as with the design I think they were more then appropriate for the series. Featuring a number of softer music tracks along with a couple of more intense tracks, you should not be disappointed with the music added to a particular scene. On the flip side however, it is surprising how little I actually seemed to notice the music until I actually paid attention… a flaw with having sound effects, voice, text and design all intermingled as well perhaps? Either way, it was good. As I have mentioned in a number of other, specifically Siren Visual reviews – I generally haven’t been following many Japanese voice actors/actresses for a few years now – so I don’t really have much to compare to. I can say that the voice acting is of a quality and appropriation that helped complement the young characters and were suitable for all themes presented in the series so far.

In terms of packaging quality, this series was given the standard Siren Visual treatment with a bonus slipcase to store the DVD case in, and looks really nice – featuring a majority of the main characters on the front which captures the readers attention with the normal blurb and screenshots on the back. The actual DVD cover has a different backing containing the same information only laid out differently, with the front cover being the same as the original first volume of the Japanese release featuring Yasako and Fumie running away from a Sacchi. The two DVD’s included are of a suitable design featuring an individual character one each with environmental backdrop. Unfortunately whilst there are many things that could have been included as extra content – especially considering it is the first time it has been released outside of Japan since its original release in 2007, it only received the basic content of Clean Opening/Ending sequences and trailers for Durarara!!, The Tatami Galaxy and House of Five Leaves…. thinking about it Siren Visual could really use some different trailers for their series.

Dennou Coil Part 1 - Review 10

In my personal opinion, I wasn’t actually expecting this much from the series. I had heard it was apparently a hidden gem of anime and thought it would be just a plesant series to watch, but I found myself getting more and more intrigued as the story continued. After all, how often can computer bugs be found randomly on the street or computer code be transmitted through paper talismans? They knew what they wanted in the series and did not reduce quality or cut corners in order to produce it. It might take a bit at the start to get into this series, but it should prove to be a rewarding experience. What sucks is…. that we now have to wait until December for Part 2.

Final Score
Storyline/Character Development: A
Design: A-
OP/ED Sequences: A-
Music/Voice Acting: A
Packaging/Extras: B+
Personal Opinion: A
Overall Score: A

Sam
Sam
Founder of The Otaku's Study. I have been exploring this labyrinth of fandom these last fifteen years, and still nowhere close to the exit yet. Probably searching for a long time to come.

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