Reflecting Lights

I probably should have done a pair of quick episode summaries for 25 and 26 before this, but oh well.

Dennou Coil is one of those series that’s a little hard to describe.  One minute I find myself comparing it to the Muppet Babies-like episodes of Rozen Maiden, the next minutes it’s like Lain, and then if I really think about I find all sorts of parallels with certain aspects of .hack//SIGN (one of my favorite series.)  This anime manages to capture the exuberance of youth while at the same time putting forth a compelling tale of emotional growth and the possibilities of virtual technology.

The show had a long of strengths, one of the biggest being the realistic portrayal of children.  With the exception of Haraken, all of them acted like children I once knew.  Yasako was the girl who tried to be friends with everyone–not always realizing when she wasn’t wanted.  Fumie was the fun girl that knew how to deal with all sorts.  Daichi was the boy who acted younger than his age and liked to pick on the girl he liked.  Kyoko was the epitome of the bratty little sister.  Haraken and Isako I couldn’t place with my past, but they were still realistic.  People, including children, all deal with death in different ways.  Yasako was able to simply move on from her grandfather’s death, although she clearly wanted him to be around more.  On the other hand, some people dwell on it to the point they believe that maybe there’s still something they can do, or that maybe, just maybe it’s all been a bad dream.  Haraken and Isako bring forth that concept to differing degrees.  It’s a bit more challenging to comprehend such an attitude in a child, but if one looks at the purity of their mindsets, it is very fitting.

The story and the interplay between characters really formed the basis of this series for me, rather than the characters themselves.  Realistic as they were, I admittedly wasn’t particularly fond of the lead characters.  Yasako was a bit too wishy-washy, and while she overcame that, I still couldn’t get myself to like the character.  Isako was a bit too much like the typical stand-offish character.   It’s not that they weren’t easy to sympathize with (well, Isako was–I never really got Yasako), but there was something about them that left me cold.  Unfortunately, the rest of the cast gets lost during the last few episodes.  Haraken is there, but only as a bit of a backdrop.  All of the others, however, aren’t shown at all except in brief flashes during the closing moments of the series.  While I can understand that the show boiled down to being about Yasako and Isako, there was a certain amount of sadness for me that characters like gentle Denpa could no longer be of enough importance to merit a line.  The side characters are the ones that made the lead characters bearable to me, thus causing me to lose interest in the characters themselves during the last few episodes.  Thankfully, the story was still extremely compelling.

Some people may not like the art, but I thought it was gorgeous.  I love it when a series has a look that doesn’t scream “generic anime!”  There’s no mistaking these characters for someone else–at least not from something shown in 2007.  The muted tones, round faces, and more realistic hair colors really added to the charm.  Moreover, the backgrounds used were always very interesting to watch.

Overall, I felt this was a very strong series.  It was a bit lacking when it came to main characters (Isako’s tale was compelling, but the character felt flat–Yasako was just plain dull), but the side characters and mascots more than made up for them.  The story was strong, carefully weaving in clues for the future without spelling out exactly what was going on until the end.  Sure, there was a bit too much of monologue exposition for my taste (think of a super villain detailing his plan to his enemy superhero), but given the complexity of the story, it was necessary that it be done in some way and monologues are easiest to comprehend for the young viewers.  It’s not a masterpiece, but it’s a solid anime, and I’d wager it’s likely the best series of 2007.  Here’s to it finding its way to the shores of North America.