As a note - The posts I’ve been making for the series were in general to try out different styles of blogging. I’m still not sure if I’ve got the hang of it, but I’ll just make a close with a bumper spoiler-free review for Dennou Coil.
Dennou Coil - A Circle of Children.
Well, what can I say. First of, this series is directed by the Japanese animator Mitsuo Iso, and is his debut series as a director. He has done several high-profile animations in movies and serieses such as Evangelion and Rahxephon, as well as being known for his unique animation style which focuses on a large number of keyframes while minimizing the use of in-betweeners. This results in a highly-detailed animation with dense and sophisticated movements.
Anyway, on to the show itself. It’s shown in a generally prime-time slot in Japan with a large number of high-profile animators taken in to do the job. To put things simply - This is high-budget stuff. Music, sound effects, heck, this thing is pretty much touted to have the best animation in a series of 2007 outside of Seirei no Morobito.
Character design? It may take awhile to get used to, but once I finished the first episode or so, I was hooked. I simply couldn’t see it working with a more realistic character design - It fits in with the whimsical nuances that the series encircles. It’s also one of those things where they trade detail and realism for ease of animation, I suppose - Remember those old Hanna-Barbara cartoons? They had a ridiculous amount of exagerrated motion, which was thanks to the simplistic designs used at the time.
In terms of plot, now there’s something interesting. Dennou Coil opens with a mostly world-enforcing first half, helping the viewers get a general idea of the world with the multiple facets within, and the few story-based episodes serve as a general teaser of what’s to come and helping to build characterizations of the various characters involved. In the second half, the story kicks into high gear and we’re thrown into a massive roller-coaster ride - A far cry from the pace of the first half. And not only that - The story just keeps ramping higher and higher, upping the ante each time for the final climatic episodes. While several viewers have voiced how they might have preferred the first half for the uniqueness and freshness, I found myself in the camp who greatly appreciated the change of pace in the second half - I found it to be the main reason why I like Dennou Coil so much. Of course, it might also have to do with them suddenly pulling the rug out from under you, and you find yourself realizing that the cozy world you have been introduced to was in fact just the tip of the iceberg. It really wouldn’t be fair for me to say any more about the plot - It really is something to be seen and experienced for oneself as the whole series.
Overall, I think this was probably the most creative series I’ve seen out there. It was able to create a unique world and protray itself and its characters in a convincing manner, as well as showing that it was able to carry out the different types of storytelling with aplomb. As such it has wormed its way into my top 3 list, and will probably stay there for a long time to come.
Final score: 99 out of 105 possible Metatag constructs.
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