Video Backlog: "Dennou Coil"

Publisher: Siren Visual (Australia)
Format: Region 4 DVD, PAL, Japanese Dialogue with optional English Subtitles
Length: 26 Episodes x 24 minutes
Production Date: 2007
Currently in Print (as of writing): Yes

By 2015, version 3.0 of the internet has arrived. It involves wearing a special set of glasses that enables the wearer to view an internet world laid over the top of the real one. You actually interact with the world around you bit also in a 3D virtual environment. Fast forward 11 years where the technology has been refined. 12 year old Yuko Okonogi moves with her family to the city of Daikoku. As she and her younger sister, Kyoko, come across various strange things in the virtual world around Daikoku. They see a kind of mist rising from a part of town, and a trail of strange black matter which they latter follow. This leads them to what is colloquially known as an “illegal”, a kind of cyber creature. Unfortunately Yuko’s cyber-pet Densuke follows the creature in what is described as “old space”, an unused area from the beginning of the creation of the cyber world. In it lurks illegal software, viruses and something called metabugs, kind of like bits of data which the children of Daikoku collect and trade. If Densuke stays in old space for too long, it can kill him. Yuko accidently finds a lost cyber-pet cat which a girl her age, Fumie Hashimoto, was looking for. Fumie explains that she is cyber detective who finds people’s lost cyber-pets. In exchange for finding the cat, she rescues Densuke. Fumie and Yuko become friends instantly after this meeting.

While the children of the area happily play in this virtual world including the illegal areas, the local Cyberspace Administration, under the guidance of the company Megamass reformat old areas and wipe out viruses and bugs using a virtual anti-virus like program called Satchi. These strange looking red programs roam the area wiping out anything deemed illegal indiscriminately. As many of the children carry virtual things which are illegal or have illegally modified pets, this leads them to being chased down by the Satchis. Much to Yuko’s surprise and annoyance, her grandmother, known to the children as Megabaa, has opened her own “cyber candy shop”, the Megasi-ya. There she sells various bits of software, including various metatags (made from metabugs), represented as paper talisman, which can be used for various things such as stopping Satchis or repairing things. Megabaa also runs the detective agency that Fumie is a part of. Megabaa manages to con Yuko into becoming a member of the agency. The arrival of another new student at school, Yuko Amasawa who is nicknamed Isako, changes things dramatically. Isako is a street savvy girl who can draw intricate codes in virtual chalk on the ground which enables her to hide from the Satchis or anyone else for that matter. Isako is searching for something and is using people’s pets to draw out illegals. Rumours on the intent begin to mount that kids souls are being drawn into the “other world” by a mysterious humanoid illegal called Michiko-san. Yuko, Fumie and their friends soon find evidence that this rumour may be in fact true.

I really have no idea why this show has taken so long to get an English language release. And of all companies to release it, Siren, for god’s sake! While fans did make a bit of noise about this show, you have to admit it’s been rather more subdued than the hype surrounding other shows. I initially was only mildly impressed by the first couple of episodes, but it slowly built up piece by piece over the entire length of the series into an exciting show. First off the concept of overlaying the internet over the real world (and viewing it via glasses) is a fantastic one. It really is quite easy to think this could be the next evolution in the internet. I also liked the idea of virtual pets (like the virtual spy cats with hand like ears, which play rock-paper-scissors when they meet each other. What a cool idea!) and the new industries (albeit cottage ones) that popped up around it. It’s exactly how the modern day internet has evolved. It’s exceptionally well thought and well integrated into the story. I also saw parallels in the concept of old space and normal space and the “dark net” (i.e. stuff like the Hidden Wiki) and normal internet in the modern age. Though I admit the dark net is more freaking scary than old space. The exploration of ideas such as what a person’s soul is, is quite similar to the ideas explored in “Ghost in the Shell” I thought. But this show just isn’t about technology; it’s about how people interact with it and how people negotiate their way through relationships and feelings as well as negotiating their way through the modern world at the same time. It’s also about grief which I though was an interesting element to mix into the show. I loved how all the elements came together in the last eight or so episodes. It had fantastic technology, drama, conspiracy and action in a very well written story.

There were a couple of problems with the show I felt. The big one for me was the lack of explanation of some of the some of the technology used in the show, however most of the time I could suspend disbelief quite easily. There were some minor leaps in logic, but I could forgive most of these. The show took a couple of missteps story wise I felt, but again these were kind of minor. Like most of Siren’s recent stuff (i.e. from 2008 or so) this show is presented and packaged very well. The video for the most part is drop dead gorgeous for a NTSC to PAL transfer, however there are some minor frame meshing in the last disc on the second DVD set. This is mostly unnoticeable in my eyes. Siren has also included a bonus disc in the second set which has about 90 minutes of features. It’s mostly promotional material, interviews and the like, but it was a nice inclusion (and everything is subbed too). In conclusion, “Dennou Coil” is one of anime’s best kept secrets. It may be a mainstream NHK animation aimed at children, but seriously it’s too good for kids. Somehow it perfectly blends themes about technology, relationships with others in the modern world, grief and explorations of a virtual after life with conspiracy theories and urban legends, drama and most importantly a great big dose of humour. It’s also really well written and paced. Not a lot of anime can claim that now days. This is easily one of the best shows I’ve seen in the last couples of years. It’s a shame that it hasn’t got a dub or better distribution in the west so more people can have the chance to see it. 9 out of 10.

Remaining Backlog: 27 months (it's much easier this way than listing the number of discs).