Dennou Coil

Alternate Titles:

Dennō Coil
Coil a Circle of Children
Den-noh Coil
Cyber Coil

Plot:

The line between real and augmented reality is growing thin in this not-too-distant future world.  This is a result of special, augmented-reality glasses that people wear which allows them to connect to the Net, a place which now has a digital world layered over our own.  Yasako is a young girl who moved into the city to live with her grandmother as a result of her father’s recent promotion.  Her grandmother runs a detective club that Yasako, and her new friends, join.  As they explore the many-leveled world of Daikoku city they discover secrets about the glasses that connect them to this alternate reality that may be darker than previously suspected.

Review:

First off, when I originally heard of Google Glass I thought of this anime and went – YES!! Just saying…

Dennou Coil is a weird show to watch.  Because most of the main characters are children it is undoubtedly a show geared toward a younger audience.  But some of the themes such as a happy ignorance/innocence over the burden of truth are more mature than you would originally expect when you sat down and started the show.

One thing that this show does well right from the start is walking fine lines like that.  It’s a show about children, but does not feel like a children’s show as an adult watching it.  It also walks the line of cyber-fantasy without feeling cliche or over-done.

The show is divided into two main halves, with one character exploring the world and introducing the viewer to it’s rules and the other half a “decoder” exploring things known as “illegals” – basically viruses and anomalies in the code.  The two halves come together for a fantastic ending that has a great punch to it.

Overall this show is fantastic and does an exceptional job for what it’s trying to do.  The areas it falls short in are some light filler and a villain that seems kind of stereotypical and a little one-note.  But it remains something that is a sleeper masterpiece and worth watching.

(Listen to the show for an extended, better, full review)

[starrater]