Ranked #387

Pale Cocoon

Mankind's future seems bleak, and this vividly seen in the pensive anime OAV Pale Cocoon.

The story is tremendously original. In this world, a young man is told to give up seeking the knowledge of things in the past. As history would teach any of us, to know where we're going, we need to know where we came from. He persists. We are given what appears to be a gigantic library. There is no sunlight, there barely seems to be any mark that people even really work there--everything is dank, metal and cold. And this young man works timelessly cataloguing and uncovering damaged records that have been left behind by humans before them.

I will say, the art is excellent. The computer database system is actually quite innovative, and the 'books' of the future are fantastical and are a wonder to look at. The character design is very good, and the animation is well-done. The best scenes are the ones that are spent looking through the archives in the library. And there is one particular scene, near the end, that will take your breath away. You will know which I am referring to if you have seen it.

There is something touching about our protagonist's quiet persistence. He may be mad, who knows? Maybe he's obsessed. Maybe he's just a believer. All of these things ring forth from excellent characterisation. The supporting character, a young woman who works with him, is one of those characters in which what she doesn't say is more important that what she actually says. She is his antithesis, almost. He is hopeful, she is sceptical. Another great aspect of this anime is to see them interact with one another.

This a great anime. It creates a whole universe with its short run-time. I couldn't stop watching it once I started, and I can't say there wasn't a moment where I wasn't completely absorbed by what I saw.

Pale Cocoon is a moving, poignant, brilliant OAV, and should definitely be watched. read more

Pale Cocoon tells the story of a post-apocalyptic Earth as observed by two humans, a man and a woman. They are involved in the extraction and cleaning of digital archives left by humans many years before. They include all types of media, pictures of Earth, newspaper clippings, video... the works. They are to a certain extent futuristic archaeologists. The story follows them as they hope to unravel Earth's history. Although short, as one off OVA, it doesn't feel like it is short. If that makes any sense. The plot is nicely developed and reaches an interesting conclusion.

The animation and direction for Pale Cocoon is absolutely amazing. I found myself getting lost in the amazing visuals and rewinding to where I was previously. It is meld between 3-D backdrops and traditional 2-D characters. This was pulled off spectacularly and as I said before, looks "absolutely amazing". The "camera" is used in a very realistic manner and often pulls back to give a sense of grand scale and is some of the best cinematography I have seen in an anime.

The musical score is phenomenal. With piano piece accompanied with a limited orchestra, the music does an outstanding job of accurately conveying the mood. The insert song is fantastic and played at exactly the right time. Overall it is some of the best music I have heard in a short anime.

The characters, who I don't think we ever learn the names of (I have a poor memory for names), are nicely fleshed out over this short story. The male lead is voiced very well and is very believable. He is very serious about his job and is eager to learn the truth about Earth. The female lead is always a little side-tracked and is beginning to lose interest in the project. She is very interested in a particular, for lack of a better word, shaft. This stairwell has a special place for her...

Overall I really enjoyed Pale Cocoon, and although it was short at just over twenty-two minutes it didn't feel like anything was left out. It comes to a very satisfying conclusion and is a must watch for any anime fan. read more