Dennou Coil

In the near future, augmented reality has become a key part of daily life. A gentle middle school girl named Yuuko "Yasako" Okonogi and her family have just moved to Daikoku City despite rumors of people disappearing. There, her grandmother, nicknamed "Mega-baa," runs a shop called Megasia that specializes in illegal tools which interact with parts of the virtual world.

Mega-baa also hosts an unofficial detective agency called "Coil," a group of children around Yasako's age who find and handle corruption of the virtual world. Yasako gets involved with the group when Fumie Hashimoto, a playful member of Coil, helps rescue her cyberdog Densuke after getting trapped in virtual space while chasing a mysterious virus. Also investigating these corruptions and viruses is an abrasive hacker named Yuuko Amasawa, who the others take to calling Isako.

Can Coil discover the truths behind the mysterious viruses and corruption, and if they can, at what cost?

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Amasawa, Yuuko Main

Kuwashima, Houko Japanese

Okonogi, Yuuko Main

Orikasa, Fumiko Japanese

Harakawa, Kenichi Main

Park, Romi Japanese

Hashimoto, Fumie Main

Kojima, Sachiko Japanese

Sawaguchi, Daichi Main

Saitou, Rie Japanese

Densuke Supporting

Asou, Tomohisa Japanese

Oyaji Supporting

Yada, Kouji Japanese

Sacchi Supporting

Megabaa Supporting

Suzuki, Reiko Japanese

Mojos Supporting

Maruyama, Masao Producer

Shimizu, Hiroyuki Assistant Producer

Kunisaki, Hisanori Assistant Producer

Iso, Mitsuo Director, Script, Storyboard, Creator, Key Animation, Special Effects

Reviews

Jun 26, 2024

Curlybrace101

Recommended

"But actually, what is real? Does being able to touch things make them real? If something can't be touched, does that mean it isn't real? What things are really, truly here? What things are actually here for sure?"

Technology has, historically, always belonged to the young generation. When a new breakout in technology is made, it's the kids that find themselves most savvy with it, as well as have it influence their daily lives in every way imaginable. For millennials it was the computer, for generation z it was the smartphone, and for generation alpha...

Well, we don't know yet. But for the fictional gen alpha of ... Dennou Coil, it's Dennou technology---AR technology that lays the cyberspace over the real world and blurs the lines between what is real and what is not.

And that is why Dennou Coil makes for the perfect coming of age story.

A big part of being a child is relying on the technology that is part of every day life, having never lived without it, and the plot of Dennou Coil is all about how closely interwoven AR technology is in the lives of these children. It affects everything they do, from their school work to their after-school play. The main plot is about these child characters uncovering the mysteries of the digital world, but whenever they have downtime, they are experiencing things such as school clubs and summer festivals and going through hormonal changes. Dennou Coil very accurately captures what it is like to be on the cusp of your teenage years, figuring yourself and your relationships with others out.

But Dennou Coil is more than that, still. Most importantly, Dennou Coil is a story about grief. The main characters are all followed by death, and it is only through overcoming that grief that the story reaches its happy ending. Futhermore, it digs deep into grief in wondering what truly it is okay to grieve. As the opening quote says, Dennou Coil calls into question what can truly be considered "real" in the wake of technology intermingling with our daily lives, and as such, what we should feel about it.

Dennou Coil so accurately grasps what it is like to be a child since the advance of technology, and winds in with it a harrowingly real representation of grief that makes it both a charming and thoughtful watch overall.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Feb 9, 2024

MizuhoKamui

Mixed Feelings

Analyzing Dennou Coil is rather problematic as the series is quite complicated. As you advance to episode 20, you may get bewildered with the barrage of information presented in each episode making it hard to remember the storyline.

Having some explanations added earlier would have been helpful, maybe right after the episode 3 introductory arc is concluded. Rather than that, the program withholds the information until the closing segment and then dumps it on the viewers.

To mitigate confusion for prospective viewers, it's crucial to have some background information, which can be gleaned from the Wiki. The story is set in a world where "Den-noh Megane," wearable ... computer glasses utilizing AR technology, has been widely adopted for eleven years. These glasses overlay and manipulate information from the virtual Den-noh world onto the real world, facilitating various activities such as communication and internet browsing.

The primary focus of this narrative is Yuko Okonogi, commonly called Yusako, who with her family moves to live with her grandmother and experiences a black creature threatening her virtual pet, Densuke. In the real world, people can see the virtual world called Den-noh thanks to special glasses which lies on the same dimensions as their reality. In this virtual world there exist strange virtual pets, as well as creatures known as Illegals which are regarded as a form of virus.

Furthermore, there are the Searchy who are charged with ensuring stability in the virtual city, and they also become enemies to children inexplicably. This probably is due to children carrying an odd kind of currency called metabugs which is wanted by the Searchy.

As the story progresses, the protagonists uncover the darker aspects of the virtual world, delving into the circumstances surrounding a young girl's death and the enigmatic entity named Michiko. However, despite the heavy emphasis on the virtual realm, it fails to adequately explain its intricacies, leaving viewers bewildered until much later into the show.

The storytelling flaws become apparent, relying heavily on info dumps rather than allowing characters to organically discover the truth through their actions. The reveal of crucial plot points, such as the nature of the Illegals, feels unsatisfactory due to its presentation through a dense information dump.

Regarding the characters, the protagonist, Yusako, initially appears lackluster, only gradually evolving into a more engaging character as the series progresses. Other characters, such as Kumie and Daichi, serve their roles but lack significant development. Kenichi stands out as one of the more intriguing characters, driving the exploration into the Illegals' nature.

Furthermore, the animation quality remains commendable, with fluid action sequences and apt depiction of eerie atmospheres. However, the character designs suffer from a lack of distinctiveness, making it challenging to differentiate between them initially.

In conclusion, Dennou Coil presents an intriguing concept, but its execution falls short due to ineffective storytelling, lackluster character development, and a failure to provide adequate exposition. Despite its potential, it struggles to captivate viewers, ultimately resulting in a middling experience.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Jan 24, 2008

thefunkhunter

Not Recommended

Denno Coil in my opinion is not a good anime and I cannot recommend the series so therefore it gets a very low 4 rating.

The story borrows heavily from full metal alchemists and the collection of kirabugs to open up to the "otherside" is completely unoriginal.

The art is great in the way it combines cg and cartoon seamlessly however, the colors are not vibrant and the drawings are a bit 2d looking and plain.

Sound is nothing special voice acting is average and the soundtrack is poor despite a great opening theme song.

Characterization has some depth and it tries to be complex, however, one of ... the main characters is the dog, densuke. He is a great character but unfortunately is hardly in the tv-series, he plays a major part later on, but the tv series would of been much better if he played a bigger role throughout.

Overall, I found the series to drag throughout its slow pace and uneventful tv series. The final 3 episiodes are good and emotional, but the characterization is so undercooked that the impact is significantly less impactful than it should have been. I would recommend the final 3 episodes, but the rest of the series was a bore.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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	Poll: Denno Coil Episode 26 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Zel - Dec 8, 2007	140 replies	by OneMoreFinal »» Sep 17, 4:52 PM
	Poll: Denno Coil Episode 23 Discussion _edge_ - Nov 29, 2007	33 replies	by OneMoreFinal »» Sep 16, 2:40 PM
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	Poll: Denno Coil Episode 25 Discussion Awakened - Dec 10, 2007	30 replies	by Fabrizio00 »» Sep 7, 9:28 AM
	Poll: Denno Coil Episode 24 Discussion _edge_ - Dec 10, 2007	41 replies	by Fabrizio00 »» Sep 7, 9:17 AM