Coppelion

Coppelion is what I would describe as a beautiful anime gone straight to hell. I’m not referring to the artwork here because that’s glamorous. What originally started out as an alluring premise with promise turned into an abomination that becomes almost intolerable to watch thanks to its style and overall portrayal of the post-apocalyptic genre. This anime itself is an apocalyptic failure that illustrates just how not to adapt its manga. Not that the manga is any better but Coppelion comes to me as a show that should of never been resurrected.

The series itself is based off of the manga of the same name written ... by Tomonori Inoue. The term “Coppelion” refers to an unit of trained specialists with special abilities that tries to find survivors after a faithful event that happened in the year of 2016. Apparently, the city of Tokyo becomes a contamination like war zone as its people are faced to deal with a grim reality; that reality being the brisk on extinction as the a nearby nuclear plant undergoes meltdown. So now, it’s up to the Coppelion special task force to find survivors 20 years later. This definitely sets up a decent science fiction theme series with its beautiful visuals that truly illustrates the aftermath of the tragedy as well as its story. However, that story turned out to be a tragic breakdown.

The series has three main characters named Ibara Naruse, Aoi Fukasaku, and Taeko Nomura. These three girls seems to be humanity’s last hope. But what makes its setup odd is how these young girls are able to give hope to the people. That answer is simple: they all have immunity to the radiation that contaminated Tokyo. In fact, the girls are genetically engineered to be capable of surviving in such a harsh environment. But taking the word ‘capable’ to describe these girls is an overstatement here. While the trio is able to deal most of their assigned tasks, the majority of the responsibility falls into the hands of Ibara Naruse. She is portrayed as a natural leader with her confidence and her determination to help the people. Of course, she also possesses strength, agility, and intellect to carry out her tasks. Now the other question is: what about Aoi and Taeko? They also have a purpose right? In most cases, I would regrettably say no. Throughout the series, Aoi and Taeko plays the role of more like sidekicks. Taeko at one point even puts the team into jeopardy for her careless actions. What’s even worse though is Aoi, a character that is about as useful as a palm tree in the desert. She has literally no skills and often stands in the way. Her obnoxious and childish behavior also hinders the team as well as putting others during an assigned task at risk. During many instances, she seems to be scared for her own life despite trying to save others; how ironic. It seems like other needs to save her and turns out she’s probably even more human than the survivors.

The story itself originally sets itself well. There’s the apocalyptic background clearly illustrated by its landscape of desolation. It composes itself both inside and outside with the ruined cities and lack of civilization. The only people our main characters seemingly encounter are survivors in the beginning. These survivors obviously do not possess the same ability as Coppelion. Instead, they depend on them in order to make it out of Tokyo alive, or die trying. As for the story itself though, this show tries hard but doesn’t land anywhere. The first episode establishes the fact that there are survivors out there but at the same time, there is also danger. Even when they do find survivors, it's usually shown that they are at the edge of their lives. This is presented in many circumstances as this show tries to draw out an image to viewers’ minds - a world in which anyone can die. At many cases, the girls are able to save the survivors but this usually falls under Ibara’s shoulders. AGAIN, what a shocker. Almost every episode involves Ibara pulling out superhuman movements while drawing her handy pistol. Meanwhile, our other two girls sits on standby or providing little support. When Ibara succeeds, the girls plays the role of the cheerleaders. As for the survivors themselves, most of them seemingly only play a very minor role that falls under a weekly basis, to almost never seen or heard again. Some of these survivors also doesn’t seem to want to live for certain reasons as well. Later on though, the series does shift more into a progressing plot gear mode as the girls learns more about the world they are in as well as its past. Additionally, more dangerous antagonists are introduced who even has a past with the Coppelions or main characters themselves. There is also one other main supporting character named Haruto that gets introduced mid way into the series but his characterization is no better than the rest; as if they had any at all in the first place.

There are also some absurd standards that makes this show question viewers what they may be watching. The girls is one example as we see they don’t stand out as anything special. They are designed like high school girls that shows hardly any menacing features. Their designs matches those of a high school student with they way they are dressed. More awkward is the fact that they are dressed in little protective gear. Instead, they wear skirts so noticeably short that surprisingly can hide what’s underneath the whole time. The series’ mechanics also has holes that doesn’t seem to add up such as the way certain military vehicles are operated or genetic engineering revolving several Coppelions. Then, there’s some of the antagonists the girls faces throughout the series. The Coppelion special force are just composed of a three unit team but most of the time are capable of taking down a military group. Even when they do get a little support from others, their task is achieved through some form of Deus Ex machina. What makes it worse though is the fact that the survivors seemingly doesn’t want how the results of a mission turns out to be. In most cases, this means their lives are saved despite a desire to pass on to the next world. The show also makes the antagonists seem weak as in almost fictional story of face and heels. In the end, the heroes usually triumphs out of some sort of odd circumstance.

The artwork of this series can be described as ‘scenery porn’. Most of the landscape and backgrounds are majestically illustrated giving it a cutting edge magnificence. The desolate lands of Tokyo truly does look like something of an aftermath from an apocalyptic event. The lack of civilization as well the destruction of its structures are further evidence of this. The production studio Gohands (known more recently for its works including K and Mardock Scramble) can draw some similarity with its background designs. Furthermore, the lack of fan service eliminates distractions that sets upon a more serious mood for this series. It also incorporates the usage of effective camera angles combined with gusts of wind to illustrate that empty settling atmosphere of the apocalyptic Tokyo as in 2036. Unfortunately, there is some odd artwork involving how the characters appear on screen on various occasions through a technique of thick line style and palate. The purpose of this seems to be unknown but from my guess is probably to focus on the characters as its prominent feature rather than its breathtaking backgrounds.

Soundtrack wise, Coppelion is decent enough to live up to its expectations. Action scenes and cliffhangers are demonstrated with heart beating tones. There’s minimal comedy or fan service so most of the time, the show itself omits the usage of comedic OST but replaces them with a more solemn theme. The OP song “Angel” by angela (K, Valvrave the Liberator, Heroic Age) is catchy for its scientific-like tone of presentation. The ED song sung by her also gives off both a scientific mood with its tragedy-like style. Ibara’s VA (Haruka Tomatsu) gives off a confidence tone of voice while Aoi is a clear example of a girl in distress. Aoi represents the weakness of the team as well as the most human so her voice is often portrayed as helpless girl seeking for help despite wanting to help others.

Honestly, Coppelion is a show that I tried to desperately take a liking to but its construction of the story just doesn’t swing in the right way. The premise sets up itself well and is convincing enough especially for those into science fiction or fans of post tragic series. Past series like Tokyo Magnitude 8.0, Shinsekai Yori, and Casshern Sins also demonstrated similar themes but had more character driven plots. However, Coppelion lacks most of that and instead puts its faith into saving survivors. The artwork did save the show quite a bit though but the story and overall execution is just tragic. I don’t mean tragic in a tear-jerking way but rather as an deterioration of a potential success. This show did not achieve success for me in any way. Instead, it was a bloody revolution.

Ok, so another anime has ended, somehow I get the feeling that the writer of this anime's manga version, Tomonori Inoue seems to be a clairvoyant, though the Fukushima nuclear disaster did happen 3 years since the writer conceptualize the possibility of where the scenarios were similar, except of course in his version the nuke contamination was widespread that it covers the so called old capital, while the one that happen in Fukushima Prefecture was only limited in its area. But, anyways, I still give this anime a benefit of a doubt, surly there is something in this anime that basically annoys me, so leave ... it to them Japanese to think of something possible and make a lot fancy, co'z frankly this anime has a lot of fancy in it. So I hereby present my ratings for this anime:


Story- good 7.

I like the plot where it involves a similar scenario of that from Fukushima Prefecture, and yes I'm referring to the nuclear plant whose one of it reactor exploded causing most of its area within the 20 km zone to be contaminated with nuclear debris, I also like the melodramatic thing that happens within the plot, but, I cannot fathom the part where there is action involve where the main task of the 3 girls have to face some adversary when they where just suppose to be in a salvage mission to look for survivors.

Art- pathetic 1.

Ok, the background, that I have no comment, but them Coppelions in school uniform out in a salvage mission??????AH! It is as worse as going to a formal gathering in a bikini, wtf was this writer, Tomonori Inoue thinking?!Geeez, they're in a salvage mission, at least writer Tomonori Inoue-san could have at least made them wore fatigues uniforms, and if he wants to maintain that moe thing, he could have them girls wore cargo short shorts, with matching long socks and hiking boots, in fact I'm thinking of the same attire that Lara Croft of Tomb Raider would wear except with a bit of Japanese theme in it, where it would have been more appropriate for them girls. Haruto on the other hand would have looked good if he be wearing the same uniform that the JGSDF would, also there is the HAZMAT suits, where it kinda looks more like a space suit than a Hazmat, which was a clear indication that when the illustrator did such illustration he probably didn't do his research well, and let's not forget the Division 1 people, who dresses like they are members of the NAZI. I hate to say it but the character's attires are just too way fancy. What's even more bad was that I don't get to see any panty shot or some uncensored boob flashes.

Sound- Decent 4.

I just don't have anything to say about the seiyuu's who did the character's voices, except that I like the closing theme.

Character- fair 6.

I kinda like Ibara Naruse's character as this head strong leader of the trio with a heart, but I kinda have some reservations about her being too dedicated in saving lives that sometime she endangers her team.

Aoi Fukasaku, was some what of a character, where at one point I like her sweetness, but I despises her indecisiveness, I also hate the fact that she can only use her powers on a limited basis.

Taeko Nomura, she more like a dichotomy, where at one point she has medical training, but kinda paralyze by her hesitation to deliver Ibuki's twins.

Ozu sisters- They would have been the character's I like to hate, but somehow on the last episode, they seems to be a nice duet, not bad for having a DNA taken from a psychopath.

Haruto, well I like the part where he really did play out as a hero who gave his life, that is if he is still alive.

Ok, so we all know that the main character's here are them Coppelions, it was nice to know the way they perform, but I just can't fathom the possibility that in this anime/manga the Japanese govt spends a lot of money to make an artificial enhance humanoid, like a Coppelion, just as so that they can send them on a salvage mission where it would have been much cheaper to make a more effective Hazmat suit. So, despite of the performance I guess for this part should be.. fair enough.


Enjoyment- good 7.

What is enjoyable were the melodrama and the action, and that's this anime's silver lining which is good enough.


Overall- Fair 6.

Despite of the all things fancy in this anime, and the exaggerations, it was still good, but, for me the action and the melodrama wasn't enough to convince me to give this anime a score higher than 6, frankly because I really can't fathom all the fancy things and the exaggerations that this anime exhibits.

Coppelion was part of my summer anime viewing a couple years ago. Alongside BlazBlue: Alter Memory and Kill la KIll I can't quite recall right now, it really had potential to go places in 13 episodes. Unfortunately, it stumbled by episode 3 and crashed before episode 7. What followed were the charred remains scratching and clawing out of the wreckage that was its plot and begging to be put out of its misery. Is the manga better? Unfortunately, I couldn't be bothered after this botched attempt.

Starting where it should be saving itself, the sound is... Meh. The only memorable part of the series was the ... op despite it having a few okay tracks. You don't feel anything except sheer boredom when watching and the music doesn't alleviate this. Part of what makes an anime work is the musical score which someone in the studio behind this mistake forgot about.

The characters are what you get when someone doesn't try. Ibara is a bad leader, the General is about as incompetent as military personnel can get, and the rest border on annoyingly stupid (Aoi comes to mind) or psychotic. Nothing about the characters redeems them and even when one sacrifices themselves, you can only feel happy that they were able to get out of this mess.

The art feels rushed and incomplete, especially when some scenes have thick outlines around the girl as if the animation team said "good enough" and called it a day. Despite some of the visuals being pleasing in places, they're off-set by the thick outlines or lack of depth to the characters. Oh, but that's not the worst of it.

Imagine if Tokyo did go up in flames during that last tsunami a few years ago. What the studio (and mangaka) attempt to create is a post-meltdown Tokyo where people in hazmat suits have somehow survived in a highly-radiated area of the country with only the apparently incompetent Japanese military dudes suffering for it. Hazmat suits are a short-term option when dealing with this kind of stuff and even then they don't provide 100% protection nor are they immune to degradation.

None of the story makes sense, the characters are awful, the sound is forgettable, and overall it's a miss-able series. Miss it.

I really wanted to like Coppelion, storywise it had a lot of potential, but an onslaught of problems coming from the direction, the writing, the pacing, and the animation from the anime itself really held it back from being anything but "...eh.."

Coppelion is directed by Shingo Suzuki. It's about three high school students who are genetically altered to be immune to radioactivity in Tokyo after it's contaminated by a nuclear accident. The Coppelion are sent in by the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force to rescue the people still living in the city after a distress signal from inside Tokyo is received.

The anime started off ... strong with nice backgrounds, nice colors and a really nice setting... that is until we see the characters. The characters themselves don't mesh well with the backgrounds whatsoever. They have really thick outlines at times and don't seem to fit into this world. The backgrounds remind me of more vibrant and realistic styles of anime like Paprika, Children Who Chase Lost voices, or something Studio Ghibli with the detailed backgrounds, but the characters are cheaply drawn, poorly animated and are drab and almost devoid of any color due to an annoying color overlay that washes out any vibrant colors onscreen.

I started the first episode and was bothered already by the thick outlined cheap looking characters that I almost stopped watching after 5 minutes. I pushed through and actually found myself getting into the story and got used to the design choices for the most part, and the characters didn't look too bad to me anymore. But after the first 5 or 6 episodes, the plot really slows and gets convoluted. There's a lot of pacing issues and it made the anime hard to watch and kind of boring at times.

The last 2 episodes were really solid and I do think if the pacing throughout the entirety of the anime was more like this it would've been a much more enjoyably experience. It definitely wasn't all bad, especially since I did have a smile on my face at the end of the 13th episode, so if you can get passed the problems, you might find this anime rather enjoyable.

I do like the story, it's an interesting concept, and I did enjoy parts of the anime a lot, but the execution of the anime itself was so poorly done that I'd recommend not watching it and just reading the manga, which is still going today.

Which is why I have to give it a 6/10

It is the year 2036 and humans have successfully engineered living dolls called Coppelion. They are genetically-modified human clones that are immune to radiation, miraculously heal from serious injuries, and have unique special abilities. These coppelion are conveniently deployed into the shell of the former Japanese capital, now a radioactive wasteland, in order to save the remnants of humanity there.

When I think of nuclear wasteland, I think of the games S.T.A.L.K.E.R, Metro 2033, and Fallout. None of these games contain school girls in school uniforms who cry every time anything goes wrong. And yet this is exactly what GoHands has added to the theme, complete ... with mini skirts and an extreme dose of estrogen. While the animation of Go Hands does justice to the post-apocalyptic cityscape of "the Old Capital", the lively personalities of the characters and the caliber of action don't follow this dark tone. For me, this action-adventure only fares slightly better than Kyoukai no Kanata, another series that desperately lacks a coherent atmosphere.

Animation:
This work shares a lot with other GoHands works. Again, a major city holds the scars of a disastrous accident as in K. The amazing clarity and detail found in K is carried over in Coppelion, except that everything is now rusted and overgrown, in contrast to the sparkly-clean look of K. The character animation is a bit different in that there are very clear outlines around the characters, making it quite obvious that they are superimposed in front of the background. I also found it a bit odd how the girls were able to keep their uniforms tidy and clean, despite sleeping and rolling in the dusty, grimy deserted city. The character designs are fair with distinguishable important characters. Somehow, Naruse reminds me of Shino, the student council chair in Seitokai Yakuindomo. Unlike K, we don't have overly bishounen guys.

Though there is a lot of action in Coppelion, there isn't as much reliance on magic as in K. In its place is a lot of conventional firearm battles with antagonists who always spray lead almost universally resulting in a light show that misses the intended target. There is noticable CGI usage, especially in the earlier episodes. Expect blood and a bit of gore, though not anywhere near the level found in the games mentioned above. The more military/gamer-inclined viewer may take offense at the grievous misrepresentation of the B2 bomber, unrealistic effects of radiation, and copyright infringement of the Monkeylord from Supreme Commander. As there is no Neko in this show, don't expect there to be much in the fan service department.

Sound:
The show opens with a rock-based OP with weird-sounding gaps between the vocals. The show ends with a traditional-sounding song that feels like it fits with a Yakuza flick. It has a dark melody that, while not great, is much more melodic than the OP. The BGM is similar in instrumentation to that found in K, though with less emphasis, cohesion, and presence.

The VAs do a good job giving their respective characters fitting personalities. Kana Hanazawa and Yui Horie do well in their supporting roles but I particularly liked Rikiya Koyama's performance as the general.

Story:
This is one of those series that you shouldn't take seriously if you want any to derive any enjoyment. From the ridiculous "lead barrier" holding the radiation in to characters coincidentally discovering functional RPGs in the ruins at critical moments, this show isn't going for any realism awards. At least plot-wise, there's much more continuity compared to what we saw in K.

Basically, special "human dolls" called coppelion graduate from a special high school (training them in vital subjects such as how to use firearms and how to perform surgery) and are sent on various tasks in hazardous, radioactive environments. The show follows the medical team, a group of three whiny coppelion whose goal is to find and rescue/extract all the remaining humans in the city. The story is very episodic at first with the gals discovering various groups of people. Eventually, the story centralizes around rescuing a large group of people, which carries the plot to its climax. Along the way, convenient antagonists are introduced and mysterious winds interrupt at the worst of times. While there is continuity, the execution doesn't flow naturally.

Since Coppelion are essentially scientifically-created clones, the story attempts to invoke the same morality questions and themes also recently found in Railgun S. Unfortunately, the theme was only lightly explored and had almost no real effect on the viewer. The story also touches upon the idea that there are people who may willingly want to live in the radioactive zone, free from the burdens imposed by the outside civilization. Ultimately, none of the themes are explored with enough detail, and many seemingly important side plots (such as the Prime Minister's past) are hinted at but never explored.

In the end, this feels like an exploratory work; there are certain elements that are unique but a lot of core pieces are missing. What are the coppelion? Why is the rest of the world seemingly apathetic to the fact that Tokyo has been blown up? What kind of an engineer would think that building an experimental reactor in the center of mega city is a good idea? These critical questions, and more, will remain completely unanswered in the series.

Character:
The coppelion are as mysterious as the protagonist in K. Expect a lot of special abilities and cheesy last minute saves based on these abilities. While there is some depth to the main medical group, there isn't much explanation on the antagonists. A lot of emphasis is supposedly on the purpose of the coppelion and why they willingly follow what they are ordered to. My main gripe, however, is that antagonists completely change their mind, almost on a whim. One minute they're out to kill the protagonists, no holds barred. The next, they decide to just give up and join forces. This change in conviction just feels completely unnatural.

Value:
Coppelion is a nice looking show. It's got a pretty good atmosphere and a fairly unique setting. However, the characters didn't really grow on me and the unnatural pacing and execution didn't help either. If you're a huge GoHands fan then this might be for you. Otherwise, if you must get your fill of armageddon, watch something like Kaminai. It has a much richer atmosphere and likeable characters. If you're looking more for an action-scifi, Railgun S is a good alternative.

Coppelion is an interesting piece of media that wants to do a lot with the premise, however the direction it takes ends up slightly skewed into a drama of sorts that hurts the presentation of an otherwise decent piece of art.


Story: 5/10

Coppelion begins in the beautifully illustrated ruins of the post-nuclear accident city of Tokyo. We're introduced to our three protagonists: Ibara Naruse, Taeko Nomura, and Aoi Fukasaku, which are high school girls that have been genetically engineered to withstand the incredibly dangerous conditions of the city, trained since their coming into being to be a medical team tasked with locating and rescuing any ... survivors that may be within the city's limits. They are known as the Coppelion. The series introduces you to the premise and builds the world effectively through an episodic structure until the overarching plot and main conflict present itself.

This seems like an incredibly interesting idea for a series, and had it kept the episodic structure it could have been a pretty engaging experience. Once the major plot kicks in the story takes a nosedive and gets into a rhythm of problem solving, deus ex machina, and cliffhangers.


Art: 9/10

The art is the reason I was able to watch the series in its entirety. The background art depicting the ruins of the city in all of its grime and former glory is absolutely stunning. The muted color palette across the desolate buildings, crumbling city streets, and vacant ruins sets the tone for the beginning of the series to be a rather somber one. With such an intense presentation the choice to make the characters have thick, comic book style outlines was a welcome one. This helps them stand out from the backgrounds and gives the show a sense of conscious stylistic direction.


Sound: 8/10

I realized the sound in this anime had a lot more thought put into it the further along I got in the series. The music choices were all chosen well for the context they were presented in. The VAs do their job of presenting the character's personalities, their frustrations, trials, and burdens. This becomes very important as there are a lot of moments when characters have moments of introspection and their purpose.


Character: 4/10

I understand why the creators took the route they did with the girls. The reason for the characterization written into them is not lost on me. But it is annoying.

Ibara Naruse is the leader of the group. She does most of the work while the other two protagonists either serve as plot devices or to support her. She has one goal of saving lives, and will do what she must to make sure that happens. Her passion for this makes her failures her moments of weakness. This contrasts with her incredibly super-human exterior.

Taeko Nomura is possibly given the least characterization of the group. While she is somewhat competent and more useful than Aoi, her role remains much of the same as the focus is never shifted to her enough to get a read on her internal struggles. She exists to present the idea that Coppelion students can have engineered abilities, hers being that her senses are heightened.

Aoi Fukasaku is the weakest link in the group. She is incredibly whiny and will continue to whine throughout the series. Her character, I believe, is supposed to represent the idea that even genetically engineered humans can have more of a sense of humanity, compassion, and empathy than real humans. I couldn't force myself to like this character, as she's never given any redeemable qualities within her characterization. You will tire of this character quickly.

The rest of the cast is littered with people that either stand in the way of the protagonists, represent the duality of people in desperation, act as deus ex machina, or act as recurring villains that the protagonists must repeatedly be at odds with.


Enjoyment: 6/10
Overall: 5/10

After my first few episodes of Coppelion I could not understand the hate it was getting, because I was enjoying it a lot. The premise was interesting, the art was interesting, the story up to that point was okay and the characters weren't destroying the show for me. Once the rest of the plot unfolded I started to understand the criticisms for this anime. The major flaws lie within the characters and the story, which are the most important aspects. I think Coppelion is passable, and memorable in it's own way, if not for a lot of the wrong reasons. It's worth a watch if you're in the mood for something different and are willing to forego some logic and forgive some bad characters.

Coppelion is set in a future where the city of Tokyo has been left abandoned due to the city becoming inhabitable due to the high levels of radiation contamination that plague it. In the search for surviving inhabitants of the city, a trio of genetically engineered teens called Coppelion are tasked by the Japanese Self-Defense Force to track down survivors as all of them are immune to the negative effects of radiation and each have their own unique special ability.

On the surface, Coppelion offers some storytelling themes that would make it seem like a solid sci-fi adventure title on paper. The series is set in ... a "what if" future showing what could happen if Tokyo was ravaged by nuclear radiation as a result of the nuclear reactors that powers its society. Within this future, Ibara and the members of her Rescue Unit are tasked with tracking down survivors within the nuclear-ravaged Tokyo that offer up their moments of genuine suspense as the girls are often at risk when rescuing survivors between preventing victims from being exposed to high levels of radiation they can otherwise survive to enemy threats exploiting their survival efforts to stir up terrorist acts for their personal gain. The series also dabbles into questioning the humanity of others, which those among the Coppelion and whomever is left behind in the radiation-infested Tokyo dabble into as characters feeling like outcasts or not human due to being different from other people cope with these developments in varying ways, both good and bad.

Unfortunately, Coppelion gets hurt greatly by the limited run time of its series length. At only 13 episodes, it felt like the series was trying to compact whatever storytelling it had to tell. Many of the characters get limited depth, mostly being reduced to character archetypes and not getting enough fleshing out to make their motives and developments relatable for me. Some major plot developments do get tacked on with melodrama that make emotional moments hard to take seriously at points and others that do not seem to get enough fleshing out, due to a mix of both the anime's seemingly compressed feel and the series also lacking a proper ending.

Visually, things are a mixed bag for Coppelion. While sporting highly detailed and vast background shots of the barren Tokyo landscape, the quality of animation shots and character designs tend to vary. Designs of the various radiation suits worn by human characters have variety to their designs, but character designs often looked unrealistic in their bodily proportions and some shots inconsistently depict their designs with a thick outline that stick out prominently from the gorgeous background shots. Animation is hit-or-miss as there are some moments where shortcuts are relied upon to conserve on budget, while others feature some great animated sequences such as some later fight scenes with the Coppelion and a final battle involving a giant spider robot.

Overall, Coppelion is a series that seemed like it wanted to explore quite a bit in its run, yet suffers since it is handicapped by its limited run time in how much it can explore within its 13-episode run. Perhaps if the series were given a longer run time, it could have had more time to convey its ideas and provide more fleshing out of its characters. But as it is, the series offers a solid premise on paper that is sadly crippled by the amount of time it has to tell its story.

Overview:
"Coppelion" is an interesting anime to be sure, combining elements from the post-apocalyptic and magical girl genres among others to create something that appears like nothing you've ever seen before. Unfortunately, good ideas are little more than novelties without someone who can actually make the most out of them, and "Coppelion"'s execution of its ideas never manages to be anything more than middling, resulting in an anime that has a lot of issues and untapped potential.

Story (6.5/10):
"Coppelion" is set in the year 2036, 20 years after a nuclear meltdown made Tokyo uninhabitable due to the increased radioactivity making it impossible for normal people to survive ... without adequate protection. Understandably, this means that the city is now treated as a quarantine zone, with the government banning anyone from entering the city without proper authorization. The story is centred around the titular Coppelion, genetically engineered teenagers who are usually, but not always, female and were enhanced specifically to be able to survive in Tokyo's atmosphere without the need for a radiation suit, and each have a special ability that's unique to them. One such person is our protagonist and heroine Ibara Naruse, the leader of the Coppelion Rescue Unit who, along with her two best friends Aoi Fukasaku and Taeko Nomura, is sent to Tokyo in order to search for and rescue any people unlucky enough to still be caught within Tokyo's walls.

The story starts off well enough, as we gradually learn various bits and pieces about the world and Coppelion. For example, the academy that trains Coppelion functions a lot like a normal high school, with Ibara being a third-year student, Aoi and Taeko being first-years and their main contact being referred to as the vice-principal. Furthermore, as artificially created beings, Coppelion are generally treated as a separate species from humans, with their name being derived from the real-life French play "Coppelia", which is a story about a living doll, which the Coppelions are often referred to as. Naturally, this means that several Coppelion, like Ibara and Aoi, have serious insecurities in regards to their origins, which helps flesh out their characters. While the series starts off episodic, a story arc begins in the fifth episode, and while that would usually result in a series getting better, that is unfortunately not the case here, as said arc ends up lasting the entirety of the remaining nine episodes. The reason this is a problem is because the plot is thin enough that it could easily have been wrapped up in three or four episodes at most, with it only lasting as long as it does because a bunch of subplots happen in-between, resulting in a story that's both slow and seriously lacks focus, which is especially bad for an anime that's only 13 episodes long. What's more is that arguably the most emotional episode is the second, with no subsequent episode quite matching the gut-punches of that one.

Besides the poor pacing, the story is dragged down further by some of the corniest writing ever. Seriously, there are times when I found myself throwing my hands up in the air at how utterly trite and clichéd some of the lines were, especially when they came out of the mouths of characters I generally liked. Even worse is that these lines are sometimes said completely out of context, when absolutely nothing has happened to warrant them being said. Additionally, while the arc is ultimately wrapped up fairly decently, you nevertheless get the impression that the Coppelion's overall journey is still just getting started, which may have more than a bit to do with the fact that the anime only adapts the first few of 26 volumes of manga. All in all, the story has its high points and low points, but is pretty average overall.

Art & Animation (7/10):
"Coppelion" looks pretty much unlike any other anime out there, and not in a good way. While the environments are nice-looking enough, the character models are seriously lacking, having the bare minimum of detail and plenty of rough edges, not to mention they don't fit in with the environments at all. Some of the objects also look like they were just sketched on and the animation is pretty lacking in places too. Overall, the visuals are highly inconsistent in quality, with some shots looking great while others look awful.

Sound & Dialogue (8.5/10):
"Coppelion"'s sound design is, by a wide margin, the best thing about it. While the music that plays during the episodes themselves isn't all that notable, the opening "Angel" is great and the ending theme "Far" is absolutely fantastic, to the point that I found myself listening to the latter at the end of every episode. What's consistently great, however, is the voice acting. In fact, if there's one thing this anime is worth noting for, it's helping kickstart the careers of Erica Lindbeck and Max Mittelman, who provide the voices of Ibara and Haruto respectively, and nowadays are far better known as Futaba Sakura and Ryuji Sakamoto in "Persona 5", amongst many other roles. Add in a number of other great talents including Cherami Leigh, Cassandra Lee Morris, Richard Epcar, Sarah Williams and Keith Silverstein, and you have yourself a surprisingly solid cast, which goes a long way to alleviate the often corny script.

Characters (6.5/10):
If I were to describe Ibara Naruse in one word, that word would be “kind”. While she can be rather stiff and formal, she is overall a very friendly and compassionate girl who cares deeply for others and always willing to help anyone in need. And while she won’t hesitate to fight when it’s necessary, which she does so very well with her super strength and enhanced reflexes, she will always draw the line when it comes to killing anyone, and refuses to let anyone else kill either, which makes sense considering she’s part of a rescue team, so her mission is to save lives, not take them. However, while her desire to save everyone is undeniably noble, there’s also a rather tragic side to it; as an artificially created being who’s been training her whole life to save people, Ibara believes that saving people is her whole reason for living. Essentially, she helps people partially because it’s the right thing to do and partially because she believes she otherwise has no purpose in life, and so whenever someone tells her they don’t need her help or that they don’t want to be saved (which actually happens more often than you’d think), she feels as though she’s being denied the purpose she’s been given. Overall, while I did feel she could be annoyingly self-righteous at times, and there’s ultimately nothing remarkable about her character, she nevertheless stood out as my favourite, not that there’s much competition.

My second favourite character would have to be Aoi Fukasaku. On the surface, she seems to be the cheerful, happy-go-lucky member of the trio, and doesn’t seem to be particularly bothered by the fact that she’s an artificial human who was raised in what’s essentially a military academy, even saying there are some benefits to it. Overtime, however, we see that this carefree attitude is really just a façade, and she’s actually the most insecure of the three girls, more so even than Ibara. This stems from the fact that, at first glance, she seems to be the only one unable to do anything; while Ibara has enhanced strength and athletics and Taeko has heightened senses (with the glasses she wears being used to tone down her enhanced eyesight), Aoi doesn’t seem to have any special abilities beyond being able to breath Tokyo’s radioactive atmosphere (which is an ability all Coppelion possess). This causes her to have an identity crisis mid-season, believing that she does nothing but drag down everyone around her, which naturally leads to a character arc where she gradually realises her own self-worth and what she can contribute to the group as a whole. It’s a development that’s been done to death in Japanese media in particular, but it’s nevertheless done quite well here, and it certainly helps that Aoi provides some much-needed comic relief too.

As good as Ibara and Aoi are, I had a lot of problems with the rest of the cast. A few episodes in, we’re introduced to Haruto Kurosawa, Ibara’s childhood friend and a third-year like her. Unlike Ibara, however, he’s a member of the Coppelion Cleanup Crew, which basically means that he has no qualms with killing people, which puts him at odds with Ibara despite their history together. He also has a strong hatred for ordinary humans due to what he went through when he was younger, and as such can’t understand why Ibara cares about them so much, with him only really helping them because it’s his job. Unfortunately, his rather late introduction and sparse screentime throughout means he isn’t given that many moments to shine, which is a shame as I found the dynamic between him and Ibara to be the most interesting in the series. Additionally, Taeko, despite being part of the core trio, doesn’t do much of note either, as while she plays an important role in the first few episodes, she gets sidelined pretty much as soon as the main story begins and remains such for the rest of the series. What’s more is that unlike her fellow Coppelion, Taeko doesn’t show any real insecurity over her origins, meaning her character isn’t as developed as Ibara, Aoi or even Haruto. And speaking of underdeveloped characters, most of the ordinary human characters are fairly bland, mostly serving either as confidants for the Coppelion or people for them to save, with very few notable personality traits or quirks. The main villains are also a bit of a bore, as while they have a tragic reason for their actions, said reason is only really mentioned once in the whole series, and apart from that they act no differently from your typical cackling, misanthropic psychopaths with no motivation beyond chaos for its own sake.

Enjoyment (7/10):
I must admit that there are times when “Coppelion” can be pretty boring, as it’s not uncommon for there to be long periods without any real action, which isn’t helped by the show’s poor pacing. When action scenes do happen, however, they are definitely entertaining, if by no means spectacular to due the rather average animation. Being a post-apocalyptic series, it can also be rather grim at times, particularly when the Coppelion fail to save someone. Still, it’s never to the point where you feel like puking, which is helped by the fact that Ibara and Aoi both lighten the mood in their own ways.

Overall:
“Coppelion” is an anime that could have been brilliant, but barely even scratches the surface of its potential. Sound-wise, it’s very pleasant to the ears, but it also has numerous underdeveloped characters, highly inconsistent visuals and a story that still feels like it’s just getting started even towards the end. Ultimately, this is a series that’s best saved for a day where you have nothing else to watch, and you’ve had your fill of the post-apocalyptic genre, you’re better off just avoiding it completely.

Score:
6.5+7+8.5+6.5+7=35.5/50=7.1/10