Forum - View topicREVIEW: Dennou Coil - Part 1
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Chrno2
 Posts: 6171 Location: USA |
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Really wish there was a way to raise money for a release here. Since there is a dub for it no one would have to do a thing. But the title is so niche that trying to sell it would be the hard part.
I really enjoyed this series and I'm really annoyed that I can't even own this series. |
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yuna49
 Posts: 3804 |
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Unlike Mr. Carroll, I would give this score by Saito Tsuneyoshi an A+. When it became clear I would never be given the opportunity to own Coil in an R1 release, I bought the OST instead. Saito uses a remarkably diverse array of instrumentation and melodies. Because they blend so well with the show itself, perhaps Mr. Carroll did not notice how beautiful a score this is. I recommend he listen to the OST. Maybe then he will understand why I still consider this my favorite anime score of all time.
Oh, and the show itself? Definitely in my top ten, maybe my top five. Along with Mononoke, there is no show I want to own more than Dennou Coil. |
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taeko-san
 Posts: 12 Location: Göteborg, Sweden |
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[quote="Chrno2"]Really wish there was a way to raise money for a release here. Since there is a dub for it no one would have to do a thing. But the title is so niche that trying to sell it would be the hard part.
I really enjoyed this series and I'm really annoyed that I can't even own this series.[/quote] Now my copies are on their way from Australia. The only thing one need is a region-free dvd-player (I have 2 of them) and equipment handling PAL video (everything in this house does). Soon I'm one happy guy! :-) BTW, I bought the OST from Japan as soon as I got wind of it – one great collection of songs, indeed. "Dub"? Well, the only dub I need is the Japanese one. Niche series? Well, maybe if you consider SE Lain. Or the stuff by Satoshi Kon. I seem to enjoy those things. |
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yuna49
Posts: 3804 |
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Given the R1 market for anime, a show about ten-year-olds, no matter how remarkable, will always be "niche" here. I suspect that is the primary obstacle to Coil's being picked up by an R1 licensor, along with the fact that it is now five years old.
I've read claims that Madhouse was asking "unreasonable" amounts in licensing fees, but that never made sense to me when JP DVD sales averaged only 2,500 units per release. Despite these weak sales, though, they did decide to re-release Coil in Blu-ray. If it were ever to be licensed here (Hello, NISA!), I hope that version will be available as well as the DVD. Last I saw Australia has a fairly low penetration of BD players, so Siren's decision to release only a DVD makes sense for R4. Of course, the committee may be unwilling to license a foreign BD release given the usual concerns about reverse importation. |
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ailblentyn
 Posts: 1688 Location: body in Ohio, heart in Sydney |
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Given that we all agree that it's an amazing show, I'm in agreement with taeko-san: Just buy it, for heaven's sake!
Australian DVDs aren't cheap. But then many R1 anime releases aren't cheap either. Organising yourself to play DVDs from multiple regions is very straightforward. And once you've made R2 and R4 discs part of your life, you won't look back. |
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Shiroi Hane
Encyclopedia Editor
 Posts: 7580 Location: Wales |
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The problem was not the animators Madhouse but the property owners Tokuma Shoten, who are an "old fashioned" company who were expecting a full package deal ala Pokemon and the like, with TV broadcasts etc.
The show itself is a little kiddy* for mass market appeal, but a little too adult for American kids (without editing) while also being too short for syndication. Someone at Siren, probably Mr. Cherry, was a personal fan of the show and worked hard to get it. * before anyone thinks I am belittling their beloved show: I loved it enough to import all 9 LEs from Japan, but it is still primarily a kids show (it was broadcast on NHK Education) with secondary appeal to adults and animation fans of all ages (the DVDs came with full storyboards). |
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yuna49
Posts: 3804 |
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I'll admit it's hard for me to know what constitutes "too adult" by the standards of childrens' television these days, but are we talking about scenes like Yasako's dad taking a bath while she was brushing her teeth? The "class-S" aspects of her relationship with Isako, especially in the closing episodes? Watching Yukari-sensei get drunk on whiskey bon-bons? I really cannot think of much in Dennou Coil that I would find objectionable when shown to an audience of nine-year-olds, but I'll happily admit I'm more open-minded on these matters than many other parents. I guess you could argue there is too much drama in Coil to fit it in between Spongebob and the Thornberries.
"Old fashioned" or no, I don't see how Tokuma Shoten would think a 26-episode series would ever be the equivalent of something like Pokemon. I understand why kids programmers do not want to carry shows like Coil. They're all looking for the next Pokemon, a show that will live on for years with no end in sight. Coil clearly isn't that kind of a show. In fact, I can't think of many popular animated shows for children in America that have fixed lengths. They're all episodic and open-ended so they can become perennial franchises. Nor does Coil have a lot of merchandising options once you get past Densuke and Oyaji plushies. Shows like Coil or other NHK-E productions like Kemono no Sou-ja Erin do not appear on PBS either. American television lacks shows with serious dramatic content designed for children. Despite having hundreds of television channels, I can't really think of any place where a show like Dennou Coil might be carried in the US.
Well, to be frank, I wouldn't be buying this to play the discs. I only buy shows I have seen already by some means or another. As I say, I have considered buying the Siren version even though I can't play it. I've just been holding off waiting to see if a Blu-ray might surface now that one has been released in Japan. (Last I saw, it had only sold a bit over a thousand units.) The Siren version might still make my Christmas list this year regardless. |
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Shiroi Hane
Encyclopedia Editor
Posts: 7580 Location: Wales |
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The main things that come to mind in terms of nudity are Daichi's father wandering around the house named and Daichi himself checking for "hairs".
Regardless, more "kiddier" shows have had cuts and changes made for a US audience in the past, and the Australian ratings board gave it an "M". The Tokuma Shoten problem came up on an ANNCast, I think one of the ones with Sam Pinansky (he did the subtitles). |
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