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The show just got really good in episode 7. So far I've found this show to be pretty interesting, though I admit the logic is pretty ridiculous.

If the review sounds harsh, it's because of wasted potential. The show has gorgeous backgrounds and an interesting setting and premise; there's a ton of interesting places is can go, but it's written like the most stereotypical show for 10-13 year olds (and probably not one from the 21st century either, some of the characters/elements have a retro vibe to them).

The characters acted so melodramatic, the dialogue was weak, the personalities of the main girls were terribly-realised, the drama was very forced, narratives (especially in episode two) were so rushed as to be nonsensical, and much of the writing was ripped from the writers' arses.

Let's take the whole B2 incident. spoiler[The B2 being armed with machine guns and breaking its cover by kidnapping a senile old lady was very, very stupid, but that wasn't even the worse part. There was the absurd ten-minute countdown (complete with ridiculous timer) to save the old man just before that, the way the girls just happened to find an anti-aircraft missile launcher (complete with multiple rounds) and a fueled-up jeep just lying around, and the B2 landed on a lake even though the pilots knew it was the most radioactive part of the city. I also thought the way the characters just accepted the old woman's account that it was a giant crow to be particularly weird. Has the radiation made giant creatures so common in Tokyo that characters think it is normal to believe that a black object in the sky is automatically a giant bird instead of, you know, an aircraft?]

No, Coppelion really really sucked. It's a shame, since it was delayed by two years because of Fukushima so you'd think they would have had plenty of time to address all of the show's many, many flaws.

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Overall, the first half of Coppelion is not as bad as the text above may make it sound, as it is still showing some good ideas and does nail the ambiance of the setting.

No, it is actually worse. In my opinion Coppelion had the most intriguing first episode of the 2013 Fall anime. The themes of nuclear apocalypse, sci-fi elements and existential identity crisis were all to my liking. It only required a compelling story along with it in the following episodes, yet it miserably failed to do so. Too much melodrama and clichéd plot devices.

A month ago, I never would have thought about dropping this show. Unfortunately, Coppelion has become a disappointing wasted potential without redeemable features in which I’m not going to spend time on anymore.

This is a very, very stupid show.

If I was in any way involve with art aspect of this show, I'd be very very pissed at whoever was responsible for… everything else really. The show is visually stunning, being both original and conventional at the same time in all the good way.

The problem is the plot/writing/character are only conventional, in all the bad way. Like someone said before me, it's just really dumb and unfunny.

I hope the art keep getting praised so that whoever was responsible for it get salvaged and put in a much better show next seasons.

Last edited by DmonHiro on Sun Nov 17, 2013 3:09 pm; edited 1 time in total

v1cious wrote:

The show just got really good in episode 7. So far I've found this show to be pretty interesting, though I admit the logic is pretty ridiculous.

Getting really good in episode 7 is a BAD thing for a 13 episode series.
01 was interesting, 02-04 were HORRIBLE. That's 33% of your air time. If a show can't be goon in 2-3 episodes, it's not worth continuing, especially when there's so much stuff already,

And the girls are just REALLY stupid. They are supposed to be specially bread for this, but they act like normal 15 year olds. Were they not trained? Don't they know what a freaking B2 looks like? If they didn't tell me they were a special task force, I'd have thought they were just some chicks that got super-powers like in X-Men.

Samurai Flamenco also had, IMO 2 very boring first episodes. But it kicked things up in episode 3, and kept getting better from there. It's also a 22 episode series. The the characters kept growing.

I completely agree with this review.

I've always loved End of the world / Post apocalyptic settings so this show grabbed me right away. I was able to look past the fact that these genetically engineered super humans were for some reason wearing school uniforms when it isn't practical for their mission and is probably just blatant otaku pandering.

But after 6 episodes........lets face it this show is a train wreck. None of the characters are the least bit interesting and the revelations on the overarching plot are quite handfisted. Most of the dangerous situations are completely forced and handled poorly (a fat guy with a water canon can apparently beat a group of guys with assault rifles. Yeah that makes total sense!).

It doesn't help that Aoi (probably one of the most annoying and useless characters i've seen in a long time) hasn't been shot yet.

There are some shows where you can only enjoy them if you turn your brain off and don't take it seriously (recent example Kill la Kill).

But there are other shows where you must turn your brain off, have it surgically removed, put it in a blender, have a cat piss on it and finally put in back instead of your head and attempt to make sense of it all.

That is this show. I would honestly much rather the show just go with the formula of super humans fighting super humans (which seems like it will be happening soon) instead of trying to tell a deep story which is failing miserably at.

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tales of genetically-bred individuals who agonize over whether or not they still count as humans.

That's the thing: they don't agonize over it. Others may, but they really don't care. Ibara herself said that she applauded the science that created her, gave her life and the form needed for her to fulfill her responsibilities, and she does not see these responsibilities as a 'plight' as some of the Tokyo inhabitants say, rather she fulfills her responsibilities like a truly self-aware person.

As Key said, transhumans agonizing over whether they count as humans is very common, but it's not really going on here. I think a lot of people's problems with this show come from assumptions about what it's going to be like.

As for the B2 bomber not making sense, why not? They're using it to not show up on radar when they shuttle in and out of the city with the waste and 'goods'. We don't even really know what's going on yet, so we can't really say that what's happening doesn't make sense. Sure, there's an incongruity, but that's the mystery.

How did she find a rocket launcher there? I don't know. Maybe we're supposed to think about why one was there rather than just assume it couldn't be.

Galap wrote:

As for the B2 bomber not making sense, why not? They're using it to not show up on radar when they shuttle in and out of the city with the waste and 'goods'. We don't even really know what's going on yet, so we can't really say that what's happening doesn't make sense. Sure, there's an incongruity, but that's the mystery.

Only twenty are in service (twenty-one were built but one crashed) and they all belong to the United States Airforce; none are in private or commercial hands. At two billion each and sporting highly classified technology they are too expensive and valuable to be sold or loaned to anyone else, even America's closest allies. None of the twenty-one are armed with machineguns (or any other weapons other than what can fit inside their two bomb bays), and none of them have ramps or anything that can be used to transport cargo.

If a stealth transport aircraft was needed then there are several real-life stealth helicopters to use, and helicopters make a lot more sense than a plane as they don't need runways to land and takeoff.

I don't really think it's too much of an inferential leap to accept that the political and technological environment has changed enough by 2036 to enable what we see with respect to the bomber.

Galap wrote:

I don't really think it's too much of an inferential leap to accept that the political and technological environment has changed enough by 2036 to enable what we see with respect to the bomber.

Considering those planes have been around for more than 30 years and their regulations have apparently been the same during that period, I do think it's a stretch to think 20 more years would make much of a difference.

I dropped this show by episode 2 because the overplayed drama was so obvious and stupid I couldn't deal with it. I didn't know if I was suddenly watching a parody, it was terrible

The concept of this show intrigued me, and then I actually watched it. I agree with pretty much everything stated here, except I'd be a lot harsher.

The root problem is that the source manga for Coppelion is aimed at the younger side of the shonen demographic. With nuclear waste and other serious, controversial themes in play, it's still not the series we want it to be.
The B2 mini-outrage would be befuddling to those who view the airplane without a geeky interest in such things; it's simply a cool-looking vehicle. Which is fine for the demographic it's aimed at, I think that was how it was intended. It's just when one sees a ridiculously rare and expensive stealth bomber flying at low altitude strafing vehicles like a fighter, there's a bit of a disconnect. It's like seeing someone offroading in a Formula-1 car.
The characters are handled in a similar manner. When Aoi spoiler[says to herself at the Planet that all she does is whine and cry and is completely useless] I thought, "Yes, I agree completely. You should fix that." Hopefully that goes somewhere, but atm, it's even odds that it'll be handled in a way that isn't just a clichéd spoiler["you ARE valuable, see? Look at this one instance when you weren't completely useless" peptalk.]

DmonHiro wrote:

v1cious wrote:

The show just got really good in episode 7. So far I've found this show to be pretty interesting, though I admit the logic is pretty ridiculous.

Getting really good in episode 7 is a BAD thing for a 13 episode series.
01 was interesting, 02-04 were HORRIBLE. That's 33% of your air time. If a show can't be goon in 2-3 episodes, it's not worth continuing, especially when there's so much stuff already,

As people used to say: "So it gets good later? Why can't it be good now?!" Laughing

dtm42 wrote:

Galap wrote:

As for the B2 bomber not making sense, why not? They're using it to not show up on radar when they shuttle in and out of the city with the waste and 'goods'. We don't even really know what's going on yet, so we can't really say that what's happening doesn't make sense. Sure, there's an incongruity, but that's the mystery.

Only twenty are in service (twenty-one were built but one crashed) and they all belong to the United States Airforce; none are in private or commercial hands. At two billion each and sporting highly classified technology they are too expensive and valuable to be sold or loaned to anyone else, even America's closest allies. None of the twenty-one are armed with machineguns (or any other weapons other than what can fit inside their two bomb bays), and none of them have ramps or anything that can be used to transport cargo.

And stealth aircraft needs to be stored in specialized hangars that would keep its stealth skin from deteriorating - can't just park it anywhere. And stealth bombers are supposed to be long-range attackers - fire off their bombs before they can be seen then leave.

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REVIEW: Coppelion episodes 1-6