I think that pretty much every generation has an anime that takes a vision of our modern society and technology and re-imagines it. Examples such as Lain, Ghost in the Shell (GITS), and Hack blur the line between technological fiction and nonfiction. When watching either Lain or GITS or Dennou Coil, one can’t help but feel that the world they see on their TV isn’t that far removed from the world outside their window. From the internet to robots to virtual pets and cybernetic implants, who is to say what is real and what isn’t.

Dennou Coil: Circle of Children is the newest anime to create a fantastical world based in reality. Released in conjunction with the light novel, the TV series which ran in Japan during the end of last year to the beginning of this year is 26 episodes long. Don’t be fooled by the young cast of characters, as the series is wrought with serious topics of regret, coping with loss, love, tragedy, and friendship. Dennou Coil will take the viewer on a rather serious adventure through virtual and reality. Comedic bits are sprinkled throughout the series, but overall the tone is more somber and mysterious.

After watching as much anime as I have over the years, I can usually figure out an anime less than halfway through the showing, movie or series. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, especially when something tried and true is tweaked just a little bit, becoming something new altogether. There were many moments in Dennou Coil where I was literally taken aback by a plot point or development that I did not see coming.

From episode one, Dennou Coil is like a train that keeps picking up speed as it moves inevitably towards its final destination. There may have been a few stops along the way, but the direction never wavered. By the last few episodes I was on the edge of my seat, fingers tensely clutching my cuddle pillow.

But I digress. Dennou Coil revolves mainly around the two main female leads, Yuko Okonogi and Yuko Amasawa, whose destinies are more intricately entwined then they ever could have imagined. I know I didn’t. With a strong supporting cast that also stands on their own, Dennou Coil is definitely not lacking in the character development department. As the title implies, there are pretty much no adult figures involved at all in the story.

The only two really adult characters are the aunt, who’s only 19, and the Grandmother who rocks! She’s kind of crazy but a total genius when it comes to their virtual world or viruses, programs, kirabugs, and Glasses. Dun mess with the Oba-san Very Happy The aunt is more of a big sister/mother figure who hides a dark event in her past, one that directly affects the story. Like one of the laws of anime, pretty much everyone else is in school and around the age of 14, but carry burdens of destiny that would rattle even a seasoned adult. Maybe it is our implied innocence and daring of youth that also provides us with a wisdom and clarity that can be lost in the fog of adult responsibilities.

So where does Lain, GITS, and Hack fit in with all this? Dennou Coil takes a modern suburban Japan town, current modern technology, and adds a bit of fiction to it. There is no doubt that we as a race are a wired people, our every day lives intricately tied down to and supported by the technology which has brought us here. In Dennou Coil, the virtual world and the real world aren’t separated anymore. Kids and adults own Glasses, a real-time window into the virtual world.

Much like Hack, the virtual world is one that is run and administered by a corporation, and Glasses users can buy upgrades, access, and build points so as to earn freebies and goods. If your Glasses get fried, damaged, or destroyed, you have to buy new ones with credits that can take you up to a lifetime or more to pay off. But unlike in Hack, when wearing Glasses you aren’t existing/living wholly in the virtual world. Instead, it is a window to bring the virtual world to the real world.

Densuke, a virtual pet and best friend to the sisters, is more real than not real, with emotions and pain and loyalty. Is his personality real, or is it just a product of his programming? To call a friend or answer your cell, just put your thumb and pinky to your ear and mouth and voila. Your laptop is a virtual prompt away, pulling up a screen in front of your very eyes, one that you can touch and use just as you would a real tactile laptop. But take off your Glasses, and it’s not there anymore.

Honestly, Dennou Coil is the most natural modern futuristic (new age maybe…) anime I have ever seen. Sure, Lain, GITS, and Hack are fantastical and breathtaking, but there is never any doubt that what you are watching isn’t real. Dennou Coil blurs that line as it softly lulls you into their natural world, and suddenly you find yourself not quite sure anymore. If I were to look out my window, would I see my world or would I see the world of Dennou Coil or are they one and the same? Don’t expect a lot of explosions and action, but instead a tense drama that builds slowly with each episode into its inevitable conclusion.

While it is not licensed yet, Dennou Coil is finished and currently available for download. I sincerely hope it does get licensed though, along with the original novel on which it was based. So wait not, download it now, and when it gets licensed, Buy It ^_^