STUDIO GHIBLI och DENNŌ COIL

För 20 år sedan skapade Miyazaki och Takahata Studio Ghibli, med en ambition att göra verkliga och högkvalitativ Anime, endast i filmformat. Anime som skulle leta sig in i den mänskiga hjärnan och illustrera sorg och glädje som den är i verkliga livet. Dem la ner all sin tid på att skapa Anime som skulle beröra både kropp och själ. “Miya-san” och “Paku-san” jobbade alltid efter sin budget och tid, och att aldrig kompromissa vad gäller kvalitet och innehåll. Dem ansåg att dem aldrig skulle kunna uppnå sina mål om dem gjorde tv-serier, där budgeten är låg, och tiden knapp. Men om Studio Ghibli verkligen skulle ha skapat en tv-serie, vad skulle det då vara?

Nedan följer text ifrån GhibliWorld.com – Engelsk Text, helt underbar läsning, och en serie som jag ska lägga på minnet.

In that case Dennō Coil (電脳コイル, Coil — A Circle of Children) would quite possibly be one of the series that could have been made by Studio Ghibli. Currently being aired in Japan on NHK Educational and scheduled to run between May 12, 2007 and December 1, 2007 containing twenty-six episodes, Dennō Coil is able to reach those goals that Miyazaki and Takahata claim only to be possible while making full length feature films. It’s a pseudo sci-fi / slice-of-life series which reminds you of Studio Ghibli in many ways, though it’s actually a Madhouse production. So why mention it if it’s not a work by Studio Ghibli? This is GhibliWorld.com, isn’t it?

Dennō Coil is unlike many anime tv series. Though very accessible, it actually has a sense of originality. The basic idea is quite unusual, because it deals with the merge between two worlds: the real world and a virtual-reality like world. It takes place in 2026. Eleven years after the introduction of internet-connected augmented reality eyeglasses and visors, Yūko Okonogi moves with her family to the city of Daikoku, the technological center of the emerging half-virtual world. Yūko joins her grandmother’s “detective agency” comprised of children equipped with virtual tools and powerful “metatags”. She quickly crosses paths with Yūko Amasawa, an expert hacker of the virtual environment, as Amasawa relentlessly seeks to gain the powers of a mysterious cyber-entity known as Michiko. The protagonists are driven to unravel the mysteries of the virtual world in the shadow of a powerful hacker that came before them.

While remaining completely original, Dennō Coil really gives its viewers that Ghibli feeling. Starting with the handling of the little girl Kyoko (reminding you of Tonari no Totoro’s Mei) and the children in general, the posing and inventive animation of the characters, the layout, everything made in a nuanced and subtle way, though always full of surprises making every moment interesting. All being very Miyazaki like, while exploring richer drama and the more subtle and complex emotions of life like Takahata Isao.

One of Dennō Coil’s interesting themes is the distance between the characters, such as Yūko’s inability to feel the fur of her own virtual pet, in addition to all the relational tensions and divides of understanding between the characters in the series. Like series director Iso Mitsuo (磯光雄) mentioned in Animage “There will always be a distance between people, and even between things that seem within ones’ reach. And that one must walk down a long, thin and winding road before they reach one’s heart. There’s tons of obstacles. It’s in fact like the roads in old towns.”

To successfully execute this idea, the makers of Dennō Coil took all the time to do what they needed to do, reaching that quality Miyazaki and Takahata thought weren’t able to get while making TV series. The series has been in development for over a decade and that same patience also transferred to Dennō Coil’s gentle pacing. Heading the high quality and major names staff list, Iso was able to create a world that is genuinely interesting and gently stimulates you to find out about all the little bits and pieces and make you wonder about the things to come. Setting up an ordinary situation in the real world and adding to this reality a thin layer of virtual fantasy. While clearly fantasy, it’s all just plausible enough to be believable and, like any of Miyazaki’s or Takahata’s films, the great thing about Dennō Coil is that it can be watched over and over again without getting old and boring.

Of course Dennō Coil’s connection wouldn’t end with its similarities to justify a mention on GhibliWorld.com. Involved with its production is Studio Ghibli’s former parent company Tokuma Shoten. Also, Dennō Coil’s staff doesn’t only contain numerous major names in the Japanese animation industry, they have “quite” the Studio Ghibli resume as well (note: see list below). This December Dennō Coil’s last episodes will be aired on NHK Educational. Though it hasn’t been licensed abroad, Japanese R2 DVDs are currently being released (no subtitles). Dennō Coil is highly recommended. Be sure to check out this Dennō Coil video.

Dennō Coil Staff with Studio Ghibli involvement:
Iso Mitsuo – creator, series director, screenplay:
- Porco Rosso (key animation)
- Ocean Waves (key animation)
- Only Yesterday (key animation)

Kondō Katsuya:
- Laputa: Castle in the Sky (key animation)
- My Neighbor Totoro (key animation, original design)
- Kiki’s Delivery Service (animation director, character design)
- Only Yesterday (animation director)
- Porco Rosso (key animation)
- Ocean Waves (animation director, character design)
- Pom Poko (key animation)
- Princess Mononoke (key animation)
- My Neighbors the Yamadas (key animation)
- Howl’s Moving Castle (animation supervisor, key animation)
- Ponyo on a Cliff (key animation)

Morita Hiroyuki:
- Kiki’s Delivery Service (in-between animation)
- My Neighbors the Yamadas (key animation)
- The Cat Returns (director, storyboard)

Sasaki Shinsaku:
- Porco Rosso (in-between animation)
- Pom Poko (in-between animation)
- On Your Mark (key animation)
- Whisper of the Heart (key animation)
- Princess Mononoke (key animation)

Hiramatsu Tadashi:
- The Cat Returns (key animation)

Kuwana Ikuo:
- On Your Mark (in-between animation)
- Pom Poko (in-between animation)
- Whisper of the Heart (in-between animation)
- Princess Mononoke (key animation)

Gouroku Hiroshi:
- The Cat Returns (background art)

Hata Ayako:
- The Cat Returns (key animation)

Inoue Ei:
- The Cat Returns (animation supervisor)

Inoue Toshiyuki:
- Kiki’s Delivery Service (key animation)

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