Anime Hajime Review: Coppelion

Series Synopsis

A devastating nuclear event turned Tokyo, the world’s largest city, into a ghost town. Radiation levels has made it impossible for humans to survive in the once great metropolis without the assistance of a hazmat suit. A few people remain trapped within the hazardous boarders, but any attempts at rescue have been out of the question; until now.

Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) has managed to genetically modify human DNA to resist the contaminated atmosphere; as well as provide a few other alterations. Following years of preparation, the GSDF is ready to dispatch the Coppelion.

This rescue unit is comprised of three teenage girls, Taeko Nomura (voiced by Satomi Akesaka), Aoi Fukasaku (voiced by Kana Hanazawa), and their leader, Ibara Naruse (voiced by Haruka Tomatsu). With their advanced training, the trio is sent into the wasteland of the Old Capital to search for survivors.

Ibara Naruse

Over the many of years of abandonment, the city is full of unexpected complications, all of which push the girls to their limits. However, the one thing that they must come to terms with is the realization of what it means to be human.

Series Positives

This one was fun.

Aoi Fukasaku

Coppelion was a treat to watch. It’s one of those series that’s hard to put down and really easy to view in a single sitting. This series is enjoyable, and it hooks you right away and doesn’t let go.

The story does have some bumps, but it does its job. The leads are interesting and it’s clear that the trio is made up of close friends. The side characters have meaning and do provide relief from the tension, but are also important elements that pull their weight.

Taeko Nomura

Along with that, this show is satisfying. Here’s a series were a continuation would be welcomed, but not necessary. Coppelion is well contained with tons of potential to expand. So yes I really enjoyed it.

The Art Style

Coppelion is gorgeous and absolutely stunning. Tokyo has never looked crisper, despite...you know, the whole nuclear fallout thing. Yet it’s this apocalyptic aspect that makes everything strangely peaceful, and also highly volatile. All is fine one minute, but then you might be fighting for your life the next.

The environments almost make you want to take a stroll through the abandoned streets. It would no doubt be eerie and unsettling, but it would be magnificently pretty. The sun looks warm, the sky is bright, the night becomes lit up with stars.

Accompanying that, the dark clouds are ominous, the rain is sad, and hell the style made the wind come off as terrifying. So while it might be a nice place to take an afternoon stroll, I for one would not want to stay here any longer than necessary.

This is impressive enough, but there was one thing that, frankly, left me speechless; sunset. A reoccurring motif and it is beautiful. The colors are outstandingly vivid, amazingly bright, and refreshingly diverse. This may sound incredibly corny, but the feeling of hope emanates from these moments and it really solidifies these scenes.

Moving on from that, another aspect to Coppelion style is the character designs. They're not unique in and of themselves, but there's simply no way they're not going to grab your attention. Every character has an obvious black outline, which varies in thickness from scene to scene. Definitely a deliberate decision and one that I wasn’t sure about at first.  

The series takes the first four episodes to set the mood, more on that in a bit, and it was here where this design choice didn’t make much sense. However, when you realize that Coppelion is also an action series, it becomes clear.

The action in this show is amazing and is the major reason why I had so much fun. It’s fast, it’s big, it’s intense, it’s exciting, it’s great. Having the characters stand out gave them a sort of independence from the environment. This didn’t just highlight movement, it complimented the well crafted surroundings. This is best seen in the climatic final fight, which was unexpectedly epic, providing the right amount of triumphant and resolution.

I have to say, Coppelion’s art style is rock solid. Good thing to because anything less would have left this series at risk of disaster.

Series Negatives

I said the story was a little bumpy; let me clarify that.

The story within the show is fine. Not great, not good, but fine. However I’m warning you now, you best know the background to this series before jumping in, otherwise it’s all speculation.

I keep referring to what happened to Tokyo as a nuclear event. That's because that’s my best guess. The show heavily implies that this is indeed the case and it can be inferred that some sort of accident at a nearby nuclear power plant caused the contamination. But we never get a sense of how bad this incident was.

“What are you talking about Odyssey? Tokyo is dead, it seems like things went quite bad.”

This would be true, but it’s hinted that the entire world was at risk and still is. A major plot point involves a crazed militaristic group planning to blow up the...power plant, I don’t what else to call it, and destroy all life on Earth. What was built in Tokyo that could cause such a thing?

This isn’t something that we should need to know since it’s not the focus of the story. However it becomes that because it's constantly referenced, characters keep talking about it, and everyone knows what happened except the viewer.

This is frustrating because it causes disconnect and makes everyone come off as whinny instead of tragic. To be fair though, this isn’t the only thing that makes characters seem less relatable.

Preachy

We get it. Humans are bad, their mistakes have ruined the world, they’re not worth the trouble of saving, and blah blah blah blah blah you can stop beating it over our heads for Christ sake.

While the overall show is fun, this one aspect does become exhausting. Why? Because we have all seen this before, we have all seen it played to this extent, and we have all seen it this heavy handed. This topic, told in this way isn’t insightful, it’s standard.

A running theme of the show is how all the Coppelion do not see themselves as human. They're genetically modified and therefore didn’t have a natural birth. Sure there’s the whole ethical dilemma that comes with that, but was their upbringing all that harsh?

Yes everyone is a child soldier and they were never given the chance to live a normal childhood. But what did they did get, how bad was it? I don’t know that answer because it’s never shown. In fact, I’m leaning more towards the side of “it could have been worse”.

I’ve seen comedies with this kind of set up. For example Assassination Classroom, those kids are learning how to be assassins. With a simple change in tone and atmosphere you’ve now got the background for Coppelion.

Based on everything these characters say, it appears that they do have superiors that care about them and their well-being. Based on the events of the show, the only people who treat Coppelion as non-human are Coppelion.  Mix all this with a preachy ass message, its difficult to feel sorry for these characters.

Then again, maybe I just have a really f@#$ed sense of morality and the majority of you actually find this horrifying.

Final Thoughts

Despite what I just said, Coppelion is still an easy recommendation.

Yes its underlying message is beaten to death, but surrounding it is a fun a show. Great action, interesting characters, and gorgeous art, this is a series that's worth checking out. From beginning to end, it holds on to you and doesn’t let go.

Things get tense, exciting, sad, happy, and everything that is needed for an entertaining watch.

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