Mar 2, 2014 09:34 PM
(This post was last modified: Mar 4, 2014 10:25 AM by Rakshasa.)
![[Image: N58lDos.png]](https://i.imgur.com/N58lDos.png)
Introduction
WARNING: this anime does not contain bouncing boobs or panty shots, so most of
you can piss off about now. Those that are left, please keep reading.
This is the first time I've done an introduction to my reviews. I wrote the majority of
this review about a year ago, and decided to finish it yesterday as I'd probably never
do if I hadn't. This is most likely going to be the last review I'll post in AA, and I doubt
more than a handful of people are even going to read it since it's a bit more text-heavy
than generally appreciated. Anyway, if my vocabulary or grammar is a bit off please don't
beat me for it. I didn't quality-check this before posting it. If anyone is actually planning
to stick with me to the end I thank you in advance and give you my respect.
Summary
Pale Cocoon is an award-winning 23 minute single-episode OVA made from scratch
by director and writer Yoshiura Yasuhiro, the mastermind behind the critically acclaimed
ONA series and movie of Eve no Jikan. As with the majority of Yoshiura's other work,
Pale Cocoon dwells into the psychological aspects of the future of humans. What really
tears it apart from his other work however is that Pale Cocoon actually takes place in
a post-apocalyptic world where humans live in a cyberpunk-ish underground system
ridden with hopelessness. Of course this comparison doesn't mean anything to you if
you haven't watched Eve no Jikan or Mizu no Kotoba, but please bear with me.
As a short-film, Pale Cocoon is noticeably written in a (particularly complex) narrative prose,
whereas there is no real overarching story or goal behind it. Instead, it factors mainly
from the setting it takes place in, much like Yoshiura's other work, in addition to simply
put amazing narrative structure. Pale Cocoon ends as abruptly as it starts, plainly telling
us it's story with no real introduction or closure, and while this may seem unappealing
to most of you let me tell you Pale Cocoon is principally amazing in the way it makes us
want to know more about the unfortunate setting it takes place in, benefiting greatly
from this form of writing.
Story
In this dystopian future, humans have built a large machine deep underneath the
artificial surface of the planet called the environmental maintenance equipment, to
sustain human life. Over who-knows-how-long time, however, the machine has
deteriorated significantly, forcing humans to move to deeper levels closer to the
machine. Our primary characters are the last employees of the abandoned Archive
Excavation Department, a once-thriving department focused on recovering and
analyzing fragments of the former world such as images, audio, video and so forth,
from wreckage of digital archives scattered throughout the universe.
Describing the story of Pale Cocoon is difficult not only because every little detail can
be a huge bloody spoiler, making any descriptions of the thing seem mindbogglingly
boring, but also because of the unique narrative that the movie boasts of. The story,
in essence, is that of one of our main characters trying to reach the surface of the vast
underground system to confirm the truth of the world they live in, for the most part
climbing a seemingly-endless staircase surrounding a pillar of light. We focus, however,
mainly on the prologue to this event, the relationship between our characters, and
how everything is coated with a shade of despair and anomie, only catching a glimpse
of the present every now and then. Sounds odd doesn't it? With my crooked English
knowledge, fully describing the unique nature of the story's narrative is pretty much
impossible, and I urge you to experience it for yourself.
Characters
Pale Cocoon is far from a character-driven story. Taking the form of a short-film as I
mentioned earlier, there are only two actually introduced characters, both of which
should be considered main characters although one is primarily focused on. These
two characters are Uro, an unusually positive eccentric with frowned-upon interest in
his work of excavating data, and Riko, Uro's uninterested co-worker who shares a
similar cynical mentality with what is hinted to be the large majority of people still alive.
While the story doesn't expand on or develop the characters at all, in truth Pale
Cocoon really doesn't need that. It doesn't make for boring characters, and what is
mainly reflected on is not the characters themselves but their relationship and polar-
opposite view on the rotting world they live in. The two main characters are far more
interesting than needed to make a story like Pale Cocoon work perfectly, and that's
enough for me.
Art
While I usually don't stress the subject of art and animation too much when it comes
to rating anime, Yoshiura's production company Studio Rikka is truly on a level of it's
own. While they do make use of CG a lot, do not fret because it is hands-down the
best use of CG I have ever seen in anime, and you know what I mean if you've
watched Eve no Jikan. The backgrounds are vivid and beautiful, despite depicting run-
down cyberpunk environment, and the characters are nicely drawn and easy on the
eyes. Studio Rikka's use of lighting is particularly notable, with many moments in this
movie alone leaving me in complete awe.
Examples (Click to View)
![[Image: PZLdTDC.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/PZLdTDC.jpg)
![[Image: 7N3wLRW.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/7N3wLRW.jpg)
![[Image: DF6LmAd.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/DF6LmAd.jpg)
Sound
To give you a rough idea of the siginificance music holds in Pale Cocoon, for a 23
minute episode the OST combined is almost 15 minutes. This means music is going
to be playing for a good two-thirds of the movie, no less.
The music was composed by Okada Tohru, who also made the music for Eve no Jikan.
With much diversity, the musical score, 10 songs all in all, ranges from eerie bass-
heavy noise, to bagpipe-flavored instrumental harmonies, and even tops it off with an
airy pop song. With a few truly amazing and somewhat stunning songs, and others
less so, some even drifting into what could be confused with environmental noise,
what is really to be respected about the music in Pale Cocoon is how it is implemented
and enumerated into the movie. The musical editing in Pale Cocoon is somewhat
comparable to Makoto Shinkai's work, main difference being that Pale Cocoon's musical
composition is more than just ambience, with the prologue to the climax of the story
being, basically, a song. The music and its source figure nicely into the climax, and their
initially shallow tone is all part of the impact.
Enjoyment
You will not fully understand the story-progression and series of events on the first
watch. Hell I had to confirm online just to fully understand the entrancing climax I just
experienced, and my first watch was more ridden with confusion than any admiration
for the ingenuity of the narrative. As you start re-watching the movie however, and
you will unless you're and amercian kid with negative attention span, you start to pick
up on some key points here and there, and I can guarantee every watch will get
progressively more fascinating.
But otherwise, I highly encourage people to watch this hidden gem. It's unarguably the
best short-film I've ever watched, anime or not, and only mere 23 minutes of your time.
I write my reviews based on personal experience, so if you had a different view on
the anime by all means voice your opinions below.
Thank you for reading.
Wikipedia | MyAnimeList | Anime News Network | AniDB
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