Coppelion is what I would describe as a beautiful anime gone straight to hell. I’m not referring to the artwork here because that’s glamorous. What originally started out as an alluring premise with promise turned into an abomination that becomes almost intolerable to watch thanks to its style and overall portrayal of the post-apocalyptic genre. This anime itself is an apocalyptic failure that illustrates just how not to adapt its manga. Not that the manga is any better but Coppelion comes to me as a show that should of never been resurrected.
The series itself is based off of the manga of the same name written
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by Tomonori Inoue. The term “Coppelion” refers to an unit of trained specialists with special abilities that tries to find survivors after a faithful event that happened in the year of 2016. Apparently, the city of Tokyo becomes a contamination like war zone as its people are faced to deal with a grim reality; that reality being the brisk on extinction as the a nearby nuclear plant undergoes meltdown. So now, it’s up to the Coppelion special task force to find survivors 20 years later. This definitely sets up a decent science fiction theme series with its beautiful visuals that truly illustrates the aftermath of the tragedy as well as its story. However, that story turned out to be a tragic breakdown.
The series has three main characters named Ibara Naruse, Aoi Fukasaku, and Taeko Nomura. These three girls seems to be humanity’s last hope. But what makes its setup odd is how these young girls are able to give hope to the people. That answer is simple: they all have immunity to the radiation that contaminated Tokyo. In fact, the girls are genetically engineered to be capable of surviving in such a harsh environment. But taking the word ‘capable’ to describe these girls is an overstatement here. While the trio is able to deal most of their assigned tasks, the majority of the responsibility falls into the hands of Ibara Naruse. She is portrayed as a natural leader with her confidence and her determination to help the people. Of course, she also possesses strength, agility, and intellect to carry out her tasks. Now the other question is: what about Aoi and Taeko? They also have a purpose right? In most cases, I would regrettably say no. Throughout the series, Aoi and Taeko plays the role of more like sidekicks. Taeko at one point even puts the team into jeopardy for her careless actions. What’s even worse though is Aoi, a character that is about as useful as a palm tree in the desert. She has literally no skills and often stands in the way. Her obnoxious and childish behavior also hinders the team as well as putting others during an assigned task at risk. During many instances, she seems to be scared for her own life despite trying to save others; how ironic. It seems like other needs to save her and turns out she’s probably even more human than the survivors.
The story itself originally sets itself well. There’s the apocalyptic background clearly illustrated by its landscape of desolation. It composes itself both inside and outside with the ruined cities and lack of civilization. The only people our main characters seemingly encounter are survivors in the beginning. These survivors obviously do not possess the same ability as Coppelion. Instead, they depend on them in order to make it out of Tokyo alive, or die trying. As for the story itself though, this show tries hard but doesn’t land anywhere. The first episode establishes the fact that there are survivors out there but at the same time, there is also danger. Even when they do find survivors, it's usually shown that they are at the edge of their lives. This is presented in many circumstances as this show tries to draw out an image to viewers’ minds - a world in which anyone can die. At many cases, the girls are able to save the survivors but this usually falls under Ibara’s shoulders. AGAIN, what a shocker. Almost every episode involves Ibara pulling out superhuman movements while drawing her handy pistol. Meanwhile, our other two girls sits on standby or providing little support. When Ibara succeeds, the girls plays the role of the cheerleaders. As for the survivors themselves, most of them seemingly only play a very minor role that falls under a weekly basis, to almost never seen or heard again. Some of these survivors also doesn’t seem to want to live for certain reasons as well. Later on though, the series does shift more into a progressing plot gear mode as the girls learns more about the world they are in as well as its past. Additionally, more dangerous antagonists are introduced who even has a past with the Coppelions or main characters themselves. There is also one other main supporting character named Haruto that gets introduced mid way into the series but his characterization is no better than the rest; as if they had any at all in the first place.
There are also some absurd standards that makes this show question viewers what they may be watching. The girls is one example as we see they don’t stand out as anything special. They are designed like high school girls that shows hardly any menacing features. Their designs matches those of a high school student with they way they are dressed. More awkward is the fact that they are dressed in little protective gear. Instead, they wear skirts so noticeably short that surprisingly can hide what’s underneath the whole time. The series’ mechanics also has holes that doesn’t seem to add up such as the way certain military vehicles are operated or genetic engineering revolving several Coppelions. Then, there’s some of the antagonists the girls faces throughout the series. The Coppelion special force are just composed of a three unit team but most of the time are capable of taking down a military group. Even when they do get a little support from others, their task is achieved through some form of Deus Ex machina. What makes it worse though is the fact that the survivors seemingly doesn’t want how the results of a mission turns out to be. In most cases, this means their lives are saved despite a desire to pass on to the next world. The show also makes the antagonists seem weak as in almost fictional story of face and heels. In the end, the heroes usually triumphs out of some sort of odd circumstance.
The artwork of this series can be described as ‘scenery porn’. Most of the landscape and backgrounds are majestically illustrated giving it a cutting edge magnificence. The desolate lands of Tokyo truly does look like something of an aftermath from an apocalyptic event. The lack of civilization as well the destruction of its structures are further evidence of this. The production studio Gohands (known more recently for its works including K and Mardock Scramble) can draw some similarity with its background designs. Furthermore, the lack of fan service eliminates distractions that sets upon a more serious mood for this series. It also incorporates the usage of effective camera angles combined with gusts of wind to illustrate that empty settling atmosphere of the apocalyptic Tokyo as in 2036. Unfortunately, there is some odd artwork involving how the characters appear on screen on various occasions through a technique of thick line style and palate. The purpose of this seems to be unknown but from my guess is probably to focus on the characters as its prominent feature rather than its breathtaking backgrounds.
Soundtrack wise, Coppelion is decent enough to live up to its expectations. Action scenes and cliffhangers are demonstrated with heart beating tones. There’s minimal comedy or fan service so most of the time, the show itself omits the usage of comedic OST but replaces them with a more solemn theme. The OP song “Angel” by angela (K, Valvrave the Liberator, Heroic Age) is catchy for its scientific-like tone of presentation. The ED song sung by her also gives off both a scientific mood with its tragedy-like style. Ibara’s VA (Haruka Tomatsu) gives off a confidence tone of voice while Aoi is a clear example of a girl in distress. Aoi represents the weakness of the team as well as the most human so her voice is often portrayed as helpless girl seeking for help despite wanting to help others.
Honestly, Coppelion is a show that I tried to desperately take a liking to but its construction of the story just doesn’t swing in the right way. The premise sets up itself well and is convincing enough especially for those into science fiction or fans of post tragic series. Past series like Tokyo Magnitude 8.0, Shinsekai Yori, and Casshern Sins also demonstrated similar themes but had more character driven plots. However, Coppelion lacks most of that and instead puts its faith into saving survivors. The artwork did save the show quite a bit though but the story and overall execution is just tragic. I don’t mean tragic in a tear-jerking way but rather as an deterioration of a potential success. This show did not achieve success for me in any way. Instead, it was a bloody revolution.
Alternative Titles
Japanese: コッペリオン
More titlesInformation
Type:
TV
Episodes:
13
Status:
Finished Airing
Aired:
Oct 2, 2013 to Dec 25, 2013
Premiered:
Fall 2013
Broadcast:
Wednesdays at 21:00 (JST)
Producers:
Starchild Records
Licensors:
VIZ Media
Studios:
GoHands
Source:
Manga
Theme:
Military
Demographic:
Seinen
Duration:
24 min. per ep.
Rating:
PG-13 - Teens 13 or older
Statistics
Ranked:
#72462
2
based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.
Popularity:
#1900
Members:
123,335
Favorites:
226
Available AtResources | Reviews
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Your Feelings Categories Dec 25, 2013
Coppelion is what I would describe as a beautiful anime gone straight to hell. I’m not referring to the artwork here because that’s glamorous. What originally started out as an alluring premise with promise turned into an abomination that becomes almost intolerable to watch thanks to its style and overall portrayal of the post-apocalyptic genre. This anime itself is an apocalyptic failure that illustrates just how not to adapt its manga. Not that the manga is any better but Coppelion comes to me as a show that should of never been resurrected.
The series itself is based off of the manga of the same name written ... Nov 4, 2013
Coppelion is an anime about these radiation immune Charlie's Angels who cry all the time and whatnot.
It's a melodramatic sci-fi story about these girls who won't die on radiation unlike all the other people in the world. These people are of course saints, and we get to see missions where our three radiation immune saints save people from radiation while crying. By three radiation immune saints saving people, I mean our main girl, Ibarawhatever, saving people while the other two watch. Alternatively watch and cry. The character are pretty useless and stupid and for some reason there is three of them instead of one. ... Dec 27, 2013
The post-apocalyptic genre has been quite popular due to new mediums pulling their spin. So very few manage to do the genre justice with how vast the genre generally has to go for it, and most writers don’t have the most competence to write out a competent narrative. Whether or not they are about a nuclear holocaust, zombie invasion, ecological disaster, divine judgment, or pandemic reasons, there are so many possibilities for story writers to come up with brilliant ideas for the genre with some great results and ones that are not so great. Our little anime Coppelion falls into this category that fails
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Jan 28, 2014
Coppelion can be summed up as disappointing.
This is because it has an alluring premise: a derelict city scarred by nuclear disaster, overrun by wilderness with a few human survivors scattered about. There's plenty interesting about a setting like this, and Go Hands does such a great job on the scenery porn that I am currently using a rotating cycle of background shots from the show as my wallpaper. Unfortunately the characters who populate that setting are not interesting, nor is anything they do. The writing for this show is crap, plain and simple. Setting aside the issue of the Coppelion being teenage girls (standard anime ... Dec 25, 2013
Coppelion is an anime about a girl crying, more crying, getting kidnapped, even more crying and then later break down and do nothing.
Seriously! All is there to the anime is hearing some lame ass character whine and bitch about everything. Besides having a girl who cry throughout the whole anime, the action scenes are all replaced by a single art showing either the characters getting punched in the face or jumping. To sum it up, It's Shit. Dec 28, 2013
Alright so I haven't read manga so I can't compare it . But Coppelion for me had a beautiful idea. The main characters were girls which were saving people around the world. What was the problem? They weren't human. I really enjoyed watching how their characters were growing. This anime showed me beautiful power of friendship and also that it is possible to do anything if you want to. I'm not a big fan of this genre but Coppelion really made me cry.
Dec 25, 2013
Ok, so another anime has ended, somehow I get the feeling that the writer of this anime's manga version, Tomonori Inoue seems to be a clairvoyant, though the Fukushima nuclear disaster did happen 3 years since the writer conceptualize the possibility of where the scenarios were similar, except of course in his version the nuke contamination was widespread that it covers the so called old capital, while the one that happen in Fukushima Prefecture was only limited in its area. But, anyways, I still give this anime a benefit of a doubt, surly there is something in this anime that basically annoys me, so leave
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Dec 25, 2013
Coppelion follows a group of high school age girls, known by the same name as the title, as they wander around the abandoned and contaminated former capital of Japan, Tokyo. After an accident several decades ago caused the entire city to be filled with radiation and become unfit for human life, a project was started to create genetically enhanced humans who could survive in the toxic conditions.
The story of the anime follows about a handful of arcs ranging from around one to five episodes each. The arcs all involve the protagonists meeting some stranded people they have to save them by protecting them until a ... Jan 24, 2014
Coppelion follows the rescue unit on their journey through post apocalyptic Tokyo. Are main characters are Ibara Naruse, Aoi Fukasaku and Taeko Nomura. These three girls are not exactly ordinary as they are artificial clones created to withstand massive doses of nuclear radiation and they possess their own special perks such as speed, super strength and even the ability to create electricity. Ibara has super strength, enhanced athletic abilities and she’s very accurate with a gun. (Though rarely uses it to harm others) Aoi… Can’t do a thing as she has no special perks or abilities and I just presumed that she was a prototype
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Jan 23, 2014
So I first heard about Coppelion through Kotaku's anime preview list, and the premise intrigued me. Then, as the series went on, on CrunchyRoll there were a lot of people who thought this was one the most disappointing anime they've ever seen, and how it's pretty darn bad. Note: I have never read the original manga material, so I do not know how the anime compares to that, so I'll be reviewing the anime on its own.
Well, I disagree. First, let's talk about the goods. 1) The artwork and style is truly fantastic. The characters pop, details are easily visualized on screen, and it has that ... May 5, 2020
When I read the other reviews for Copellion, I thought this might be bad, but it was actually the opposite.
Story is great, I can't give any other info on that. Too important to spoil. Art was amazing, but the fact that the characters kinda stand out in comparison to the scenery was a bit of an issue that kept catching my attention. Sound was wonderful, and the SFX was nice. Characters were nice, wish they could've elaborated more on the girl's backstories, but I'm content. ... Jul 3, 2015
Coppelion was part of my summer anime viewing a couple years ago. Alongside BlazBlue: Alter Memory and Kill la KIll I can't quite recall right now, it really had potential to go places in 13 episodes. Unfortunately, it stumbled by episode 3 and crashed before episode 7. What followed were the charred remains scratching and clawing out of the wreckage that was its plot and begging to be put out of its misery. Is the manga better? Unfortunately, I couldn't be bothered after this botched attempt.
Starting where it should be saving itself, the sound is... Meh. The only memorable part of the series was the ... Sep 6, 2017
Oh yes!!!!!!! This is outstanding!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (to me)
This Anime gave me the feels! The OP and ED gave me the feels, and was great! I loved the art, it is so nice! I loved the story, and the characters a lot! I imagine myself in this Anime, and I was one of those made people, and I just went out and go to the contaminated place without permission hehehehehhe I have no dislikes about this Anime, and still wish for a second season! There is enough material for a second season, I believe. But, I guess this didn't got much attention, which is sad. I recommend this a ... Dec 28, 2016
Coppelion was a science fiction manga written by Inoue Tomonori from 2008 to the beginning of this year. In late 2013, before the manga had actually ended, there was an anime adaptation by GoHands. Now, I've never seen a GoHands anime before, so all I know about Coppelion is what I heard from the young lady who requested that I review it. She called it “hilariously bad.” I don't know if that's going to sum up my own feelings on it. So, let's take a look and see if it is, indeed, hilariously bad.
Story: After a nuclear accident, Tokyo's been left a smouldering wreck. Twenty years ... Dec 25, 2013
I am back for another review on the anime Coppelion. And what do I think of it? It wasn't that good.
STORY (3): The story takes place in an abandoned city near Odaibi nuclear power plant when there was a nuclear explosion and the 3 girls who call themselves Coppelion, have their duty to evacuate the remaining survivors of the abandoned city. Coppelion is a team of students who are trained to perform different tasks and they are immune to radiation. Now, I was looking forward to the post-traumatic anime both perspectives, but sadly I was let down by the careless writing and plot holes. Also not ... Jun 24, 2014
In this post-apocalyptic nuclear melt own scenario there are bunch of special kids who are resistant to any amount of radiation. They are made to help and rescue people (anyone who is still alive) in this radiation contaminated area. How these kids feel and how they work to save people forms the story. Now the plot is not bad initially but it does not develop from there. Characters are not at all developed from the first to the last episode. It seems they have some issue with them, all these special kids i.e., Coppelions, but its never told out. Only one thing is revealed. The
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Dec 14, 2015
I really wanted to like Coppelion, storywise it had a lot of potential, but an onslaught of problems coming from the direction, the writing, the pacing, and the animation from the anime itself really held it back from being anything but "...eh.."
Coppelion is directed by Shingo Suzuki. It's about three high school students who are genetically altered to be immune to radioactivity in Tokyo after it's contaminated by a nuclear accident. The Coppelion are sent in by the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force to rescue the people still living in the city after a distress signal from inside Tokyo is received. The anime started off ... Dec 28, 2013
After watching the first episode of this series, i had high hopes for it, it looked promising and like it would be good. By the end of it, it was like seeing an attractive person and liking them until they open their mouth and start talking. In my opinion, this anime had a lot of potential to be good but a few plot holes and the characters ruined it. Dont get me wrong, while i may complain about it, im generous in the rating because certain people can watch this and enjoy it to some extent. It isnt bad if you can get over some
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Feb 19, 2015
*spoilers*
The premise sounds... promising. Genetically engineered girls go into deserted Tokyo to inspect the destruction wrought by a reactor that apparently ran on nerve gas, weapons grade plutonium, and the t-virus. Okay a little topical, but there's a lot of focus on the characters and how they feel about being engineered - oh what why can she tame that wolf so fast. Because she has a good sense of smell? Okay... you know what I'll go with it. Why why is that one crying and screaming. Well, I guess the scene was a little emotional, maybe I just didn't notice - Wait, wait a stealth ... May 16, 2022
Now I have read so many different options on this anime and people seem to love it or trash it. In my option many people go in thinking its gonna be one thing when its not. the story's not really apocalyptic as in zombies and monsters but as in a modern day dystopia. The manga is also pretty every on the si-fi close to where the anime ends.
The problem I see people talk about with Coppelion the most is it's pacing. The first 3-5 episodes focuses are single stories to help create world building and I can understand how you go from that to the ... |