7th: I was actually thinking exactly of you when I wrote that
I know you tend to look out for good creators and so on, so I was surprised you didn't mention Dennou Coil. Well I'm glad you're reminded of it, and you're spot on for Gurenn Lagann... It's HiroyukifuckingImaishi, that makes at least the first episode mandatory watching just to see what the hell happens.
Sonhex: That's precisely the problem - there isn't anything in the way of a promotional video or anything released for Dennou Coil.
Although it seems that the story is roughly about the intermixing of old temples and a sophisticated computer network. The website's blurb says that the family of Okonogi (?) Yasako, a 6th grade elementary student, was living a normal and peaceful life with her father, mother and younger sister, and then just before the summer holidays they moved to Ooguro City where her grandmother lived. It was an old city with a distinctive history, with lines of all sorts of shrines and temples; but it also used to be a specially designated area meant to be equipped with the latest computer technology...
Spoiler for More thoughts:
Personally, I think the promo images speak for themselves - first we have the pair of main characters and one of those temple arc thingies (sorry, the name escaped me) - with some strange URL on it! I don't know about you but that image intrigued me like heck when I saw it first and it still does. How did they integrate the two? Is it a literal
gateway? When people go in do they get their "individual IPs" recorded or something like that? IMO, the creativity of the idea is what makes me think of so many questions related to it - and that's what good ideas should do, really...
Even better is the second one - the one of a city "under water" - except that the water's 'upside down'! (For those who don't know what I'm talking about, go
here and wait for the second image to load after the first.) I know I sound shallow (how's that for a pun?) but there's something immensely captivating and personally affecting about that picture to me. And it doesn't hurt that I think it shows an amazing amount of technical skill too - in terms of the whole creative idea, the composition, the drawing...
I know it may be much to base so much on two promo images - as well as Mitsuo Iso's track record, despite it being nothign short of stellar - especially since we know so few concrete details about the plot. But while I may say many things based entirely on my own inflated views on what they should be I honestly think this is a show that will deliver.
This whole place is full of speculations, expectations and hype so I might as well say that I'm hoping it'll be a fascinating and unique story about the mixing of 'old' and 'new'; I'm hoping that the depiction of the laidback lifestyle and the "old temple" elements/images will have that detached and yet charmingly eerie, uncanny feeilng like parts of Zettai Shounen; I'm also of course convinced that the animation and direction will be good at the very least and a masterpiece if its potential is fully realised...
And well, we'll wait until Spring to see whether my broken tape recorder-like hyping will be justified or not. I could just be thinking too much based on the visual cues in the promo images, and be severely disappointed if they give those factors a very superficial treatment...
But I think that for once my faith in Mitsuo Iso is well-placed; especially since this is an original story good enough to be backed by NHK, and he's actually been
working on this for fourteen years (information once again courtesy of the excellent Ben at AniPages). For someone whose skill I do not doubt, to work on something for so long and to create such great images throughout the years means that there's a high chance that it will be
good, at the very least.
And now that I have said my piece I will leave the rest of you in peace... or whatever... pardon my long-winded hyperbole, if you would call it that...