Coppelion: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		2.5

Coppelion: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie Review

Dazzling on the surface. Just don't try to peer much deeper...

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown February 13, 2015

Coppelion is a visually striking, energetically animated series and... also... a visually striking, energetically animated series. Unfortunately, all praise begins and ends with the colorful art, eye-catching character designs and dynamic animation. Virtually every other fundamental is bungled, from the plotting to the dialogue to the irritating heroines. On and on and on. Finishing Coppelion requires a tremendous act of will, and only the morbidly curious are likely to plow through to the end. There's little here to like and even less to enjoy, with style obliterating substance without cause or mercy. The premise is solid. The promise is there. The trailers. The visual punch. And the central themes? In light of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster (which brought the anime's production to a stand-still in 2011), they couldn't be more timely or ripe for exploration. So how is the end result so far removed from expectation and, more importantly, the series' potential? It's baffling, honestly. All I know is this: there's far better anime on the market, much of which boasts equally arresting animation. There's no need to waste your time with Studio GoHands' flash-pan dud.

In the not-so-distant future, a man-made catastrophic event has devastated a large region of Japan, forever changing the lives of its people. In the years since the incident, the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force has genetically engineered humans to operate under the lethal conditions of the contaminated city. Today, three such humans set foot into the now forsaken city. The trio of girls are known as Coppelion, trained since birth to use all of their skills and resources to carry out their one and only objective: rescue those left behind. But why aren't they wearing any protection against the radiation like every other human?

More than anything, it's the main characters -- genetically engineered teens Ibara Naruse, Aoi Fukasaku and Taeko Nomura -- that put a radiated bullet in Coppelion's weary head. Highly emotional, weirdly apathetic or oh so cooool to the point of being obnoxious, the girls are meant to raise far more questions about identity, free will and choice than the series' thirteen episodes are actually interested in examining. It's a failure of writing, to be sure, but also calls attention to the show's lack of vision. The eventual action is flashy and splashy, but without any real stakes or likable heroes to latch onto, it flatlines. It looks great. It pops. It draws the eye and occasionally unhinges the jaw. But it rarely, if ever, resonates. Once the luster of the visuals fades, it's suddenly hollow and deeply dissatisfying, without anything in the way of a saving grace. I kept waiting for things to turn around; for a plot twist that might right a growing number of wrongs and get the series back on track. No twist came... at least none that improved matters.

Other elements are so ordinary -- or worse, so mind-numbingly underwhelming -- that they bleed into the background. The supporting characters are either forgettable or annoying. Or both. The voice acting is all over the place; none of it very good. The music is generic and repetitive. The action dulls the senses, particularly since it's so difficult to care about what happens to anyone. And the story goes nowhere of note, with Ibara, Aoi and Taeko doing their damnedest to leave viewers begging for a mushroom cloud that might signal their erradication. (Radiation proof? Try 15-million degrees Fahrenheit, ladies. See how that works out for ya.) Most frustrating of all is realizing just how engaging it all could have been. A few tweaks here, a bit of tightening there, some polish, some tuning, and a string of re-writes and Coppelion might be well into its second season. Instead, it's another opportunity wasted; a creative wasteland rendered uninhabitable.

Coppelion: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Blu-ray release of Coppelion: The Complete Series features a strong 1080p/AVC-encoded video presentation that doesn't falter all that often. There's the usual color banding, but very little of it is severe. Otherwise, issues are kept to a bare minimum, with very few distractions to report. The show's palette is gorgeous, favoring stark blues and greens, with dashes of skewed reds, purples and oranges giving the world a distinct radiated-amber glow. Black levels are deep and inky, contrast is vibrant and consistent, and clarity is excellent. The animators' line art is clean and crisply defined, background details have been perfectly preserved, and CG elements aren't prone to aliasing or other unsightly anomalies. All told, VIZ Media's technical encode is, for the most part, as striking as the series.

Coppelion: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Coppelion hits Blu-ray, guns blazing, thanks to a pair of solid LPCM 2.0 stereo tracks. It's a bit disappointing to see two-channel mixes accompanying a series primed for full, explosive 5.1 mayhem, but you couldn't ask for a more proficient audio experience as far as the show's original sound design is concerned. Voices are clear and intelligible at all times, effects are carefully prioritized within the soundscape, and there's a good deal of kick to action sequences, even without the help of the LFE channel. Neither track elevates the series, but both enhance the AV presentation nicely.

Coppelion: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Art Gallery (HD): A collection of production and promotional art.
• Japanese Trailers (HD, 6 minutes): Four Japanese Coppelion trailers.
• Clean Opening & Ending (HD, 3 minutes): With optional English and Romaji subtitles.
• More from VIZ Media (HD, 6 minutes): K, Sailor Moon, Moribito and Gargantia.

Coppelion: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Don't let the screenshots and trailers lure you in. Coppelion is a radiated nightmare of an underdeveloped, underwritten, underwhelming anime. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but sometimes a stern warning is worth far more. Avoid this one at all costs. If you can't resist the temptation, though, you'll at least be greeted by an excellent AV presentation. You won't mind the lack of supplements, I'm guessing. Not after watching the series. And you'll hardly muster a complaint about VIZ's treatment of the Blu-ray release, as... you'll have watched the series. Too harsh? Perhaps. Give it a spin. Who knows? One man's Coppelion is another man's Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.