[ Episode 9: Miss Michiko From the Other Side ]

Damn this episode was sizzling! I didn’t know what to expect from this duel but I was blown away. Firstly, the ghost stories about Michiko were awesome. Haraken’s in particular was especially good and those wraith faces were freaky as well (I watched this 3AM in the morning). I laughed at how Daichi and Fumie were scared out of their minds at Haraken’s story. Those two couldn’t recover at all after that.

Yasako was pretty cool in this episode using her abilities to shield herself and destroy traps. I’m glad to finally see her using the techniques we’ve seen up till now. One of the most hilarious moments has to be when Tamako sneaked inside the school with Satchii and it wondered off a bit and zapped two of Daichi’s goons. I’m pretty sure that they didn’t know what hit them when they saw Satchii turn the corner to come after them!

The meat of the plot though involves Isako chasing around what seems to be a kirabug in the form of a small girl (lol fairy?). Haraken also sees this kirabug and enters a room where this a phone in front of him. He dials the number he got from Denpa who had translated the message within the metabug he found in the last episode (4-4-2-3). Amazingly, Kanna’s voice is heard on the other side and she tells him some directions and he proceeds to faint. Then, Isako enters and captures the kirabug and then she absorbs it into her body! The thing that got me the most was how she just stopped a blast from Satchii right at the very end of the episode by simply looking in his direction. What does this mean? Has she undergone some changes after absorbing the kirabug?

[ Episode 8: The Summer Festival and the Duel ]

For the most part, this episode was pretty cute. With a festival going on we got to see Yasako, Fumie, and Isako in their kimonos and I must say they all looked very cute. Though Isako’s look was more beautiful than cute. The other parts of this episode revolved around Isako telling Daichi and his goons to challenge Fumie and the others to a duel on which they will stake their glasses. Speaking of Daichi, his crush on Fumie becomes blatantly obvious in this episode and it was pretty nice to see him, the girls, and Haraken (to an extent) having fun during the festival.

There are two other pieces of important information introduced here. The first is that Haraken recovers something from an Illegal which used to be Kanna’s dog. What that thing is we probably won’t find out until next episode or so. The last thing was that the thing Isako was after is finally given a name: Michiko. Who is she? Who knows. I expect we’ll find out a bit later though and not immediately.

[ Episode 7: Move out!! Coil Investigation Agency ]

Oh man. Isako has Daichi and his crew totally whipped! Anyway, aside from that, this episode was very entertaining and informative. The focus here is mainly on the budding relationship between Yasako and Isako. They have no choice but to be trapped in an area for most of the episode until they’re able to escape. I really like their interaction, especially when Yasako helped Isako get unstuck from a piece of debris and when Isako told Yasako a seemingly fake story about Illegals eating the souls of kids.

We also learn about Kirabugs which are sort of like megaelixirs in Final Fantasy. Yeah, strange comparison but I think it gets the message across. Seems like interesting things will be taking place near the school from now on if what Isako discovered at the end of the episode pans out into something big.

[ Episode 6: The Red Automation ]

Ah. I’ve missed Dennou Coil so much. Finally, it’s time I start it up again. Watching these episodes have refreshed my memory of why this series is so damn good.

This episode focuses mainly on Yasako, Fumie, Haraken, Kyoko and the motorcyclist from previous episodes. The motorcyclist turns out to be Haraken’s aunt, Tamako. I’m really loving her character and that fact that she’s 17 is amazing given the type of influence she seems to have in her profession. We learned quite a few things here as well. Haraken is researching Illegals as a result of the death of his childhood friend, Kanna. They were doing it prior to her death but he is even more focused on it after the fact. Of course, after Yasako and Fumie hear his story and why he’s able to stop Satchii (permission given to him by Tamako) they volunteer to assist him in his research.

There was no Isako in this episode but there will be in the next one.

[ Episode 5: Metabug Scramble: Bus Tour]

I’ve been noticing some pretty sexy images of Isako going around and…damn o_o.

I wonder when or if Isako will befriend Yasako and Fumie? It surely didn’t happen in this episode. Rather, she continued with her plans toward her goal (whatever it is) by recruiting Daichi and his friends to basically act as her slaves to get her work done. This episode also introduces another new character: Haraken. He’s pretty much a shy guy and, as Fumie describes, has a personality that’s unlikeable. He seems pretty knowledgeable about stuff like Illegals and even Satchii as indicated by the last minute or so of the episode.

Yasako, Fumie, and Haraken act as spies for almost the entire episode as they follow Isako and her workers. I’m quite sure Isako knew she was being followed from the beginning (since she saw Fumie’s oyaji in school to be exact) while the other fools had no idea. As the episode went on, Isako eventually led everyone to a bus graveyard where she claimed that a lode of metabugs were to be found. After having Daichi and his pals dig up some she goes somewhere in the graveyard to be alone and thinks about her options. Meanwhile, a pair of Satchiis appear and begin to cause trouble for everyone. In the midst of the chaos Isako sets off a chain reaction explosion but I’m not sure what the purpose of doing so was. Could it have been to find more valuable metabugs? The kind she used to bait in Daichi and his friends to be her lackies? Well, whatever the purpose, she’s now the leader of the Daikoku Hackers.

I’m wondering about three things or rather three people now. The mysterious woman on the motorcycle, Isako’s contact, and Michiko who was mentioned in the previous episode and again in this one. It seems as if the woman on the motorcycle will be revealed in the next episode so I suppose I shouldn’t think too hard about her. Isako’s contact has yet to reveal themselves. We haven’t even heard a voice to find out if the person is a male or female. As for Michiko, she’s still a mystery. Hopefully we get a bit more information about her soon. Also, Haraken…just who is he? He was able to hack a Satchii! Something that, as far as we know, not even Isako can do. I guess it has something to do with his father being a manufacturer of cyberpets. I want to know more about this kid as well.

[ Episode 4: Daikoku City: The Hacker's Club]

The future’s, made of, virtual insanity…

With Isako now in the same class as Yasako (Yuko) and Fumie things are getting a lot more interesting. The latter two try to befriend Isako but she refuses their kindness. In the process, Isako ends up pissing off Daichi who then proceeds to try and get back at her by using some spam techniques against her as she answered a question on the blackboard. Isako solves both problems quickly and as a result makes Daichi look like an utter fool.

Later on after some childish pranks from Daichi and his minions, Yasako tries to befriend Isako again but is yet again refused. Isako brings up a theory on Yasako’s past about either being a bully or being bullied and says that she (Yasako) can fool the others but not her. I’m guessing that Yasako would be the latter since I can’t see her being a bully to anyone. Hopefully we get to see more about this sooner rather than later.

As Isako searches for a teacher that supposedly called for her she realizes something is amiss and dodges the first wave of an attack by Daichi and his gang. After a few exchanges she uses their own method of fighting and takes them down. However, Fumie now challenges her and they lock themselves in a struggle. This is where things get awesome. As far as I’m concerned, there wasn’t a victor in Isako and Fumie’s showdown but Fumie did manage to get some information from her before her terminals were fried.

The end of the episode puzzled me though. Yasako seems to notice something in the data that surprises her but she doesn’t say anything about it. What is it that she saw? I guess we’ll have to wait and see in the next episode or another one after it. I also wonder why Isako is in this school in the first place? Is she searching for something? There was also something in the episode mentioned: Michiko. Apparently this person grants wishes when she’s called out but other than that little is known about her.

The animation in this episode was top-notch. The effects were brilliant and the pacing didn’t skip a beat or fall down anywhere vital. We were also shown how you can actually get hurt in the virtual-world by having your glasses overload or by just being attacked by special weapons. For now though they don’t seem to be a danger to one’s life. Next episode seems to be an interesting one. Isako seems to have control over Daichi and his goons now but the preview can be misleading. Seems like we get to meet another new character as well.