Pale Cocoon
Synopsis:
In a dark and dystopic future, the environment of Earth has been destroyed by its human inhabitants. The remainder of mankind live in a physical “gap” between what is known as the lower level, and the unknown sky above. In this dreary and mechanical existence, the melancholy Ura works to restore the memories of the past, as part of the Archive Excavation Department. Along with Riko, his sole companion, Ura will soon discover a mysterious remnant of the past which may prove that there is more to their existence than meets the eye...
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Voices of a Distant Star
Alt titles: Hoshi no Koe
- OVA (1 ep)
- 2002
Nagamine is a young high school student who lives a fairly typical teenage life: hanging out with friends, attending class, and falling in love with a wonderful boy. But when she enlists in the galactic army, who is desperate for candidates to fight an alien war, she finds herself drifting farther away from her first love, Noboru. In the depths of space, where a simple email takes eight years to be delivered, will their love truly flourish, or simply fade away?
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6 people think you'd like this because...
add recThough totally different in plot, Voices of a Distant Star is incredibly reminiscent of Pale Cocoon both in a visual and pacing sense. I strongly feel if you liked one, you'd like the other.
Most people will find it hard not to compare this 20 minute OVA to Hoshi no Koe; indeed, in many ways Pale Cocoon is the spiritual successor to the landmark 2002 anime. Each of them has absolutely stunning CGI and an overwhelming sense of nostalgia. Even more significantly, both use science fiction motifs to tell extremely melancholic tales that leave me dazed and breathless every time I watch them.
Both of these short stories are told from an intimate point of view show us how our inter and intra-personal relationships are shaped by the technology and environment around us.
Pale Cocoon is a traditional science fiction short story, with a slow build towards a story twist that serves as the climactic conclusion of the anime. Voices of a Distant Star/Hoshi no Koe is built around a slightly different type of science fiction story, a running gimmick (the delayed communications over interstellar distances), presented in an almost episodic way, and interspersed with bouts of space warfare action. Nevertheless, the two anime present the viewer with very similar sensations, as they move slowly but with deliberation towards their respective climaxes.
Both Hoshi no Koe and Pale Cocoon deal with a slice of life from the far distant future. The difference is that Pale Cocoon is so far removed in time from our own that you're not sure what's going on until the very end, whereas Hoshi no Koe seems very similar to our time, including the use of cellphones and everything except the giant robots. :)
These 1 episode animes have a startling concept that is simple and easy to understand. However, what makes both Voices and Pale Cocoon interesting is the storytelling element and artistry that accompanies it. The soundtracks are also very similiar and well worth the attention. In addition, both series leave you with the feeling of wanting more, to go further into the lives and situations that the characters find themselves in. Well worth watching, outstanding.
Mizu no Kotoba
Alt titles: Aquatic Language
- Special (1 ep)
- 2002
In a cafe, people spend their time talking to each other about what’s on their mind. They talk about troubles with love, spread gossip about a friend of a friend and tell about the time they saw a flying fish. The waitress of the cafe tries to teach a lesson to a boy that just broke up with his girlfriend learns that relationships don’t end when the people involved end it. Overall, the other people in the cafe also become influenced by what tools of humanity and the human language can do for relationships between lovers and friends. The unbelievable is always tested by science and our own imaginations...
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6 people think you'd like this because...
add recBoth Pale Cocoon and Aquatic Language are intelligent anime that take an eccentric tone. Each leaves the audience with a lingering thought that no matter many times they rewatch it, they will always miss something.
Pale Cocoon and Mizu No Kotoba are two great OVAs that share similar characters, similar designs and a not-so-similar plot which is able to leave you open-mouthed.
Both of these titles are very similar, and not just because they were made by the same guy. Aquatic Language and Pale Cocoon share similar art, feelings, tones, and character designs. When you finish either of these titles you are left with that same special feeling that is unique to them.
Mizu no Kotoba and Pale Cocoon share the same sort of languid, non-dramatic style of storytelling, decorated with sometimes breathtaking scene changes. Although both stories are science fiction in their basic material, their true common theme is of human self-understanding and interrelation.
Both Mizu no Kotoba and Pale cocoon are trying to express philosophical issues through artistic beauty and it is just the right blend of both. They are to anime what haiku is to poetry, fitting an enormous amount of content into just a few minutes, while maintaining their integrity.
Aquatic language and Pale Cocoon have a similar drawingstyle, and both short animes have a melancholic feeling to them. There's also a feeling of lazyness, things seem so clear and unquestonable - but there's a deeper meaning in everything, and it begins to unfold itself.
BLAME!
- OVA (6 eps)
- 2003
BLAME! is a very dark and abstract set of 6 shorts which are based on the manga by Tsutomu Nihei. The "story" (if it can be called that) revolves around a man named Killy: a human living amongst clones and androids. His task, it seems, is to collect things known as "net-genes", and to help find the remaining humans that may or may not exist.
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4 people think you'd like this because...
add recSo, both are dark, stylish scifi dramas set in broken-down manmade dystopias. Had they done more of the story, BLAME would have been more of a dark, edgy action series, but the tiny fragment they did made it more of a slow, intellectual piece. And that meshes pretty well with Pale Cocoon.
Both BLAME! and Pale Cocoon take place in a distant future in which our world is no longer recognizable. Both heavily use imagery in lieu of dialogue, to great effect.
Both BLAME! and Pale Cocoon take place in a futuristic and technologically advanced period sometime in the future of human kind. Their almost experimental art styles (BLAME! is on the much more extreme end) don't allow the viewer to make assumptions to who, what, and where. The story of BLAME! may leave some viewers scratching their heads, but Pale Cocoon will make you want to talk to non-fans of anime about it. Either way, if you watch one, you'll appreciate the other.
After watchicng Pale Cocoon i have been shocked.... Sometimes author may cut your soul in pieces in 22 minutes. It is really impressive and stylish.
Same feeligs with Blame!, their worlds are same in many ways. But Blame! is dirty-bloody action while Pale cocoon is flegmatic scene.
I do not know, is it my love of post-apocalyptic or something else, but these two anime are very different from others. They are not just a peer minutes of watching. Great unbeliveable world hiding in them.
Eve no Jikan
Alt titles: Time of Eve
In the future, androids live side by side with humans – but not as their equals, as their slaves. Though they look identical, these androids must display a holographic ring over their heads so the difference is clear. One day, a boy named Rikuo finds abnormal activity patterns in the logs of his own android, and alongside his friend Masaki, he sets forth to find where the android has been. Much to their surprise, the duo discovers a secret café known as Eve no Jikan with a single rule: within its walls, there must be no discrimination between humans and robots. In this place, androids appear to be human and are even displaying signs of independence – a trait that should not be possible. Rikou finds his perceptions increasingly challenged as he struggles to come to terms with his own android, and the relationship between man and machines...
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4 people think you'd like this because...
add recThis recommendation should be of little surprise, given that the same studio created both. Beyond that, Pale Cocoon and Eve no Jikan have a surprisingly similar feel - each shows us stark, extended sequences with staring gazes and absolutely stunning backgrounds. A mixture of CG and regular animation accompanies both, and above all the two anime share the same quiet, fascinating look at a futuristic sci fi world.
Not only are the two series by the same person, but they feature similar themes about the relationship between man and robot. Pale Cocoon is darker, but both are a great feast for the eyes.
Both come from the same creator and are interesting in their own right. Even though they are both science-fiction works, they don't share many similarities in plot, but the similarty in autmosphere is apparent.
The creator of both is a genius, and every and ALL sci-fi fans need to check both of these out. Eve No Jikan is superior in my eyes, but they're both great.
If you liked Eve No Jikan or Pale Cocoon you would like the other because they both send the same message relating to technology. They are set in the distant future where humans are very dependent on technology.
The atmosphere in both the animes is roughly the same. They really dwell deep into the psychological aspect of technology. Coccon shows the after effect and what will become as humans rely to much on tech and Eve shows how tech is slowly taking shape and developing its "own mind". Well worth the watch for sci-fi fans or anyone looking to think about what our future may behold.
Serial Experiments Lain
Alt titles: Lain
- TV (13 eps)
- 1998
"I have only abandoned my body, I still live here" - are the words emailed to friends of Chisa, several days after her death by suicide. As Lain delves deeper into the world of the "Wired" (also known as the internet), the line between it and reality becomes more and more unclear. Close the world, open the nExt.
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3 people think you'd like this because...
add recBoth Pale Cocoon and Serial Experiments Lain are concerned with society moving from the "real" world into a realm dominated by technology. The two series are concerned as to whether this is a step in the direction of progress, or a retreat from what makes us human.
Lain, just like Pale Cocoon, mixes the virtual world with the real world. What is supposed to be separated starts to interact and the outcome is a sad result: a world in which humanity has taken a step backwards.
I can almost think of Pale Cocoon to be a cousin to Lain. They both deal with persuing the technological, in favour of abandoning the physical (Though not in the same ways.)While watching Pale Cocoon I found myself asking "What would Lain think?"
