Dennou Coil – Filler Episodes, An Intermittent Otaku’s Best Friend [Episode 14]
Sunday, December 30th, 2007
Anime fandom’s attitudes towards filler episodes are confusing at best. The generally held definitions of what ‘filler’ is in regard to anime are split into two camps. Firstly, we have the recap episodes, such as episode fourteen of Dennou Coil, that reuse clips from prior episodes to tell an anthologised version of what’s been and gone. Secondly, there are episodes that merely deviate from the core plot and tell stories that don’t contribute to the broader whole. Reasonably, the latter seems more appealing than the former; anyone who isn’t a touch daft would prefer the prospect of new material to rehashed clips. Yet, I find anime that plays with the convention of a mid-series recap show incredibly useful and entertaining – perhaps more so than episodes that are jarringly unrelated to the grander scheme of things. With this episode Dennou Coil, remaining true to form in never being a waste of time, demonstrates a masterful combination of recap, new material and plot progression, all in its painfully charming way.
So sometimes it pays to be neglectful; you appreciate certain recurrent activities in anime that otherwise, if watched consistently, feel like a waste of time. I like to think oddities like this make permissible what a lame, uncommitted anime fan I can be.
Yeah, I’m not convinced either.