ElectricSlime

Pale Cocoon tells the story of a post-apocalyptic Earth as observed by two humans, a man and a woman. They are involved in the extraction and cleaning of digital archives left by humans many years before. They include all types of media, pictures of Earth, newspaper clippings, video... the works. They are to a certain extent futuristic archaeologists. The story follows them as they hope to unravel Earth's history. Although short, as one off OVA, it doesn't feel like it is short. If that makes any sense. The plot is nicely developed and reaches an interesting conclusion. The animation and direction for Pale Cocoon isabsolutely amazing. I found myself getting lost in the amazing visuals and rewinding to where I was previously. It is meld between 3-D backdrops and traditional 2-D characters. This was pulled off spectacularly and as I said before, looks "absolutely amazing". The "camera" is used in a very realistic manner and often pulls back to give a sense of grand scale and is some of the best cinematography I have seen in an anime. The musical score is phenomenal. With piano piece accompanied with a limited orchestra, the music does an outstanding job of accurately conveying the mood. The insert song is fantastic and played at exactly the right time. Overall it is some of the best music I have heard in a short anime. The characters, who I don't think we ever learn the names of (I have a poor memory for names), are nicely fleshed out over this short story. The male lead is voiced very well and is very believable. He is very serious about his job and is eager to learn the truth about Earth. The female lead is always a little side-tracked and is beginning to lose interest in the project. She is very interested in a particular, for lack of a better word, shaft. This stairwell has a special place for her... Overall I really enjoyed Pale Cocoon, and although it was short at just over twenty-two minutes it didn't feel like anything was left out. It comes to a very satisfying conclusion and is a must watch for any anime fan.

WillMunny

Yawn. Total waste of time. The visuals are pretty, with smooth and life-like animation as well as pleasing character designs. It also showcases some cool-looking futuristic archival technology. However, while better than average, the visuals are not groundbreaking -- easily surpassed by 5cm Per Second and its ilk. They are also repetitive. Plot is thin, derivative and not particularly well presented. The characters are unengaging and underdeveloped. Dialogue and soundtrack are forgettable. Moreover, the pacing is self-indulgently, navel-gazingly slow, making this piece boring despite its short duration.