Anime — Dennou Coil

A sort of Miyazaki does Ghost in the Shell series, set in a not too distant future, with cyber ("dennou" in Japanese) technology that is slightly magical (in the Clarkean sense at least); and everyone who is with the program has a set of AR glasses painting their world. In the overlay are pets (like the dennou-pet dog at the far left), pests (unauthorized autonomous programs called "illegals" - top right - and the official "anti-virus" programs like Sacchi - bottom right) and programs that work a bit like magic spells.

Two girls, both called Yuuko, but "spelt" differently -- one could be read as "gentle girl", Yasako (centre); the other as "brave girl", or Isako (left) -- transfer to a new school, where their paths, and pasts, intertwine.

The series starts out rather like "Just William" in cyberspace, turns into "illegal of the week" ("Long Neck, ;_;"), before the plot that has been being set up in the background picks up into high gear for an intense finish. And although the big reveal isn't world-shattering, it is handled well (unlike other series -- Higurash Kai, I'm looking at you), and the series ends with a proper sense of closure.

There was a "Just kiss her, you idiot!" moment at the end, just before the credits rolled, that was then modified by the epilogue that ran in parallel with the credits, but without damaging the sense that the story had been tidied up nicely.

One of the very best series of the year, with only Mononoke and Seirei no Moribito as competition.