Review of Deca-Dence
-Spoilers Included- "We exist for the sake of the system" - Hugin Deca Dence was a surprise for me this season, and I went into it thinking it was another apocalyptical anime like Attack on Titan, but the twist in episode 2 was a pleasant one. After the twist in ep 2, this anime has been praised by many critics for its originality, yet also criticized by haters. Let us see how this anime fares. Story- The story first seems like an apocalyptical anime, where humanity has been hunted down and must survive dangerous threats in a sheltered area. This premise probably sounds pretty similar tolots of other anime that were produced. However, episode 2 came around, and we see that this story is original. It turns out the humans are living in a simulation where cyborgs run the place, creating Gadolls for their pleasure. Even though plenty of people disliked the twist, I think it was a good one that kept me engaged throughout. This is not to say that the plot is perfect. I feel like many plot points could have been fleshed out better and the ending could have been explained a bit better. As a whole though, the plot is solid.
Art- I have not seen Studio NUT's art before, but it seems neat to me. Nothing that turned me off, but nothing too incredible. The fight scenes were animated quite beautifully, however.
Sound- The OST and the music is quite pleasant to listen to. My favorite song is the ending, Kioku no Hakobune. The battle OST is also very hype. In terms of voice acting, I don't see any issues here.
Character- This is where I have a bit more complaints. In my mind, two characters are worth talking about. First is Kaburagi. He starts as a man who is pessimistic about the world and lives for the sake of living, with no purpose. However, as he gets more and more time with Natsume, he finally sees that there are things worth fighting for in life. I enjoyed his character growth. The second character is Natsume. In my mind, she is a bit too cliched and even annoying at times. Her impact on Kaburagi was fascinating to watch, yet her boundless optimism is a bit off-putting and she acts far too rash and hot-blooded for me to like. Other than those two, other characters get too little development or even screen time for me to discuss. This is another issue I find with this anime, and one example is Sarkozy. He could have had a lot of development as he grows out of his shell and his personality was intriguing, but he was written off too quickly. His death had a little impact on the show compared to what he could have had, and I would feel the same towards many other characters. To summarize, I think the show had lots of characters that had unused potential, but Kaburagi's development was good.
Enjoyment- At first, I didn't enjoy the show too much, but the twist in episode 2 was captivating and kept me wanting to see more after each episode. The story felt rushed, but I would be glad to see a season 2 if it was greenlit.
Overall- I don't think this show is a masterpiece, judging by how it handled its characters, but its twist was enjoyable and the story is solid. I would recommend this show to you if you like a decent Sci-Fi story.