(If you want the short-and-sweet summary of my impressions on the anime, please refer to the bottom of this review)
Story: 8/10
Humanity has literally declined to the point of extinction, and has been replaced by a new race of humanity called “the fairies,” whose existence depends on only two reasons: having fun and eating sweets. Fairies possess supernatural powers that defy human logic, and yet ironically they are deathly afraid of humans. In fact, the anime hints at why humans and fairies never coexisted from the start. Therefore, the humans and fairies do not really get a chance to interact with each other. This is where our main protagonist, Watashi, comes in. She works as a mediator who attempts to bridge a connection between the humans and the fairies so that both of them can coexist with one another and live together in compromise, to hopefully benefit both races.
The main flaw of this anime actually comes from the many questions that the context of the story raises. Much of the blame can be put on the shortness of the anime, but it fails to provide answers to basic questions like “where do fairies come from?” or “what has caused humanity to decline?” Considering that this anime doesn't really have an overarching plot, answers to these questions are somewhat irrelevant. However, providing answers to some basic background questions would have made this anime much easier to understand and given this anime a better sense of cohesion. No matter how amusing the anime was, the anime as a whole felt like a postmodern mishmash of episodes without much direction. Therefore, this anime is not recommended for viewers that are trying to look for a solid story, because the anime does not answer all the necessary questions to make a coherent and purpose-driven story.
The anime is generally episodic and progresses backwards from Watashi’s current occupation to her early school years. This unconventional plot timeline can result in minor confusion because the anime itself is already a handful to watch. However, this flaw is mitigated by the fact that the viewer can start from any point in the anime and still make as much sense of it as someone who started from the beginning. In fact, any story arc (usually two episodes) can be considered a “beginning” or an “end.”
The story and content of this anime shines brightly because of Makoto Uezu’s brilliant scriptwriting and Romeo Tanaka’s original ideas. At its heart, Jinrui Wa Suitai Shimashita is a social satire of perhaps the current decadence of humanity. The anime pokes fun at the idea of religion, corruption of government, superficiality of appearances, and general incompetency of humanity. The anime even pokes fun at the manga industries out there, resulting in probably one of the most creative and hilarious episodes I have seen thus far. The anime makes several literary, “pop-culture,” and other famous references to amplify the viewing experience for viewers that understand the references. The anime is also at some parts an exploration of the human imperfections (this will be expanded upon in my “characters” section). There is so much more than meets the eye to this anime, and hence why the story and content deserves at least an 8.
Music: 9/10
The opening song is called “Real World” performed by nano.RIPE. This pop rock song really brings out the cheerfulness and silliness of the anime, especially as animations of Watashi and the fairies dancing play throughout the opening. The ending song is called “Yume no naka no Watashi no yume” performed by Masumi Ito. The song itself generally has a cheery tune with whimsical vocals that has a very slight hint of sadness.
The original soundtrack contains a song from almost every genre and type of music: classical and electronic; cheerful and melancholy; suspenseful and peaceful; traditional folk and futuristic; and creepy and sweet. This diversity of music really goes well with the anime because there is a music fitting to every situation or mood within the anime.
Art: 10/10
In this anime, human civilization reverts back to small villages with houses made of wood and bricks. Advanced technology is not seen anywhere due to frequent food shortages and the lack of electricity. As a result, majority of the times the background is verdant, pastoral, and filled with moss-covered ruins of past human monuments or cities. Other times, the background art is multicolored, abstract, and creative. The background has a distinct watercolor feel to it, so the characters seem like they are trapped inside a children’s story book -- bright colors, fantastical backgrounds, and surreal imagery. To give an example of the unique style of art in this anime, the lights from flashlights or lanterns project random polygons of light, rather than projecting light in a cone-like fashion. Despite the seemingly childish art, however, I rate the art highly because its unique and random (somewhat abstract) style of art appropriately represents the cryptic nature of this anime.
As expected from the animation director of Mushishi and Steins;Gate, the characters are designed beautifully and the animation is done quite well. The main protagonist, as well as other main characters, is given a change of clothes for each story arc (two episodes), so it is not always the same people with the same clothes.
Character: 6/10
The title of the anime being “Humanity has declined,” some of the characters have flawed personalities that make them disagreeable. This, of course, does not mean I disliked the characters. In fact, I liked most of the characters because they were realistically flawed. Although there was the component of exaggeration when it came to portraying some of these personalities, these flaws were ultimately what made this show so great and entertaining. For example, Watashi is not the typical virtuous and upright main protagonist; she is sarcastic, antisocial, and selfish at times. As much as it may seem difficult to like her as a protagonist, however, her snide remarks and reactions are what made several moments in the anime funnier. In addition, the fairies are known for their complexity but also their simplistic way of dealing with things, so I had many laughs when fairies tried to do something their way, even if their way was not ideal or appropriate.
The characters themselves can feel a bit impersonal because they are given titles or nicknames as names rather than actual ones. Watashi’s assistant is conveniently called “assistant-san”; her grandpa “grandpa-san”; her friend “Y” (as in “you,” possibly); and her school friends “Flower-chan,” or “Curly-chan.” However, at the same time I found it easy to memorize and distinguish characters because of the convenient way of naming the characters. Also, maybe the original author, Romeo Tanaka, thought using substitute names would be more fitting in a post-apocalyptic environment where nominal status and reputation mean almost nothing.
In addition to the faulty personalities and obscure names, the anime also has very little to no character development. As the episodes are generally episodic, the anime focuses on using the characters to convey certain points or ideas, rather than focusing on developing the characters. Watashi may be the only character that is well-developed, and thus I cannot rate this portion of the anime any higher than a 6. The characters definitely have unique personalities, personalities not common in many anime characters. However, the lack of character development results in a lack of connection between viewers and the characters. This lack of connection may eventually lead to viewer’s disinterest resulting from the viewer questioning the point of this anime (…when there necessarily isn't one).
Enjoyment: 10/10
Jinrui Wa Suitai Shimashita is a delight to watch from start to end and has high “rewatch value” because of the many ideas it explores and of the originality that it exudes.
Summary:
If I have not emphasized enough, the anime is full of scenes that are hilarious simply because of how downright silly and ridiculous they are. However, do not let only these scenes define your perspective of the anime. For one thing, there are several cleverly written jokes and subtle references underlying each episode. Most importantly, however, the anime takes place during a post-apocalyptic time in which humanity has literally declined to the point of extinction, so the anime itself is full of dark humor and negative thoughts. In addition, underlying the anime is also a surprising amount of thought-provoking ideas, social commentaries, and philosophical views. This anime is definitely one of those that makes you think and rewards you when you put in the time to pay attention to detail. There will be instances when some scenes will need to be rewatched over and over to be understood, so this anime is not for people who want a simple and straightforward anime. Otherwise, this rarity of an anime is definitely worth the watch.
8.6/10
