The post-apocalyptic motif is the flavor of the year, given all the calamitous events of 2020 (COVID-19 pandemic; crap anime; raging, uncontrollable fires; more crap anime; locust swarms in Africa and India; and then there’s Gibiate, which is too horrifying to put words to). But in the universe of Deca-Dence, the dystopian society in which the characters find themselves in is not frightful or nightmarish; rather, it’s just bland and sweepingly devoid of any essence of ‘life.’ The problem derives from the characters’ cliched personalities that serve as superficial representations of how humans respond to these situations. Frankly speaking, the hollowness of Deca-Dence’s characters was reminiscent of the mechanical, unthinking first-person protagonist in any video game; someone who spouts humdrum dialogue and is controlled to act in a formulaic manner. In essence, I couldn’t empathize with them; which becomes a hindrance when certain death (cop-outs) occur.
Natsume’s aspiration of becoming a ‘Gear’ falls in line with every disenchanted Shōnen protagonist who gets told, “no,” at first, but continues nonetheless because they’ve got unsurpassed determination (and special “blah, blah, blah” that makes them… well, special). Kaburagi, Natsume’s reluctant teacher, offers no interesting nuances to the mentor archetype in the hero’s journey. Even Kaburagi’s Vegeta-esque, rage outburst was a cheap mimicry that did nothing to add to the story or his growth as a character; he is as straightforward as a ruler, which makes him all to predictable and beyond boring.
Now, while the plot did throw the viewer for an early loop — via concealing its true intention — it wasn’t the type of surprise that instilled optimism or a state of shock; on the contrary, it lacked the necessary impact that its predecessor (AoT) pulled off with style and conviction. This disappointment was compounded further with the pedestrian animation that offered no signs of splendor, making it a tepid affair from beginning to end. Additionally, the omega type Gadoll in episode 11 — i.e., the armored (Red) Lobster of doom — was far from ‘buttery-smooth’… i-in aesthetics (could you imagine the seafood cracker you’d need to eat this behemoth!). Furthermore, the fortress city of Deca-dence, itself, was just a mishmash of mundane protuberances that left little-to-no impression in this viewer’s mind.
All in all, the passionless messaging and vacuous thematic elements, made Deca-dence the perfect symbol of the declining state of anime in the modern age — making its name, ‘decadence’ (i.e. a state of decline), quite appropriate.
