Story: End time scenario with twist and turns that entertains well (8/10)
The human race, which is threatened with extinction, the few survivors form a community in the mobile fortress Deca-Dence. The community consists of the tankers and the "gear warriors". The Gears fight against monsters, the so-called Gadolls, while the tankers take care of the exploitation of the Gadolls killed by the Gears. So the tasks in the Deca-Dence are distributed and here the adventure of the tanker girl Natsume begins. She wants to become a member of the Gears and does everything to make her dream come true. There is much more to explore, so stay tuned.
Characters: simple, with increase in complexity as the plot progresses (8/10)
The characters are very simple at first, but as the story progresses, a certain complexity successfully develops. This development goes hand in hand with the plot, so that even fully developed characters can experience a change that influences and makes their reactions understandable. All in all the production seems plausible and well thought out. In my opinion, this is a huge plus for an original anime TV series, especially considering that studio NUT hasn't been around that long. The cast is extensive, but not fully provided with backstory and depth. For just 12 episodes, however, the characters are well staged and interesting, that's done smart.
Natsume:
The young tanker girl grows up an orphan after losing her father and her right arm in a Gadoll attack. Her character is great. Despite her loss, she is not filled with hate but with enthusiasm and her heart is open to new things. The new task she is given does not quite match her dreams at first, but she does not get discouraged.
Kaburagi:
He is a typical old warhorse and commands the repair crew to which Natsume was assigned. His grumpy nature makes him seem unsympathetic at first, but there is more behind this façade. One has such a presentiment when he speaks that supervising maintenance work is not all that is inherent in his past. At the latest with the discovery of his little roommate “Pipe”, Kaburagi suddenly becomes likeable.
Fei:
She is Natsume's best friend, they grew up together and share many memories. Even so, they are very different and the older they get, the clearer the difference becomes. Fei wishes for a simple and happy life as possible. She doesn't have Natsume's ambition to achieve more. A very interesting conflict, plausibly staged, but the series is too short to give the subject more depth. An important character that is unfortunately mostly overlooked.
Kurenai:
She is a legendary fighter against the Gadoll and Natsume adores her. The character concept is almost a bit too simple, pretty, tough and a good fighter. Well, she is a man's dream, but suitable for the colourful troupe and likeable, she becomes by her empathy as well as the nice quirk that she has a crush on Kaburagi.
Donatello:
He is a former member of the Gears group (top Rankers), to which Kaburagi also belonged. He's a good fighter with a strong build, he's loud, headstrong but not the smartest. Nevertheless, his character has a few surprises that one wouldn't necessarily have expected.
Minato:
He is the commander of the Deca-Dence and the only authority he has to respond to is Hugin. Minato`s character has classic humanistic traits. He is aware of his responsibility and fulfills his task with great integrity and a sense of duty. However, his conscience demands that he reconsider his priorities. A very human figure with high ideals, who nevertheless values friendship from the bottom of his heart.
Jill:
Her character is admirable because there are not many women in the field of mechanical, electrical and hardware engineering. It's fun to see how she supports the revolution with her skills at a high technical level, especially when Donatello is put in his place by her dictation.
Visuals: A mixed bag and the reason for a slightly lower score (7/10)
The art is good overall. The characters have a different appearance. Natsume and some of the Gadolls reminds me a little of the anime "Bōnen no Xam’d", but I rate that as positive. The fortress is futuristic and yet somewhat old-fashioned with the chain drive. The vehicles often have a very clear reference to current car models. This is not really bad, but some Steam Punk or more bizarre like in the "Mad Max" movies would have made the design more of an eye-catcher. Personally, I didn't like the use of CGI on some of the cars, especially in the last third of the series. On the other hand, the background and also the Gadolls with its very simple appearance were basically very fitting for the premise of the series. The design of the cyborgs is hand-drawn, the use of CG3D models was deliberately avoided, which I think is a good decision. Of course, one could argue that another decision would have allowed more details, I leave it to the viewer whether this criticism is justified, and just allow myself to point to the finale.
The art department makes very good use of the light and shadow effects and the colours also have a hue that matches the mood of the scenario.
The animation is excellent and harmonises with the previously mentioned play of light and shadow as well as the colour palette, so that a very fluid overall picture is created. CG is not my cup of tea and is very disturbing in some scenes. Of course, CG offers a lot of details that are great on machines, but with living things it seems artificial and therefore out of place, especially when the cyborg creatures, in contrast, were hand-drawn. In my opinion, this seems inconsistent and reduces the rating.
Sounds: Very well suited, great OP and nice ED as well as good VA (8/10)
The background music was composed by Tokuda, Masahiro. One might object now that he is not yet so well known, but I think that will change. His arrangements have given many scenes a very good and coherent emotional emphasis. I was particularly struck by the use of musical style elements, borrowed from Irish folklore. This is a really good musical background for the rather lively nature of e.g. Natsume and many other members of "The Power". A few of the insert songs reflect this very nice and I really enjoyed listening to them.
The OP theme song "Theater of Life" was performed by Suzuki, Konomi. It is a lively start to the series and the music is good. Great rock sound and with the strong but very feminine voice of Suzuki-san overall cool and it sounds great - fresh, full of energy.
The ED theme song "Kioku no Hakobune" is performed by Itō, Kashitarō and great soft rock. The title is not only a successful arrangement, but also lives from the cool and somewhat strange voice of Itō-san. I especially enjoyed the title because it is not only a soft ending, but individual, a bit unique and yet a perfect answer to the demands of an ED song.
I admit the voices of the two main characters, Natsume spoken by Kusunoki, Tomori and Kaburagi spoken by Konishi, Katsuyuki, are very good. The emotions of the characters are voiced very well. Especially the lively and impetuous nature of Natsume is conveyed to the audience in a very amusing and likeable way. But also the second row has very good Seiyū. I noticed for example the voice of Chiba, Susumu in the role of Natsume's father Muro. His role is not long, yet I noticed his pronunciation and the good intonation very positively. I also really enjoyed the voice of Kitamura, Eri for the role of Kurenai. A bit rough but still feminine, which underlines the empathy of the character very positively. It is not immediately noticeable, but the realisation of the dubbing hits the character very well. And when we talk about very fitting voices, I would also like to mention Shibata, Mei as "Feis" Seiyū. The embodiment of the shy and rather reserved Fei was very good, both in pronunciation and tone of voice.
Last but not least the sound effects were also well done. I was very positively surprised that the different sounds for e.g. breaking up the earth's surface, bursting metal etc. sounded very good and plausible. However, the effects did not come to the fore, which in combination with the good music and voice acting resulted in a very harmonious overall sound.
Deca-Dence is one of the few series of 2020 that I would like to recommend! The script is well written and the story as well as the hidden allusion to the title and the premise are well communicated. The characters are catchy, likeable and their syncronisation sounds great. The animation is fluid and not jerky, so the series as a whole will certainly grab your attention. The first episode may be perceived as somewhat lackluster, as it builds up the entire background of the story, but from the second episode on the series unfolds much more action-packed and exciting.
My suggestion: watch the first 2-3 episodes and then decide whether you want to continue watching or not.
As always, thanks for reading and have fun watching.
