Deca-Dence

Masterpiece, its a beautifull anime. Excelente characters. The first time I saw a great transition.

Deca-dence is telling me a story of a dystopian future full of interesting characters. A story that I found to be captivating and fresh with some unexpected twists.

Deca-Dence took the sci-fi genre by storm. What started out as a generic opening of the first episode quickly turned itself around after the big revelation. Such a reveal gave Deca-Dence more of an identity, an IT factor that defines this show's story and characters. This isn't a typical sci-fi show that you may get used to and over time, you'll come to appreciate what Deca-Dence really is. And truth to be told, I welcome our alien overlords.

Why is this series everyone's punching bag this year? People are judging the series right from the trailer. Many are calling it generic, attack on Titan copy failure, cliche, and very disappointing terms. This series is infact one of the most generic we've longed in for a while. I don't want to spoil anything but at the first episode, the plot goes by the ; humanity is pushed to the brink by dangerous giant creatures as the destiny of humanity fall in the hands of a special trained group of humans. To be frank, Darling in the Franxxx, Evangelion, Attack on Titan, to mention a few have all used a similar formula. But in the case of the 'real' and actual plot of Deca Dence, this series is one of a kind with a unique story that marks the peculiarity of the show from being an attack on Titan clone. Right from the 2nd episode, a major plot twist will totally make you take this anime very seriously. Everything you believed about the plot is not actually whole or even true. I heard this anime doesn't have a source material, no wonder there isn't a strong fan base to counter the bias towards this anime. In terms of the characters, this anime offers non cliche anime characters you usually see in shuonen titles. Some characters may be generic at first sight but as the plot progresses, you begin to see a whole 3 dimensional figure of the characters. I believe this anime can really hit in and make a hit against the odds. Just give the show a chance past the first three or episodes.

Deca Dence is a combination of many things - post apocalyptic battle for survival to begin with... however it's best to just watch that 2nd episode to begin to wrap ones mind around what is actually going on. The world building is very complicated, but the story itself is revealed in a pretty straight forward way - to the point that fans of anime will settle in quickly. However, if this was the first anime someone ever watched? I think it could be truly profound, just due to the radical nature of content compared to the average TV show.

Id say Deca-Dence is built first on entertainment. Characters are iconic and fun. Action sequences are frequent and well presented. Drama occurs when it needs to, and unfolds in logical ways that fit character motivations.

I really like the opening theme, to the point I watched it every time. Credit song is also memorable. All the audio is solid, from voice acting to general soundtrack.

The 12 episode run is pretty spare - with very little filler/flashback. Even when that does happen, It works so well with what is happening in the story, I completely approve. I got the feeling that the creators were trying to squeeze everything in, as opposed to extending moments - and that is my type of anime! I want dense content devoid of fluff.

A lot of the technology descriptions and anime style has a simplified look that some may not appreciate. I'd loved it myself - and with a little jump of creative logic, these stylistic choices could be viewed as symbolic gestures that get to the heart of character and story first - as opposed to dwelling in technical description. It is an anime after all! And dialing back production choices for content related reasons... to me? Is a sophisticated approach to story telling.

There are some questions that if asked, really don't have meaningful answers - most of this would be regarding the crazy hierarchy the characters exist within, and how these 'levels' of individuals interact. But? That is really only on analysis - the nature of how everything unfolds? Follows consistent pacing that kinda prevented this viewer from going down those mental paths.

Who would like Deca-Dence? Most general fans of anime, I suspect. Otherwise, fans of large scale action sets involving monsters fought by teams of people. Fans of movies like the Matrix or other cyberpunk literature: early William Gibson for instance. And fans of action movies, like the Professional or the Enforcer, that have strong mentor/student relationships along with all the action sets.

All time, top 5 anime? I don't think so, but I wouldn't debate someone who did. While I don't think it is in the same class of a Steins;Gate, Deathnote, Cowboy Bebop, Neon Genesis or Code Gaess - I would put it damn near in that same league. There are all time anime that I like Deca-Dence way more that (like Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood or Escape from Titan). I would never try to tell anyone it is better than those epic experiences, I just personally like Deca-Dence better, because I think it's run is more fun and entertaining.

Deca-Dence is an elegant 12 episode run, where every episode is good. I'll likely kinda fit it in with other anime like that: Hinamatsuri, D-Frag, Juuni Taisan - as a few other examples of single season anime that are good all the way through.