Color me surprised - this was quite a unique watch. Are you perhaps living in a simulation? Perhaps some sort of higher entity is controlling you?

When I first watched Deca-Dence, I was expecting it to be something like Shingeki no Kyojin, with all the post-apocalyptic hyping that the promotional video did.

Deca-Dence PV | Source YouTube

What it really was

This anime is a mix of existential crisis, epic giant battles, and the life of a girl in a post-apocalyptic world. For some, it is naught but a game; for others, it the matter of life and death. Would you put in your effort if you knew it didn’t matter in the end?

The actual review

I didn’t do my research beforehand, but I was surprised that Deca-Dence was animated by Nut, which is the same studio that animated Youjo Senki. Perhaps the lack of distinction was due to how the characters are designed in Deca-Dence, but nevertheless, I couldn’t tell.

Regardless, the audiovisuals were good and complementary with one another - it is what I would expect of an anime made in 2020. Story-wise, I was surprised by the “setting twist” - which is a new term I shall coin for surprises similar to plot twists, but they happen in the settings instead of the plot (i.e. it wasn’t the progression of plot that surprised me, it was the scenario that surprised me).

Even with the strange twist and turns around the scenario, the story remained shockingly consistent - in fact, the very last enemy had a clear backstory that was shown throughout the anime, with no need for flashbacks, or any story device explanations by any character in the anime. The methods for dealing with the enemies remained constant throughout, with variations only in the movements to deal damage, much like slicing the neck of a titan in Shingeki no Kyojin.

Character development was evident throughout the entire story, making every episode feel fresh and exciting to watch. Battles were short, sweet and simple, so that the important plot elements can be introduced for plot progression purposes.

All in all, for an original anime created in 2020, Deca-Dence was quite a solid piece to watch. Give it a watch, I don’t think you’d regret it!

Happy Coding

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