Deca-Dence Review
AN ORIGINAL SCI-FI HIT!
Deca-Dence is an original anime by animation studio Nut that aired back in 2020. At first, many described this anime as a clone of Attack on Titan. However, Deca-Dence is something else entirely! Deca-Dence is a must-watch show for every fan of the sci-fi genre with a compelling story and fantastic animation.
In this article, I’ll provide you with a short analysis of all the different aspects of this series.
The story of Deca-Dence takes place in a world in which mysterious creatures called Gadoll appear out of nowhere. These vicious beings eradicate most of the human population, and the remaining humans are forced to live in a mobile fortress known as Deca-Dence. While most human beings living in the Deca-Dence live on the lower floors, some brave individuals live on the upper floors and go out to face these Gadoll head-ons.
Our protagonist is a girl with a prosthetic arm named Natsume. Natsume is determined to fight on the front-line and annihilate the Gadoll. However, currently, she is stuck with a job as a cleaner. She works under Kaburagi, who initially appears to have a cold personality, but he is very good at heart.
Seeing Natsume work so hard, Kaburagi slowly loses his cold demeanor towards her, and the two form a unique and interesting type of bond. After a while, Kaburagi realizes that Natsume is not just an ordinary kid and could very well change the entire world one day.
In all honesty, the plot of Deca-Dence doesn’t seem all that interesting, and that is the reason why many people in the anime community initially referred to it as an Attack on Titan clone. However, after watching just a few episodes, you can clearly see that this anime is nothing like anything we’ve seen before. Deca-Dence has a unique story of its own that progresses quite beautifully as you keep on watching every single episode.
The show’s pacing can seem a bit too fast at times, but it perfectly suits the series’s short run. Each new episode takes the show in a new direction, and the story does not seem repetitive.
At first glance, the characters in this show seem pretty forgettable in terms of both design and personalities. However, every new episode just makes you fall deeper and deeper in love with the fantastic cast of characters. The personalities of all of these characters develop a lot throughout the anime’s 12-episode run. One complaint I have regarding this show’s characters would be that the side characters did not get fully explored.
Let us take a closer look at the two main characters in the series.
Natsume:
Natsume is the cute and cheerful protagonist of the series. When she was just a little girl, she lost her right arm and her loving father in a Gadoll attack. Now, this girl dreams of becoming as strong as possible to defeat all of these Gadoll. However, Natsume’s life will not be easy as she doesn’t get accepted as a warrior. Instead, the girl has to work under a man named Kaburagi as an armor repairer.
What I love about Natsume is that this girl never loses hope! Despite the bad odds, Natsume never gives up on her dreams and keeps on moving forward.
Kaburagi:
Kaburagi is the cold and strict instructor of Natsume, a pretty strong fighter but spends his days working as an armor repairer. This man seems to have no friends as he just minds his own business and does not like to interact with anyone.
After spending some time with Natsume, Kaburagi’s personality slowly changes because of this kid’s positive outlook towards life. Kaburagi slowly gets closer to Natsume and realizes that this tiny girl can change the entire world one day.
I love the art style of Deca-Dence as it is pretty dynamic. While the show is somewhat dark and grim, it also features a beautiful and colorful virtual world. The animation has been handled by studio Nut, responsible for another brilliantly animated must-watch anime called The Saga of Tanya the Evil.
As you might’ve already guessed after reading the plot, there is a lot of action involved in this anime, and it has been handled by the studio perfectly. While the animation quality is not really out of this world, it is still pretty decent and enjoyable.
Is Deca-Dence Underrated?
Deca-Dence is definitely one of the most underrated anime of 2020, and you should go and watch it right now. This anime aired simultaneously as some of the most popular shows of 2020, like Re: Zero season 2, Rent-a-Girlfriend, and Fire Force season 2, so it got heavily overshadowed.
Many anime fans dropped Deca-Dence after just watching the first episode. This is because Deca-Dence had a very stale and cliché start. However, the anime develops into something quite exciting and philosophical after a few episodes.
Since Deca-Dence is an original anime, it didn’t receive much hype when it was first announced. And most of the promotion for this anime died off because of the cliché first episode. This anime deserves a lot of appreciation from the anime community as it gives us a new and interesting story with incredible visuals and brilliant execution.
Deca-Dence is a must-watch original anime by animation studio Nut! Unlike most other original anime, Deca-Dence has a lot of potential, and every anime fan needs to give it a try. Considering its remarkable story and animation, I’d give this show a rating of 8/10. Deca-Dence is a pretty short anime so that anyone can binge-watch the entire thing in a single go.
