Is Deca-Dence worth watching? A Complete Review

Deca-Dence (Dekadansu) is based on a post-apocalyptic alien invasion that has driven humanity to the edge of being eradicated off the face of the earth.

It is an original anime television series produced and animated by NUT. The series premiered on July 8, 2020.

The show focuses on a plot in which an unknown life form called the Gadolls has wiped out the majority of the human race and the few that have survived now live in a 3000m-high mobile fortress.

1. Quick Review

Deca-Dence is set in an alien invaded post-apocalyptic world where most of humanity has been wiped out by the Gadoll, unknown life forms that appeared out of nowhere.

People now live within Deca-Dence, an enormous mobile fortress 3,000 meters in the air.

Those who live inside Deca-Dence are separated into two categories: Tankers, who do work within the fortress, and Gears, who are similar to soldiers and fight the Gadoll.

In the past, the main character Natsume lost both – her right arm and her father to a Gadoll attack.

She wants to join the Gears, so she can fight the monsters but her prosthetic arm makes it hard for her to do and she is forced into a more behind-the-scenes job in armor repair.

Natsume’s boss is Kaburagi, a veteran repairman with a short-temper. Through episode 2 of the show, we learn why the characters in the series insist that a Tanker can never be a Gear.

The creators throw a major plot twist our way and the reason is beyond anything you can imagine.

There is a huge shift of perspective that makes the viewers re-evaluate many of the conversations and ideas that they thought they’d understood in the first episode.

This twist in the story is a bombshell of a surprise for the audience but Deca-Dence pulls it off like clockwork and forces the audience to realize the impact this new information now has on their understanding of the show.

2. Info Card

3. Is It Worth Watching?

Deca-Dence is a must-watch if you are interested in the sci-fi genre. The show is an original story with an interesting plot. If you think you had the show figured out after watching the first episode, think again.

DECA-DENCE | Official Teaser Trailer

The second episode of Deca-Dence is a reality-altering shift in the storyline that will make you do a double-take.

The series is full of highlights with the drama unfolding in a world that is larger than life, not to mention the fights against gigantic dinosaur-like alien creatures and a colossal mobile fortress.

I. Plot

Many years have passed since humanity was driven to near extinction by the sudden appearance of unknown life forms called Gadoll.

The survivors of the human race now reside in a 3000m-high mobile fortress Deca-dence built to protect themselves from the alien threat.

The inhabitants of Deca-Dence fall into two categories: Gears, warriors who fight the Gadoll on a daily basis, and Tankers, those without the skills to fight.

A Tanker girl, Natsume, dreams of becoming a Gear warrior following her father’s death during a Gadoll attack but cannot do so because of her disability.

She is assigned to a maintenance team led by Kaburagi. We learn that Natsume’s boss is more than he appears. Kaburagi has a secret role in eliminating “bugs”, humans who threaten to disrupt Solid Quake’s operations.

We are made aware of a mind-boggling piece of information in episode 2 which explains why Kaburagi is working as the Solid Quake Company’s bug eliminator.

When Kaburagi discovers that Natsume is listed as dead in the company’s database, he realizes she is a bug and yet decides to keep her under observation while also offering to train her to fight.

II. Plot Twist

At the beginning of the show, we learn that people are born as either Gears or Tankers, with little chance of swapping roles. Tankers were consigned to a life of servitude for the good of the colony whereas Gears are warriors protecting the colony from the alien threat, Gadoll.

Now here’s the unbelievable twist: It turns out Tankers aren’t even human and simply take the form of humans for their own pleasure.

In other words, Deca-Dence is run by the Solid Quake corporation as a colossal entertainment facility in the continent called Eurasia in which digital beings can experience the adventure as human avatars.

Things are not what they seem for the Gears. They get their fun from the brutal battles in Deca-Dence, but they’re simply slaves to the machine that they’re trapped in outside of this world, and can only escape the inevitable fate of being scrapped by becoming a ranked fighter that others can look up to.

III. Characters

The protagonist in this series is Natsume, a high-spirited young girl with orange hair. In the past, Natsume had lost both her right arm and her father to a Gadoll attack.

She wants to join the Gears, Deca-Dence’s soldiers, so she can fight the monsters who took so much from her. Unfortunately, her prosthetic arm doesn’t make it easy, so Natsume is forced into a more behind-the-scenes job in armor repair.

Natsume’s boss at her dull job is Kaburagi, an armor repairman with a short-temper and pessimistic attitude.

In episode 2, we learn a lot more about Kaburagi and his role in Deca-Dence which is that he has been sent by Solid Quake to maintain the status quo in Deca-Dence by eliminating any existing bugs.

The two characters are extreme opposites of each other, with Natsume determinedly trying to achieve her dreams of making it into the Gears and Kaburagi insisting she should give up on them.

We learn that there is so much more to Kaburagi’s past than meets the eye as we delve further into the story.

IV. Setting

The whole series is set in a post-apocalyptic world where the survivors live in a 3000m-high mobile fortress to protect themselves from the Gadoll attacks.

 Parallelly, we are introduced to a company called Solid Quake which creates a giant dome on the Eurasian continent in which they installed a colossal entertainment facility, with its own independent all-governing system to make all decisions.

The action in the series is brutally violent and quick and doesn’t hold back on showing how gruesome the consequences are and makes the audience realize what kind of show this is.

V. Theme Songs

The opening theme song for the series is “Theater of Life” by Konomi Suzuki. The song makes you feel like you’re taking a big step forward in your life and sets the mood for the series ahead.

“Kioku no Hakobune” by Kashitarou Itou is the ending theme of the song. The song adds depth to the animation and is enjoyable until the very end.

4. Grade

5. Final Thoughts

Deca-Dence takes us on a journey of emotions with the characters. The series gives viewers a serious case of whiplash when they drop the most unpredicted plot twist which is another reason to keep your eye on the series.

Deca-Dence showcases colorful characters, remarkable settings and the animation is a visual pleasure to experience. There is never a dull moment in this show.