Humanity Has Declined Review (Anime)
Humanity Has Declined may have a bleak title but it’s anything but – it’s a fun, colourful look at a world that’s moving on despite the steady decrease in birth rates.
I wasn’t entirely certain what I was getting myself into when I popped Humanity Has Declined into the disc drive and whilst it certainly has some funny moments, it fell flat for me overall.. Following the Watashi, the main character who acts as a mediator between the humans and fairies, it explores humanity’s efforts to survive after numbers in childbirth keep decreasing. Watashi is friends with fairies who, in the first episode, are able to help with a food crisis by having food produced quickly but it’s unknown why they wish to help other than that they love to have fun. It may sound like a heavy subject but it’s upbeat, colourful and crazy moments slap anything serious away, with headless skinned chickens trying to take over (also in the first episode). With shows like this I’d already be ‘nah, this isn’t for me’ and that’s what it ended up being. I don’t better understand how Humanity Has Declined became so popular, and it managed to achieve very little.
I can’t say I hugely enjoyed the cast or plots, although the fairies are adorable and Watashi is clever and respectable, but the decline in humanity has very little to do with the show. The first episode or so may have revolved around a lack of food and although the talking headless chickens brought me out of the show, it still had a plotline that revolved around humanity’s struggle to survive. The next two episodes then focus on creating manga and, well, has very little to do with anything and wasn’t a funny enough joke to last 50 minutes (Each episode is roughly 25 minutes total). I lost interest more as the show went on and Humanity Has Declined would have fared far better had each episode been 8-12 minutes long as it relies on humour alone and there simply isn’t enough of it. Humanity Has Declined may touch on some serious subjects but it does very little to present them in a way that has meaning.
If anything, I can’t fault the gorgeous palette colours that are prominent in the show and I’d like to say it contrasts well with the story, but sadly there’s not enough story to allow contrast. Instead, I’ll say it’s colourful and a joy to watch, and it’s the main reason I continued to watch the show despite becoming less enamoured with it as it continued. I like the character design but it’s the fairies that I find to be unbearably adorable, even if they do only have one expression no matter what emotion they’re feeling! If anything, the world is in ruins as you’d expect after not being maintained by humans and overtaken by other species, and it’s a reminder that the human race really is in decline.
There’s no English Dub here but that may be for the best considering how strange the dialogue can be. I enjoyed the Japanese voiceover and felt that Watashi’s disinterested voice captures her character well and does a better job in showing that times are hard than the story itself does. The others characters are well reflected too, and thankfully I have no issue with the voice work. The OST, particularly the beautiful and catchy OP (which could very well be a favourite of mine visually too), compliments the visuals in that its upbeat and cheerful, providing pleasant tunes that may not be nearly as powerful as the visuals but does a satisfactory job. The ED isn’t half bad either, but that OP is downright great.
I wish I had more positive things to say about Humanity Has Declined and whilst I certainly found enjoyment in some of the scenes and characters, overall I felt that this was an anime where the humour rarely found a home with me and that humanity’s decline played very little in creating a story – sure, it’s a point that is brought up and focused on at times, but overall it’s unnecessary and that the show even bothers trying to make the topic a thing may be the biggest joke present. Should you watch Humanity Has Declined? Yes, but only because you might enjoy it. If you’re on the fence then I’m going to advise you to jump over to the ‘no buy’ side unless you wish to experience something that lasts several hours when it should’ve lasted only several minutes.
- Super Mario Odyssey Celebrates its One Year Anniversary - October 28, 2018
- Dragon Ball Z KAI Final Chapters Review (Anime) - October 28, 2018
- Resident Evil 2 Remake Gets a Steelbook Edition in Europe - October 24, 2018
