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Well, damn.
So, yeah… how… um, which episode is this? Fifth, right. Only fifth. Sorry, I just finished watching this and I am still trying to process what all– yeah.
Wait, this is highly unprofessional. I apologize. Allow me to start over.
deep breath
Hello, everyone! And welcome to my ramblings on the anime-sphere’s weekly crossover event. This week, we present to you Deca-Dence: Godzilla Edition!
Now, before we begin (and at the risk of sounding like a broken record), I just wanted to clarify one thing I mentioned while talking about Deca-Dence’s production last week. I called it arguably the best looking show of the year. And after watching this latest episode, I’d like to rephrase my words. For me personally, Deca-Dence is undeniably the best looking of the year. Because oh Blessed Buddha on a Bicycle, this just feels wrong. This is so so unfair to every other show airing in the current season where even surefire mega-hits like Re:Zero are facing difficulties in their production due to the pandemic. And then there’s this sakuga-fest of an anime which tops its own ridiculously high standards for finesse and polish in animation week after week. Seriously, the average amount of still frames used in this episode can rival many feature length movies and even though I do not think that this escalation in production quality can be maintained throughout the show’s entire run, a part of me actually wishes that it somehow does. Because boy, what a glorious series finale that will be.
That being said, this episode on its own did feel somewhat like a finale. I mean sure, there are still loose ends and a cliffhanger ending which has you dying to know about the fate of… a character, but the whole thing just had such a bookend feel to it. Like it was capping off the whole story not just an arc of a much grander story.
After last week’s setup, we start right at the cusp of the Final War against Gadoll Alpha. The gears have been split into teams and Natsume has paid no heed to Kaburagi’s warnings. She has joined the battle alongside his newfound comrades and instead of being nervy or scared of a fight that she doesn’t fully understand the scope of, Natsume is actually excited for it. This is what she’s waited for all her life. She can finally to prove to the world but mostly to herself that she’s got what it takes. Against all odds, she’d finally be able to become a warrior. Some other little girl like her would look up to her. They’ll talk about the glory of it all – the undying fighting spirit, the unflinching resolve that she and her brothers and sisters in arms will show out on the battlefield. The dead will be mourned but so long as they win, the sacrifices would have been well-worth it. So long as they win, there won’t be any need for more battles like these or more blood-soaked victories.
So long as they win.
By the time Natsume and her squad reach Gadoll Alpha, it has wiped out everything in its path. Lifeless bodies levitate in air. Blood doesn’t fall to the ground.
No one turns back.
‘So long as they win’.
Natsume charges the gadoll head-on because there’s a fine line between bravery and stupidity and our rage makes us forget on which side of the line we are. Before she knows it, she’s hurled to the side but is surprisingly unscathed. She soon realizes that it’s only because one of the soldiers from among the gears took her place instead. A life for a life. Sacrifices for victory.
Enraged, Natsume charges the gadoll again. This time with a calculated fury, dancing round its seams and dealing it what she feels is the death blow. But it’s not enough. The needle pierces its body but it heals itself. Now, it seems as if all hope may just be lost. Their adversary feels too strong, too immutable in its strength. But of course, as the saying goes: “Everybody gangsta till the real gangsta shows up”.
Kaburagi joins the battle firing on all cylinders. He rescues Natsume and tells her that it’s a pointless fight. They don’t stand a chance. He asks her to return back to Deca-Dence with him. But in her naïve optimism, she just wants to fight till she’s given it her all. Kaburagi laughs. Not at her but rather at how different she is from what he’s become. How full of hope. And he decides to do all it takes to protect that. He takes his limiter fully aware of the consequences he’ll have to face and the gadoll doesn’t really stand a chance then. It’s over in a flash.
And that’s when ugly godzila shows up! Now, I have to admit, I am a sucker for grotesque monster designs. That’s part of the reason why I love the Gantz manga so much. So, looking at a colossal CGI monstrosity with an extendable neck and multicolored ulcers protruding out of his body just warms my heart to the core. The fight against him is an absolute spectacle with the sound design especially carrying through the enormity of his strength. Kaburagi again paves the way to defeat him before the Deca-Dence sucker-puncher lands right on his face. And then, finally, the objective is complete. The mission is over. They won.
The fog lifts, the sun comes piercing through, Kaburagi bids Natsume his farewell and reality comes crashing down. More Gadolls appear in the distance from thin air. Natsume realizes that Kaburagi had been right all along. Everything was pointless from the start.
“Nothing ends, Adrian. Nothing ever ends.”
This is where the character introduction ends.
I feel this will be some Last Exile like show where the protagonist grows up.
Well, to be fair, Deca-Dence is so many things at once that I wouldn’t want to limit its potential by comparing it to any one single story. Though, yes. From here on out, it can very much turn into a story about Natsume’s coming-of-age as she learns to accept the cruel reality of this world.