Anime Review | Humanity Has Declined (Lights, Camera, Action!) Page 1

Anime Review | Humanity Has Declined (Lights, Camera, Action!)

Humanity Has Declined: Complete Collection (UK Rating: 12)

Humanity has Declined is a post-apocalyptic series, yet it's certainly not in the usual vein of dystopian futures filled with wastelands, darkness, and death. This dystopian future is instead filled with picturesque, peaceful farmlands and humans living side by side with fairies - tiny creatures with great magical power that love sweets and fun. The series follows a young nameless heroine - referred to as "Watashi," Japanese for "Me" or "I" - who acts as a UN mediator between humanity and the fairies. This complete collection contains all twelve episodes, along with six bonus short episodes, clean opening and closing, and some trailers and a compacted story digest. Due out on 4th April in the UK via Manga Entertainment, Cubed3's Lights, Camera, Action! reveals all…

The presentation of the series is beautiful. The warm and rich pastel tones, paired with a pleasant soundtrack, craft an idyllic rural world. Combined with the always smiling cute fairies, and the country charm of the human villages, a whimsical and warm style radiates, making it seem like it will be a light-hearted fairytale. This belies the truth of the series, as it is infused with smart social commentary on the state of humanity and filled with some truly dark humour throughout. Each of the characters perfectly captures this strange duality - Watashi, especially, seems to be kind and caring, but her inner monologues portray a more cynical and selfish truth. The fairies, too, are hardly what they seem. They may be permanently stuck with massive smiles and frolic around, but when they talk, it's a stark difference - promising death and destruction to humanity if fairies are not around, discussing death and suicide, and other such morose topics… all with a squeaky voice and a great big smile.

Watashi's mission is never really much explained, and, instead, the story follows her as she tries to help humanity live day to day and repeatedly finds herself embroiled in some completely insane situations thanks to the fairies. Watashi says it best with, "Common sense goes out of the window when fairies are involved." The surreal and fantastical humour of the series is truly a highpoint, with some baffling and funny moments. There are skinless and headless chickens with rather fowl - sorry… - mouths that plot to exterminate what there is left of humanity and build a new society on its remains. Also, there are episodes where the characters get so obsessed with writing Yaoi manga that they end up stuck inside a blank manuscript. Time Paradogs - their pun… - which cause Groundhog Day-like time loops; sentient transforming robots that battle against slimes and fairies… It's hard to even begin to explain the madness of the show considering the wide range of stories told across its duration.

Across the course of the 13 episodes, each story that is told is very much a standalone tale. Each story may be a single- or two-episode arc, but often there are characters and situations that are never seen or referenced again. This standalone nature is further emphasised by the fact the series is chronologically out of order, with the final three episodes actually serving more as the introduction to the series yet, strangely, it works. The world and the premise are quickly established and each episode is enjoyable independently. The most key thing here is that the comedy hits the mark consistently.

There are some occasions where the comedy falls flat, though, often due to cultural jokes that simply do not translate well, but thanks to some great localisation work on the translations and editor notes, these are few and far between.

7/10

Very Good - Bronze Award

For fans of the quirky and unique, like FLCL (Fooly Cooly), this is something that has to be seen to be believed. Humanity Has Declined is a superbly surreal, eccentric, and unique series that manages to juggle charming aesthetics with smart satire and genuinely hilarious slapstick moments.