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Warning: Contains spoilers for Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destruction.One of the most notable anime of 2024 was undoubtedly Production +h.’s Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction. Not only was the legendary manga by Goodnight Punpun’s Inio Asano finally getting animated, but in a surprise turn of events, the film duology it was initially advertised as was broken up into a two-cour anime for viewing on Crunchyroll, making for a great addition to the spring and summer anime seasons.
Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction was an excellent addition to Crunchyroll’s library, but unfortunately, few people would agree with that sentiment. While there was plenty of excitement for the anime in its initial announcement, it soon fell to the wayside for multiple reasons, so unfortunately, Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction , despite being one of the best anime of 2024, was one of the most underrated and ignored anime of 2024, as well. It’s unfortunate that it didn’t get much attention during its run, but with the entire series available on Crunchyroll, there’s no reason why someone shouldn’t pick it up.
Why Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction Was So Underrated In 2024
Why No One Was Watching Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destruction
Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction was undeniably underrated, and there are a few reasons why that happened. For starters, Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction premiered near the end of May just a few days after it was announced, meaning people already had plenty of anime they were watching in the spring by the time it premiered, and Crunchyroll also gave it very little advertising after the initial announcement. Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction was ignored at least partially because of poor advertising and unreasonably tough competition, and it’s hardly the first time something like that has happened with an anime.
Another problem was the anime’s time slot. Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction released new episodes at 11:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (EST), a time when most people would be sleeping, and with the general lack of advertising, it was too hard for most people to even remember that it was airing. That likely wasn’t Crunchyroll’s fault, as they release anime relative to when they air in Japan, but it doesn’t change the fact that Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction had trouble building an audience because it aired far too late at night for people to watch it.
The biggest issue the anime faced, however, was with its subtitles and overall translation. Not only did the English dub make blatant changes to the script that often bordered on mistranslations, but for some reason, the subtitles for the Japanese dub defaulted to the English dub, despite the timing and dialogue rarely ever matching and text and background dialogue never being translated. Crunchyroll eventually fixed Dead Dead Demon’s subtitles, but by that point, it was too late, and Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction ’s terrible subtitles became the biggest turnoff for prospective fans.
Ocean Group, the company that owns the distribution rights to Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destruction , denies having any involvement with the subtitle error.
Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction’s Presentation As An Anime Can’t Be Matched
One Of Crunchyroll's Best-Directed Anime Of 2024
As underrated as Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction was, there are plenty of reasons why someone should give it a chance. For starters, while it’s not the flashiest anime to watch from a visual standpoint, Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction always had creative and overall great animation for both its action scenes and its slice-of-life moments, something that was perfectly complemented by Inio Asano’s unique and expressive character designs. Series director Tomoyuki Kurokawa doesn’t have that extensive a history with directing anime, but he did a perfect job bringing the story to life, nonetheless.
The writing, of course, was the biggest reason to watch the anime. Much like Inio Asano’s Goodnight Punpun, Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction is a hauntingly dark story focused not just on war and violence, but the tragedies people face in everyday life, with the bullying and eventual suicide one character goes through being disturbingly realistic and a major driving force of the plot. Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction always succeeds at pulling off a dark and mature narrative, and as unsettling as it might be at times, it’s nonetheless great to watch because of it.
As dark as the story can get, of course, the lighthearted elements are what makes it work so well. The main hook to the anime is how the darker story is largely kept to the background while the main focus in on the slice-of-life antics of the main cast, and thankfully, the contrast between Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction ’s disparaging narratives enhances the quality of each one with how much they emphasize each other’s strengths. Few stories are great at balancing disparaging tones, but Dead Dead Demon’s is perfect at it and is plenty worth watching because of it.
Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction Is Political Satire At Its Finest
Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destruction Has Some Of The Best Political Satire In Anime
Another part of what makes the writing in Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction so great is its cutting political satire. Not only is the alien invasion plot used as a clear metaphor for immigration and the often nonsensical hatred people have for illegal immigrants, but as the humans and aliens fight, Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction repeatedly makes blatant, thought-provoking statements about war and how radicalization can cause damage to people on both sides of a conflict. It’s incredibly poignant, especially for a series that often devotes its runtime to largely absurdist humor and dialogue.
The way the series satirizes governments is also great to watch. The actions of the government are a major part of the plot, and in addition to their general incompetence, the series is always upfront about depicting governments as being largely self-serving and disinterested in helping people if it’s inconvenient, and it’s to the point that the Japanese government in Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction leaves Earth behind to be destroyed in what’s essentially nuclear fallout while still trying to be in charge from a safe distance.
The best satire, however, comes from the main villain of the series, Kohiruimaki. With Kohiruimaki, the series shows the dangers of sensationalism and propaganda as the alternative news about the aliens slowly twists Kohiruimaki from a mild-mannered person into a spiteful terrorist willing to let countless people die if it means having a chance of taking control of the government. Overall, Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction has some of the best political satire and commentary of any story in recent years, and it’s almost worth watching just for that.
Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction’s Major Theme Ties Everything In The Anime Together
The Final Piece Of What Makes Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destruction So Good
Above all else, what makes Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction so great is how it handles its major theme of human connections. The worst things in the plot happen because of people who are only thinking of themselves, whether that’s the government, Kohiruimaki, or even Kadode in the flashback arc, and it’s only thanks to people motivated solely by a desire to help others that there ends up being a happy ending. Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction uses its darker plotting to emphasize the importance of human connections, and as simple as that is, the execution is highly affective here.
Overall, there’s very little to not love about Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction. Between its great visuals, stellar political satire, and how great a job it does of balancing light and dark tones, Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction excels in virtually every category an anime can be expected to succeed in, and its only problems were completely out of its control. There’s never been an anime quite like Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction in the best of ways, and it’s the kind of show everyone should give a chance if they have the time.
Source: Anime News Network.
Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destruction explores the lives of high school girls Koyama Kadode and Nakagawa Ouran amidst an ongoing alien presence over Tokyo. While a war unfolds, the film delves into themes of human nature, dialogue, and adolescence, rather than focusing solely on the invasion.
Release Date March 22, 2024
Runtime 120 minutes
Main Genre Sci-Fi
Cast ano , Lilas Ikuta , Atsumi Tanezaki , Miyuri Shimabukuro , Saeko Oki , Azumi Waki , Ryoko Shiraishi , Miyu Irino , Koki Uchiyama , Taito Ban , Junichi Suwabe , Kenjiro Tsuda , Tomokazu Sugita , TARAKO
Character(s) Ouran "Ontan" Nakagawa (voice) , Kadode Koyama (voice) , Kiho Kurihara (voice) , Ai Demoto (voice) , Rin Hirama (voice) , Futaba Takemoto (voice) , Makoto Tainuma (voice) , Keita Ōba (voice) , Kenichi Kohiruimaki (voice) , Naoki Watarase (voice) , Hiroshi Nakagawa (voice) , Nobuo Koyama (voice) , Isobeyan (voice) , Debeko (voice)
Director Tomoyuki Kurokawa
Writers Reiko Yoshida
Studio(s) Production +h.
English (US) ·