Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: Deca-Dence
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Ajc228
Posts: 265 |
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So is this all a game and the other humans are just part of the program? Or are the robots just controlling human avatars in a real environment. I’m confused.
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AholePony
 Posts: 330 Location: Arizona |
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There's definitely a money aspect. That green stuff cost money and it looks like it gets you high or whatever. I think the "fighters" do what they do to earn more $ for playing a game, like an esports pro.
Also I understood the info dump at the beginning to mean that this game was like a full mmo where you can just live in Deca Dence and run a shop or whatever on the upper floor, you don't have to be a bug fighter. Other than spies like Kabursgi and the rare human fighter I bet humans never cross paths with the avatars on the upper floor. That would make it more believable that they have no idea what's going on. |
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a20032004
Posts: 2 |
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Did people miss the not a virtual world bit. It is pretty clear the game is just that evilcorp method to control their robo populus and codify cheating = death. Sure its got a leaderboard and scores and is technically a game but they are also producing a valuable good and are not really free to break away from the system in any way lest they be "recycled".
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Brack
 Posts: 281 Location: UK |
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And it's hinted in the very first scene that the heybot people are physically real, as Natsume's father and his mates find a dead one and a badge with the corporation's logo on it.
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 23873 |
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I'm not sure how I feel about the heybot angle. On the one hand, I admire the audacity of it, but on the other - at least right now - it's not really additive to me. In fact, it's sort of blunted some of the enthusiasm I had for the show after the first episode. Maybe I'll come to appreciate it more as the show goes on.
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11419 |
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See, now maybe it would be less confusing if the Heybots were animated the same way as the dead one the humans found. When we only see them as 2D cartoons when they're alive, it gives the impression that they're digital or something. And that difference in presentation is still confusing me, because I can't tell if it's meaningful or just an artistic choice. |
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JGZinv
 Posts: 13 |
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I dredged up my login after years just to add that was an enjoyable review that inspires more viewing of the subject material. A nice change of pace from many negative seasonal reviews. Bravo Christopher.
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DangerMouse
Posts: 3984 |
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Yeah, it's an interesting twist, I'm curious to see where they go with all this.
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Covnam
 Posts: 3694 |
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So I guess the whole "Gadoll destroyed humanity" thing is just a bunch of nonsense made up to explain the current situation to the (supposedly) remaining humans and keep them from trying to do too much about it.
It's interesting that since the command crew (presumably none of which are human) do not know about the composition of the attacking Gadoll force until they attack, then it's likely the Gadoll are organically or randomly spawning as opposed to being a set game mechanic.
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Agent355
 Posts: 5113 Location: Crackberry in hand, thumbs at the ready... |
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On the one hand, I agree that Fei’s concern for Natsume comes across as paternalistic Ableism, on the other, Natsume is very much risking her life in a situation where she is not aware of the full context or the stakes. I can’t help but feel that Kaburagi is taking advantage of her. Don’t get me wrong; I love both characters and their dynamic relationship. But! He (probably) doesn’t feel pain from his “avatar’s” experiences. His life isn’t at risk in Gadoll battles (it’s at risk for defying the Corporation, but that’s a different type of risk). Natsume is in more physical danger than Kaburagi and other Gears, and he knows that and why, but can’t tell her any of it.
Natsume wants to be a warrior, but if she knew who the real villains were, how would she choose to fight? I’m sure we’ll get there, but right now it lends to an uneasy power/information dynamic. The difference between this and say, Gurren Lagan or Attack on Titan is in those shows it was the villains/antagonists, not the fellow main characters, withholding world changing information from the hero. |
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meiam
Posts: 3442 |
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I'm a bit disappointed in Natsume arm turning into a super weapon, it changed it from something she has to overcome to something that's actually good for her. In the end she didn't overcome her problem with the switch, either trough hard work or trough a change in the design she personally made, she overcame it trough buying something (I'm guessing were not supposed to think of it that way in the scathing capitalism critic).
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Ajc228
Posts: 265 |
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I kinda took Natsume turning her arm into a more efficient means of combatting the Gadoll as taking something people look down on you for and wearing it like armor. It’s adapting to something you can’t control and using it to your best advantage. I think it’s quite a powerful message. |
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meiam
Posts: 3442 |
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Since all she had to do was buy a better version of the arm, it's very much something she can control. If anything it's the people who don't have a mechanical arm that are at a disadvantaged compare to her now, and they can't just pop into a store to get a better arm (well I guess they could cut their own arm, but yeww). |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11419 |
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^ It's no different from an athlete swapping out a normal prosthetic leg for the springy curved metal type specialized for runners. It's not cheating or taking a short-cut over hard work to do so, and if you think it is, I defy you to say that to their face.
I'm still in the dark about what Kaburagi, et al, are when interacting with humans. If he normally looks like the piece her father's team found in the dig site, what is he with Natsume? Is he off in his cubicle controlling an avatar? Why does no one notice Pipe just because it's wearing a coat? Have we seen any other lifeforms on the ship besides humans and Gears? Has there been so much as a rat or cockroach scurrying in the darkness of the lower levels? |
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meiam
Posts: 3442 |
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It will be soon. The technology isn't up there yet, but eventually we'll reach a point where the prosthetic are going to be better (lighter, more spring back). Prosthetic also have the big advantage of being much lighter than limbs, so a runner with prosthetic need less energy to move his/her body across the same distance. Soon enough an athlete using the razor prosthetic will be able to get better results using less effort (both training and physical) than a fully able person. That's not really a problem though since they're not competing in the same competition. Ultimately, if they were competing in the same competition, the final would be just athlete with prosthetic and whether or not people will consider it cheating will be up to everyone. But I think most people would find that uninteresting and would be calling for a separation, for the same reason that man and woman compete separately since otherwise almost every final would be exclusively male, and not because male work harder than woman. To relate it back to the show, her hand doesn't just mimic a human hand, it also serves as a weapon. That's a clear advantages over a regular hand that cannot be surmounted in any way except by chopping off the arm and getting a prosthetic yourself. But anyway, my point was more than in this show that's clearly trying to be a critic of capitalism, the hero easily surmounted their problem by buying something, ie pure capitalism, and I don't think the show realized that. For episode 4, I don't really understand the system anymore. It seems like the show is alternating between this being a game that player (alien) participate in and this being a show for viewer. Are they about to wipe out almost all of their user base? What kind of stupid company would do that? If all of the player are employee (that they'll just fire for the event), why do employee care about buying skin and such in the shop? I guess we can look at it as some sort of hybrid system, with both player and employee, but then wiping out the employee (and few tanker) isn't going to make much an impact if the vast majority of gear (player) just re spawn right after. |
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