DEAD DEAD DEMON'S DEDEDEDE DESTRUCTION (Deddo Deddo Demonzu Dededededesutorakushun), by Inio Asano. First published in 2014 and first published in North America in 2018.
PLOT:
Three years ago, a giant flying saucer appeared over Tokyo, destroying buildings and killing hundreds. The conflict has come to a standstill, and as the government debates how to handle the menace others simply try to live out their lives. That's certainly true for Kadode and her best friend Oran. As they deal with friendships, exams, and awkward crushes on teachers, they wonder if there's any point to it all.
I swear, I keep trying and trying with Inio Asano. I know how well-acclaimed they are and I want to see what others see in it, but the cold detachment he brings to this work (and pretty much everything else he's ever written) keeps me from connecting with it in any sort of meaningful fashion.
I know that this feeling is part of the point of this series. Kadode and Oran are meant to feel detached from the world, whether it's those who are gung-ho about fighting aliens or those who try a little too hard to pretend that it's not happening. That's on top of the uncertainty that usually comes with the end of high school, where the world expects you have figured things out and prepared to leave childish things behind, whether that's actually true or not. Connecting that thematically to the invasion subplot works incredibly well thematically.
I also like the way he writes Kadode and Oran, along with the rest of the girls in their social circle. Instead of being cutesy and moe, they're kind of weird and shitty to one another. Some of them cultivate purposeful personas to get attention, others like Kadode mostly hope to coast through the world unnoticed. Yet there's still a sense of deep friendship beneath, even if most of them would be loathe to say it out loud. There are some relationships here that deserve a bit of side-eye (namely the one between Kadode and her homeroom teacher, which doesn't cross the line into romance but is a little too close for comfort), but it's a humanizing touch in an unreal situation.
Yet I feel like there's something holding me back from full immersing myself in this world. It's like the very air of detachment and irony it cultivates becomes a glass wall, holding me back from getting too close. It's unfortunate because I can recognize the good things Asano is going here as a writer, but the emotional distance makes it hard to truly care.
ART:
There's a weird yet purposeful disconnect her between the character designs. Asano's never been shy about the fact that he rotoscopes his backgrounds (although he also adds a lot more detail to those images), but he positively goes crazy with it here. It does work as far as giving the reader a sense that this is taking place in modern-day Tokyo in an ordinary sort of neighborhood. I also suspect he did something similar for the flying saucers themselves. The main one looks like an upside-down city; the smaller ones like overgrown satellite dishes.
This is in contrast to the characters, most of which look like something that could have stepped off the pages of something like Hidamari Sketch. It's hard to believe that these girls are meant to be high schoolers when they have squishy mochi heads, beady little eyes, and are half the height of the adults around them. It is a little weird to see this style of character design outside of more inane or fanservice-driven works. I suspect that this is meant to visually communicate their immaturity, considering the adults look perfectly normal (at least compared to other Asano works).
RATING:
Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destruction is thematically complex and artistically intriguing, but its cold ironic tone is just as likely to alienate readers as it is to draw them in.
This series is published by Viz. This series is ongoing in Japan with 7 volumes available. 3 volumes have been published and are currently in print.
Want a chance to win a $25 RightStuf gift certificate? Then check out our Holiday Review Giveaway to learn how to enter!
Yet I feel like there's something holding me back from full immersing myself in this world. It's like the very air of detachment and irony it cultivates becomes a glass wall, holding me back from getting too close. It's unfortunate because I can recognize the good things Asano is going here as a writer, but the emotional distance makes it hard to truly care.
ART:
There's a weird yet purposeful disconnect her between the character designs. Asano's never been shy about the fact that he rotoscopes his backgrounds (although he also adds a lot more detail to those images), but he positively goes crazy with it here. It does work as far as giving the reader a sense that this is taking place in modern-day Tokyo in an ordinary sort of neighborhood. I also suspect he did something similar for the flying saucers themselves. The main one looks like an upside-down city; the smaller ones like overgrown satellite dishes.
This is in contrast to the characters, most of which look like something that could have stepped off the pages of something like Hidamari Sketch. It's hard to believe that these girls are meant to be high schoolers when they have squishy mochi heads, beady little eyes, and are half the height of the adults around them. It is a little weird to see this style of character design outside of more inane or fanservice-driven works. I suspect that this is meant to visually communicate their immaturity, considering the adults look perfectly normal (at least compared to other Asano works).
RATING:
Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destruction is thematically complex and artistically intriguing, but its cold ironic tone is just as likely to alienate readers as it is to draw them in.
This series is published by Viz. This series is ongoing in Japan with 7 volumes available. 3 volumes have been published and are currently in print.
Want a chance to win a $25 RightStuf gift certificate? Then check out our Holiday Review Giveaway to learn how to enter!
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