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Humanity Has Declined
Anime Review
When we try to describe the feel of Humanity Has Declined, all we can come up with are a bunch of oxymorons, with "cheerfully depressing" topping the list. The series concerns a post-apocalyptic world where the last dregs of humanity are eking out a modest existence, making no apparent effort to rebuild human culture or even keep the species from completely dying out. And yet, as dismal as that sounds, the beautiful pastel art, fairytale conceits and often hysterical humor make it a fun, almost relentlessly pleasant show to watch. It's just too cute, pretty and enjoyable to ever be that much of a downer while you're actually watching it, but it gets disturbing the more you sit back and think about it.
 Our guide to the world of humanity in decline is simply called the Mediator, a pink-haired teen with a sharp mind and a dry wit. The Mediator works as a UN liaison to the fairies, the new populous species that has taken over now that the humans are no longer numerous. Of course, this UN isn't the UN you're thinking of; it seems to be a ghost of an organization run by a scant few people, most notably the Mediator's grandfather. In short, humanity has fallen so far that even the UN is a backwoods, Mom-and- Pop organization now. All the Mediator has for support, aside from the fairies of course, is a mute, but loyal boy simply called Assistant, and an eccentric friend named Y who traded in common sense for enthusiasm a long time ago.
Most of the series concerns itself with the Mediators' interaction with the fairies, or the "new humanity:" tiny, adorable creatures with seemingly limitless technological and/or magical power (it's hard to tell which), constant ear-to-ear grins, and the collective attention span of a gnat. One of the series' more obvious bits of symbolism is that we-us, the real humans at home, watching the show-are becoming increasingly like the fairies as time goes on. While frighteningly powerful, the fairies nihilistically pursue sugar highs, seem to lack the ability to contextualize information and continually try to copy the last relics of human society; a superior culture they can appreciate to some extent but never really understand. They communicate in (often hilarious) non-sequiturs, not unlike the experience you sometimes get when you load up Twitter-which probably isn't coincidental.
 A lot of the joy of the show comes from watching the unflappable Mediator at work- she may not have a first name, but she can roll with the punches with the best of them. The Mediator may represent the best the "old humanity" has to offer: she's smart, moral, and even has an attention span longer than three seconds. However, even she is far too apathetic to do anything about humanity's decline; no one, including the main character, seems to think that humanity can be salvaged, or that it's even worth trying.
The fact that Humanity Had Declined features social commentary is obvious, but it's hard to tell how deep the show really is. For example, the entire story is shown out of order, starting with the Mediator fairly well established in her position and only later showing her days at school as a child. Is that meant to represent that time ceases to have meaning in a world where humanity has no purpose, or was it just to add to the already off-kilter tone of the show?
 Furthermore, there's a marked interest in same-sex relationships; a whole storyarc deals with yaoi, or boy-on-boy comics, and the Mediator herself is the target of another girl's obsessive crush. Is the show just satirizing the interest in yaoi and yuri subcultures within anime and manga fandom, or is the subject matter specifically homosexual in nature because humanity at this point is only interested in non-reproductive sex, since they have no interest in replacing themselves? And why are so many characters known by their titles instead of names; to add a sense of mystery, or to show a decline in individuality? We'll probably never know.
At its best, the show achieves a gleefully absurd, yet bitingly satirical vibe on a par with Douglas Adam's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but those moments are admittedly few. More often, the show reaches for moments of genuine poignancy scattered throughout casual absurdity, and sometimes succeeds. That said, it doesn't make the best of its 12-episode run time; the show has an annoying habit of doing in two episodes what probably could've been handled in one tightly-written episode. We also wish the show had revealed what triggered humanity's decline in this world, but that was probably left vague for a reason. This way, you can pick your favorite apocalyptic scenario (nuclear holocaust, disease, natural disaster, etc.) and fill in the blank.
 At the end of the day, we're not sure what to make of Humanity Has Declined. It's smart, polished and often funny, but should we be sad that it's over because we'll miss the fairies amusing exploits, or relieved to be free of its weekly dose of existential crisis? It's hard to say, but if nothing else, it's quite unlike anything else, and worth seeing for that alone.
Humanity Has Declined is currently available streaming on Crunchyroll; hurry up and watch it now before humanity declines to the point that we forget how to maintain the internet.
Reviewed by Karen Gellender, November 2012
Below: Scenes from Humanity Has Declined.
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