This review on decadence contains spoilers. If you haven’t seen the chapter, we recommend that you do it and then come back to read the review.
Chapter 7: “Drive Shaft”
In this new installment of decadenceKaburagi returns with his new avatar and is surprised by a siege of the “tanker” area. After the “Gadolls” and the massacre are contained, he meets with Minato and realizes that this is a way to eradicate the excess population of humans. In the meantime, Natsume takes the initiative and asks for help to plug the hole the monsters have created. The answer is initially negative, but you will eventually support it.
Eventually, Kaburagi makes a decision and approaches Natsume with an excuse to be sent by his master. Thanks to Pipe’s reaction, the young woman trusts him and acknowledges the inner despair she is feeling. Back at the correctional facility, Kaburagi invites Donatello to destroy the “Gadolls” factory.
Analysis: from the idea to the action
This week in decadenceWe discover that it was Minato who prevented our protagonist Cyborg from being scrapped. The ambiguous character gains a relevant nuance in the plot due to his special relationship with Kaburagi and his insistence on protecting him. Other important scenes are those related to Natsume’s personal growth, his relationship with other “tankers” and, most importantly, the journey we make through tears to the complexity of his soul.
Natsume’s tears are indeed tears that catch fire. And if one breakthrough in the plot needs to be highlighted, it is Kaburagi’s outburst of anger. During six episodes, he has raised himself from vital abandonment to questions that have hurt him so much that he has found the answer and ultimately the courage to turn ideas into action. When mistakes are necessary, change must be initiated, a revolution that ensures its continuity.
Natsume and the people
In this chapter the attention decadence It gives tankers a special meaning, both on a social and an individual level.
The focus on Natsume gives us a richer dimension of character. It is not just a positive burst of energy, the perception that others have of it is neither that which it has in the background nor the reality. Interacting with Kaburagi is key to understanding that efforts to improve will consume her while accepting that she must keep fighting the “Gadolls” even when there is no hope.
On the other hand, the characterization of humans is very rich in aesthetics and personality. decadence She knows how to incorporate her friend Fei’s pessimism, Kurenai’s heroism, and the social environment into some dialogues. This environment combines fear and selfishness with the pursuit of survival, the need to improve together. The change in attitude and the autonomy of the tankers to protect themselves and repair the hole is a symptom of something bigger that may be to come.
Kaburagi and the sources of a revolution
Our protagonist Cyborg has found an answer to a whole journey of personal maturation and discovery of his inner truth. It is no longer enough to postulate a martyrs’ uprising in front of the system; it is the beginning of a challenge, a revolution. If the mistake is necessary, you have to fight for it.
Furthermore, the future that the plot throws up builds common bridges between humans and discarded cyborgs, a common encounter before the same enemy. One of the most interesting points about the series, in my opinion, is the humanization of cyborg society and its separation between the oppressor and the oppressed.
Finally
decadence continues to show up in very few chapters and dialogues about the development of characters who are far from being Manichean and are drawn in gray with a few master strokes. Although the concept contains some clichés and stereotypes, the key to keeping us interested is not in what, but in how.
The series is not intended as superficial entertainment, it is enriched by its background and has a message.
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