Tags
Daedalus, Humanity has Declined, Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita, Jintai, labyrinth, maze, Sensei, Watashi, Y
One of the key things that I’m fascinated with whenever I watch Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita or Jintai is the myriad of mazes. I like how each arc has its own labyrinth which imaginatively and blatantly features the whimsical yet cynical premise of the series. It’s interesting because these passages are subconsciously inviting and leading us to a strange and avant-garde world—kind of like Alice in Wonderland but less the emphasis of the rabbit hole and with no checkers.
It was believed that the figurative meaning of the labyrinth elicits the idea of an inner journey through the confounding and conflicting pathways of the mind until the seeker achieves his or her destination. But worse comes to worst, the seeker could end up being lost inside the maze. Say for instance in Jintai, every passage unfolds different kinds of mysteries and unlocks disrupting realities of the post-apocalyptic future.
Further, when we talk about mazes, it always reminds me of Daedalus’ myth. He craftily built a labyrinth that he himself could barely escape. In a lot of occasions, Watashi and the side characters were brought into situations wherein they don’t know their way out. As we had seen, the employees of the FairyCo. “trapped” themselves inside this candy coloured factory and ignored how sinister it is. They even work for an employer whom they don’t know so no wonder why humanity is declining.
Another example is that the characters were brought by the fairies into the odd world of manga panels wherein they have to maintain their popularity otherwise they would be doomed. In this arc, I truly enjoyed Y’s character and hypocrisy because she’s so desperate to exist that she’d do anything just to be recognized. I like as well how the panels we’re literally and allegorically presented—a manga is being read linearly but its approach is so multi-dimensional—as signified by the backgrounds, random doors, tunnels and how the Assistant’s drawings came into life.
Also, the manga setting gave me the impression that the characters were in limbo (white) and heading towards to the underworld (black). Come to think of it, a maze in Ancient Egypt was symbolized as the path through the underworld.
Thus, I think as the title conveys—humanity has declined—the recurring use of labyrinth as a setting visually implies that humans are bounded to be lost—even the recent episode once again showed that Watashi and her assistant got trapped in an underground maze-like structure. Whether the labyrinths represent the subconscious or the underworld, I believe that it’s a world without an exit for mankind. Now, it’s up to the fairies what kind of sardonic fate they would hand to humanity. And to be honest, I still don’t understand the true nature of these creepy little creatures which makes me feel like I’m in a maze as I watch this show.
Basically if you took a dungeon crawler RPG, like Megaman Legends, mashed it up with Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk-2’s world and added an adorable pink haired woman who enjoys mentally discussing how stupid everyone else around her is (Which they kind of are) and you get what I’d like to call “Rosa Sharapova in the Wacko Fairypocalypse Kingdom, or Fairy Factory.”
I’m loving this show for the quirky characters, meta-cational humor, random insanity and most of all, THE DIALOGUES!
It’s the reason why I’m also enjoying Joshiraku (Besides the girls’ cuteness), the dialogues.
This begs the question in my head, besides being a euphemist, are you also a landscape archaeologist, a psychologist or both? Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if a euphemist (You) and a conformist (Me) clashed?
I wish I play those games so I can add something more onto post.
Rosa Sharapova in the Wacko Fairypocalypse Kingdom, or Fairy Factory.
LOL. I also enjoy the dialogues of this show especially when Y said “I’m looking for more moe. I’m rotten to the core.” But I think, regardless of the nice and insane dialogues, the charm of this show lies mostly on its animation. Kind of like Madoka wherein I was surprised by the darkness that’s embedded in its vibrant colours.
besides being a euphemist, are you also a landscape archaeologist, a psychologist or both?
Haha, I wish I am but I’m not. I guess I’m just influenced by the people I’m with right now and maybe by the places that I just visited.
Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if a euphemist (You) and a conformist (Me) clashed?
Lol, OG. I guess my professor back then called me euphemist because I’m usually apathetic but I’m not also the person who just shuts my mouth and accepts things. If we’re going to clash… hmm that will be interesting. I usually enjoy to see the conformists freaking out. hahaha. joke
No worries. They’re niche games anyway and you’ve mentioned before that you aren’t much of a gamer.
You’re right about the show’s charm being its diverse settings, despite it taking place in a rather small countryside village which happens to hide post apocalyptic ruins.
I named the main protagonist, or I, Rosa Sharapova for several reasons.
1: She isn’t really given a name.
2: She has cotton candy pink hair, THAT I WANT TO SEE IN ACTION MORE OFTEN! I hope the hair doesn’t become a “never explained” plot point once the show ends.
3: Maria Sharapova is sexier than Anna Kournikova.
4: Nicknaming is another one of my hobbies.
I want to see more Y. Her dementedly brilliant.plan to rule the world with yaoi manga was pure genius. It’s either yaoi or shoujo. I couldn’t tell. I assumed it’s mainly yaoi.
Hmm, I’d say if we were to clash on something, it would probably be about a yuri show I really like and you don’t, Hmm, no. Maybe a show that’s generally disliked by any but I don’t see the harm in it. Let’s say we both watched Medaka Box. I happen to not be the least bit bothered by Medaka “Mary-Sue” esque character while you do everything in your power to convince me why Medaka is an absolute bore.
I don’t know, something like that. Because if it were to be a debate about a real world event, I don’t think I’d stand a chance against someone like you. Maybe it depends on the topic.
Same here… I’m curious why Watashi/Sensei doesn’t have a name. That very reason really make her mysterious. Her hair too is quite mysterious as well because she once thought that it was the hand of God. If you have seen the most recent episode *spoiler alert* she cut her hair. I wonder if it will grow back again fast.
Maria Sharapova is sexier than Anna Kournikova.
Lol so random! But yeah! To be honest, Maria Sharapova is one my long time crushes. ^^
I want to see more Y. Her dementedly brilliant.plan to rule the world with yaoi manga was pure genius. It’s either yaoi or shoujo. I couldn’t tell. I assumed it’s mainly yaoi.
I think Y mainly concerns with yaoi, It could’ve been much better if she’s promoting yuri.
I don’t know, something like that. Because if it were to be a debate about a real world event, I don’t think I’d stand a chance against someone like you. Maybe it depends on the topic.
Why think of other topic if we can mainly discuss about anime. I think our taste is fairly similar… yuri, slice-of-life, and comedy. ^^
Ah, this is a great element of the series to analyze. It’s a mad, nonsensical world we live in sometimes, and perhaps it’s best to try making sense of it all–not for the purpose of actually making sense of it all, but just to try to ground yourself to some degree. Humanity Has Declined has repeatedly thrown Sensei in bizarre situations, but she’s learned to just go with it–something that does remind me much of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (another excellent series of satirical episodics).
Perhaps there’s a bit of a Taoist theme to Humanity Has Declined regarding how everyone’s efforts ultimately prove fruitless. I’ll be curious to see if something more is done in this regard for Pion’s ambitions in this next episode.
Looking at the setting of the story really alludes me. Sometimes this element is underrated and ignore but the little things makes up big time if you’re going to question why you enjoy the show.
As for Jinrui, the vibrant colours together with its grim dark humour works well because it never fails to call for your attention. Some might be nonsense and some might be over sensical but that characteristics actually put the viewers into that Watashi’s bizarre world.
Relations to Taoism is a nice to theme explore. I can imagine that discussing more on the nature of the fairies and what they do. The side characters such as Pion are interesting but I’m more curious with the true characteristics of the fairies because I find them really mysterious and creepy.
Speaking of mazes, Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita actually seems a lot like those experiements that scientists used to do with mice by putting them in a maze with cheese at the end. Perhaps the fairies are just trying to learn more about the world around them by studying human behaviour. Naturally, you have to keep your test subjects alive to get all of the results, which is why the mediator hasn’t died yet.
Good point. I remember, Watashi said that fairies would like to copy, especially when it’s something successful just like the manzines. But aside from that, it still a mystery for me why the fairies specifically chose Watashi to be their mediator.