Driven to the point of extinction by creatures known as the Gadoll, humanity now lives out of a large mobile fortress known as Deca-Dence. Inside, the residents are separated into Gears, warriors that fight the Gadoll, and Tankers who maintain the fortress. Natsume, a Tanker, has dreams of becoming a Gear, but is forced into armor repair where she meets a surly senpai named Kaburagi that has more skills than he lets on.
As a series having likely the biggest (and definitely earliest) twists of the Summer 2020 anime season, Deca-Dence definitely became a lot more than what people were expecting it to be. If you want anime recommendations that are just as intriguing, then head on down below.
Anime Like Deca-Dence
For Fans of Mobile Bastions of Humanity
Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet
In the distant future, humanity has abandoned a ruined Earth and now lives in the furthest reaches of space fighting their eternal enemy, the Hideauze. During one of their massive space battles, a young soldier named Ledo and his mecha Chamber are flung through a warp hole into space. He crash lands on a strange planet that is covered completely in water. To his surprise, he finds that other humans also live there aboard massive fleets of boats. Found by the Gargantia fleet, Ledo must navigate this strange new world.
Both shows follow a world where humanity is on the brink and surviving in a mobile fortress. You have nice slice of life moments and more serious moments. Furthermore, there is even a big twist revealed in Gargantia, but it happens much later than in Deca-Dence.
Chrome Shelled Regios
The world has ended and is overrun with Filth Monsters. Humanity lives in mobile cities called Regios and use Dite weapons to defend themselves. Layfon is a student hoping to forget a brutal past, but his abilities catch the attention of fellow students and they attempt to recruit him into their battle group.
Without the big twist in Deca-Dence, Chrome Shelled Regios would almost be the exact same world. Except instead of starting at the end of her school years like in Deca-Dence, Regios follows the main character during his schooling.
Darling in the Franxx
In the distant future, the land is ruined and humanity now lives in the mobile city, Plantation. Inside, they are defended from massive life forms by children raised from birth to pilot robots called Franxx in boy-girl pairs. This story follows Hiro, once a prodigy, and now a failure. However, just as he was about to be cast aside, he meets a mysterious girl with horns that is a Franxx pilot dubbed The Partner Killer.
At their core, both series are about people that live in mobile fortresses and fight monsters that attack those fortresses. Interestingly enough, the plots kind of go different places from there and not where you would expect. However, Deca-Dence had a clear goal for the plot while Darling in the Franxx struggled to decide on what it wanted to do in the end.
For Fans of Partner Relationships
Drifting Dragons
Dragons rule the skies. While they are a threat to humanity, they are also a source of medicine, meat, and oil. In order to procure these goods, outcasts called Drakers traverse the skies on giant airships. They have no home on land, but they live to hunt dragons as a dangerous and thankless profession. As dragon populations and those who become Drakers dwindle, the airship Quin Zaza and her crew are one of the last teams to bring down these great beasts.
Deca-Dence moves away from the plot of killing the monsters pretty quickly, whereas Drifting Dragons is all about hunting dragons. The biggest similarity is the dynamic between the two main characters, however. They are a more serious man and a energetic younger girl pair in both.
Black Bullet
In the year 2021, a parasitic virus has ravaged humanity by turning them into monsters, driving the remaining humans into massive walled cities. However, while a special metal can keep these monsters at bay and fight them, children are already being born with the virus dormant within them. It is decided that these “cursed children” are humanity’s best hope for fighting the virus.
While Deca-Dence puts less focus on exterminating humanity’s great threat than Black Bullet, it is still a part of the show. Furthermore, both of these shows follow boy-girl teams that go about their business of trying to stay alive and complete their goals.
Cop Craft
15 years ago, a gate opened over the Pacific to a fantasy world. In the present day, San Teresa City hosts two million immigrants from the other world and those from our world live side by side. As with any city, crime has started to run rampant, but justice is handed out by a police force combined of cops from our world and knights from the other. This is the tale of one such team.
Deca-Dence and Cop Craft both start off in a gritty sort of city that crams a bunch of people together. The story follows a grumpy older man and an young girl that end up partnered together, but they are doing different things. While Deca-Dence isn’t necessarily the same sort of police drama, both teams do get involved in something greater than their charge.
For Fans of More Than What It Seems
Made in Abyss
The Abyss is an enormous cave system and the only unexplored place in the world. No one knows how deep it goes, but generations of bold adventurers have descended into it. In the town at the edge of The Abyss, an orphan named Rico dreams of raiding, as her mother did before her. One day while exploring the murky depths, she meets a boy, who turns out to be a robot, kicking off the start of her epic adventure.
Both shows look like things that they ended up not being. Made in the Abyss looked cute and like it would be a more light-hearted adventure series, but similar to Deca-Dence, a twist early on sees that completely thrown out the window.
Planetes
With space travel an everyday reality and corporations taking over many responsibilities, providing an influx of new jobs, Ai Tanabe is able to satisfy her space-faring ambitions by joining the Technora Corporation. Unfortunately, she finds out that her department, one responsible for removing space debris orbiting Earth, is just a big joke. Regardless, Ai is undeterred in her enthusiasm to make a difference in the great expanse.
Initially, we all thought Deca-Dence was either going to be a mundane work life anime in a post apocalyptic future or an Attack on Titan affair. It really ended up as neither, which was great. Planetes is more your work life series following trash collectors in space, but as the series goes on, it grows into something much more and the plot gets unexpectedly more complex.
Astra Lost in Space
Each year, the students of Caird High School are placed in groups for Planet Camp. When group B5 land at their camp site, they are engulfed by a mysterious sphere of light that transports them into the middle of space, 5,000 light years away from home. After discovering an old space ship, they begin their very long journey home.
Both series take place in a future of humanity where technology has advanced, but humanity is not necessarily in a great place. Astra is more of a Lost in Space struggle to get home, but like Deca-Dence there is quite a twist to it revealed later in the series.
Do you have any more anime recommendations like Deca-Dence? Let fans know in the comments section below.
