Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destruction

Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destruction
First tankōbon volume cover, featuring Kadode Koyama
デッドデッドデーモンズデデデデデストラクション (Deddo Deddo Dēmonzu Dededededesutorakushon)
Genre	Post-apocalyptic Science fiction Slice of life
Manga
Written by	Inio Asano
Published by	Shogakukan
English publisher	NA: Viz Media
Magazine	Big Comic Spirits
Demographic	Seinen
Original run	April 28, 2014 – February 28, 2022
Volumes	12
Anime film series
Directed by	Tomoyuki Kurokawa
Written by	Reiko Yoshida
Music by	Taro Umebayashi
Studio	Production +h.
Released	March 22, 2024 – May 24, 2024
Runtime	120 minutes (each)
Films	2
Original net animation
Directed by	Tomoyuki Kurokawa
Written by	Reiko Yoshida Takaaki Suzuki
Music by	Taro Umebayashi
Studio	Production +h.
Licensed by	Crunchyroll
Released	May 24, 2024 – September 20, 2024
Episodes	18

Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destruction (Japanese: デッドデッドデーモンズデデデデデストラクション, Hepburn: Deddo Deddo Dēmonzu Dededede Desutorakushon), also abbreviated as DDDD, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Inio Asano. It was serialized in Shogakukan's seinen manga magazine Big Comic Spirits from April 2014 to February 2022, with its chapters collected in 12 tankōbon volumes. Viz Media licensed the manga for English release in North America. The story follows two high school students struggling with the mundanity of life after an alien spaceship appears over Japan.

A two-part anime film adaptation produced by Production +h. premiered its first part in March 2024, with the second part premiering in May of the same year. An 18-episode original net animation (ONA) series edition of the films streamed worldwide on Crunchyroll from May to September 2024.

By March 2022, Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destruction had over 3 million copies in circulation. In 2021, the manga won the 66th Shogakukan Manga Award in the general category, as well as the Excellence Award of the 25th Japan Media Arts Festival in 2022.

Plot

Three years before the events of the story, on August 31, an alien spaceship appeared over Tokyo. Although it has not attacked, the Japanese government, seeing it as a potential threat, unsuccessfully tries to destroy it. The situation leads to a cold war between the humans on Earth and the invaders in the mothership above the Tokyo skyline. There is further conflict between political groups who want to eliminate the aliens, called "warctopuses," and those who want to negotiate peace, called "peacesquids." Despite the tense and precarious state of the world, high school students Koyama Kadode and Nakagawa Ouran live their lives with some semblance of normalcy. The focus of the story is not on the alien invasion but on human nature and growing up in a turbulent and uncertain world.

Characters

The cast of Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destruction (from left to right): Kadode Koyama, Ai Demoto, Ouran Nakagawa, Rin Hirama, and Kiho Kurihara

Kadode Koyama (小山 門出, Koyama Kadode)

Voiced by: Lilas Ikuta (Japanese); Elyse Maloway (English)

A third-year high school student and later university student who is a fan of the in-universe manga Isobeyan. She is of average height, has short black hair, and wears red glasses. Kadode has been best friends with Ouran since she was ten years old and calls her "Ontan." Despite her father, Nobuo, going missing on 8/31 and her friend Kiho dying in an incident involving an invader spacecraft, she has little interest in politics or the invaders.

Ouran Nakagawa (中川 凰蘭, Nakagawa Ouran)

Voiced by: Ano (Japanese); Britt McKillip (English)

A third-year high school student and later university student who is Kadode's best friend, she has oval-shaped eyebrows, is often seen drooling, and has long, black hair that she wears in pigtails with skull-shaped clips. Although Ouran is eccentric, friendly, and expressive in public, she tends to show her true self only to her friends and family. Ouran enjoys video games and dreams of bringing about the downfall of society and enslaving the human race. She values her friendship with Kadode above all else, calling their bond "absolute."

Kiho Kurihara (栗原 キホ, Kurihara Kiho)

Voiced by: Atsumi Tanezaki (Japanese); Meaghan Hommy (English)

A fellow student at Kadode's and Ouran's high school who is also friends with Ai and Rin. She is short, sports a bob haircut, and has very thick eyebrows. As the most recent girl to join their friend group, she sometimes feels left out amongst the other girls. Her boyfriend is Kenichi Kohiruimaki. During the new year's holiday, she dies when an invader spacecraft is shot down over her apartment.

Ai Demoto (出元 亜衣, Demoto Ai)

Voiced by: Miyuri Shimabukuro (Japanese); Caitlyn Bairstow (English)

She was a friend of Kadode and Ouran in high school and university. She is of short, round stature and has small eyes and oversized glasses. Ai cares very little about the cold war between humans and the invaders, investing most of her time into caring for her five younger brothers. Her best friend is Rin.

Rin Hirama (平間 凛, Hirama Rin)

Voiced by: Saeko Ooki (Japanese); Kazumi Evans (English)

A tall, lean, and angular girl who is a friend of Kadode and Ouran at high school and in university. Although she is almost always silent, Rin is noted to be a major fan of boys' love manga.

Futaba Takemoto (竹本 ふたば, Takemoto Futaba)

Voiced by: Azumi Waki (Japanese); Chelsea Miller (English)

A young woman from Hakui, Ishikawa, moves to Tokyo and attends the same university as Kadode, Ouran, Makoto, Rin, and Ai. She has distinctive pink blush marks and an oval-shaped nose. During orientation, she bonds with Kadode over their shared love of Isobeyan and joins her friend group. Futaba came to Tokyo in order to become involved in the "peacesquid" movement, which advocates for the safety and rights of invaders.

Makoto Tainuma (田井沼 マコト, Tainuma Makoto)

Voiced by: Ryoko Shiraishi (Japanese); Travis Turner (English)

A student at Kadode and Ouran's university who moved from Hakui along with Futaba. Although Makoto is a boy, he loves dressing in women's clothing and wearing a blond wig. He wanted to be seen as an idol, so he moved to Tokyo in order to escape small-town gender norms and found an accepting group of friends in Futaba, Ouran, Kadode, Rin, Ai, and Oba.

Keita Ōba (大葉 圭太, Ōba Keita)

Voiced by: Miyu Irino (Japanese); Cole Howard (English)

A teen idol who disappeared on 8/31 and whose body was possessed by an invader. Oba befriends Kadode and Ouran, who quickly learn that he is an invader impersonating a human.

Kenichi Kohiruimaki (小比類巻 健一, Kohiruimaki Kenichi)

Voiced by: Koki Uchiyama (Japanese); Graham Hamilton (English)

Kiho's anxious and terminally online boyfriend. Kenichi is radicalized following the death of his girlfriend and forms a vigilante group intent on killing off the invaders.

Naoki Watarase (渡良瀬 直樹, Watarase Naoki)

Voiced by: Taito Ban (Japanese); Andrew Francis (English)

Kadode and Ouran's high school teacher, who has a stoic and pessimistic demeanor, after their graduation, Kadode pursues a brief romantic relationship with him.

Hiroshi Nakagawa (中川 ひろし, Nakagawa Hiroshi)

Voiced by: Junichi Suwabe (Japanese); Mike Li (English)

Ouran's older brother, who is obese but has idol-like features, is a Hikikomori who spends his days moderating internet forums.

Nobuo Koyama (小山 ノブオ, Koyama Nobuo)

Voiced by: Kenjiro Tsuda (Japanese); Giles Panton (English)

Kadode's father, a manga editor, disappeared on 8/31.

Isobeyan (イソベやん)

Voiced by: Tomokazu Sugita

The titular character of the in-universe manga is Isobeyan. A parody of Doraemon, he is a humanoid mushroom who gives Debeko various gadgets in a misguided attempt to help her solve her problems.

Debeko (デベ子)

Voiced by: Tarako

A parody of Nobita Nobi in the in-universe manga Isobeyan. She is a careless and unintelligent girl who uses Isobeyan's gadgets to solve her problems, which usually backfires.

Head of the Invaders

Voiced by: Naoto Takenaka

Ojiro-senpai (尾城先輩)

Voiced by: Chiharu Sawashiro (Japanese); Ian Hanlin (English)

Hikari Sumaru (須丸光, Sumaru Hikari)

Voiced by: Saori Ōnishi (Japanese); Kazumi Evans (English)

Takarada (宝田)

Voiced by: Kenichirou Matsuda (Japanese); Andrew Kavadas (English)

Tarō Miura (三浦太郎, Miura Tarō)

Voiced by: Kengo Kawanishi (Japanese); Bill Newton (English)

Ogino (荻野)

Voiced by: Masafumi Kobatake

Media

Manga

Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destruction, written and illustrated by Inio Asano, was first announced with the tentative title Honobono Fūfu (ほのぼの夫婦, "Tender-hearted Couple"). The manga started in Shogakukan's seinen manga magazine, Big Comic Spirits, on April 28, 2014. The series went on hiatus multiple times. It finished on February 28, 2022. Shogakukan collected its chapters in twelve tankōbon volumes, released from September 30, 2014, to March 30, 2022.

Viz Media announced at the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con that it had licensed the manga in North America.

Volumes

No.	Original release date	Original ISBN	English release date	English ISBN
1	September 30, 2014	978-4-09-186500-7	April 17, 2018	978-1-4215-9935-9
2	February 27, 2015	978-4-09-186857-2	July 17, 2018	978-1-4215-9956-4
3	August 28, 2015	978-4-09-187260-9 978-4-09-159212-5 (LE)	October 16, 2018	978-1-4215-9958-8
4	February 29, 2016	978-4-09-187563-1 978-4-09-941867-0 (LE)	January 15, 2019	978-1-4215-9959-5
5	September 30, 2016 September 28, 2017 (LE)	978-4-09-187829-8 978-4-09-941880-9 (LE)	April 16, 2019	978-1-4215-9960-1
6	May 30, 2017 May 26, 2017 (LE)	978-4-09-189567-7 978-4-09-941890-8 (LE)	July 16, 2019	978-1-9747-0786-7
7	August 30, 2018	978-4-09-860100-4 978-4-09-943025-2 (LE)	October 15, 2019	978-1-9747-0787-4
8	June 28, 2019	978-4-09-860354-1 978-4-09-943052-8 (LE)	June 16, 2020	978-1-9747-1531-2
9	December 26, 2019	978-4-09-860520-0 978-4-09-943058-0 (LE)	January 19, 2021	978-1-9747-1889-4
10	December 25, 2020	978-4-09-860834-8 978-4-09-943077-1 (LE)	September 21, 2021	978-1-9747-2520-5
11	July 30, 2021	978-4-09-861157-7 978-4-09-943089-4 (LE)	August 16, 2022	978-1-9747-3010-0
12	March 30, 2022	978-4-09-861293-2 978-4-09-943102-0 (LE)	April 18, 2023	978-1-9747-3630-0

Anime

In March 2022, it was announced that the series would receive an anime adaptation produced by Production +h. It was later confirmed to be a two-part film adaptation directed by Tomoyuki Kurokawa, with a screenplay by Reiko Yoshida, character designs and chief animation direction by Nobutaka Ito, and music composed by Taro Umebayashi. The first part premiered in Japanese theaters on March 22, 2024. The second part was originally scheduled for April 19, but was later delayed to May 24 to improve the film's quality. The first part features the theme song "ZeZeZeZettai Seiiki" (絶絶絶絶対聖域, lit. 'Abababab Absolute Sanctuary'), performed by Ano feat. Lilas Ikuta, while the second part features the theme song "Seishun Ōka" (青春謳歌, lit. 'Adolescence Hymn'), performed by Lilas Ikuta feat. Ano.

An 18-episode original net animation (ONA) series edition of the films streamed worldwide on Crunchyroll from May 24 to September 20, 2024, featuring new footage not included in the theatrical release. The opening song is "Shinsekai Yori" (SHINSEKAIより, lit. 'From the New World'), performed by Ano and Lilas Ikuta (used as an ending song for episode 0), while the ending song is the film's first part theme song "ZeZeZeZettai Seiiki" for episodes 1–8, and the second part theme song "Seishun Ōka" for episodes 9–17. Gaga released the episodes in Japan on a limited Blu-ray Disc box set, which became available for purchase through its online store on December 4, 2024.

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Storyboarded by	Original release date
0	"Episode 0" Transliteration: "Dai zero wa" (Japanese: 第0話)	Haruo Ōgawara Kazumi Terada Kenya Kodama	Takaaki Suzuki	Ikuo Yamakado Takayuki Yamamoto Onyoung Kaneshou	May 24, 2024 (2024-05-24)
1	"Episode 1" Transliteration: "Dai ichi wa" (Japanese: 第1話)	Kazumi Terada	Reiko Yoshida	Nobutake Ito Masatsugu Arakawa	May 31, 2024 (2024-05-31)
2	"Episode 2" Transliteration: "Dai ni wa" (Japanese: 第2話)	Akira Honma	Reiko Yoshida	Akira Honma Tomoyuki Kurokawa	June 7, 2024 (2024-06-07)
3	"Episode 3" Transliteration: "Dai san wa" (Japanese: 第3話)	Atsuji Tanizawa Ilya Kuvshinov	Takaaki Suzuki	Ilya Kuvshinov	June 14, 2024 (2024-06-14)
4	"Episode 4" Transliteration: "Dai yon wa" (Japanese: 第4話)	Onyoung Kaneshou	Reiko Yoshida	Shōtarō Kitamura	June 21, 2024 (2024-06-21)
5	"Episode 5" Transliteration: "Dai go wa" (Japanese: 第5話)	Kazumi Terada	Reiko Yoshida	Kazumi Terada	June 28, 2024 (2024-06-28)
6	"Episode 6" Transliteration: "Dai roku wa" (Japanese: 第6話)	Katakuri Kazumi Terada	Reiko Yoshida	Akira Honma	July 5, 2024 (2024-07-05)
7	"Episode 7" Transliteration: "Dai nana wa" (Japanese: 第7話)	Atsuji Tanizawa	Takaaki Suzuki	Ilya Kuvshinov	July 12, 2024 (2024-07-12)
8	"Episode 8" Transliteration: "Dai hachi wa" (Japanese: 第8話)	Taku Kimura	Reiko Yoshida	Taku Kimura	July 19, 2024 (2024-07-19)
9	"Episode 9" Transliteration: "Dai kyu wa" (Japanese: 第9話)	Takayuki Yamamoto	Reiko Yoshida	Masatsugu Arakawa	July 26, 2024 (2024-07-26)
10	"Episode 10" Transliteration: "Dai juu wa" (Japanese: 第10話)	Kazumi Terada Kenya Kodama	Reiko Yoshida	Yōjirō Arai Kazumi Terada	August 2, 2024 (2024-08-02)
11	"Episode 11" Transliteration: "Dai juu-ichi wa" (Japanese: 第11話)	Atsuji Tanizawa	Takaaki Suzuki	Ilya Kuvshinov	August 9, 2024 (2024-08-09)
12	"Episode 12" Transliteration: "Dai juu-ni wa" (Japanese: 第12話)	Asahi Yoshimura	Reiko Yoshida	Taku Kimura	August 16, 2024 (2024-08-16)
13	"Episode 13" Transliteration: "Dai juu-san wa" (Japanese: 第13話)	Asahi Yoshimura	Reiko Yoshida	Takashi Iida	August 23, 2024 (2024-08-23)
14	"Episode 14" Transliteration: "Dai juu-yon wa" (Japanese: 第14話)	Atsuji Tanizawa	Takaaki Suzuki	Kazumi Terada	August 30, 2024 (2024-08-30)
15	"Episode 15" Transliteration: "Dai juu-go wa" (Japanese: 第15話)	Xu Chuanfeng	Reiko Yoshida	Yoh Koike	September 6, 2024 (2024-09-06)
16	"Episode 16" Transliteration: "Dai juu-roku wa" (Japanese: 第16話)	Kazumi Terada	Reiko Yoshida	Kazumi Terada	September 13, 2024 (2024-09-13)
17	"Episode 17" Transliteration: "Dai juu-nana wa" (Japanese: 第17話)	Tomoyuki Kurokawa Kazumi Terada Kenya Kodama	Takaaki Suzuki	Masahiko Ohkura Tomoki Kyoda	September 20, 2024 (2024-09-20)

Reception

By March 2022, the manga had over 3 million copies in circulation.

Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destruction, alongside PLINIVS, placed eighteenth on Takarajimasha's Kono Manga ga Sugoi! 2016 ranking of top 20 manga for male readers. It won the French award of "Daruma for Best Drawing Manga" at the Japan Expo Awards in 2017. The series was chosen as one of the best manga at the San Diego Comic-Con Best and Worst Manga Awards of 2018. The manga received the Attilio Micheluzzi Award in 2018 for Best Foreign Manga. The series won the French Konishi Prize for the Best Translated Manga in 2019. In 2021, along with Police in a Pod, Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destruction won the 66th Shogakukan Manga Award in the general category. It was also awarded an Excellence Award in the Manga Division at the 25th Japan Media Arts Festival in 2022.

The manga was nominated for an Eisner Award in the category "Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia" in 2019.

External links

• Official website at Big Comic Bros (in Japanese)
• Official anime website (in Japanese)
• Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destruction on Twitter (in Japanese)
• Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destruction (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia