Title: Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction Vol. 8
Author: Inio Asano
Publisher: Viz Media
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 164
Genre: Slice-of-Life, Fantasy, Drama
Publication Date: June 16, 2020
The Story
The eighth volume of Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction is nothing more than a flashback volume but it is done so to shed light on the huge revelation at the end of volume seven where Oran is a time traveler from a parallel world line. Keita has Makoto use a memory device that can tap into all world lines. Makoto and Keita then witness Oran’s memories and that is what primarily takes place in this volume.
Her memories show how she met with Kadode and how the two of them saw a UFO together. They rescue an invader and try to convince him that humans are good so that he won’t call his friends to invade the Earth. In the process, Kadode convinces some of her classmates who once regarded her as nothing more than a demon to help her with tasks around the city to help make the invader see humans in a positive light.
As they are doing so, they come across a child trapped in a car and are worried that it will die from heatstroke. Knowing the help could arrive late, the invader gives Kadode a special pen-like device that can bend reality. They end up destroying the car but the child is safe. This power; however, begins to make Kadode realize that she can handle everything herself… and then she does. I won’t say what she does but it was pretty shocking, to say the least. In fact, that’s where the eighth volume ends.
That was a pretty quick turn of events for Kadode and even though they didn’t answer what all of this has to do with Oran, with just the way this volume ended, it’s pretty obvious what Oran thinks about it all and the steps she took to possibly change all of what might just happen in the very near future! I know this series had a sci-fi twist to it already but I was surprised that it took a time travel twist as well! Thankfully, time travel is my favorite sci-fi genre sub-category so I’m enjoying this!
Characters
You would think that the major focus would be on Oran since she is the time traveler here but the real focus was on Kadode!
In the main timeline, Kadode is a little shy but a little out there at the same time. She has a crush on her teacher which is immoral but that is not the Kadode we have in this parallel timeline. Here, she is completely shy and is viewed by her classmates as extremely odd. So much so that they begin to refer to her as a demon. Oran ends up befriending her when the two of them see a UFO together. When they discover the invader and befriend it, their friendship deepens.
Oran, on the other hand, is also completely opposite of herself in the primary world line. She’s smart and gets good grades but still has some of her tomboy-ish tendencies. Oran actually gets shunned when she tries to become Kadode’s friend but, in the end, she does so anyway without anyone really caring about what others think.
When you see the two of them in the primary timeline versus the parallel timeline, it’s easy to see where their directions are going. With Kadode becoming obsessed with the power that the invader gave her, you know something major is going to happen (or maybe the events at the end of this volume was that ‘something major’) and Oran is going to regret dragging Kadode into this. Maybe Oran talks to the invader which allows her to hop timelines and she takes the invader up on his offer. In fact, I can almost guarantee that to be the case.
The invader himself; however, is a bit interesting. He is just a surveyor but it seems as if his time on Earth is limited. He mentions something about the magnetic field of the planet having a negative effect on him. If you actually take that bit of information and apply it to the main timeline, suddenly, everything begins to make sense as to why the mothership’s core is beginning to overheat. I like how that bit of information was told indirectly and allows you to piece it together for yourself!
Final Thoughts
While the pacing of this volume was a bit on the slow side, it was still really enjoyable. The plot didn’t really move forward at all but it did at the same time. The plot took a detour in order to flesh out this explanation about Oran being a time traveler and once this flashback is over, it will apply all of that story to the main timeline and we will see where we go from there.
This is a different approach to the story that I wasn’t expecting but, then again, this is Inio Asano we are talking about here. You have to expect the unexpected from him as he will pull curveballs on you from out of nowhere and this is simply just another one of those moments. Still, even though this was a flashback volume, I’m interested to see how everything plays out… even if it’s a bit predictable.
Or is it?
Again, this is Asano we are talking about here! That possibility for the unexpected always makes reading his series that much more exciting!
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This item was provided for review by VIZ Media
