, or for short, is a Japanese

light novel A light novel (, Hepburn: ''raito noberu'') is a style of young adult novel primarily targeting high school and middle school students. The term "light novel" is a ''wasei-eigo'', or a Japanese term formed from words in the English languag ...

series written by

Romeo Tanaka is a Japanese author and scenario writer for adult and ''bishōjo'' games. At one time, he had attended the University of Tsukuba. In 2007, Tanaka started to write his first light novel series entitled ''Humanity Has Declined'' which is published ...

. The novels originally featured illustrations by Tōru Yamasaki for the first six volumes, but Yamasaki was replaced by

Sunaho Tobe is a Japanese freelance illustrator and character designer. She began her career with the video game company Compile. During her time at Compile, she designed the characters for the company's DiskStation games '' Apple Sauce: Anoko to Natsu Matsu ...

in 2011.

Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, comics (manga), non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the Hit ...

published 11 volumes from May 2007 to September 2016. Three

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

adaptations have been produced. An

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

adaptation produced by AIC A.S.T.A., directed by

Seiji Kishi is a Japanese director of anime. Works Anime television series *'' Yugo the Negotiator: Pakistan Chapter'' (2004) - Director *'' Ragnarok the Animation'' (2004) - Director, Storyboard *''Magikano'' (2006) - Director, Storyboard *'' Galaxy Ang ...

, and written by

Makoto Uezu is a Japanese anime screenwriter. Filmography Anime television 2000s *''Ground Defense Force! Mao-chan'' (2002), Script *''Bottle Fairy'' (2003), Script *''Maburaho'' (2003–04), Script *''Yumeria'' (2004), Series composition (with Yōsuke Kuro ...

aired in Japan between July and September 2012.

Sentai Filmworks Sentai Filmworks, LLC or just Sentai, is an American entertainment company owned by AMC Networks. Located in Houston, the company specializes in the dubbing and distribution of Japanese animation and Asian cinema. Its post-production arm is S ...

has licensed the anime in North America.

Plot

''Humanity Has Declined'' is set in a post-apocalyptic world where the human civilization has regressed and humanity keeps decreasing in numbers. The story follows an unnamed girl who acts as a mediator between humanity and the "fairies" who are small elf-like creatures attracted by sweets and happy things, but also have the habit to cause trouble to her with their powers in their endless search for amusement.

Characters

; : :Generally referred to as either or , the heroine is a sensible mediator between humankind and the fairies. She is one of the few humans left capable of creating sweets, which causes the fairies to naturally flock to her. Having observed the slow decline of humanity, her outlook on life is grim. ; : :The protagonist's grandfather, a researcher and firearm fanatic. Thanks to the fairies, he met with his granddaughter when he was 13 years old and a time paradox was created. ; : :A young boy in a Hawaiian shirt who almost never speaks and serves as the protagonist's assistant. ; : :They are mysterious beings with advanced technology that could be called magic. The fairies have permanent smiles on their faces and very literal, honest viewpoints on everything. Despite their cute appearance, they seem to have a total disregard for human safety. The presence of many fairies is supposed to increase one's fortunes, but they cause potentially fatal situations. They often request sweets from the protagonist in exchange for their assistance. ;Y : :An old classmate of the protagonist's whose job is to identify human artifacts. She discovers a yaoi doujinishi from our era, however, and then spends her time self-publishing

yaoi ''Yaoi'' (; ja, やおい ), also known by the ''wasei-eigo'' construction and its abbreviation , is a genre of fictional media originating in Japan that features Homoeroticism, homoerotic relationships between male characters. It is typi ...

doujinshi , also romanized as ', is the Japanese term for self-published print works, such as magazines, manga, and novels. Part of a wider category of '' doujin'' (self-published) works, ''doujinshi'' are often derivative of existing works and created by ...

. ; : :A humanoid robot with cat ears. She makes sound effects whenever she acknowledges something of interest. Her original name is "

Pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land. In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and de ...

". ; : :Pion's partner, who she is searching for. His original name is " Voyager". ; : :The protagonist's classmate from her school days, who is disturbingly affectionate.

Media

Light novels

''Humanity Has Declined'' began as a

series written by

published 11 volumes between May 24, 2007 and September 16, 2016 under their

Gagaga Bunko is a light novel publishing imprint affiliated with the Japanese publishing company Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, comics (manga), non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, ...

imprint Imprint or imprinting may refer to: Entertainment * ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series * "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror'' * ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film ...

; nine comprise the main story, while the other two are short story collections. For the first six volumes, the novels featured illustrations by Tōru Yamasaki, but he was replaced by

in 2011. Shogakukan republished the novels with Tobe's illustrations between November 18, 2011 and March 16, 2012. The novels are published in Taiwan by

Sharp Point Press Sharp Point Press () is a Taiwanese publisher of manga and music. It was founded in July 1982. History *1982 - Company established. Mainly publishes military and models related books. *1985 - Started publishing annual Zodiac fortune telling handb ...

Volume list

Manga

One chapter of a

adaptation, illustrated by Rei Neyuki, was published in the March 2010 issue of

's ''

Monthly Ikki was a monthly ''seinen'' manga magazine published by Shogakukan. It tended to specialize in underground or alternative manga, but it had its share of major hits as well. The magazine started in 2000 as a spin-off of Shogakukan's ''Weekly Big ...

'' magazine, published on January 25, 2010, however, the manga went on an indefinite hiatus and was ultimately cancelled. Another manga, illustrated by Takuya Mitomi and titled , was serialized between the January 2012 issue of ''Monthly Ikki'', published on November 25, 2011, and the July 2012 issue, released on May 25, 2012. A single ''

tankōbon is the Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...

'' volume for ''Nonbirishita Hōkoku'' was released on July 30, 2012. Mitomi also illustrated the four-panel

comic strip A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...

manga , which began was serialized from the August 2012 issue of ''Monthly Ikki'' on June 25, and finished in the October issue of the same year, released on August 25. A manga illustrated by Terae Kichijō and titled was serialized between January 27, 2012 and January 26, 2013 in

Media Factory , formerly is a Japanese publisher and brand company of Kadokawa Future Publishing. History It was founded on December 1, 1986, and its headquarters are situated in Shibuya, Tokyo. It is a subsidiary of Recruit Co., Ltd. Media Factory was possi ...

's ''

Monthly Comic Alive is a Japanese seinen manga magazine published by Media Factory. The first issue was released on June 27, 2006. Serialized titles *''Absolute Duo'' *''Alice or Alice'' (until 2015, part of the supplement magazine ''Comic Cune'') *'' Ano Ko ni Kis ...

''. Three compiled volumes have been released.

Anime

television series adaptation produced by AIC A.S.T.A. and directed by

aired in Japan between July 2 and September 17, 2012; it was also simulcast by

Crunchyroll Crunchyroll is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Sony through a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex. The service primarily distributes films and tel ...

. The screenplay was written by

, and the chief animation director Kyūta Sakai based the character design used in the anime on Sunaho Tobe's original concepts. Six bonus episodes were included on the Blu-ray Disc and DVD releases. The opening theme is by

Nano Ripe Nano Ripe (styled as nano.RIPE) is a Japanese pop rock duo that formed in 1998 as an indie band. They released three singles and four mini-albums before being signed to Lantis in 2010. Although the core of the band is made up of Kimiko (composit ...

and the ending theme is by

Masumi Itō (she also goes by the pseudonym ) is a Japanese singer and composer from Ibaraki prefecture in Japan. Itō has composed the soundtracks to many anime television shows and is part of the bands Oranges & Lemons and Heart of Air. Discography ...

has licensed the series for subtitled BD/DVD release in North America in December 2013.

Episode list

;Bonus episodes

References

External links

* * {{AIC TV series 2007 Japanese novels 2010 manga 2012 anime television series debuts 2012 manga Anime International Company Anime and manga based on light novels Comedy anime and manga Fantasy anime and manga Gagaga Bunko Light novels Media Factory manga Post-apocalyptic anime and manga Seinen manga Sentai Filmworks Sharp Point Press titles Shogakukan franchises Shogakukan manga Television shows written by Makoto Uezu Yonkoma