Humanity has Declined (AKA Mankind has Declined AKA 人類は衰退しました AKA Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita AKA 人退 AKA Jintai) chronological order / recommended viewing order
(What is this anime series about? Wikipedia | Anime-Planet)
To keep it brief: As of Q4 of 2022 there wasn't anything online for this 2012 series, so I've taken the bullet for the internet community (as it has taken the bullet for me in the past), watched the series in broadcast order and written down a suggested chronological order.
If you have the time, you can read the explanation below.
If not, you can go with the following order and have a good time without any chronological confusion: E11, E12, E10, E07, E08, E03, E04, E09, E05, E06, E01, E02
Or: Watch E10 first, if you're on the fence about this series. (If you have already seen... the bread..., know that it is not representative.)
Now... This is where the universe branches into two separate timelines. One where you go on to watch Humanity has Declined without further ado and one where you skim the (spoiler-free) wall of text below to see if you want to change the episode order in any way. Both of these choices are valid.
Before we begin: You could watch this series in any made-up order and would be fine. It's just disorienting when characters reference events that have not happened yet or when characters are missing - which is the case in the broadcast order, which is pretty much a reverse chronological order.
The protagonist ("Watashi") has more character growth in the chronological order, becoming increasingly mature - whereas in the broadcast order she seems to decline herself, getting less and less sharp. Also Y (the silver-haired girl) is way more sympathetic if you go by the chronological order.
(Oh, and all titles were taken from Wikipedia. I don't speak Japanese, but I suspect that not all of them are correct.)
Jintai - #01 or #03a [E11] - The Fairy's Secret Tea Party (Part 1)
Jintai - #02 or #03b [E12] - The Fairy's Secret Tea Party (Part 2)
This block is technically a flashback, but apart from the last 3 minutes, everything takes place before E10. The closing words on this block are meant as closing of the series, but they are universally fitting. ;)
Jintai - #03 [E10] - The Fairy's Earth
The perfect introductory episode. If you have not yet seen the series, this is a good, representative episode to get a feel for whether you'd like it or not without having to watch 3 episodes. Similar to how Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear starts with what otherwise be E03 and then proceeds from the beginning.
(Whoever decided on the other order was probably pretty overworked at the time.)
Jintai - #04 [E07] - The Fairies' Time Management (Part 1)
Jintai - #05 [E08] - The Fairies' Time Management (Part 2)
Jintai - #06 [E03] - The Fairies' Subculture (Part 1)
Jintai - #07 [E04] - The Fairies' Subculture (Part 2)
Nothing special to say here, besides that when watching the episodes in broadcast order, this block was where the story was at its weakest for me. If you feel like you want to quit the series at this time these episodes can be skipped without really missing much of consequence. In the broadcast order, you'd been missing the little development as well, but that's neither here nor there.
Jintai - #07a or #12 [E09] - The Fairy's Survival Skills
Takes place after the events of E08 and can be set at any point after E08 (#05) and before E05 (#08). OR after E02 (#11) - but for reasons of [Spoiler!] that does not seem as fitting as letting it take place before E02.
I have chosen this position mainly because of personal reasons: The E07-08 (The Fairies' Time Management-block) wasn't particularly enjoyable for me and neither was E03-04 (The Fairies' Subculture). So cramming it in between these two seemed unfitting.
As an aside, E03-04 (The Fairies' Subculture) starts in winter. E07-08 (The Fairies' Time Management-block) and E09 (The Fairy's Survival Skills) both take place in a warmer season, so there is no perfect lead-in.
Jintai - #08 [E05] - The Fairies' Homecoming (Part 1)
Jintai - #09 [E06] - The Fairies' Homecoming (Part 2)
Jintai - #10 [E01] - The Fairy's Secret Factory (Part 1)
Jintai - #11 [E02] - The Fairy's Secret Factory (Part 2)
The events of E05 (#08) very noticeably take place after E03-04 (The Fairies' Subculture-block).
The events of E06 (#09) proceed seamlessly into the events of E01 (#10). The chronological order of these two blocks cannot be disputed and will become very apparent while watching.
E02 (#11) ends with an event that makes it a good last episode, since [Spoiler!] in an element that does not make a return in any of the other episodes. E09 (#07a or #12) could take place afterwards, but would be a bit weird at that point.
Neither of these episodes would make for a bad finale, but E01-02 (The Fairy's Secret Factory-block) make for a better finale. You heard me: "The introduction that was broadcasted would have made for a good ending."
I hope this helps anyone who's been holding off watching Humanity has Declined.
Depending on where you live or how you're choosing to use the internet, this series might or might not be legally available to steam from crunchyroll.com (not-sponsored). Other legal means might also be available. I honestly couldn't tell you if any of those means will benefit the team who created the series in any way. Given how capitalism works, I would think not. Unless they are self-employed, workers aren't even entitled to the sweat of their brow these days, I tell you...
Oh, and before I forget: Don't thank me. I get nothing out of being thanked. If you want to return the favor or give something back, consider creating and sharing a viewing order yourself the next time you cannot find anything online.
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