Anime Club: Death Parade

Hello everybody! For this week’s anime club we have the life and death judgement of Death Parade.

DEATH PARADE

CREATED BY: Yuzuru Tachikawa

NO. OF EPISODES: 12, 1 short film

GENRE: Drama, Mystery, Psychological Thriller

YEAR: 2013, 2015

COUNTRY: Japan

Whenever two people on Earth die at the same time, they are sent to one of many mysterious bars run by bartenders serving as arbiters. There, they must participate in Death Games with their lives on the line, the results of which reveal what secrets led them to their situation and what their fate will be afterwards, with the arbiters judging if their souls will either be sent for reincarnation or banished into the void. The series follows Decim, the lone bartender of the Quindecim bar, whose role in judging these souls changes when he meets a curious black-haired woman.

I have to say, it has been a very long time since I have been enthralled with a new, I would say post 2011. anime series. I came across Death Parade while doing some research for a Watchmojo anime list, and the premise enthralled me. Death Parade has some relatively unique characters, much like the main bartender Decim, who are essentially mannequins that have been given life to judge others. In order to judge properly, Decim is given human emotions and it allows an analysis of the grey area of morality. Many of the Death Games that are played are fun to watch, as they are based on casual bar games and range from gruesome darts to casual Old Maid.

Unfortunately, there is obviously no way that Death Parade is perfect. The pacing varies from time to time, and the built up anticipation during the Death Games is immediately erased afterward. Death Parade is a very character driven show, but it would be nice to have a more interesting larger plot. I mean, it is interesting enough for twelve episodes, but we need more Death Parade.

PROS:

•  Interesting premise.
• Unique characters.
• Analysis of morality.
• Death Games.

CONS:

• Pacing.
• Needs a more interesting larger plot.

SCORE: 9.0 / 10

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