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DEATH PARADE is the first anime I have seen without anyone recommending it to me. And an anime that isn't too popular, and I believe it's a nice little show. I decided to check out this series not thinking it to be great. And it wasn't. But it was damn close!
Death Parade takes place at a bar amongst life and death called Quin Decim. Quin Decim is a place where the newly dead go, typically in pairs to take part in a random game under the supervision of the arbiter. The players must compete in a game that they believe will cost them their lives. Nonetheless, these people don't know they're dead. These games mentally push them to their max to reveal their true character, and by that they are judged with either having their soul reincarnated or forgotten in the void.
Something I do find great though is that the show revolves around different people that get introduced to the afterlife, so the protagonists change throughout. Characters here are created with care and these characters feel real, and care for them, even if you have only got to know them for about fifteen minutes. This is where director Yuzuru Tachikawa makes his money. Tachikawa also directed the seventh episode of Attack on Titan, which was the episode that showed the greatest character development. It showed characters being pushed to their absolute limits to do whatever necessary, exactly what Death Parade is about. Changing characters every episode can be seen as slightly repetitive as the show goes on. Tachikawa shows the moments leading up to their darkest moments and their death. Most of these characters are bad, and some truly horrible! Inside you're punching yourself because you shouldn't feel for some of these criminals. But as I have stated before, Tachikawa is a brilliant character director.
I am a sucker for great openings. Whenever I write a story I begin with a memorable beginning to get the viewer interested. This is what Death Note did very well and what Attack in Titan did extremely well. It is a huge plus to have a great beginning which is what Death Parade had. I won't explain the pilot as it is something that shouldn't be spoiled. All I will say, is that it is both a frightening and heart racing episode that is beautifully created.
The ending was decent. My individual reviews near the end get extremely high, in the nine-out-of-ten category. It is fascinating showing the little pieces hidden around the show to reveal the main character's back story. There was a brilliant reflecting scene in Momento Mori. A reflective scene is when the show kind of stops for a while and plays music, usually calming music, so you have time to think about the subject and ultimately appreciate the beauty of it. I love those scenes in theatre.
I do want to point out that, some of the characters just leave in the series and are in the end unnecessary. Some characters aren't explored and don't do anything. For example, Castra, the girl who designates the dead to whichever arbiter. Castra is given about four minutes of screen time in a roughly five hour series. They leave her character in, I believe, Story Teller, they don't come back to her and I found it very strange. Same as Nona and Oculus, the last you see of them is them having a verbal fight with each other. When the show ended I said, "goodbye then?" And also, throughout the series Oculus is rambling on about how everything is wrong about which person is the right arbiter. I thought in the last few episodes he was going to throw rampage, but he never did. So what was his point?
I haven't read if here will be a season two, it is a possibility, and it explains some of the unfinished characters. The two protagonists get a heap of screen time in the end and are rounded off nicely. The ending itself you could see building and it created an emotional ending, but I still believe they should have a little bit more of an exploration and farewell for the lesser (but still important) characters.
Death Parade keeps you interested for most of the series depending on how you look at it. If you want an anime analysing people and how crazy some of us get when out under certain circumstances, then go watch Attack on Titan, then watch this. Hehe. I'm probably making this show out to sound like its bad, but it isn't. I had a heap of fun with it. Death Parade is a nice little series you can watch in a day. If you don't worry about the little plot holes and the unnecessary characters you will be able to explore a great message about choices and the permanence of them.
Overall - B+
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