Death Parade |OT| Please watch, with your life at stake.

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M

MetroidPrimeRib

Banned
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Website Summary

"Welcome to Quindecim" What greets two unsuspecting guests is a strange bar, Quindecim, and the white-haired bartender, Decim. "From here you two shall begin a battle where your lives hang in the balance," he says to introduce the Death Game. Before long the guests' true natures become apparent. As a matter of course, at the game's end Decim is revealed to be the "arbiter." Decim's judgement on the two guests is...
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Characters

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Tomoaki Maeno (Akatsuki no Yona, Pretty Rhythm Rainbow Live) as Decim (just "the Bartender" in the original short), the bartender and arbiter at the bar Quindecim (floor 15). He shows no emotion and always talks quietly. He takes pride in his job and never forgets to show visitors respect.

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Asami Seto (Tari Tari, Valvrave the Liberator) as Black-Haired Woman, a clerk who works at Quindecim. Along with Decim, she keeps an eye on the guests. She's strong of spirit and says what she thinks.

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Rumi Ookubo (Yuyushiki, Barakamon) as Nona, Decim and Ginty's boss. From her own place on the 90th floor, she manages all the other floors. In spite of her young appearance, she's wise and experienced.

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Yoshimasa Hosoya (Haikyu!!, Kids on the Slope) as Ginty, an arbiter, like Decim, from floor 15. He has a very violent nature and only thinks of himself.

Staff

Director: Yuzuru Tachikawa
Character Designer/Animation Director: Shinichi Kurita
Art Director : Satoru Hirayanagi
Director of Photography: Hiroki Kawashita
Color Design : Yoshinori Horikawa
CG Director : Shigenori Hirozumi
Editing : Naoki Kawanishi
Music : Yuuki Hayashi
Sound Director : Satoshi Motoyama
Studio : Madhouse

Info

Official Site
Funimation stream
OP (Best of the Season!)
Sequel of sorts to this

Impressions

ASSauLTxMasTER said:
Death Parade 01

This OP is freaking awesome. (despite how unrelated it currently is)

As far as the episode, I really liked it. Pacing was a bit fast but it was pretty good overall. I'll continue to watch.
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SliceSabre said:
Death Parade 01


Though I did accurately guess the premise before it was said out loud, I was still well entertained. The show is very well animated and the twist of what happened to the couple at the end somewhat amused me. I look forward to more of the awesome bartender.

~wan
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CheapJuice said:
Death Parade - 02

The way they chose to explain the setting and the rules of this arbiter chamber with the use of a "new recruit" was a nice.
I think more of a quick explanation would've worked just as fine, instead of spending the majority of the episode on behind the scenes of the previous episode. And maybe get some screen time for the rest of the crew we see in the OP instead.
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B

Beefeater

Banned
So far this show has been masterful at deceiving the audience. There's a lot going on in each "death game" that passes most people by, and the true fun of this show lies in picking apart each episode and forming your own theories about what's going on, the creators' intent and so on.

I count Billiards as the pilot episode pretty much, I say this even though it might not "fit" perfectly in the Death Parade continuity, because even if it's a prototype for the TV show it's probably the episode that stands alone the best.

The developments in DP, especially in episode 2 suggest a larger focus on the bartenders as flawed people, and world building. This is worrying, because it's quite a deviation from the Billiards short which focused almost entirely on the pair that came through the elevators. This, along with the way they laid everything on the table in ep2, makes the premise lose a bit of its original mystique.

However, if they handle this larger scope properly it could really pay off for the better. I'm just really unsure what to make of it so far. It's like going from The Hobbit to Lord of the Rings, if we're allowed to make poor analogies.
 
E

Envelope

sealed with a kiss
2nd episode i think was necessary to turn this into a full length series from the half hour short, at the very least it established the arbiters as flawed, and for an episode that was half recap it complemented the first ep very well.
 
Tizoc

Tizoc

Member
Waaaaaaaaaaait wasn't this an animated short released some time last year? They got to make a full series about it? Cool will give it a watch.
 
D

Dynamite Ringo Matsuri

Member
Caught the first ep awhile back, was surprisingly solid, but a little calculated in its reveals and whatnot. Show has definite potential though, and is one of the more interesting ones I've seen in awhile
 
F

FluxWaveZ

Member
MetroidPrimeRib said:
Yeah, but he was tricked. Although the fact that you can trick Arbiters seems like a massive oversight, they'll probably go more in depth with that later.
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You mean tricked by the woman? I wouldn't say it's really him being tricked, but him sucking at his job since one would think it's those kinds of emotional subtleties that one in that position is supposed to pick up on.
 
F

FluxWaveZ

Member
I just watched the Death Billiards OVA and I really enjoyed it, maybe even more than episode 1. Though, there are probably premise differences between the two, since I had thought the visitors were supposed to die at the same place and at the same time, not just the latter.

Hope a trend of this show isn't that the one we don't expect will be sent to The Void each time. Well, unless there's some subversion going on between what "reincarnation" and "The Void" truly signify, which will be revealed later on.
 
A

Aureon

Please do not let me serve on a jury. I am actually a crazy person.
Death Billiards was extremely good, so i'm watching.
Series seems to expand nicely, but doesn't quite have the same incredible pacing Billiards did.
 
O

Ophelion

Member
I actually hope it becomes a trend going forward where we see a game and how all its related drama plays out and then we see the reverse as motives and hidden meanings of things are picked apart.

In a way, reminds me of the structure of Danganronpa (er, the game not necessarily the anime, which I haven't seen.)

It would be like spending an episode on the investigation and then a following episode on the trial, loosely speaking.

That could be pretty cool actually.
 
B

Beefeater

Banned
Ugh, no thanks. I prefer figuring stuff out for myself (which I more or less did with both Death Billiards and Darts, so I hope this is a one time thing.
 
F

FluxWaveZ

Member
Episode 3

Gah, where was the despair? The violence!? I suppose it makes sense that there'd be a couple like this eventually, though. Her secret ended up being kind of underwhelming for me, though; I was thinking they were going to reveal that
Mai's operation was actually a male-to-female surgery as a dude who liked Shigeru but couldn't catch his attention.
Also, it seemed like they were both
sent to 'Heaven' in the end, so I guess it doesn't have to be one or the other.

Next episode features the best game of all: video games. Wonder when—or even if—we'll learn more about Decim and the roles of each person in that purgatory.
 
R

Rankun

Neo Member
This thread needs more love.

That may be the shoujo romance manga fan inside me speaking, but episode 3 was absolutely brilliant. I just loved the sweet interaction between the players, the calming atmosphere and the
unexpected happy ending which was really a load off my mind because I was waiting for shit to hit the fan for the whole time, especially after Decim told the black-haired woman that he doesn't see a favorable outcome for them
.

Also judging from the preview,
next episode doesn't seem to be a continuation of this story, which is good, because it wrapped up nicely
.
 
L

Lautaro

Member
Aureon said:
Did we get a two-Heaven round?
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Two Reincarnation round, I guess they both get a new chance.


I just watched Death Billiards in youtube (the pilot of this show) and I think the mechanics of the judgement are not about good vs evil but actually they give reincarnation to the people with pending business or desires on life while the void gets the people that are "done" in the sense that they can't learn more with a new life (I hope this is the case, judging if people are good or bad seems something "too human" for Decim and co. to care).

Well, they showed some Budha statue in the second episode...
 
D

Defuser

Member
I'm glad not every episode is a turn on each other segment and it goes to show even both can go to heaven. Decim making a joke? Damn.
 
R

Rankun

Neo Member
Lautaro said:
Well, they showed some Budha statue in the second episode...
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This is actually something I've been wondering about. Which mythology does this series use? If it was straight Buddhism, the Void (Niravana) would actually be the more favorable option, but reincarnation seems to be the "good" choice. Decim even said so in episode 2 when he explained it to the black-haired woman. Heaven and Hell are also, according to him, only terms he uses to explain it more easily.

My guess so far would be that they use something that is not based on any real religion, or maybe an "every religion is right in some points" approach.
 
N

Nephtis

Member
Episode 3

Holy crap, this episode had me at the edge of my seat. The two of them seemed like really nice people, and I kept on dreading this to end badly for either of them until the very end.

The entire thing was really heartwarming. I was not expecting that.

Pun intended.
 
E

Ezalc

Member
I enjoyed the third episode, I liked the fact that it didn't necessarily have to have so much conflict in each case. The fact that this one was more tranquil is a good break from the violent ones but I do kind of wish it had come later so that could have been emphasized more.
 
Werewolf Jones

Werewolf Jones

Member
Haven't watched the third episode but from the first two episodes I'm not feeling it as well as Death Billiards which I probably enjoyed more than LWA.
 
A

Admiral Woofington

Member
Yeah the show is doing a good job in not doing the same thing twice in a row. Hopefully they can a find a way the introduction and revelation in every episode involving participants gets cut off. Which might be a bit hard since the whole game consists of new players.
 
S

Saprol

Member
I was expecting something more outlandish than just plastic surgery given the reaction to when Decim whispered something to that lady.
 
A

Anbec7

Member
Cloudy said:
So I went back and watched Death Billiards. Can someone explain that ending to me?
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I don't know if I'm correct but...

It seems the old man went to the void and the young guy reincarnated, why? When we saw the flashbacks from their lives we saw that the young guy didn't do anything bad besides his girlfriend, while the old guy enjoyed bullying others in his life.
It is a little confusing but since the young guy had more to live and really showed his regret at not having living with all his desires, it seems he got a second chance and the old guy since he didn't repent or anything like that and had nothing left to yearn for... he went to the void (besides the creepy smile at the end)

Besides, from the explanation on the first episode, there is no heaven or hell.

It's just a term for a better understanding of the "clients"

what I believe happens is, if you have some desire to live and show it you reincarnate.
While if you have nothing left from life and accept death, you go to the void.

I apologize for the wall of text, hope this helps!

Anyway I'm REALLY loving this show... it's been a while since I got hooked by an anime.
 
T

Talka

Member
Watched Death Billiards last night. Thought it was stupid.

There's a fine line between ambiguity and nonsense. Death Billiards was the latter. You can't invent a flimsy premise, never explain it, and then act all mysterious when it's impenetrable.
 
B

Beefeater

Banned
Talka said:
Watched Death Billiards last night. Thought it was stupid.

There's a fine line between ambiguity and nonsense. Death Billiards was the latter. You can't invent a flimsy premise, never explain it, and then act all mysterious when it's impenetrable.
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What did you think was underexplained?
 
C

Chariot

Member
Anbec7 said:
I don't know if I'm correct but...

It seems the old man went to the void and the young guy reincarnated, why? When we saw the flashbacks from their lives we saw that the young guy didn't do anything bad besides his girlfriend, while the old guy enjoyed bullying others in his life.
It is a little confusing but since the young guy had more to live and really showed his regret at not having living with all his desires, it seems he got a second chance and the old guy since he didn't repent or anything like that and had nothing left to yearn for... he went to the void (besides the creepy smile at the end)

Besides, from the explanation on the first episode, there is no heaven or hell.

It's just a term for a better understanding of the "clients"

what I believe happens is, if you have some desire to live and show it you reincarnate.
While if you have nothing left from life and accept death, you go to the void.

I apologize for the wall of text, hope this helps!

Anyway I'm REALLY loving this show... it's been a while since I got hooked by an anime.
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I almost full agree, but
I don't think that him bullying someone as a teenager is hard evidence for him being a bad person. But I agree with him having lived enough to be content. Plus there is this scene with him whispering in Decims ear. I think hr told him exactly that.
 
S

Siegcram

Member
Watched the first three episodes of this today and while I'm not particularly impressed by the show, the opening song is a work of art.
So freaking catchy.
 
R

Rankun

Neo Member
Ep. 04

Another really intense episode. The one thing this show does really well so far is the dynamics between the characters. I really loved
the tension between Decim and the black-haired woman as well when she was opposed to him using the cheating device
. It was a really nice change of pace after last week's beautiful laid-back episode, and the more backstory we got about the deceased, the more emotional it got. I really didn't like
the actress at first, but when the whole family thing came up, it made her a lot more sympathetic.

I'm still a little bit surprised about the judgement.
He committed suicide but regretted it, so he gets reincarnated, but she realized that she just wants to be with her family and gets send into the Void? Maybe it was because she treated her coworkers like shit, but it still felt a bit harsh. Especially after Decim seemed so nice to both of them in the end, telling them that they did well.

Siegcram said:
Watched the first three episodes of this today and while I'm not particularly impressed by the show, the opening song is a work of art.
So freaking catchy.
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Check out the band's YouTube channel. I love them. Their other songs are awesome as well.
 
R

Raxus

Member
Death Parade 04

w8fIA.gif


I dunno but this episode struck a cord with me more than the other three which were also excellent.
For a second I thought it would be another double resurrection round
.
 
L

Lautaro

Member
So sad T.T

Anyway, I think we'll never be happy with any ruling outcome because the idea of judging a person after life is by itself inmoral in my opinion. What the young guy said at the end of Death Billiards is true after all.
 
F

FluxWaveZ

Member
Episode 4

I liked the juxtaposition between the silly aesthetic of the arcade game and the seriousness of everything surrounding it, including the meaning behind the special moves. An emotionally engaging episode.

I wasn't too into Decim's
tampering with the game, but then I guess it's his role as arbiter to push people to their emotional limits in order to properly pass down a judgement.
Speaking of which, I'm not too confused by the verdict. It's pretty much how I thought it should go down each time:
actress lady was straight up trying to murder the other dude in a fit of despair. That's pretty much what it comes down to.

Decim said in an earlier episode that how they lived their lives until they died had nothing to do with the verdict passed down—that's the goal of the games—and he doesn't seem to be the type to lie, so I don't think whatever they had been up to before they got to Quindecim really matters in that context.

Seems like next episode will be more about the arbiters and the people who work with them, which will be a nice change of pace.
 
A

Admiral Woofington

Member
Death Parade 4

I was expecting more following the comments but I wasn't really emotionally invested in either story. It was sad at the end when
when they're both crying their hearts out
. As to his judgement I can't fault the decision too much based on the rules of the game.
FluxWaveZ said:
Episode 4

I liked the juxtaposition between the silly aesthetic of the arcade game and the seriousness of everything surrounding it, including the meaning behind the special moves. An emotionally engaging episode.

I wasn't too into Decim's
tampering with the game, but then I guess it's his role as arbiter to push people to their emotional limits in order to properly pass down a judgement.
Speaking of which, I'm not too confused by the verdict. It's pretty much how I thought it should go down each time:
actress lady was straight up trying to murder the other dude in a fit of despair. That's pretty much what it comes down to.

Decim said in an earlier episode that how they lived their lives until they died had nothing to do with the verdict passed down—that's the goal of the games—and he doesn't seem to be the type to lie, so I don't think whatever they had been up to before they got to Quindecim really matters in that context.

Seems like next episode will be more about the arbiters and the people who work with them, which will be a nice change of pace.
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Yeah the highlighted must be completely true or else
the guy wouldn't have been sent to heaven/resurrection since he committed suicide

Next episode we seem to meet the rest of the cast so maybe the game itself won't have a major focus in the episode.
 
J

jimwhat

Member
I've definitely started to drift away from Anime because of the direction it seems to be going (moe and shit), but this show is amazing.

The stories, characters, animations, emotions, OP - All Amazing!

Are there any other shows similar to this airing this season?
 
A

Admiral Woofington

Member
jimwhat said:
I've definitely started to drift away from Anime because of the direction it seems to be going (moe and shit), but this show is amazing.

The stories, characters, animations, emotions, OP - All Amazing!

Are there any other shows similar to this airing this season?
Click to expand...

Similar to this? No. But there are shows that aren't 'moe and shit' every season, you just gotta find them.
 
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