Death Parade

Death Parade is an Mystery, Thriller, Game anime. It takes place in a strange bar, which a bartender decides the fate of the recently deceased.

The anime is episodic with a loose main story. It was quite messy and the pacing was off at times. The setting of the anime is quite unique but apart from that it follows popular anime tropes. I think that the anime should have had more comedy and it could have included more rules of the Afterlife, as I found the rules were too simplistic. I also would have preferred a more episodic show and the main story should have been less prevalent and more simpler. Apart from that, I found this anime well crafted and the dialogue great.

The characters in this anime were decent. I wished that the main characters could have acted in unexpected ways. Decim, the main character was my favourite character and he seemed intelligent and cold. Chiyuki, the other main character was caring but I would prefer if she was used more for comedic relief and was less prevalent in the anime. Some of the background characters were really unnecessary like the old man (Oculus) and Castra and they should have played a bigger part in the anime or not be in it at way. I would have preferred to see Ginti in the anime a lot more.

The animation in this anime is good. It fitted the theme very well and it had a lot of dark colours in this anime. The composition is great. The character design is also good but I found it hard to take Chiyuki because she looked like an emo/goth teen.

I watched the dub and I found the voice acting pretty good. I think they could have used better voice actors for some of the background characters but the main were fine. The OP of the anime is good but it doesn't fit the theme and I would prefer if they used a different OP. The ED was fine.

In conclusion, I found the anime enjoyable and I would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in Mystery anime.

I really appreciated this take on afterlife as I never had seen anything like this before. The older I get the rarer it happens. Death Parade presents a curious angle on human life and its end. Even though I'm not a big fan of the whole religion-smelling heaven-hell concept but it's not very focused on. But it poses curious questions. Are people pushed to the limit - still the same people? Is darkness in the soul always there, or is it survival instinct? The series is visually beautiful, slow paced and sounds very charming. It perfectly pins that haunting atmosphere of a weird bar playing jazz when its raining outside(hope one day to visit a Death Parade themed bar if there is one). All in all I really recommend watching this.

Death Parade isn't a bad show, just one that wasn't properly utilized to its full potential. It had the setup to be something thought-provoking and entertaining at the same time, but due to the humdrum cast and unexplored setting, it only passes as a nice popcorn time passer. Also, the opening, since no one seem to shut up about it. Despite my qualms, I fully recommend it to anyone since it's entertaining at the very least.

After watching Death Billards, I just couldn't believe what I was getting into when I watched its sequel! I tell ya, this anime would give a wide range of emotions such as shock, sadness, anger, excitement, you damn name it lol! This anime is really one of the best dark ones I've ever bumped into and like it really gives you a rollercoaster of reality and how we question ourselves - what will be death like for us?

I just think this anime was brillant, I loved its originality, it's opening song, it's characters and its storyline.

Guys you gotta watch this series but watch Death Billards first because you'll be coming for a wild ride afterwards!

This anime will grab your full attention from the start and never let go. It begins with a couple arriving after their death in an unknown place where they are to be judged on whether they deserve to be reincarnated or sent to the void. In order to be fairly judged, they must play a game. It is during this game that their hidden darkness is brought out. At the end of the game the arbiter will make the decision on who will be reincarnated and who will be sent to the void.

The main intrigue in the show is that none of the people have clear memories and it's throughout the game that these memories are brought to light. The memories can make a person react very differently, as they realize how they've been hurt in life and how they feel in general about the life they lead.

The show does have it's issues. The existence of the arbiters is somewhat explored, but never fully explained. Why do these beings exist? They don't even know that themselves. There's also a god-like character who's purpose is never discovered.

These flaws don't stop this from being a great show however. I highly recommend this anime if you like psychological thrillers and want to delve into existentialism a bit.