Death parades strength lies in its characters. Episodic in
nature, the story gradually unravels itself as you continue watching. The first
episode was extremely intense, and I think it must have turned off many anime
fans or casual watchers. I would compare it to the first episode of Psycho
Pass, but with no rape and less blood. But I guess it’s just a way of grabbing
the potential anime watcher’s attention, though it was a little too intense for
my liking. Bottom line is, the first episode was too intense, its characters
were little but two dimensional cardboard characters and the only thing keeping
you watching, is the mystery surrounding the plot.
Thankfully, some of your questions will be answered in
episode 2. Everything is not as it seems and mistakes are made, giving us
insight into the main characters. Despite being tasked with judging the souls
who come into his bar, Decim is not just some godly character. As the episode
wears on, it is shown that these ‘shinigami’s of sorts are able to make
mistakes.
I think that this was a great twist to what seems to be an
overused and clichéd plot. It allows the fans to connect with Decim in a way,
because you’re both simultaneously learning about the guests whose souls are
sent to be judged, and there is a palpable risk that Decim may make the wrong
decision and send the wrong souls into oblivion.
Plot gets a 7/10 because as much as I like the
setting and premise of death parade, the ending does not answer several of the
answers it brought up during the course of the anime. Like who exactly are they
working for, if ‘God’ no longer exists? And what about the woman in black? Why
was she special? The ending was pretty okay. But one thing I disliked was the addition of Nona snooping around and ‘hinting’
to the viewers that they were part of some overarching scheme, and all that
buildup led to nothing in particular. It tricks the viewers into a wild goose
chase, and I’m not sure I quite like that.
In addition, Death parade excels more in getting the viewers
to sympathize/understand the guests and thus, capturing their attention. Or
rather, the story is able to go forward because of how well the anime is able
to get the character’s emotions across, and makes the viewers question if Decim’s
choice was truly the ‘right’ one.
Characters gets a
good 8/10 because when the credits
finally roll, I just sort of sat in my chair, stunned. ‘Wow’ was all I could say. I was glad to have been part of the
journey Decim and the woman in black partook in, because at the end, they have
clearly changed for the better and come to terms with themselves. The anime
does a great job at fleshing out the main characters, though the side
characters seem just sort of…there. It doesn’t go deeper into their motivations
or whatsoever. Partly why I gave it an 8 instead of a 9.
Music gets 8/10. The opening was amazing, and I
can confidently say that I never skipped the opening whenever I watched a new
episode. ‘Flyers’ sung by Bradio is one of my favourite openings to date,
though it greatly contrasts the overall mood of the anime. The ending was less
to my liking, but it did fit some episodes pretty well, particularly the more
dark ones. The soundtracks on the other hand were just so-so, nothing that really stood out for me. It
went well with the mood and did its job, is all I can say.
Recommended: 4/5 while it may not be for everyone, people
who are looking for something borderline dark and enjoy dipping into the
shallow end of psychological genre will like this. Its exploration of humans
was simultaneously fun and sad to watch and one can definitely relate on a much
baser level. You may see bits of yourself in the characters and while jarring,
it does give you an interesting perspective.
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