Score: 8.7 / 10
Breakdown:
- Pacing: 7
- Plot: 8
- Characters: 8.5
- Visuals: 10
- Music/Score: 10
- Entertainment Value: 9
- Social Discourse Value: 10
- Binge-watching worthiness value: 9
Non-Anime Enthusiast Main Takeaway
You should watch this if you are into things like:
- Mr. Robot
- Mr. Nobody
- Dead Like Me
- Pushing Daisies
Anime Enthusiast Main Takeaway
Don’t even bother reading the rest.
Go watch Death Parade.
Death Parade is a tear-jerking, psychologically-thrilling anime. It’s thought-provoking and might get a good discussion going with the right people.
The show also looks great!
Streaming Sources
Crunchyroll: https://www.crunchyroll.com/watch/G6E57JENY/death-seven-darts
Funimation:
https://www.funimation.com/shows/death-parade/
Hulu: https://www.hulu.com/series/death-parade-4518d23e-60ec-4722-b5aa-bb3324b11bd3
Bili Bili: https://www.bilibili.tv/en/video/2043450504
Plot Summary
Death Parade follows the story of Chiyuki, a dead woman who is among a cast of immortal arbiters as she regains her memories and awaits final judgement in the Quindecim.
https://death-parade.fandom.com/wiki/Chiyuki
The Quindecim is a bar that exists on the 15th floor of a multi-floor building between Heaven and Hell.
At the Quindecim, Deceased humans are judged accordingly by the Quindecim’s caretaker Decim.
https://death-parade.fandom.com/wiki/Decim#Death_Parade
Humans either go to heaven or go to hell based on Decim’s assessment.
As the show starts, Decim is basically your run-of-the-mill, “none of my business how you feel”, “just doing my job” protagonist who develops more human traits as the show progresses.
He doesn’t fully comprehend humans or their motives, nor does he know how to identify complex instances of good and bad; none of the cast, except Chiyuki, can relate with or fully identify human emotions beyond basic concepts. This opens the first dilemma in the series: Are humans being judged correctly?
From this first dilemma, Chiyuki’s story becomes the main focus of the show–at least in terms of the show’s primary goal which is for Chiyuki to stand trial/ receive judgement.
However, Chiyuki is a rare case and her trial/judgement requires a nuanced approach that Decim discovers alongside Chiyuki as she helps him pass judgment on other humans. Things get more interesting as more information about each character gets revealed.
Fun Things I found interesting:
The word “Quindecim” means a tax of 1/15th.
The “Quindecim” bar is located on the 15th floor.
1:15 across several biblical passages (Corinthians, Timothy, Mark, etc) seems to correlate with the shows.
1/15 = .0666 = the number of the beast and of mortal man.
Thanks for reading.
I tried to keep it short as the aim is to get you to watch, not read my opinion for an hour. My opinion is great, but it won’t yield the experience of enjoying this yourself regardless of how well I communicate my experience.
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