Death Parade

[Ryllharu]

Death Parade




Description: A bar that serves you one chance to win. You cannot leave until the game is over, and when it is, your life may be too.

This is a continuation/expansion or full series adaptation of the Anime Mirai OVA Death Billiards.

AniDB | ANN

Death Billiards OVA
Death Parade - 01



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The premise is fairly simple. Two people die at the same time, and the pair fight over who gets to be reincarnated and who is sent to hell or banished to the void....by playing pub games. They have amnesia of their final moments, and over the course of the game, remember what led them to the bar, often in some manner of intense conflict. The solemn bartender just watches over them and makes sure that they both play, and follow the sparse rules.

Since most the characters are guests, the mystery and meat of the series surround the staff of the bar / residents of the underworld.

I expect a lot of prominent guest VAs over the course of the series. The first episode of the series featured Kawasumi Ayako (Saber) and Nakai Kazuya (Zoro from One Piece).

But the focus of the series will clearly be the development of Kurokami no Onna (Black Hair Woman). She's different from the staff of the bar, and expresses some concern about the events that are clearly ordinary to the bartender and hostess.

Animation is excellent, because Madhouse.

[David75]

But it felt extremely generic and above all was utterly boring for a first episode. At least that's what I felt.

If they have better scenari, they should have picked one for the first ep, because the scenario for the first ep trully was awful for my tastes.

[Buffalobiian]

HS - Episode 02

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Decim lost some major points this episode. I severely overestimated his abilities as an arbiter. For a judge of human character, he fails hard at understanding human expressions. That assistant of his is sorely needed.

[David75]

So we had to have a debrif ep, really?

Even the assistant fails in really understanding feelings and motivations.

Even the idea that fears is enough to reveal anything is a fault in itself.

Heck, even deciding to void one of the two is moronic. They killed no one, they were only cheating/lying. The morale of bearing the child of another when you're married (which isn't even the case here), is only something society build for itself. It's not a bad thing per se and shouldn't be used in the context we have here.

It feels like bad justice, with all of the faults and mistakes your everyday Joe is suceptible to, and in fact you do not even have proper judgment.

[Buffalobiian]

Well for me the main flaw is with the idea that when two people die at the same time, one of them must be reincarnated while the other must be voided. It doesn't make any sense when you think about it, since they'd be judged on their own merits had they died separately.

Still, the idea of using a game to pick the better person does interest me so I'll still be watching.

It's also weird that nowhere in this show do even the Arbiters consider the Void to be a good place to go considering the parallels this has to the Buddhist view of reincarnation. I thought Decim made the right decision last episode by sending Machiko to the desirable void and gave him points for being insightful. Oh how that disappointment hit.

[Ryllharu]

Death Parade - 03 [HorribleSubs]


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This episode got me all full of feels.

Also, Death Parade has the best OP of all shows airing this season. Undisputable.

Kurokami no Onna was really cute this episode too. Even with the amount of time that has passed since the manager put them together, Kurokami has managed to humanize Decim quite a bit. The shot were she brushes aside her hair to hear him whisper the secret to her...hrrrng.

[shinta|hikari]

Decim lost some major points this episode. I severely overestimated his abilities as an arbiter. For a judge of human character, he fails hard at understanding human expressions. That assistant of his is sorely needed.

Decim didn't see the woman's expression when she started lying at the end. All he saw was her insane behavior. The assistant had a critical edge.

Even then, Nona clearly said that Decim was not wrong. He should not be swayed by momentary emotions. The woman may have wanted to save her husband at the end, but that does not erase the fact that she had an affair, an act that would destroy her distrustful husband (which actually happened, only she got taken along with it).

I, for one, like the fallibility the arbiters have. It makes the show interesting. I was actually hoping at the end of episode 2 that it isn't going to be "It's all according to plan." - Decim, and it was not. Decim is actually a character that can and will grow.

@David - Right and wrong is a purely human construct. That does not make it invalid in this case. Judgment, by its very definition, requires a standard or basis. It just so happens that these arbiters use something similar to what is socially accepted for modern society.

The latest episode showed that two people can get reincarnated. The entire game is just a show to bring out the true colors of the deceased, nothing else.

[Buffalobiian]

Even then, Nona clearly said that Decim was not wrong. He should not be swayed by momentary emotions. The woman may have wanted to save her husband at the end, but that does not erase the fact that she had an affair, an act that would destroy her distrustful husband (which actually happened, only she got taken along with it).

The latest episode showed that two people can get reincarnated. The entire game is just a show to bring out the true colors of the deceased, nothing else.

So what I'm getting is that the memories are not enough to know the truth about someone, hence the point of needing this afterlife game. But then we're not supposed to base our decision on "momentary emotions" that happen during the game? Decim was wowwed by the woman's reveal, and that's in a bad way. He sent her to the void based largely on that. This is evident by the fact that he wondered whether he was wrong - whether his interpretation of the woman's outburst was wrong.

Regarding the bold part, Nona actually said "Everybody makes mistakes". That's clearly saying Decim made a mistake.

How things should have happened was to have Nona, Decim and nameless girl (from now on known as Kuro) all be arbiters, since Decim alone can't see everything as you said.

I'm getting tired of the pre-game explanations. Watching the OVA, ep1 and ep2 essentially feels like watching the same episode three times.

[shinta|hikari]

You should not base your judgment on momentary emotions. You are supposed to base them off a combination of everything, including the memories. Decim made that call also because he knew the woman cheated. He even said so himself, when he was surprised when the assistant claimed that the child was genuinely the dude's. Even the woman probably did not know whose it was, but in the end regretted her affair. You are trying to limit Decim's decision to one reason when we, the audience, really have no way to tell if that is the case. The parts where he reacted not only to the outburst but also to all the actions AND the memories of the couple beforehand strongly suggest he considered far more than just the woman's act.

EDITED OUT: Rewatched it and realized I misheard it the first time.

I am personally with Decim on this one. The girl had an affair, and that ruined their lives. Just because the woman wanted to save her husband from the suffering of killing his own child by accident (after knowing they are already dead - this is important because she has nothing to lose, the assistant even commented that it was a final act to preserve their memories) does not erase her sin. However, I would probably have sent both of them to the void because the dude was an ass during the game, even before he remembered his wife's cheating.

[Buffalobiian]

"Everyone makes mistakes. But then, people's feelings often get expressed in random ways. You're an arbiter; don't just brush them off."

That's what Nona said. To me, that means "It's okay to make mistakes. However, human emotions are more complex than what they superficially appear. You're an arbiter, don't just ignore them."

She scolded Decim for his lack of depth in analysis.

I agree that Decim takes many things into account. What I can't agree with was that the final act was trivial in nature and that it didn't have significant sway. This is evident in how Decim thought he might have been wrong based on that one interpretation difference.

Had it been otherwise, he'd have acted more like you and said something like "I'd have sent her to the void anyway".

It's pretty evident that the final act sold Decim on the idea that the girl was a complete bitch and the guy deserved a second chance.

[shinta|hikari]

I edited my first comment after rewatching it. The translation made it a bit vague, but the Japanese was very clear and made me revamp my understanding of the line.

I now agree with you that Decim was indeed fooled by the act. However, that was the only thing he was scolded for. The decision itself was not wrong.

I have no idea what made you think that the guy deserved a second chance after trying to murder someone in front of Decim. The final act did nothing to save the dude. What it did was doom the woman. To some, she might have deserved a second chance if her final act was taken in consideration.

I don't believe in second chances, though. I don't think a selfless act after finding out you are dead should hold any sway at all. It has no consequence in her mind, after all, especially because she won the game.

[Ryllharu]

There are really only two options:

1) You win the game, and get reincarnated, playing with the idea that you can play a game against Death, and if you win, you live. No matter what a bastard/bitch you were, making the rules of the game literal. You want it more, you get to live.

2) With the true nature of the players revealed, winning/losing doesn't matter.

Option 1 is certainly boring unless there is a fist-fight every episode, so Death Parade is wisely going with Option 2. Death Billiards did as well, but in the end there it was completely ambiguous and the masks don't represent anything as they clearly do now. With Episode 3 not showing a demon mask for either elevator, they ruin the mystery by adding certainty. I think that the OVA approach was a little better than the one they're using here.

The old man goes into the demon elevator, but right as the doors shut, he smiles viciously. My interpretation was that he realized he had won.

What I didn't like about the first episode's decision was that she was obliterated and he was reincarnated, despite her winning the game and then opting to sacrifice herself. That kind of spits in the face of the message they're trying to project. Which I suppose was actually the point of Nona's remark.

This is why Decim made the mistake in the first episode. He failed to recognize that Machiko was still doing it out of love. Even though she cheated on him and felt guilty about it, even though she said all those things to hurt him, even if she clearly stopped loving him partway through the game. She realized he wasn't the man she fell in love with and was no longer the man she betrayed once he had become paranoid. Her guilt was gone, she was free to do what she wanted, he had proved himself to be an ass...and she let him be saved anyway.

[Buffalobiian]

I have no idea what made you think that the guy deserved a second chance after trying to murder someone in front of Decim. The final act did nothing to save the dude. What it did was doom the woman. To some, she might have deserved a second chance if her final act was taken in consideration.

I don't think the guy deserves a second chance. I said Decim thought he did, based on Machiko making it seem like he was a victim.

I now agree with you that Decim was indeed fooled by the act. However, that was the only thing he was scolded for. The decision itself was not wrong.

Why do you say that? Decim wondered whether or not he made a wrong decision, to which Nona says "Everyone makes mistakes". The only reason you say that is if someone makes a mistake and you're telling them not to be bogged down by it.

As for the subs, I found it ambiguous as to what themrefers to in

But then, people's feelings often get expressed in random ways. You're an arbiter; don't just brush them off.

1) You're an Arbiter; don't just brush those feelings off. (aka read more deeply)
2) You're an Arbiter; don't just brush those mistakes off. (don't get bogged down by your mistakes, but don't ignore them either. Learn from them)

Either one could work, really.

I really do wonder what the Arbiters think of reincarnation/void. It's obviously different from the Buddhist interpretation despite the imagery.

[shinta|hikari]

I don't think the guy deserves a second chance. I said Decim thought he did, based on Machiko making it seem like he was a victim.

Decim already knew that the dude was a victim. He knew that the girl cheated. That meant everything she was saying about not cheating were lies. Don't forget that the arbiters do not know what the players remember as they play the game - the girl might already know she had an affair even when she claimed she did not.

Seeing him act like a nut isn't a good reason to give him a second chance. However, it did serve to doom the wife after she acted too well and even fooled the arbiter. But she didn't know that. She did all that without consideration of the consequences because she had no idea what would trigger what conclusion.

Why do you say that? Decim wondered whether or not he made a wrong decision, to which Nona says "Everyone makes mistakes". The only reason you say that is if someone makes a mistake and you're telling them not to be bogged down by it.

Decim wondered whether or not he made a wrong decision because he mistakenly interpreted the outburst. Nona scolded him for mistaking how human's express their emotions. That was what she meant by "mistake."

Even at the end of the episode, Nona lowered her rating of the black haired girl because her view was too naive. If Decim had been completely off base, I would think Nona would scold him a bit more.

[Ryllharu]

I think, much like Nona, you're underestimating Kurokami.

She's very perceptive. We don't know her background (nor does she), but she's definitely human (either than or an amnesiac deity). Decim and Nona aren't. She's instantly able to see things that the others overlook. She doesn't have the foreknowledge they do by absorbing the participant's memories, but she catches on quickly. She has the sympathy and empathy that they lack.

She knows how to ease their fears and get them going with the flow of the bar.

- Decim is all about the task at hand, though he's begun to learn about joking.
- Nona has some high-minded master bullshit scheme going on, but she lacks humanity all the same.
- Kurokami can relate. She's moved by the player's words, she sympathizes with their confusion, she admires their courage.

That ability to connect with the participants is why she is valued. She can relate to them and they can relate to her. The arbiters are inhuman and the players can tell, even when Decim doesn't have to threaten them.

[shinta|hikari]

No, I didn't mean to underestimate her at all. Like you, I evaluate her very highly.

What Nona was saying was that being human can also be a weakness in their line of work. Kurokami believed that the couple would have been happy if they didn't die, but that was a very optimistic outlook and may not hold true in every case. In this specific case, it would have been unlikely. The dude distrusted his wife based off some gossip in the restroom. It was just a coincidence that the wife DID indeed commit adultery. You can say Nona is too much of a pessimist, but we can never confirm who was correct because the couple died. I'll side with Nona just because she is a pro at this, and Kurokami is a newbie, albeit very talented.

Decim and Kurokami complement each other very well, which was why Nona put them together.

And no, I am not siding with Nona because she is smaller and flatter... I think.

[Buffalobiian]

Decim already knew that the dude was a victim. He knew that the girl cheated.

That's not what I mean. Decim can only view memories as a movie. He does not know what the person is thinking during those memories unless they said it out loud, hence the need for this game. He knows the girl cheated. He does not know whether she married her husband because she loved him or because she was in it for the money.

That's where he got tricked and thought the man flipped rightly because his wife never loved him in the first place. On the other hand, the truth is that the wife cheated on him for an unknown reason (was she drunk and ended up in a one-night-stand?), but truly loved him. In the first case, he was clearly a victim.

Seeing him act like a nut isn't a good reason to give him a second chance. However, it did serve to doom the wife after she acted too well and even fooled the arbiter. But she didn't know that. She did all that without consideration of the consequences because she had no idea what would trigger what conclusion.

Why did Decim send the man back for reincarnation again then? My interpretation was that Decim thought the man deserved a second life because he his cheating, unloving wife raised his suspicions and ultimately caused his motor vehicle collision and death. The truth is, she cheated on him but still loves him and there really was a person named Matchy. The husband happened to be correct about the cheating, but his outbursts and accusations were not based on accurate observations. The cheating, and his suspicions (leading to death) were coincidental, not causative.

As we have seen this episode, the arbiters are perfectly capable of sending both persons to reincarnation (and presumably the void). Decim chose not to, despite the man's under-performance. I can only think of the above reason to explain why he got his second life.

Decim wondered whether or not he made a wrong decision because he mistakenly interpreted the outburst. Nona scolded him for mistaking how human's express their emotions. That was what she meant by "mistake."Even at the end of the episode, Nona lowered her rating of the black haired girl because her view was too naive. If Decim had been completely off base, I would think Nona would scold him a bit more.

Actually, could you quote what Nona actually said in Japanese, and your interpretation afterwards? Specifically the line after she said "Saiteisha no kuseni,-" (You're an Arbiter; E02 18:31)

It doesn't make sense that Decim could have wrongly interpreted the outburst yet made the correct decision. Decim would only be upset if wrongly interpreting the outburst changed the outcome. Nona actually scolded him pretty sternly for that.

The elevator boy said it's rare for Nona not to put someone down, but that's not necessarily to their face. In fact, she smiled most of the time in an impressed why while listening to Kuro's interpretation (right up until she said they'd be happy had the guy not misunderstood the Matchy gossip). Kuro's was much more insightful than Decim's (who couldn't even comprehend the idea of someone lying in this scenario since they're dead). It's just a habit of hers to not say anything bad about someone. It wasn't until after the event that Nona rationalised why "Happy End" didn't actually sit well with her - and she had the benefit of memory-vision.

We never heard to answer "How'd Decim go" after all. At the very least, she sees that Decim needs extra help.

[shinta|hikari]

No need to quote anything. You got the line right. We are just interpreting the nuance a little differently.

You can make a mistake in the process but still arrive at the correct conclusion, is what I'm saying. You should also take note that Decim asked Nona if he was mistaken. He didn't say that he was. He just started to doubt his decision because he failed to see through the act, which means he made a judgment with incomplete information.

If he would have surely decided that the girl deserved a second chance with that info, he would have said something along the lines of "I made a mistake," instead of "Did I make a mistake?"

You seem to be making the "unloving" part a big deal, and that is where we differ. I think the affair, by itself, is already grounds for her to be sent to the void. Decim may or may not believe that his decision is correct in the end. What I am saying is that I believe that his decision was correct, and at the very least, Nona did not think it was worth scolding him more than 5 seconds for. If sending someone to the void by mistake only warrants 5 seconds of scolding (and no intervention whatsoever), I don't think these arbiters would bother going through all the trouble of setting up a game in the first place.

EDIT: About the reason why Decim gave the man a second chance, I think it's simply because of what Decim saw in the flashback. The dude thought his wife was having an affair (even if the source was wrong), and she was. To Decim, who only saw memories and not intentions or feelings, that meant the dude was a victim already and deserved a second chance. What the woman's act did affect was her own fate. It just so happens we disagree on what fate she actually deserves.

Just to be clear, I only agree with Decim's decision (result, not the process) on the woman's fate. I already said in an earlier post that I think he screwed up not shoving the dude into the void too.

[Lucifus]

So what's the verdict at this point, this anime worth picking up?

[shinta|hikari]

Short answer: Very.