Death Parade

After death, either Heaven or Hell awaits most humans. But for a select few, death brings them to Quindecim—a bar where only pairs of people who die at the same time can enter. Attending the bar is an enigmatic figure known as Decim, who also acts as the arbiter. He passes judgment on those who wind up at Quindecim by challenging them to a life-threatening game. These games determine if the patron's soul will reincarnate into a new life, or be sent into the void, never to be seen again.

From darts and bowling to fighting games, the true nature of each patron slowly comes to light as they wager their souls. Though his methods remain unchanged, the sudden appearance of a black-haired amnesiac causes Decim to reevaluate his own rulings.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Decim Main

Maeno, Tomoaki Japanese

Kurokami no Onna Main

Seto, Asami Japanese

Nona Main

Ookubo, Rumi Japanese

Clavis Supporting

Uchiyama, Kouki Japanese

Ginti Supporting

Hosoya, Yoshimasa Japanese

Arita, Mayu Supporting

Tanezaki, Atsumi Japanese

Quin Supporting

Shiraishi, Ryouko Japanese

Tatsumi Supporting

Fujiwara, Keiji Japanese

Castra Supporting

Yuzuki, Ryouka Japanese

Oculus Supporting

Genda, Tesshou Japanese

Cook, Justin Producer

Nakatani, Toshio Producer

Taguchi, Ayuri Producer

Nara, Shunsuke Producer

Reviews

Jan 12, 2025

ferarriaga10

Recommended

Death Parade stands out as a hypnotic dance between life and death, a symphony of human nature stripped raw. This series challenges you, dares you to confront the big questions. What does it mean to live? To truly be alive? Are we more than the sum of our choices, or are we prisoners of our impulses, chained to the fleeting moments that define us? Death parade is about the why behind every choice we make, while dancing on the line between life’s chaos and death’s silence. Here, beneath the surface of simple games, humanity’s rawest impulses—love, anger, jealousy—come to life. With every dart thrown or ... card played, Death Parade pulls you deeper into its vivid world, where the players aren’t the only ones being judged.

This anime isn’t just a story it’s an invitation. An invitation to think, feel, and reflect on your own life. Are you playing the game, or are you just watching it pass you by?

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Jan 21, 2025

RemanTheArchean

Mixed Feelings

The premise of Death Parade is set out in the first episode, where the characters are being judged on whether their spirit gets reincarnated or cast out into the void. The main focus is on revealing what type of person they are through a simple game, with the game sometimes being manipulated to cause tension and force the players to reveal their secrets. If that sounds intriguing to you, I would agree. I hope I get to watch a show like that some day, because Death Parade quickly forgets about its premise and instead tells a story of people going through emotional turmoil instead. It's ... not altogether terrible, but I think the show would have been better if it focused on the moral judgements and mystery rather than having people cry all the time.

There's a LOT of overdramatic crying in this series. I kept a tally and over half of the 12 episodes feature someone balling their head off, frequently multiple times per episode. I guess it makes sense since they're dead and they're learning the often tragic circumstances of their death, but I'm the type of person who really doesn't like a focus on crying. I'm fine with a little bit to add dramatic flair to a particularly poignant scene, but this show wallows in it in a way that's just excessive. I've never been big on emotional stories, and that's especially true for characters I don't care about. Most characters in this show last for only one episode which isn't nearly enough time for me to care about their problems, so their crying quickly just became annoying.

The moral judgement bit was also somewhat confusing. A lot of the situations ended up seeming like they weren't deserving of moral judgements at all. In one case a girl gets plastic surgery and reunites with her childhood friend, and this somehow ends up being a moral clue that she was deserving to be reincarnated? Another dude doesn't appreciate his stepmother, then commits suicide... and also deserves to reincarnation? There's even one trial where they don't show the results of whether they're reincarnated or cast to the void, which may have been an artistic choice, but it sorta seemed like the show writers either couldn't make up their mind on whether to save or condemn, or simply forgot to pass judgement.

The mysteries were a mixed bag. The trials are set up such that people slowly regain their memories and recall details of their life and how they died, but I figured most of these well before they were revealed. There's also the overarching meta-narrative involving the other characters that has some mystery, but it doesn't really end up mattering all that much. In contrast, the setup of the trials was quite well done in episode 1, where the audience was put in the same boat as the people in the trial. There are red herrings to misdirect people into thinking e.g. whoever wins the game will be sent to heaven. I fell for these hard, and was pleasantly surprised when they were subverted. The show does this at least one more time later in the series.

Also on a more positive note, I liked many of the recurring characters in this series. I enjoyed watching Decim's dispassionate demeanor that reminded me a lot of myself. I also enjoyed watching Nona (the little manager chick) with her quiet confidence. She steals every scene she's in, and I wish her story and its reveals were more important. Finally, I enjoyed how this series was fairly mature overall, barring the excessive crying of course. I've probably been watching too much shonen anime (although I'd argue this is more an issue with anime as a whole), so it was refreshing for me to watch something that wasn't aimed at kids.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Jun 10, 2023

ramimanify

Not Recommended

Funny

If you want an anime that bores you to death that is death parade

from lackluster characters to dull plots and tedious story-telling it's not a good show

heads up guys
I was drawn in by the fancy style and the white-haired bartender looking suave
but sadly that is all this show got going for itself, a veneer

Also the ending didn't conclude the anime in a logical manner, I painstakingly endured till the end to see what the fuss was all about , but it is lukewarm and dissatisfying

At first the premise is promising giving us a hint about what the story is about, death ... and the intricacies of souls entering into this realm, but it could have been much more, there simply is no mystery at the core of the story, which doesn't make sense to me

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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	Poll: Death Parade Episode 8 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) Stark700 - Feb 27, 2015	265 replies	by Animeshnikk »» Jan 10, 4:09 AM
	Poll: Death Parade Episode 12 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) Stark700 - Mar 27, 2015	676 replies	by mal_user_2022 »» Dec 31, 2024 6:05 PM
	Poll: Death Parade Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) Stark700 - Jan 9, 2015	844 replies	by Wallcreeper »» Dec 25, 2024 3:53 AM
	Poll: Death Parade Episode 9 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) Stark700 - Mar 6, 2015	606 replies	by ganyupalta »» Dec 8, 2024 5:50 PM
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