This anime mainly takes place in the atmospheric bar named Quindecim, the bar is absolutely stunning. There’s also plenty of room because they only receive two guests at the time. The bar does have several downsides, for instance the fact that you have to be dead to visit the bar and that you might be headed to hell once you leave. After having watched four episodes it became clear to us that it was time for an anime review of an anime with possible one of the most misleading OP’s ever.
The origin of this anime lies in a short named Death Billiards. This was an anime short made for Anime Mirai 2013, a project that was started with the purpose of training young animators. The short took place in the same bar and had the same concept and some of the same main characters that you’ll come across while watching Death Parade.
The people who visit the Quindecim aren’t aware that they have passed away yet and don’t realize how they got there. After their arrival they are welcomed in a friendly manner by Decim, the barman and they are offered a drink. After the guests have made themselves comfortable Decim explains the rules to them. After which the guests get to play a game in which their life is on the line. During the game Decim will judge them as an arbitrator and in this way he decides which one of them is eligible for reincarnation and which one is eligible for the void (also described as hell). To be best able to determine this the game consists of specific elements that increases the realization of the guests that their life is on the line. This way they aren’t afraid to go to extremes which was very clear in the first episode. Not all of the episodes are as serious as the first episode, the third episode, for instance, was a lot calmer, but despite the calmness it wasn’t any less heavy.
The anime has a very fitting atmosphere with Quindecim as the setting. This is a big bar and has lighting you would expect at a bar. The surrounds, which consists of among other things an aquarium filled with jellyfish, is calming and calm. This enables you to fully enjoy the roller coaster ride you experience while watching an episode. And as if the sleek drawing style with bright colors weren’t enough, all of this is also accompanied by great and atmospheric music.
There isn’t much known about the different characters at this moment, this adds to the mysterious atmosphere of the anime. For instance one character is referred to as “Kurokami no Onna” which means lady with the dark hair, she doesn’t even know her own name. There also isn’t much known about what her role in the entire thing is going to be but it seems like, at the moment, she mainly serves as an emotional compass for the sometimes a little too rational Decim. The same can be said about the story as a whole, on which they don’t elaborate much and of which they don’t show very much. What is very nice to witness is the interaction between Onna and Decim. It’s clear that both of them have their own ideas and opinions and this can create some interesting situations. At certain moments it almost seems like they themselves don’t exactly know where they’re going with something. Personally I’d appreciate it if they’d explain certain things a little less in the anime. The most fun part of an anime like this is a bit of uncertainty and when they leave certain pants open for discussion among the viewers and for their imaginations, when they get to fill in the blanks.
The animation and music already make the whole thing a success on its own and the fact that the anime is one that distinguishes itself from other anime only adds to that. Just the story itself could be a little better if they wouldn’t try to fill in all the blanks themselves.
Studios: Madhouse
Started airing: 9th of January 2015
Number of episodes: 12
Rating: 80/100
