Among the reported ‘Anime to
Watch’ is Death Parade. I tuned in for the first dubbed episode and here are my
initial thoughts on the somewhat bizarre anime:
The plot for Death Parade is
fairly simple: There’s an eloquent bar in limbo where you and someone who’s
died at the very same moment as you go to. The bar tender is named Decim and he
tells people who end up there that they have to play a game in order to move on
with their life. He neglects to inform you (until after it’s too late) that the
loser will be reincarnated whilst the winner gets sent to the Void – whatever
that is.
Now to be honest, I don’t
understand the hype about this show. I considered turning it off midway. The
characters are unlikable, except for Decim who hardly says anything other than
exposition. The games the characters play are interesting, being warped
versions of sadism games. For example, the first game is darts and the board is
psychically linked to a organ in your opponent’s body. Hit that spot on the
board and they feel the pain in that organ. Clever, but it’s dragged down by
the pettiness of the participants.
"Why didn't we just both take one elevator to save electricity?"
The players for the first round
are a doctor (voiced by Eric Vale) and his wife (Trina Nishimura) who can’t
remember their life together, but the man remembers being suspicious of his
wife having an affair. They spend most of the episode either bickering or
second guessing what the other tells them. I feel bad for the voice actors as I
doubt this piece sounds fun in any language. It’s boring and selfish and you
just don’t really care who wins or loses in the end. Well actually, considering
I don’t know what ‘void’ means (I interpret it as disappearing into
nothingness), I’d probably lose on purpose and get another chance at life, even
if I don’t remember my previous one. Sounds much better than being ‘sent to the
Void’.
"These aren't tears. I'm just sweating from my eyes."
I don’t know if it was just a bad
first episode, but it feels like an episodic formula with different, unlikable
characters every week which isn’t my cup of tea. I will praise the music and
animation for Death Parade. It’s beautiful and the music really fits what’s
happening well.
Rating the first episode: 6/10. Tiresome, soap-drama with a pinch of horror-esque thrown into the mix.
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