Review: Death Parade (anime)

Current mood: FEEEEELSSSSS WHY DID I EVEN WATCH DEATH PARADE?!

I have seen it's beautiful gifs on Tumblr, especially the ice skating scene. Some friend recommended it too and said there were feels. There are also multiple feels comments floating around... and then I thought 'since I'm moving into the hostel, it's probably gunna be boring', so why not download some shite so watch? And so that's how I came to the feels train of Death Parade.



Death Parade. The anime opens with Decim, the hot-damn-too-good-to-be-true-dense-cutie-pie who has a weird hobby of collecting mannequins and a nameless lady. Their job was to put final judgement on the passed. Arbiters receive fragmented memories of the passed before their intended customer arrives. The customers will have to play a game, and the winner of the game will (most probably) be sent to 'Heaven' to be reincarnated. Vice-versa, the one who lose will (most probably) be sent to 'Hell', or known as the void (I like it as oblivion). However the games are not as simple as they seem. Sometimes the arbiter will execute a 'linked format', where parts of the body will be linked to a certain element in the game. The games are also used to stimulate their memories. The arbiters will then judge the customers based on their actions while playing the game. After that they will decide who will go where, and the result is never influenced by the game. There are three rules of the arbiters:

1. Arbiters cannot quit making judgements, for that is the reason why they exist.
2. Arbiters cannot experience death, for that would bring them too close to being human.
3. Arbiters cannot feel emotion, for they are puppets.

Decim is a newcomer, only serving as an arbiter for five years. A mysterious black-haired lady joined as his assistant one day after waking up in Nona's place. Apparently she'll help Decim to judge humans better. And so the begins the story of how Decim will come to learn of human emotions.

Up till now we still do not know who the lady is. She assists Decim in his work, sometimes interfere his judgement. Things go on smoothly (except for that ep4 that triggered feels train) until one day Ginti showed up. Ginti was one of the few reasons I started watching DP. He looks A LOT like Munto, one of the ole not-popular-enough anime OVAs.

See the resemblance?! At first glance I really thought Ginti was Munto *sweats*, then I realized Munto is too old and not popular enough to have any follow-ups. And he was not this evil-looking... but well in the first OVA Munto=Ginti though...

Ginti went to Decim's place under Nona's orders apparently, to test Decim's experience. It is then revealed that the assistant is actually a human?! She remembered her death when she wasn't supposed to, thus an arbiter is not capable of judging. Under Decim's wishes Nona erased all her memories and made her his assistant, and Decim will judge and send her away before her term ends. Little by little, the lady remembers her past and her term is ending soon. Decim will have to judge her before she fades into the void. He welcomes an old lady as a customer, and the lady, who remembers her name - Chiyuki, is judged alongside in a game of old maid. I haven't played old maid in five years...

Chiyuki still has time before her term ends, so Decim wants to learn more about her. She performs one last time, remembering the last fragments of her death. She will be sent away after that... or will she? Decim brings Chiyuki to reality to see her mother, and gives her the choice of coming back to life again by sacrificing someone else. Chiyuki almost gave in, but the feels train comes and hits you in the face, and she gives up her chance to be alive again, because "everyone in this world has feelings for someone" and you can't just take their lives. The second feels train bitch slaps you again and Decim breaks, emotionally, when he's not even supposed to have feelings. That was her last test of judgement.

And so, Chiyuki is sent to be reincarnated. The very cliche phrase comes in:

I’m so glad to have met you.

Full explanation and hidden meaning of this phrase by an awesome half-Japanese. Another feels train hits you hard on the ass again.

After that, Oculus (Nona's boss, basically some version of a pervy old man douchebag) set up the fourth rule after Decim's unacceptable emotional breakdown case:

4. Arbiters may not work hand in hand with life, for that will ruin them.

Decim continues his work as an arbiter, however this time he greets his customers with a smile and keeps a mannequin of Chiyuki close to the bar.

My thoughts: SERIOUSLY THIS IS ONE HELLA FEELS TRAIN. How many times have I said that in the review? How many times?! I really hate that dragon for mentioning this in her blog! But it was my fault to begin with, for choosing to watch this damned anime. I don't know, people know they'll feel all sad inside but we just tend to watch them anyway.

I didn't really believe that I'll have any feels for this DP because I didn't even shed a tear for Angel Beats! They said I was supposed to shed tears for Angel Beats! My feels train came a bit earlier. It hit me on the 4th ep about the two customers who have broken and scarred families. In that episode I can't judge who who to be cast into the void. Both of them deserve to be with their families, I guess. The episode with the two murderers hit me hard. I hate sexual assault. I hate people who do them. Whenever there's news about rape victims of whatnot, I feel the hate rising. I don't understand why would people do that, as if they have nothing else to do. The detective who just watched, I hate him for not helping, but what he said was painfully true. There will still be another victim, if not the sister. She just got 'unlucky'.

Lastly, the scene where Chiyuki remembers her past and death. It's sad you know. I'm not one to say this, but sometimes I wonder if those who committed suicide ever think of their loved ones. About how much they'll suffer without them. How they'll come home calling for them, only to realize they're history. How they'll go on with their lives without them, realizing that they miss them so much. I've never once thought of suicide except for that one time for childish reasons. And even someone like me, who has an inferiority complex and social anxiety, someone who thinks the world hates me and nobody will miss me even if I die, has never thought of suicide since. Why? I'd really like to know. You may have lost your passion, your dream, but isn't your family and loved ones always there for you? Don't you want to follow your idol's example?

If anyhow, you regret your decision to take your own life... you have no right. Because you decided to end it yourself.