Death Parade / First Impressions

「クロス・ハート・アタック」 (Kurosu Haato Atakku)
“Cross Heart Attack”

You never know what you’re going to get coming into Death Parade. The episodes can be funny, serious, horrifying or just downright sweet and lovable. This week was focused much more the comedy and amusement factor than the philosophical outlook of each of the individuals; which I don’t mind once in a while. After meeting Ginti last week, it’s interesting to see how he places judgment upon those that enter his bar. His personality is exactly what I would expect and his unusual games (compared to Decim’s) are quite interesting in their own way. I have a feeling that he tends to trick the individuals into “seemingly” harmless games and then turn it up a notch when they’re getting along too well. Unlike Decim, he gives them a false sense of security. On the other hand, Decim straight up gives them things like body parts on dart boards and bowling balls to try and get them to flinch. It’s interesting to see the contrast between Ginti and Decim’s methods of judging the deceased… although their motive is the same, Decim seems to take a much less involved approach (especially with Nameless Girl’s advice). Ginti has his cat… who seems more human than cat.

As for the actual game of Twister between Arita Mayu (Tanezaki Atsumi) and Harada (Miyano Mamoru), I was rather amused by the amount of fanservice. Keep in mind though – I just finished watching the most recent episode of Koufuku Graffiti so any fanservie following that can’t be worse. It didn’t bother me as much as it usually does and I think, given the situation, I can forgive Mayu for fangirling and acting the way she did. She didn’t annoy me as much as she could have and as a young adult, I can empathize with how Mayu was feeling. There were definitely phases in my life that I too – was a fangirl of bands (mainly Kpop groups) and followed advice from the worst of magazines. Although she wasn’t the most complex or deep character (she died by soap, come on!), I think she added good entertainment value to the episode and judging from the opening sequence – looks like she’s here to stay. Harada is someone that’s probably more “deserving” of death and that’s only from the few flashbacks that I saw of his life. He’s not a terrible person, but I generally hate men that treat women like sport. And yet… these are always the types of men that I fall for so in reality, I’m just a hypocrite. Harada is not an uncommon stereotype in today’s realm of young celebrities so I don’t feel like his actions are necessarily surprising – just inappropriate. Similar to many other characters, I can understand why he does what he does, I just don’t agree with his actions. I’m always hopeful that people will change though and find someone or some reason to change their ways. Harada at the end, proved to be someone that I could see changing his ways and hopefully if given the chance – his reincarnation will do better.

All things considering, this episode of Death Parade was a pretty easy watch. Neither Mayu nor Harada proved to have a long history of abuse or neglect and they died so young that they haven’t really been given a chance to develop. I think Harada will likely be reincarnated in the future episodes but Mayu may stay behind. If I were to make a prediction – Mayu may choose to stay to help Ginti out like Nameless Girl helps Decim. Following this episode though, I hope we get back to more interesting people that enter purgatory. As much as I would love to hear more about Nameless Girl and her history, I like analyzing the different people and how they complement or oppose one another. There’s a ton of different stories the writers could create with the duos that pass on and I think those are episodes that Death Parade should focus on for now. There’s one more character that we have yet to be introduced to (in the opening) but we’ll see when she shows up. For now, I just want to see more people play some bar games.

Bottom Line – @RCCherrie: What an unusual ep for #DeathParade but the ending was so hilarious and cute. Ginti always seems to get pissed off =P

Full-length images: 07, 11, 27.

 

Preview

52 Comments

      1. They were making a joke about how embarassing Mayu’s real death was, and that if they had died like that they’d have hurled themselves into the spiked pit out of embarassment.

        Good job overreacting to a harmless throwaway joke comment, downvoters.

        Orko
        Reply

    3. I think there’s an actual show called “1001 Ways to Die” or something like that… and they actually tell true stories of unusual ways that people die…
      Slipping on a bar of soap doesn’t seem that bad in comparison to vending machines crushing you or bathtubs falling on you; although they all sound kind of painful.

      Cherrie
      Reply

  5. I’m waiting for the episode when both people are going to the void, if that ever happens. I am also curious about the arbiter styles of other characters like Nona.

    Thank you for the post!

    ichigo
    Reply

    1. Let me clarify: I just thought it would be interesting, but Death Parade seems to be leaning to the view that humanity is not all bad. That would be wonderful if the series stays on this course~

      I didn’t mean to offend anyone or make them depressed from my comment. I apologize if I happened to do so!

      ichigo
      Reply

  6. And once again Death Parade manages to surprise me by giving me an episode EXACTLY what I would have expected given DP’s opening sequence. 5 episodes of “The OP is a lie,” and then this.

    The director of this show is a genius.

    Blue
    Reply

  9. Oh BTW, the full OP of Death Parade is out:
    BRADIO-Flyers【TVアニメ「デス・パレード」OP曲】(OFFICIAL VIDEO): http://youtu.be/9wh8FgsEtNQ

    …with all the so bad its good retro 80s greenscreen and glorious vocalist snaggletooth

    If there would be Death Dance Revolution just like the one Nonaginta dancing on the OP, They should dance to THIS

    kittyraider
    Reply

  12. This time we get two cases on extreme ends~

    Fan girl ‘high on C.H.A.’ dies in slip and fall accident in her bathroom.

    High profile idol and known ‘womanizer’ is assassinated by bombing after being seduced by the vengeful elder sister of a fan he previously dated who’d committed suicide.

    I love this show, it’s always entertaining~

    Also, Ginti is terrifying in a good way.

    Also, also, Since this episode I’ve been much more careful to pay attention when I shower/bathe.

    Anncake
    Reply

  13. I love how Death Parade keeps surprising us each week as a constant episode of judgement would be boring, they didn’t even tell us whether if Mayu and Haruda were reincarnated or sent to the void (but it’s highly likely Mayu stays due the fact she was in the OP).

    I have personally met one or two individuals whose outlook and personality in life are like Mayu’s, so it’s not exaggerating to me the way she behaved. They’re just that simple, high in energy with a very positive outlook towards life (and death). Ginti was predictable and I enjoyed his tactics used as an arbiter, but I doubt even he was prepared for Mayu (who didn’t even cared much about the fact she’s dead or how she died).

    Either way the episode made me laugh, this was comedy gold. Looks like we finally get to meet the last character in the series in the next episode, Queen.

    Azsurance
    Reply

  14. Aside from how hilarious this ep was, I actually thought this was the most heartwarming episode so far. It just shows that despite being imperfect, occasionally stupid, and oftentimes shallow, people still have the capacity of kindness in their hearts. I esp. found it awesome that Mayu and Harada were able to foil Ginti’s plans in bringing out the dark side of people…and all because Mayu had to pee xD This one goes to the humans!

    Yukie
    Reply

    2. It actually seems like a very painful way to die if she didn’t die immediately >_> I have a frame that goes around my shower door and if I slipped and fell on that, I’d probably cut my skull and blood would be everywhere =( Sorry my imagination runs wild and I can’t imagine what her parents thought when they found her T_T sad indeed.

      Cherrie
      Reply

  16. Death Parade never fails to surprise! An interesting insight to Vinti (and his cat) this week, and the ending was quite hilarious given everyone’s different expressions. Did anyone else think Mayu looked like the girl from the OP?

    xClueless
    Reply

    1. Oops I meant Ginti! And just realised Cherrie already stated the obvious in her summary! Sorry should’ve read more carefully before I posted~ Was too excited and jumped straight to the comments section 😛 Thanks again Cherrie for the great recap!

      xClueless
      Reply

  17. Did anyone notice that they didn’t actually show or say the game’s name? I assume it’s because “Twister” is a trademark or something?

    Oh, and I find it so fitting that this episode aired on a night between Friday 13th and St. Valentine’s Day.

    SingerOfW
    Reply

  18. Anyone that actually thinks the guy deserves to have been blown up because of his actions is god damned irrational.
    And what about that sister? Was she sleeping with him for the sake of revenge? Or was she always aiding him in cheating on her sister?
    Give me a break.

    Tori
    Reply

    1. I thought it was pretty clear the sister only slept with him for her revenge plot. Considering the glint in her eyes before the ‘deed’ and how she was wearing the same clothes in both scenes, it felt like she reacted specifically due to her sister’s death rather than her having helped him cheat or ruin her sister.

      Acerbus
      Reply

    2. I don’t think he deserves to DIE for his “womanizing ways” because it’s not entirely his fault. Being in a relationship is not entirely one person or the others’ fault and especially if you’re sleeping together, it’s consensual. From the looks of it, there’s no evidence that suggest that Harada was a cheater or treated women badly (like abuse or something) or forced himself onto them, so these women must WANT to sleep with him and date him. If he breaks up with them… well yes, he’s being a douche for sleeping with people he doesn’t love but it’s also the woman’s choice to choose to be in that relationship. If you know he’s not a good guy, WHY do you date him? It’s clear that people (and fans, even Mayu) knew that he was a womanizer so you can’t say you weren’t warned.

      Not to say that the girl who suicided was HER fault either though. Dealing with breakups are difficult and sometimes when you’re young, you feel like your life is over if the person you love doesn’t love you back. However, that is no reason to seek revenge (by the sister); especially when it’s clear from the flashbacks that Harada feels BAD for what he did. I think that’s punishment enough to live with that guilt. Now the sister is the one that might have to live with a lifetime in jail if she gets caught and that’s definitely not worth it =X

      Cherrie
      Reply

  20. Excellent episode. The episode where the single mom got sent to the void hit me hard (because it was a serious brain twister). This ep was very easy to watch.

    I keep wanting to compare this show to Hell Girl because they are sort of in the same genre? But anyway my point is I love this show so much more than Hell Girl because people actually get a ‘judgement’ here. So they have a chance.

    Good show! Good blog!! So glad Cherrie decided to pick this up! My hero!!

    Rick Anime
    Reply

  21. Mayu is such a fun character! Seems like she’s staying from the looks of the OP sequence. Will Nona assign her as Ginti’s Assistant? Ohh that would be so funny, Mayu will be there to constantly annoy Ginti =))

    Mayu XOXO
    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *