May 5, 2016
I get that the show is aiming for a stylized/exaggerated aesthetic but I'm going to be harsh with it anyway because at its core, it's tackling death and existentialiasm but only manages to do so in the most lazy, halfhearted way.
The set design is well considered and the premise is kind of fun, but that's about as good as it gets. The characters are as subtle and believable as the Carebears.
Every episode, one person or another claims in between bouts of long pauses, something incredibly pretentious or incredibly shallow or both, about the human condition and the inevitability of death. Do we live to
...
die or die to live? This stuff is as intelligent as an elementary school cafeteria conversation. The finale makes us sit through 5+ minutes of the most cringeworthy and clumsy display of emotions wherein the two main characters cry while hugging eachother. I'm not kidding, this show actually had to resort to making their protagonists bawl outloud for several minutes in order to get the point across that yes, death is sad. For a show that's centered on death, the creators have surprisingly very little clue about how to cleverly depict it, and tap into the audience's value system.
If you want to watch a show that understands death and the joys and fears of being a human being, go watch a Ghibli movie or even good shounen action like HxH, Berserk or AoT. Those have, at the very least, a real, looming sense of urgency, and decent, believable characters. On the other hand, if you enjoy pseudo existential babble, unnecessary emotional pulls, and laughably shallow epiphanies, you'll definitely love Death Parade.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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