TL;DR Death Parade is a show that, despite the less than stellar writing and shaky execution, is worth the watch. The characters (some of whom only appear in one episode) are by far the strongest part of the series, and some of the most consistently tangible, realistic character I've come across-- painfully so. The emotions come across strongly and clearly-- that if nothing else will grip you and keep you watching. The world and larger setup are intriguing, but ultimately-- and sadly --are left neglected and underdeveloped.
To go more in-depth...
Story: 6/10
The writing. THE WRITING. As a writer, just give me a moment to WEEP. Because this series is riddled with writing errors... some of which are fairly novice mistakes, too. The execution of the series as a whole is poor, and the larger story (which is hinted at along the way) never comes to fruition at all.
That being said, the single-episode plotlines were beautiful. It would have been much better if they stuck to that sort of episodic approach and abandoned the grander scheme of things, because they had neither the time nor (forgive me) the talent to chew the ambitious chunk of plot and world-building they tried to bite off.
Art: 9/10
I really loved the art, personally. The colors were lovely, the action sequences were nice, and the art style in general was unique without being odd (which isn't always a bad thing). But that's mostly a matter of opinion.
Sound: 8/10
I enjoyed the soundtrack and found it appropriate at most points. There were a couple of scenes were the music seemed out of place, but they were few and far between. The OP and ED, in addition, are literally fabulous.
Character: 8/10
This is where the series shown, in my opinion. The episodic characters were each well-thought out and impressively realistic, their motives and emotions believable and gripping. The "main" characters were weaker, following my earlier statement about the larger plot being weaker than the smaller, episodic plots. I still found them engaging, however, and an interesting juxtaposition to the minor characters.
To elaborate, the minor characters were often straightforward and familiar, easy to grasp and often laid out clearly for the viewer. The main characters, however, have more mysterious motives, and the fact that they "don't have human emotions" makes them far less familiar to us. They were an interesting bunch to grapple with as a viewer, but would have benefited greatly from better writers behind them.
I came to care deeply about most of them ("main" and "minor" alike) by the end of the series (or their respective episode).
Enjoyment: 9/10
This show would have easily made 10/10 in Enjoyment if it wasn't for my compulsively picking apart the writing every week. Also, it's harder to enjoy a show when you don't trust the writers any farther than you could throw them.
That being said... everything else, A+. It was a wild ride every week that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Overall: 8/10 (rounded up from 7.8)
Still, to reiterate, I'd still recommend the show. It's worthwhile watching. But please, do yourself a favor and try not to analyze the writing... focus on the characters and the fascinating life-and-death questions that the show poses (if doesn't fully explore), instead.
