With The Death Panda, it’s all about sex and violence. That’s the guro status quo. It’s not pleasant to look at and I don’t blame you for outright hating it. At the same time, it doesn’t break any meaningful ground in the genre. I understand the claim that this a love comedy cranked to visceral absurdity, topped with black humor and whatnot, but I really didn’t resonate with it. True love is being killed, turned into a tan demon, shapeshifting an animal you see at a zoo, and cannibalizing people, I suppose. Love transcends all boundaries, including death. The point of Death Panda was to exaggerate the classic tsundere dynamic found in a shounen. It’s shipping the hero and villain. It’s the lovable heel turn. This tried to be like the Madagascar movie—you see, those characters were relatable and genuine because, unlike us, the monster was on the outside. Death Panda ended up as predictable and boring, however, knowing the fights would end in his win because that’s the only way the brutalizing can occur.
I discovered guro via shock images that led to Gurochan back in 2016. I was like fourteen. That hellhole had me come out disgusted and queasy, but nothing in Death Panda made me feel that. Shrine girls fight a horny roided evil panda, get raped, and die horribly. That’s about it. The point of ero guro in my eyes is to make you upset and want to censor it, plus show how horrible life could be in an unhinged society. This is not the worst thing I’ve ever read, but it’s very bad nonetheless as generic guro. I prefer Hello Panda.
