Death Parade

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Death Parade
Key visual for Death Parade featuring main character Decim
デス・パレード (Desu Parēdo)
Genre	Drama, mystery, psychological thriller
Anime film
Death Billiards
Directed by	Yuzuru Tachikawa
Produced by	Takuya Tsunoki
Written by	Yuzuru Tachikawa
Music by	Kotaro Tanaka
Studio	Madhouse
Released	March 2, 2013
Runtime	25 minutes
Anime television series
Directed by	Yuzuru Tachikawa
Written by	Yuzuru Tachikawa
Music by	Yūki Hayashi
Studio	Madhouse
Licensed by	AUS Madman Entertainment NA Funimation
Network	NTV, SUN, BS Nittele, AT-X, MMT
Original run	January 9, 2015 – ongoing
Episodes	12 (List of episodes)
Anime and Manga portal

Death Parade (Japanese: デス・パレード Hepburn: Desu Parēdo^?) is a 2015 Japanese television anime series created, written, and directed by Yuzuru Tachikawa and produced by Madhouse. The series spawned from a short film, Death Billiards (デス・ビリヤード Desu Biriyādo^?), which was originally produced by Madhouse for the Young Animator Training Project's Anime Mirai 2013 and released on March 2, 2013. The television series began airing in Japan from January 9, 2015 and is licensed in North America by Funimation. The series was obtained by Madman Entertainment for digital distribution in Australia and New Zealand.

Premise

Whenever two people on Earth die at the same time, they are sent to one of many mysterious bars run by bartenders serving as arbiters. There, they must participate in Death Games with their lives on the line, the results of which reveal what secrets led them to their situation and what their fate will be afterwards, with the arbiters judging if their souls will either be sent for reincarnation or banished into the void. The series follows Decim, the lone bartender of the Quindecim bar, whose role in judging in these souls changes when he meets a curious black-haired woman.

Characters

Main characters

Decim (デキム Dekimu^?)^[1][2][3]

Voiced by: Tomoaki Maeno (Japanese), Alex Organ^[4] (English)

The bartender of the Quindecim bar who oversees the Death Games. His hobbies consist of making mannequins.

The black-haired woman (黒髪の女 Kurokami no Onna^?)

Voiced by: Asami Seto (Japanese), Jamie Marchi^[4] (English)

A human who has no memory of her real name. She is Decim's assistant.

Nona (ノーナ Nōna^?)^[5]

Voiced by: Rumi Ōkubo (Japanese), Jad Saxton^[4] (English)

A worker on the 90th floor. She is Decim's boss and sometimes oversees the games.

Ginti (ギンティ Ginti^?)

Voiced by: Yoshimasa Hosoya

Another bartender who previously worked in the Quindecim, but now runs his own bar, Viginti, which also oversees Death Games.

Clavis (クラヴィス Kuravisu^?)

Voiced by: Kōki Uchiyama (Japanese), Z. Charles Bolton^[4] (English)

An elevator attendant.

Quin (クイーン Kuīn^?)

Voiced by: Ryōko Shiraishi (Japanese), Anastasia Munoz^[4] (English)

A member of the information bureau who ran the Quindecim bar before Decim took her place.

Castra (カストラ Kasutora^?)

Voiced by: Ryōka Yuzuki

A woman in a skull helmet who oversees deaths across the world and decides which souls are sent to which arbiters.

Oculus (オクルス Okurusu^?)

Voiced by: Tesshō Genda

An alleged god who spends his free time playing galactic pool.

Players

Man (男 Otoko^?)

Voiced by: Yuichi Nakamura

He appeared in "Death Billards" as a cocky young man in his 30s who came in before Roujin at Quindecim. He and Roujin were force to play a game of billiards that would decide their fate. In the midst of the game, he was completely surprise when he underestimated Roujin who, at his advance age, was already beating him in the game and was able to defend himself after he lunged at him with a cue stick. After the confrontation, he was able to recall that he is already dead and that he died at the hands of his girlfriend who murdered him after he cheated on her. At the end of the game, he and Roujin where both led to the elevator where their fate wasn't known.

Elderly Man (老人 Rōjin^?)

Voiced by: Jun Hazumi

He appeared in "Death Billards" who died of natural causes. He arrived in the Quindecim after Otoko, where they were both made to play a game of billiards that would decide their fate. Unlike Otoko, who is cocky and aggressive, he is calm and level-headed. Even when in the face of a confrontation with the latter, he was able to defend himself from Otoko's assault. At the end of the game, they were led to the elevator by Decim where it wasn't known as to what their fate has become. Before entering the elevator, he whispered something to Decim whose details are unknown. In the final scene he was seen with a smirk on his face.

Takashi (たかし Takashi^?)

Voiced by: Kazuya Nakai (Japanese), Eric Vale^[4] (English)

The first to play the game. He and his wife Machiko enter a darts game and stake their lives on it. After realising Machiko's affair he sets out to win the game, later learning his jealousy drove him and his wife to their deaths. He ends up losing but Decim's judgement puts him in for reincarnation rather than the void.

Machiko (真智子 Machiko^?)

Voiced by: Ayako Kawasumi (Japanese), Trina Nishimura^[4] (English)

The first to play the game. Her and her husband Takashi enter a darts game and stake their lives on it. After admitting an affair and that she married Takashi for his money, she landed the winning shot. Takashi attacks her but Decim intervenes. Although she wins the game, Decim's judgement puts her in the void rather than reincarnation. It is later suggested that she lied about the affair to lessen Takashi's guilt about killing their baby. Though Onna may have notice her sacrifice, it was already too late for Decim to reverse his judgement because her destination has already been carried out.

Shigeru Miura (三浦 しげる Miura Shigeru^?)

Voiced by: Junji Majima, Lynn (young) (Japanese), Micah Solusod (English)

He is a college student who awakes at Quindecim and reunites with his childhood friend Chisato. He plays Death Bowling against Mai, later learning that he died in a vehicle collision alongside Mai.

Mai Takada (高田 舞 Takada Mai^?)

Voiced by: M.A.O., Yuna Taniguchi (young) (Japanese), Bryn Apprill (English)

A part-time attendant at bowl alley where Miura and his friends often played. It is revealed that she was childhood friends with Chisato and Miura.

Chisato Miyazaki (みやざき ちさと Miyazaki Chisato^?)

Voiced by: Marie Hatanaka (young)

A childhood friend of Miura and Mai who moved away. Mai initially claims to be Chisato when she meets Miura at Quindecim.

Misaki Tachibana (橘みさき Tachibana Misaki^?)

Voiced by: Yuriko Yamaguchi (Japanese), Monica Rial (English)

She is the hostess of a reality television show. Misaki's explicit relationship at a young age leads to an unexpected pregnancy with an abusive man. She attempted to raise her five children despite all the mishaps of her multiple failed relationships, she was strangled to death by her talent manager in a fit of rage after she slap and antagonize her.

Yousuke Tateishi (立石 洋介 Tateishi Yousuke^?)

Voiced by: Masakazu Morita (Japanese), Ian Sinclair (English)

Yousuke's parents had divorced and his father remarried. However Yousuke refused to accept his new mother and avoided her at home, eventually committing suicide. He is placed in a Death Game against Misaki where they must fight in an arcade game.

Mayu Arita (有田 マユ Arita Mayu^?)

Voiced by: Atsumi Tanezaki

An excitable high school who died after slipping on a bar of soap. She is sent to the Viginti where she plays against Harada. Unlike the other guests, she ends up staying at the Viginti instead of passing on.

Harada (原田^?)

Voiced by: Mamoru Miyano

A male idol who is part of the boy band C.H.A., who plays against Mayu at the Viginti. After leading a fan to her suicide after breaking up with her, Harada was killed by his girlfriend, who was that girl's sister.

Shimada

Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai

He appeared in episode 8, together with Tatsumi, they both arrived at Quindecim, where they both have to fight in a game of Air Hockey that would decide their fate. Prior to the game he had a bag that contains a bloodied knife where at first he has no idea as to why he has it. During the game he later on recalls that he has a sister named Sae who was violently raped by a stalker and that he was able to kill the stalker with the knife he is carrying, but during the struggle he was mortally wounded. He was able to kill who he though was the stalker's accomplice, not knowing that it was Tatsumi. He also later on remembered that he died from the loss of blood from the fatal puncture wound he sustained earlier. On the last phases of the game he realizes that the one he thought was the accomplice that he killed was actually Tatsumi who went there to also kill the stalker. He becomes extremely enrage when he learns that Tatsumi who was a detective, actually witness his sister's rape but didn't do anything to save her, citing his apathy for the victim where he cares more about killing the perpetrator instead. Despite of Onna's attempts to lessen his guilt, he gave in to Tatsumi's tauntings. At the end of the game it is suggested that both he and Tatsumi where sent to the void.

Tatsumi

Voiced by: Keiji Fujiwara

Production

Short film

Death Billiards was produced by Madhouse as part of the Young Animator Training Project's Anime Mirai 2013 project, which funds young animators, alongside other short films by Trigger, Zexcs and Gonzo.^[6] Death Billiards and the other shorts each received 38 million yen from the Japanese Animation Creators Association, who receives funding from the Japanese government's Agency for Cultural Affairs.^[7] The short was created, directed and written by Yuzuru Tachikawa. The short, along with the other Anime Mirai shorts, opened in 14 Japanese theatres on March 2, 2013.^[8]

Title	Release date
"Death Billiards" "Desu Biriyādo" (デス・ビリヤード)	March 2, 2013
Two men – a younger man wearing a suit and an elderly man – find themselves in a bar helmed by a single bartender and his female assistant. Their reason for being there is to play a game of billiards, but the bartender drops several hints that suggest the loser of the game will forfeit their life.

TV anime

A television anime series based on the short, titled Death Parade, began airing in January 9, 2015.^[9] The opening theme is "Flyers" by Bradio while the ending theme is "Last Theater" by NoisyCell. The series is licensed in North America by Funimation, who are simulcasting the series as it airs and will begin streaming a broadcast dub version from February 18, 2015.^[10]