Mini-Review: Death Billards

Death Billards is a short movie based in the world of Death Parade (Review here). The short was actually created as part of the “2012 Young Animator Training Project”, the short was released on the 2nd of March, 2013 and was eventually adapted into Death Parade. The story follows the events of two men, who find themselves in a place called Quindecim with no recollection of how they got there. The two men are then told that they must compete with each other in a simple game, however, thay must compete as though their lives were on the line.

My Review: If you’ve seen Death Parade then this is pretty much the same, but condensed and self-contained, which I didn’t have any problem with. The plot was mostly well written, with a few parts that seemed a tad bit forced. Other than that, however, The short was pretty good. Definitely worth watching if you liked the main series.

I rate this anime 6.5/10.

Thanks for reading!

H

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Top 10: Great Psychological Animes

Welcome to our monthly Top 10 anime list.
This month I am going to be discussing some great psychological animes that I really enjoy.  This list isn’t in any particular order I’ve just numbered it for simplicity.

10. Monster

Dr. Kenzou Tenma, the brilliant brain surgeon with a budding future and renown skills. All of that changes when he is forced to make a choice, either save the life of the town’s mayor or save a young boy, either way, he forfeits the life of the other. However, a series of murders begin occoring and all signs point towards the boy as the killer.

(Monster)

9. When They Cry

The story of a young boy who, when moving to a new town begins attending a school and making friends. However, during the village’s yearly festival for the local god, a mysterious series of murders gets these local villages kids caught up in the disastrous cycle of death. A show wedged deep in the roots of insanity.

(When They Cry)

8. The Future Diary

Yukiteru Amano, a solitary high school student who spends all his time writing everything around him down in his diary in extensive detail. That is until his supposedly imaginary friends offer him the chance to participate in a mysterious game to decide the new king of time and space. Yukiteru will be forced to team up with his Yandere stalker if he is to survive the game.

(The Future Diary)

7. Elfen Lied

The story of a girl named Lucy, a rare breed of humans called Diclonius. Characterised by horns and invisible telekinetic hands the Diclonius are imprisoned and experimented on by cruel scientist. Lucy manages to escape the scientific facility, in the process getting shot in the head and gaining amnesia. After washing up on the shore of a small town, Lucy is taken in by two strangers. Little do they know that the Scientist will do whatever it takes to retrieve Lucy.

(Elfen Lied)

6. Parasyte -the maxim-

When a species of parasitic aliens arrive on earth, the set about world domination by burrowing into the brains of their human victims, claiming them as hosts. It is not long until the aliens have full control of the human race. Unfortunately for them, one parasite failed to infect the brain of Shinichi Izumi, instead inhabiting his hand. He will be the only one able to stand against the invasion.

(Parasyte -the maxim-)

5. Death Parade

Set in a neon-fueled bar caught between life and death, Death Parade shows what lurks behind the mask of the average human. After death, two people must play a “friendly” bar game to see who will be re-born and who will be lost to purgatory, forever.

(Death Parade)

4. Death Note

After the Shinigami – Ryuk – drops a mysterious notebook into the human world, Shining prodigy Light Yagami discovers that it has the power to kill whoever name is written in it. Light then sets out to rid the world of everyone he deems “unworthy” however, it won’t be long until he begins to get a little to power crazy. And thus begins the path of his undoing.

(Death Note)

3. Danganronpa

Hope’s Peak Academy, a school for only the very best individuals who show shining promise in a particular characteristic. Unfortunately for these fifteen students, the only way to graduate is to murder the other students and successfully get away with it.

(Danganronpa)

2. Ergo Proxy

Humanity has fallen and one of the last remnants of civilisation resides in the hopeless city of Romdo. The humans have developed AutoReivs, robotic assistants that aid them in their daily lives. However, it seems that somehow the “Cogito Virus” is giving these AutoReivs self-awarenes.

(Ergo Proxy)

1. Hell Girl

There is a rumour, that if you visit a website called Hell Correspondence at the stroke of midnight, you can enter the name of your tormentor and have their soul ferried to hell by Ai Enma. In exchange, you must sell your own soul and become assigned to an eternity of torment in hell.

(Hell Girl)

Thank you for reading my list, I hope you enjoyed it. If you have an idea of something you feel should have been on the list then leave a comment and let me know.

H

Top 10: Favourite Openings

Welcome to our monthly Top 10 anime list.
This month I am sharing some of my favourite anime openings. I will be taking into account the song and animation for each intro, as both are equally important for a catchy opening. This list isn’t in any particular order I’ve just numbered it for simplicity.

10. Darker than Black: The Black Contractor (Opening 1)

Song: “Howling”, By Abingdon Boys School

What better song for an action anime than the high-energy beat of this song. That being said, the visuals are considerably slower than the beat so it kind of doesn’t fit together well. Regardless this is still a really great opening.

9. Deadman Wonderland

Song: “One Reason”, By DWB (feat. Fade)

There are very few anime where I don’t just end up skipping the opening because I’m sick of hearing it over and over again. But while there wasn’t a single episode of Deadman Wonderland where I skipped this opening.

8. Absolute Duo

Song: “Absolute Soul”, By Konomi Suzuki

The song here is pretty fun, but what really makes it stand out to me is the way it matched the jumpy visuals so well. It’s pretty exciting and definitely gets you really to see some action.

7. Death Parade

Song: “Flyers”, by BRADIO

This intro is just so much fun. Every time I hear it, I just want to dance along. Which creates this weird contrast with how dark the show itself is. If you’ve seen the show then you’ll know what I mean, first time I saw this I wasnt sure I was wachting the same show it was that out of place.

6. When They Cry

Song: “Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni”, by Eiko Shimamiya

This intro is great, and it matches perfectly with the show its self. The dark, cryptic chanting matches the psychedelic flowers imagery to a tee. It sentiently makes a shiver run down my spine.

5. Date A Live (Opening 1)

Song: “Date A Live“, by sweet ARMS

This one is just a really fun song to open a really fun anime. To be honest the vocals aren’t really all that interesting but to me, the backing track really stands out. The whole opening really gets me pumped up for an episode.

4. Brynhildr in the Darkness (Opening 2)

Song: “Virtue and Vice” by Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas

Probably not the style of music most people listen to but I just find this opening song to have so much energy, just makes me want to sing along. Although I do think that some of the visuals seem a little out of place.

3. Fairytail (Opening 21)

Song: “Believe in Myself“, by Edge of Life

I really like this opening, out of all of the openings Fairytail has had I think this one really stands out the most. Particularly with the arc, it’s paired with really combining with the visuals to add a sense of urgency and action.

2. Tokyo Ghoul (Opening 1)

Song: “Unravel”, by TK

I tried my best to avoid obvious picks for the list but this is the exception. The art style of this opening is absolutely beautiful and wonderfully vivid and colourful. The song also really sets the tone for the more emotional themes of Tokyo Ghoul.

1. Hellsing

Song: “Logos Naki World”, by Yasushi Ishii

We don’t see many opening like this one nowadays, the song has a really fun high-energy but steady and dark sound, fitting the visuals really well. I really love how despite everything going on in the visuals, we still get the feeling of just casually walking through it all, much like Alucard.

 

Thank you for reading my list, I hope you enjoyed it. If you have an idea of something you feel should have been on the list then leave a comment and let me know.

H

Death Parade Review

Death Parade hit our screens during early 2015. The overall plot follows Chiyuki a  young woman with no memories of who she is, upon waking up in a strange room she is tasked with assisting Decim with his job as arbiter. the two work at the Quindecim bar, however, this is no normal bar, its purpose is to act as a tempory limbo between life and death. When two people die in the real world they awaken in one of these bars and they must compete in a game, their performance in the game will be judged by the arbiter and he/she will decide whether the players go to haven or hell. These games are played because someone only shows their true self when they must fight for their life. Chiyuki must help Decim in his judgment of the player’s souls, but she must also deal with the harsh reality that is the afterlife and what it does to even the best of people.

My Review: What I was expecting was not what I got with this show, when I started it I was expecting a run of the mill comedy/action anime but what I got was something much better. Despite its bright and vibrant tone, there is a very grizzly and clever look at the human psyche. Each episode comes with a new scenario, a new game and a new dark truth about humans. All the characters are interesting and have a great many things to learn about them. I would like to say that this is a show that everyone can watch, however, it has a tendency to become very grim and heavy. The ending is particularly powerful with quite a shocking plot twist. All in all, Death Parade is a powerful phycological anime with some very original ideas.

I rate this anime 3.5/5.

H