Hypersonic
June 14, 2022
Death Parade Episode Eleven Review
>By: Prince Lammy
Death Parade Episode 11: Memento Mori
Memento Mori: Do not forget that you must surely die someday. As such, that is all the more reason to live now.
This episode has some out-of-Death-Parade scenes and ideals that I loved. But let’s have the review in a proper outline, and you will see what I meant by the out-of-Death-Parade notions and scenes.
Story | 7/10
The episode starts with an after-game dialogue between Decim and Chiyuki. The duo stood by the game cards and kept talking about misconceptions about the notions surrounding life and death.
Mayu and Harada remain in Ginti’s bar since they have not moved on yet. Mayu is given a chance to select another human soul to be sacrificed and thrown into the abyss in exchange for Harada, who is unconscious.
This choice is given to Mayu by Ginti. Concurrently, Decim challenges Chiyuki to a game of ice skating after observing that the activity occupies a significant portion of her recollections. Chiyuki can recover memories of her past as a professional ice skater as she continues to skate.
Chiyuki’s career was cut short due to a catastrophic knee injury that caused her to quit. Because of this, she fell into a deep depression, ultimately leading to her suicide. After sharing one last drink, Decim puts Chiyuki to sleep and asks Quin to deliver her memories.
Chiyuki and Decim’s time together is coming to an end. In the meantime, Mayu has decided to remain with Harada and bear the same destiny as him rather than offering the life of another individual in his stead.
Ginti challenges her dedication to Harada, but she responds by saying it is her decision. He then leads both of them out together in the elevator. Just as they are about to become dummies, Harada awakens, enabling them to have one more hug before going into the nothingness.
Art | 8/10
The animation is just so pristine. It’s almost like when you slice bits of an object using cutting-edge technology. And coloration and shading are also excellent. And you also can’t miss the evidence of the use of pencil in the drawing of the characters, especially as if they had been drawn by hand.
I do not know how MadHouse went about making the most of this, as the animation is still one of the best things about this anime. And yes! it beats most other anime that aired about the same time it did.
Even when making flashback scenes, the graphics still gets grainy, but they are still outstanding. The lighting, shadows, effects, and other artistic elements have been used to their possible best (I don’t think I’ve seen anything better yet from that time).
And as a plus, you cannot miss the characters’ expressions. It is priceless. The strain on a character’s forehead to show that the person is frowning or vexed, or how their face gets lit up whenever they’re elated, is even way better than some anime you would see today.
So, in all honesty, the animation, color, and art are outstanding.
Sound | 8/10
So far, the show’s musical element has consistently delivered a comprehensive appraisal of the story. And the Japan-English mix of the opening and closing songs is dope, and it added some more vibes to the show and compensated for the sometimes tragic and deathly atmosphere.
The vibe that comes after these lines:
❝Dancing through the skies
The future’s still unfolding, we’ve got plenty of time
Booh, ooh, ooh
Dancing through the skies
Kick-off from the ground, and you can soar on high..❞
This is really out of the ordinary. Even in your seat, you cannot help but start moving your body and vibrating with the song’s rhythm.
But the closing theme is more of a thought summarizer. It brings all thoughts that might’ve run through your mind throughout the episode to a simple and conclusive end.
Also, I couldn’t miss the evident use of piano tunes in some scenes that required melodic assistance. Every musical element used has been maximized to accentuate each scene and mood appropriately.
And about the voice acting. It was terrific. Even though I don’t speak Japanese, I could understand how the characters felt because of how they were voiced. Even though they didn’t speak the same language, the high-quality voice acting could clearly show emotion, tone, and mood.
The voices often made me cry because of the pain and suffering they described or because they gave me hope and inspiration.
Character | 7/10
Here we get to flashbacks reeling into Chiyuki’s past, and I was able to catch a glimpse of her parents. But as it is already known that character development is missing in this anime, it’s given the characters very little to profile on.
But at least we see a new side to Chiyuki, as she had lived a rather gleeful and fun life as a kid. Aside from what she does to help Decim, she has her story arc, which is one of discovery. As she learns more about how judgments are made, she also learns more about what it means to have lived. She knows she will be judged at some point, just like everyone else who comes to the bar.
Decim is starting to realize how flawed his sense and judgment process has always been. And after some time, it becomes a point to note that he cannot make any judgment without her active input, which often diverts the judgment from its supposed outcome.
Enjoyment | 8/10
It’s almost like everything done in Quindecim is also done on Earth, except the judgments and games. I especially liked seeing Chiyuki skate stress-free and recall her memories. It was one of the most relaxed parts of the episode, and it gave an air of solemnity and adoration to the general outlook of the episode.
So, in a word, it was a pretty enjoyable episode.
Overall | 8/10
Like the rest of the preceding episodes (save for a few), Memento Mori holds the record in my head for being one of the most enjoyable ones. There are even some parts you would want to watch your loved ones, and for a minute, you would forget it’s an episode of a series titled Death Parade.
And as outlined above, this episode packs a bunch. But well, as it is done with, let me go on to Episode Twelve️️️.
Next Episode: Episode 12 Review
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