Death Parade Episode Six Review

Death Parade Episode 06 Cross Heart Attack

By: Prince Lammy

Death Parade Episode 06: Cross Heart Attack

Don’t let that title scare you; no one died of a heart attack here, at least not in this episode. And there’s nothing heartbreaking about the plot being told here. It’s a bit of a tragi-comedy, especially with the presence of Mayu.

I especially like her entry, thinking and acting like she was in an amusement park and seeking to find the hiding ghosts or clowns. If I had someone like her for a friend, I would never have any dull moment, but Que sera sera.

Story | 8/10

Mayu Arita, an overactive teen, and Harada, a part of a well-known boy band, enter the arbiter bar managed by Ginti. He asks them to a Twister game. Mayu Arita and Harada both lose.

Mayu is overjoyed at the prospect of performing with a member of her favorite band. Still, Harada is more focused on the hope of making up later to his girlfriend. Ginti varies the game’s rules in response to Mayu and Harada’s request for a break.

This causes the temperature of the game floor to shift depending on which panel the players are standing on, ranging from scorching hot to arctic cold. Harada and Mayu are suddenly put in a life-or-death situation while suspended above a pit filled with spikes.

Mayu decides to forfeit the match and allows herself to be pushed off by Harada just as he is about to push her off to save himself. Harada grabs her as he struggles with the guilt of having caused one of his former girlfriends to take her own life.

Mayu sacrifices herself to save him, but she is saved from certain death when she lands on some rubber spikes. Then, Mayu recalls that she passed away due to falling on some soap. In contrast, Harada recalls that his girlfriend murdered him as a form of vengeance for her sister’s death, who was his former girlfriend.

After some time has passed, Harada becomes interested in Mayu after she has changed into a kimono. The two of them then give a live performance for Ginti together.

Mayu getting excited and having goosebumps when Harada called her name

Art | 8/10

The main animation is exceptional; regardless of what else the program is doing, it remains consistently better than average. Like the paintings, significant consideration is given to every aspect of the characters, from the expressions on their faces to the general activities they engage in while playing the different games.

I was wowed when I saw the visual effects of the steam and air blowing and all that happened during the game. The aesthetics showed the differences between anime and cartoons. And it was just so good I had at some point opined that maybe there was some iota of movie magic to it.

Sound | 8/10

I thought it was cool how the first scene started with some lovely music playing on an acoustic piano. This brought a sense of peace and beauty to the setting, and I found that it also had a mildly intoxicating effect on me.

The crisp and high-quality sound kept playing in my head as I watched, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Even though I have a minimal understanding of Japanese, I didn’t want to miss a single word because it was so good.

Character | 7/10

After seeing Ginti in the previous episode, my focus was on him for most of this episode. I couldn’t help but be curious about him. And sincerely, I had questions roaming freely in my head about him.

But I’m glad that, to some extent, this episode has done justice to that and answered my questions about him. But really, what kind of person is Ginti? And how does he relate to people brought to his bar for judgment? What kind of arbiter is he?

Unlike Decim, Ginti is nonchalant about how his visitors feel. And he is not even in the least bit friendly, and that was noted in how he sarcastically welcomed Mayu into Viginti and ordered her around. He’s also a bit of a sadist, as he seemed to be enjoying himself when he took the game to an extreme point.

On the other hand, Arita Mayu has a carefree personality and was not bothered about dying for someone who never even knew her, simply because she has a fan crush. It is only a bit ironic that overjoy and chanting CHA got her to miss the soap on the bath floor, which she slipped on and fell to her death.

Mayu wasn’t even concerned about falling to a gruesome death, so long as her crush, Harada, could get to live. And just like in her words, I live for you, Harada, she let go of his hand and fell, having comfort in the fact that she got to spend time with him.

Harada is your typical superstar playboy. As a high school musician and superstar, it’s only natural that he would get the attention and love of several girls. And really, he did use that to his advantage, preying on girls easily.

It is no surprise that his death was revenge enacted by the younger sister of a girl whose heart he broke. The girl committed suicide afterward. While alive, his life seemed relatively straightforward and straightforward. He had cute girls all around him who did all his bidding and were always all over him (like Mayu).

The character personality of everyone in this episode: Ginti, Mayu, and Harada (let’s not forget Memine, the cat), were quite relatable. Of course, celebrities would have girls who would have to die-hard crushes on them, and most of them use that.

Mayu opting out of the game in a bit to let Harada win and preserve his life

Enjoyment | 7/10

Talking about extreme sports, the game did have close-to-death moments. Especially when Ginti decided to change the game’s tunes and opened the holes in the ground, I found myself silently praying for them, especially Harada, as he half froze and had to take another step.

This episode came up with new crazy thrills and was just a bit off the rails with the suspense and thrills. When the game started, I was a bit relaxed, and it seemed a little bit boring until Ginti decided to spice things up.

Seeing the players (Harada and Mayu) try to survive in the deadly conditions was quite a ride. I might have cringed and sat up on the chair to see how they would survive the ordeal, all the while having chills run down my spine.

Overall | 7/10

All factors being considered, and with the excellent rep this anime has managed to keep up to this point, this was good. While watching it, I couldn’t help but think it seemed time to start seeing some extreme sports here. And I’m also glad to see another arbiter in action, even though he wasn’t so friendly or nice.

And I have to say, now, when I watched Harada’s performance, I finally understood why Mayu was obsessed with him. The guy is good, or at least should I say the song was pretty okay and quite CHA! CHA!! CHA!!!

I’ve written quite a lot about the characters, so it almost feels like I was drafting a character profile. Lol. But seriously, something about this series hooks you and makes you want to do nothing else but see to its end. And now, I really cannot wait to get on to the next episode.

See you on the next episode (whose title I don’t know yet). I don’t even want to spoil this for myself or anyone else. This series is too good and precious to ruin out of curiosity.

Next Episode: Episode 7 Review