Death Parade ~Episode 3 [Bowling]

Every so often in a judgement of souls anime you see a couple or a character you feel legitimately sorry for. Often it’s not in the third episode! Woah Death Parade, you pulled the feels card early on this one. I remember an episode of Hell Girl where I sobbed my eyes out about how the guy didn’t deserve to be brought to hell and that was like….above episode 15 or so. This was just a third episode full of feels.

It starts with a dream of childhood, waving goodbye to an old friend on the playground. The opening plays and we find his guy waking up in Quindecim, he wanders over to the bar where he meets with this girl. However, it doesn’t seem like these to know each other. The last couple recognized each other from the beginning.
Decim and Kuro explain the rules to the pair and as per-standard they go to check if he’s telling the truth about them being unable to leave. This is where we find that the girl doesn’t remember anything, not even her name.

Odd, the memories that are lost are supposed to be related to the persons death from the way I understood the explanation in the previous episode.So is her identity linked to how she died at all? Guess we’ll find out because Decim tells her if she plays the game she’ll remember who she is. She says she’ll play, not before asking if Shigeru [the guy] is okay with it.

He says it he, Kuro pulls out the button and the roulette begins. We land on, bowling! The place transforms into a bowling alley and we get the rules of this game. They are bowling with each others hearts. I’m not going to lie to you, I was expecting this to going into a very dark place very quickly.
It didn’t however, as soon as it was said that there would be no pain, my fears of it getting dark all but vanished. They play the game and are having a down right blast with it.

Sure it’s a little awkward feeling the persons heart at first but like, after the first few frames they are having the time of their lives [or deaths] cheering each other on. Even Kuro comments on how nice it is to have a friendly attitude for once. Decim isn’t too sure it’ll last and tells Kuro a secret about the two’s past.

The game goes on and in the last few frames both of them start remembering things. Talks with friends, her name or…at least what she thinks her name is. At one point, Shigeru places a wager, if he wins, they will go out on a date together.

In the last two frames, both of them remember very important things. Shigeru remembers talking to some of his friends about her, finding out that her name is Mai. She dropped out of High School to have plastic surgery. She remembers that as well and the reason she did it was because she loved Shigeru and wanted him to notice her but felt hat she was too plain.
The game wraps up and he wins, they go to talk and he turns to Decim and asks him….if before they’re judged if they have time to go on a date. Even knowing, everything. Who she really was, what she’d done for him. Trying to look like the girl she thought he had a crush on, Chisato. He still asks to go on a date with her. Even knowing that they’re dead, he wants to spend time with her up to the very end.

OH MY GOD, just remembering this is making me tear up all over again. This story is so sad, they only had time to be together after they died! Are you kidding!? That’s just…sad.

In a moment of dark humor, Decim asks them if 5 minutes is enough for the date. Kuro grabs him and starts chewing him out until he says that it was a joke and they are allowed to take their time. Until the end. They have their date and they stand outside the elevators. They get in and the elevators leave.

However, both of them have the same mask. The mask of re-incarnation. I guess one doesn’t have to be sent to the void, if both of them are truly good people they both can be sent to be re-incarnated. I’m happy about that, I hope they get to be together in their next lives. These two were a sweet couple who were both generally good people.

After the credits, Kuro and Decim talk about life and how odd it is. How each life spins it’s own tale and yet they can become so intertwined. You can live never knowing your purpose, even after death and how that’s, what makes life interesting.

This was a good episode, I feel like soul judgement shows need episodes like this from time to time. Where nobody is a bad person, the world is not made up of pairs of ‘good and bad’ and sometimes, two good people can die together and sometimes, two bad people can die together. The elevators can both go up, or both go down. I liked seeing Kuro’s involvement in this episode and how she’s growing as an assistant. I know there is a deeper story to her that we’ll get into eventually. Till then, we judge our couples week by week and there is nothing wrong with that.

Next time: Death Arcade

~Midnight