Death Parade (Hulu) deserves a lot of praise. The writing is sharp and insightful. The production values are excellent. At the beginning I was afraid that it might turn into a formulaic “villain of the week goes to hell” series. It turned out to be much more sophisticated than that.

Still this won’t appeal to everyone. Much of it is rather dark. To me it feels brilliant but a bit cold. The ending is bittersweet, not truly upbeat. Given the subject matter this is probably the best that can be expected.

This is the first series for writer/director Yuzuru Tachikawa. I’m hoping to see more great stuff from him. If he can deliver something like this on his first try he might turn out to be one of those legendary talents who reshapes the anime industry every generation or so.

Earlier post: Death Parade–Anime Early Impressions.