Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
linazhuang81
Death Billiards is a captivating and thought-provoking anime that takes viewers on a thrilling journey of life, death, and the complexities of human nature. Created by Yuzuru Tachikawa, this one-episode anime serves as a prequel to the popular series "Death Parade." With its masterful storytelling, intense psychological battles, and a unique twist, Death Billiards leaves a lasting impression on its audience.
Engaging Premise and Intense Atmosphere:
The premise of Death Billiards is as intriguing as it is mysterious. The story unfolds within a mysterious bar where two strangers find themselves engaged in a high-stakes billiards match. As the game progresses, the true nature of the match is revealed – it is a battle for the very souls of the players. The intense atmosphere, filled with tens…
Read at the sourcelamaraptor
Really neat concept as a one-off. I think the visuals are so flashy and the high-stakes gambling aspect so compelling that you could probably watch this and get plenty of enjoyment without even trying to analyze it on any deeper level. And that's pretty much how I like to watch anime, because the deeper themes at play here don't really jive with my personal theological beliefs in a way that I could get anything out of looking deeper at them. I do appreciate how the ending is sort of left up to interpretation. They never tell you explicitly what the conclusion of the judgement was, and I like that. I love a show that trusts the audiences intelligence enough to let them decide for themselves what the deeper meaning is, leaving open ending questions that probably don't even have solid answers…
Read at the sourceGoddessofwine
This was an enjoyable little movie of 25 mins. Having said that, this feels like it is supposed to be an ova, however it was published as a 25 min short movie. Nevertheless, it is a very nice introduction to its anime series counterpart: Death Parade.
The story is simple in this one but it manages to keep up the tension. The art is incredible, I enjoy the design of every character and I would like to be working in that gorgeous bar! The characters are really intriguing and it makes you want to watch the anime to be able to see more depth about them.
Overall, it does not have the same amount of depth as the episodes of the anime but as I said before, it is a nice introduction to the anime, and also to its plot and main two characters.
Read at the sourceResting_Bonfire
Death Billiards is the short film that appeared 2 years before the actual series. It is basically only a single Episode. This one would perfectly fit as the 3th Episode.
However, it is also possible to look at it directly at the start, as it could already arouse enormous curiosity and acts as a good opening Episode.
There is nothing new to say about the story or events. It's just not another episode anymore.
In conclusion
You won't miss a thing if you don't look at it. However, it doesn't hurt to add it in the middle, as it simply adds another episode to the series.
Read at the sourcezhewww
tl;dr, If you liked Death Parade, this'll be an upgraded, HD version of what you watched. This is a much more polished version of the tv series, that honestly makes Death Parade look a lot worse.
There's been plenty about this said already so I'll keep this short. Basically, the animation in this is much more clean. In the show, there's an overall clumsiness to the lines in still shots (wonky eyes, crooked noses, etc), and a sort of faded/blurred look to the colors and lighting. Even the sakuga in the show can sometimes be choppy and a little stiff.
In contrast, Death Billiards has sharp lines, natural movement, and much more creative camera angles and pacing. The way the game panned out felt much more suspenseful than any of the episodes in the original (mostly due to the fact that the…
Read at the sourceKishinEgg
Welcome to Quin Decim, mystical bar of fate.
What happens when two people, whether they're strangers or the closest of companions, are pitted against each other in a seemingly mundane contest, with the stakes being their own lives? Suspicions, outrage, deceit, bargaining, and all manner of psychological warfare commence, all in the name of survival. However, is everything as it appears?
------If you have questions or comments about this review, please message me------- Note: I feel this episode 0, if you will, should actually be seen after the first two episodes of the Death Parade TV series. That way, one has an idea what's going on, and who the characters are. Part of the mystery of the one-shot may be dispelled, but it made much more sense and was more interesting and compelling havi…
Read at the sourcekate_sun
I haven't watched Death Parade in five years since it was airing, and so I decided to watch this OVA on a whim. I was a huge fan of the anime series, and so needless to say, Death Billiards was a great refresher for the essence of what Death Parade is all about. The moral ambiguity and mystery of the premise has always been what made it unique, and so seeing it at full display once again in this episode was a huge treat for me. There was nothing too game-changing, as the story itself was straightforward enough (including the plot twist at the end), but this is a great watch if you want to dip your toes into this franchise.
Read at the sourceBlipBloop
I watched Death Billiards a long time ago, before Death Parade was even released. I loved it, and wished there was more. The story was engaging, leaving the audience with nagging questions of humanity. What the younger guy said at the end really got to me, it was so powerful. I would fully recommend this movie, it was beautifully done. I'm partial to animes that don't give us full answers, let us decide for ourselves. I am very much sad that Death Billiards was so overlooked, not many people know about it. I personally love this art style, and I think it fits really well with the story. The music was fantastic, really fit the mood. It's a big oof when this one episode contains more character development than some 24 episode animes. If you've watched this, go watch Death Parade, if you've w…
Read at the sourceFrozenRoy
Seeing as this is a 23 minute short for an animation project, you will forgive me if this review is on the shorter end.
Death Billiards certainly does a major part of the entire point of an animation project: It looks GREAT, with a lot of strong shots to show off not only how pretty it looks but some good use of things such as perspective and coloring. I'm not an expert in terms of graphic design so I couldn't go into great detail, but it pretty consistently looked good and used a variety of types of perspective. The sound was also solid, from the voice acting to things like the drink glasses and pool shots.
The one shot episode story could have been done better: The young guy (Otoko)'s breakdown scene where he runs around to escape and whatnot for example along with some pointless repet…
Read at the sourceSidewinder51
Rate an 8
English Subtitled
Story
What lies after death is a question thought by many if not all. If you really think about how progressive we are as humans to any other live force that we know exists we can see we are truly remarkable. For all the improvements and skills we provide. Such a sheer unique attribute surely didn't rise from the ground. From the little we know we came from our parents. Now, with that equation in mind rewinding back time should lead us to 1 or 2 remainders. But with one or two remainders where did they stem from? With that answer makes me think of one logical answer and that is mystical.
In relation to the anime the director and writer provides a possible insight to this mysterious quarry. The only problem is the anime doesn't regard past work into the equatio…
Read at the sourceNadimi
Like many others, I ended up watching this "backwards", i.e. after completing the anime series Death Parade (which was based on this movie).
As such, I expected it to be something along the lines of a quirky OVA albeit with somewhat less-developed design and animation.
Much to my amazement and delight, however, I discovered that both the animation and design were just as stunning and breathtaking as in the later series. From the clean use of CGI to the setting and backgrounds, everything was practically impeccable.
Although the design of the two original characters was probably updated and slightly improved for Death Parade, their main traits and quirks stayed exactly the same. Unfortunately, their personalities and backstories are not explored in very much detail given the rather li…
Read at the sourcejowb63
I was listening to the Death Parade opening song song last night and I got the urge to watch Death Billiards. Death Billiards is the OVA that eventually lead to Death Parade. It's about two people who have to play risk their lives while playing a game. In the spectrum of Death Parade episodes that had this format, it's below average lacking any momentous revelations about the characters. Never the less, it's exciting and entertaining and defiantly worth watching if you enjoyed Death Parade.
Read at the sourcelawlmartz
Welcome to Queen Decim, mystical bar of fate.
What happens when two people, whether they're strangers or the closest of companions, are pitted against each other in a seemingly mundane contest, with the stakes being their own lives? Suspicions, outrage, deceit, bargaining, and all manner of psychological warfare commence, all in the name of survival. However, is everything as it appears?
------If you have questions or comments about this review, please message me-------
Note:
I feel this episode 0, if you will, should actually be seen after the first two episodes of the Death Parade TV series. That way, one has an idea what's going on, and who the characters are. Part of the mystery of the one-shot may be dispelled, but it made much more sense and was more interesting and compelling hav…
Read at the sourceDaJetBoy
As quite few of you already know this is the preview for Death Parade, which has drawn comparisons to things like Saw movies or Twilight Zone, but this particular episode clearly screams out Twilight Zone episode called A Game of Pool. you'll nod if u know what I'm talking about!
Anyway, I actually started watching Death Parade before this, and thus that kinda influenced me of knowing what was going to happen in Death Billiards.
What makes this episode great and like all other death parade episodes are how they present you 2 characters that are pushed to their extremes thinking at first they have to win the "game" to live, but in reality they are both dead and the "game" is really being fought over who gets reincarnated and who goes to the void. The characters start to realize this, but…
Read at the sourceminusatwelfth
This short movie was produced by some amateur trainees at Madhouse. And you can tell, because it wasn't very good.
The story was highly unrefined and boring.The short movie clearly strived to be a thriller and psychological drama. This inherently means the pacing was somewhat decent; there were a few new things to hold my interest for a few seconds.
However the climax was very disappointing. It was not even clear which scene was the climax because the pacing was so monotone and inorganic. It was like reading a list of events on an author's outline, rather than being engaged by the world or characters. So in that sense the story-boarding was quite subpar.
To tie things off, the ending did not resolve anything and was 'open' for the sake of being open. This 'story' was just a one-way trip t…
Read at the sourceRisan07
Death Billiards is a rather unassuming title. It is a short that only has a ½ hour episode going for it with an interesting name but a lacking synopsis. What story could possibly be told in a half an hour that could engage you? Well this hidden gem not only told it well but left me wanting more.
Unlike my other reviews, this one won’t be as lengthy. This is because it is only one episode and thus does not need a lengthy review.
Imagine, you suddenly find yourself in an elevator that leads you to a strange bar. When you try to recollect just how you got there you suddenly can’t remember. Another person also comes into the bar, you shake hands for the first time and introduce yourselves. Then the bartender tells you that you two will play a game against each other, the prize is your life.…
Read at the sourcebleachsai
What happens when two people, who befriended themselves just recently are pitted against each other in a pool match in order for them to survive is the whole concept behind Death Billiards. Death Billiards is a part of the Anime Mirai project and for me, this was the first anime that I watched from this project; and I did not even feel a sliver of regret after finishing it.
After reading the synopsis, I had my doubts if this show can accomplish what it set out to achieve within a solitary episode but I was proven wrong. The story meted out almost all the conditions; trying hard to not leave any loopholes.
Since the animation was done by Madhouse, I had high expectations and it did not let me down one bit. The animation was brilliant and the attention that they paid to bring out many min…
Read at the sourceYoungVagabond
"Death Billiards" has an intriguing premise. An old man and young man, whose names are never given, find themselves in a luxurious, mysterious bar, and must play a game of billiards. It's never revealed what is at stake, only that it's very significant. With comparisons to "Kaiji" and "Liar Game" already swirling in my head, I was immediately engaged.
Unfortunately, the execution is often lacking. The young man is an overly hysterical, ridiculous character, and thus reduces our investment in the game and his fate. If he is neither sympathetic, intelligent, nor even realistic, why should one care? The billiard game itself is okay, but nothing special. Considering what "Akagi" was able to get from Mahjong, they surely could have done more here. On the plus side, I liked both the animation…
Read at the sourcequaoar50k
Only 25 minutes long, but this is perfectly enough time to make people ask some questions about life and death, and equality.
At first, I was a bit afraid of the characters if they are developed or not really. Then it became clear very quickly: they ARE motivated both in their acts and thoughts, so not rough-and-ready at all! Another plus goes for the creators because no additional dialogues were needed to show their personality/backgrounds. I really enjoyed the minimality and simplicity in this.
Gotta admit too that I'm very picky about animation in general,however now I just can't say anything bad. This movie is well animated, the staff surely paid attention to small details. Just press pause while watching backgrounds. Totally worth!
(Personally, I found the movie accidentally by sea…
Read at the sourceYami-
Human minds were never easy to decipher, you would walk past each human thinking their life is as ordinary and as boring as a plain living beings, you would never guess the sort of stories that lived up inside their hearts, you wouldn't guess anything about them.
I don't exactly know how to put it into words, but the anime showed great depth in very short time and managed to show us how a person can honestly be defined when they realise their life is on the line. How twisted are you, really? If you were put in a situation where you had no choice but to fight for a hinted 'survival', how would you react?
Would you be enraged, flustered, maddened be what was bestowed upon you? Death has always been near you, it gets closer and closer to you day by day, that you never realise it until someo…
Read at the source
