Lady’s Night at Club Purgatory
What They Say:
A black-haired woman awakens in an unfamiliar place, unable to remember even her own name. She is taken by a girl named Nona to Quindecim, where she is told that she will be an assistant, and is instructed as to the purpose of the bar’s existence.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Awakening in a field of flowers, a nameless woman is recruited by Nona, Decim’s pint-sized boss, to serve as his assistant in Quindecim. On her first day she’s given a unique introduction to her new job, watching him in action from the shadows. From there, she watches the Seven Darts game between Takashi and Machiko from episode 1 transpire as she’s told the rules. The bartenders of this world act as Arbiters, and while they receive some memories of the deaths of their patrons the games are used to bring their worst emotions to light and determine which are candidates for reincarnation and which are meant for the Void. The black haired woman looks on in horror as the two slowly begin to turn on each other and final judgement is waged. When asked what she thought, the woman states that Decim’s judgement was wrong. Machiko was putting on an act to protect Takashi, she also believed her unborn child was probably even his. Decim is scolded and Nona retires to her home in the flower field to rest, uttering her new recruit still has a lot to learn.
Now, I have to commend Death Parade on something I know a lot of people aren’t going to be thrilled with, and that’s the ballsy way Episodes 1 and 2 interconnect. Episode 2 by some standards *could* be considered a recap episode, but I’m a sucker for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead stories-within-stories where (at the time) minor players react to the goings on of the main story. It takes a lot of forethought to plan these out properly and I’m glad it delivered. However, this kind of storytelling cements the idea I presented in the review of the first episode that this is not a show for everyone. If you don’t have patience for long periods of dialog, this is not a show for you.
The black haired woman (please name her soon, this is too long a title for her) seems like she’ll play an interesting “good cop” counterpoint to Decim’s cold and stern logic. Nona seems like she’ll be a lot of fun, though her childish demeanor might be a little off putting. We’re shown a lot of set pieces in this episode as well which are just magical. Back rooms filled with mannequins, a majestic underground rail system and Quindecim itself with the motif of jellyfish and eternal renewal I just picked up on in this episode. Everything just oozed with hand-crafted quality you just don’t see in TV anime often these days. CG seems minimal, and when it’s used it’s more as an accent than a corner-cutting replacement to something that could have been hand drawn (I’m looking at you, CG pedestrians in Parasyte). In all, I’m seriously digging this show. It’s like a nice mint julep and a chat about the big game from the kindly bartender who knows your name, it’s nice and relaxing.
In Summary:
More characters are introduced and the plot sets into motion. The play within a play concept was done well, but it won’t be everyone’s shot of whiskey.
Grade: A
Streamed By: FUNimation, Hulu
Review Equipment: 17” HP Pavillion laptop running Windows 8, Google Chrome
