(L) Death Parade

[ImperialPanda]

Is there some kind of meaning to going up/down besides judging the individual people? That I'm just not seeing?

Otherwise this show is quite unique in how bad it is.

[Flower]

Hmm ... as far as I could tell the series was emphasizing that the problem was not the issue of "good intentions, bad decisions to get there" and "bad intentions, only ever ran away" but rather what appeared to be deeper than the actions themselves.

Furthermore, as for Decim making a mistake or no here, I would incline towards disagreeing based on what happened in this ep - in the first ep where the possibility of such a mistake taking place popped up it was emphasized that NoName would speak up and say something. In this ep she empathized with the players regarding the means Decim used to catalyst the end result of the game while it was going on, but did not disagree with the final analysis. In ep one she cast doubt on Decim's final analysis. To my mind that is a big difference, though of course others are free to disagree on that take.

As far as I understand it the point of the series is to show what lies deeper at the core of people that are "actually" motivating their decisions - regardless of how they appear on the surface. And it seemed that this episode was telling us that the root motivator for the woman in this case was undeserving of a second chance while that of the young man was.

One of the hints at what the deciding factor there to my mind (and one of the things that is so great about the series is that it deliberately does not spell things out but rather gets you to begin to think about certain questions) was in the response of the two participants when they finally broke down. The woman was weeping over not having the chance to finally obtain happiness and the young man was weeping over not having shown another person love. In other words - the woman's grief was focused on something she personally had not obtained and the man's on something he had not given tp another.

That factor of desperately grasping for something, treading down others (perhaps as she had been trodden down?), and behaving in a nasty, manipulative manner towards others now in preparation for being able to enjoy happiness later on, and even her defiant gaze while she was in the elevator at the end....I think that was what the issue was. Decim did not say that she had not lived a hard life and been treated unfairly or gotten a hard deal. But she was not regretful of what she did to others and certainly expressed no intention to change how she went about doing what she did if she would be sent back.

The young man was quite a contrast to this.

[Guardian Enzo]

There are definitely times when I feel if this is how the Universe chooses to judge our eternal souls, the Universe is kind of an asshole. But I'm fervently glad anime still has a tiny corner for shows that are more than amalgams of production committee demands and a marketing strategy.

I think the greatest endorsement I can give to Death Parade is to say that even when I don't like it, I can't look away for a moment. This wasn't an episode I would say I felt good about, but at the same time I think it was pretty close to brilliant. I love the fact that the series isn't looking for easy routes here - it's taking the harder path with the choices it's making, including not connecting all the dots for the audience. I don't believe we're supposed to feel good watching this episode - not about Misaki and Yousuke, nor about the way Dekim handled their arbitration.

[Kanon]

The show seems to be portraying Decim's methods in a negative light, but I actually think what he's doing is necessary in order to bring out people's true nature. It's only under such extreme conditions that you can see people for what they truly are. It's not like Decim is judging them based only on what happens in Quindecim, it's merely one of the many factors that helps him hand down judgment.

Decim made the right call this week as far as I'm concerned. Misaki didn't express any regrets for her actions (which led directly to her death), for her it was always somebody else's fault when something went wrong in her life. There's no doubt she lived a hard life, Decim acknowledged as much, but when she attained a position of power, what did she do? She became a nasty manipulative bitch that constantly trampled down others. This is the very reason she got killed. Yet, she never once questioned herself. She believed she never did anything wrong until the bitter end. If granted a second chance, she would have repeated the same mistakes. She learned nothing from her life.

Yousuke, on the other hand, regretted committing suicide, and more importantly, he was devastated he never managed to grant his step mom's wish. At the end of the day, he cared more about his step mom's happiness than his own. Was Misaki's main worry the well-being her children once she found out she was dead? No, all she could think about was that she had lost the happiness she had finally obtained after years of hardships and how unfair it was once again. This is why Yousuke deserved to be reincarnated. He wanted to improve himself for the sake of another person.

[Arya]

Don't know, I don't think Misaki deserved it, yes, she was a bitch, but she was like that because her life transformed her, educated her in being so. Still she raised five children and from what we've got they sounded pretty well raised, well educated to be able to judge their own mother when she derailed after the fame. To the point to be reviewed as a family in a show or whatever. So despite all we saw, things that in life I'd surely condemn, I don't in such a irreversible way.

On the other hand we have a boy that even having reach a stable situation after all, he couldn't appreciate it. And then committed suicide. That's the value he gave to life. I don't think he deserves void, but among them, if I had to chose, he was the less favorite to ascend. If he wasn't able to bear that much, what would he do if his new life'd be like Misaki's? Suicide again? And so what would be the point in giving him another chance?
Instead Misaki was able to bear it and still rose five children in an well-balanced way. I'd give her a second chance to see what she could do living a normal life (as much as the boy of course).

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by Arya

Don't know, I don't think Misaki deserved it, yes, she was a bitch, but she was like that because her life transformed her, educated her in being so. Still she raised five children and from what we've got they sounded pretty well raised, well educated to be able to judge their own mother when she derailed after the fame. To the point to be reviewed as a family in a show or whatever. So despite all we saw, things that in life I'd surely condemn, I don't in such a irreversible way.

On the other hand we have a boy that even having reach a stable situation after all, he couldn't appreciate it. And then committed suicide. That's the value he gave to life. I don't think he deserves void, but among them, if I had to chose, he was the less favorite to ascend. If he wasn't able to bear that much, what would he do if his new life'd be like Misaki's? Suicide again? And so what would be the point in giving him another chance?
Instead Misaki was able to bear it and still rose five children in an well-balanced way. I'd give her a second chance to see what she could do living a normal life (as much as the boy of course).

She had the life she chose. Life wasn't anymore unfair to her than it is to anybody else. It was her own mistakes and bad decisions that led her down this path. Her problem is that she never reflected on herself, instead putting the blame on others. It's that kind of attitude that condemned her to the void.

Yousuke also made mistakes, including a very big one, but unlike Misaki, he saw the errors of his ways and ended up caring more about his step mother's happiness than anything else. This is why Decim gave him a second chance. He had the potential to do better in his next life.

If Misaki had expressed regret over the way she lived her life and behaved in this game, then I'm fairly certain her fate would have been different. A simple line like "I was a fool to chase after celebrity so much it made my children unhappy (just look at their faces in the flashbacks) and got me killed" could have changed everything.

[Arya]

Originally Posted by Kanon

She had the life she chose. Life wasn't anymore unfair to her than it is to anybody else. It was her own mistakes and bad decisions that led her down this path. Her problem is that she never reflected on herself, instead putting the blame on others. It's that kind of attitude that condemned her to the void.

Yousuke also made mistakes, including a very big one, but unlike Misaki, he saw the errors of his ways and ended up caring more about his step mother's happiness than anything else. This is why Decim gave him a second chance. He had the potential to do better in his next life.

If Misaki had expressed regret over the way she lived her life and behaved in this game, then I'm fairly certain her fate would have been different. A simple line like "I was a fool to chase after celebrity so much it made my children unhappy (just look at their faces in the flashbacks) and got me killed" could have changed everything.

But why should she have expressed regret? She didn't want to die to the very last moment, she asked to go back. She "killed" Yousuke over the arcade monitor because she didn't want to lose, in the perspective to be killed as end game. All her actions, IMO, was driven to go back to her children no matter what. Despite she lived a somehow miserable life she still wanted to go back.
The other half part of her reactions was due to all the anger she had against what she considered a deceiving life. All the men she encountered deceived and beaten her (quite realistic) and the moment she was able to rise a bit her head she got killed. I mean, she certainly was a bitch, but is that enough to be killed? Again bad choices and bad karma. Last she ended up playing a game in which she clearly would have lost. Again the karma against her. I somehow can understand her rage a bit.
So regret for what exactly? She did everything she could to live and rise her children and would have done the same as a reaction to a similar situation, so since she didn't kill anyone, I can't condemn her.

My point is that despite all the errors she committed, her family looked sound and happy in the end, and after all. I didn't get the impression of them being truly unhappy. They also wouldn't have been chosen for a TV show.
Rising 5 children is a really tough thing to do alone, so it has to be taken into account that sometimes somewhere they would have cried or she acted not as a perfect mother. Considering she was being beaten up in the while. Still in the end any of them ended up or took any wrong path, and instead looked pretty sound. That for me is enough to judge her worthy to a second chance. She already did something good, her children, even in such an unfavorable life. And she cared for them until the very end and beyond.

Speaking of Yousuke, well, obviously he deserves a second chance, it's just that in comparison he gave up. And despite I would be surely more sympathetic toward Yousuke and usually I hate Misaki's kind of persons when I met them, she never gave up. And not for herself but for her children. And in such a surreal game I'd value more her strength in comparison to his weakness. Because both strictly related to the concept of life.

[Ryuga]

My favourite episode so far. Big fan of fighting games, so it initially made me laugh pretty hard, but the episode was incredibly brutal.

I feel sorry for both Misaki and Yosuke. Misaki was desperately trying to provide for her children as a single mother and was victimised constantly, so she simply repeated what had be done to her. The issue is, while putting your children before others is natural, she took it way too far, as seen with when she was quite willing to bash Yosuke's brains out against the arcade monitor, though she completely regretted it afterwards, and when she slapped her manager. As soon as she became successful and got a degree of power and status, she wielded it against others, like how her abusers wielded their power over her. Need to go back and rewatch, but I can't remember if she slapped her manager because her workload was too heavy and she wanted to spend time with her kids, or because she wasn't getting enough work.

Yosuke didn't really realise what he had until he killed himself because he was terribly depressed. Through isolating himself, he hurt himself and indirectly hurt his step-mother who wanted his love and he caused further grief through his suicide, which he regretted. I like the fact that Decim both told them that they did well and hugged them, because that's what they needed to hear. They both felt rather unappreciated in life and having their families support them in-game helped too.

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by Arya

Speaking of Yousuke, well, obviously he deserves a second chance, it's just that in comparison he gave up. And despite I would be surely more sympathetic toward Yousuke and usually I hate Misaki's kind of persons when I met them, she never gave up. And not for herself but for her children. And in such a surreal game I'd value more her strength in comparison to his weakness. Because both strictly related to the concept of life.

That's where we fundamentally disagree. After she became famous, she only cared about her own happiness, not her children's. Or rather, she was so self-absorbed she was convinced that as long as she was happy, her children would be too.

Does this look like a happy family to you?




That flashback took place after she became famous, as she's reading a script. She started neglecting them after they helped her attain stardom. The older kids, the ones who really understand what's going on, look resentful. We didn't see them smile a single time.

The game is there to bring out people's true nature. You only need to watch her reaction when her children appeared to know how she thought of them. While they initiated the attack, she was delighted, but once she realized they didn't do much damage, she was incredibly pissed off. It tells you everything you need to know about her. She was using her kids for her own sake. I'm not saying she didn't love them in her own way, but their happiness was secondary. At the end, she asked to be send back to them, but she never expressed the desire to become a better mother. She was perfectly happy as things were despite the fact her children weren't. And now that I think about it, she damn well knew her chilren weren't happy, as the flashback above was shown after Kyousuke explained he wasn't talking to his mom and asked her what her family is like. Her eyes changed (not sure what kind of emotion it was meant to convey, but it sure wasn't regret or guilt) and she avoided the subject.

Keep in mind nothing was forcing Decim to send her to the void. As shown last week, he can send two people to reincarnation if he wishes to. He did it because he thought she deserved it, and there had to be a reason for that. And Onna wasn't shown disagreeing with him this time. Misaki's problem is that she saw nothing wrong with the way her current life was. Her neglected children, her manager being treated so badly she snapped and murdered her... she didn't care about any of that so long as she could remain in the spotlight.

[HandofFate]

Originally Posted by Arya

My point is that despite all the errors she committed, her family looked sound and happy in the end, and after all. I didn't get the impression of them being truly unhappy. They also wouldn't have been chosen for a TV show.
Rising 5 children is a really tough thing to do alone, so it has to be taken into account that sometimes somewhere they would have cried or she acted not as a perfect mother. Considering she was being beaten up in the while. Still in the end any of them ended up or took any wrong path, and instead looked pretty sound. That for me is enough to judge her worthy to a second chance. She already did something good, her children, even in such an unfavorable life. And she cared for them until the very end and beyond.

My impression from the flashbacks was that her family didn't seem happy with her and felt very neglected. Career wise, I can say they looked fine though.
The part with her manager has her blaming the manager, but looks like its a common occurrence.

Her Super attack with her family was also very weak, showing that the bonds she tried to make with them was unsuccessful. The only one that struck around was the baby, because he too young to actually feel anything other than total dependence on the mother.

I agree with Kanon and other's assessment though, counting misfortunes isn't what decides things, its how they react to it in front of Decim.
If she went about trying to make her children happy instead of "I was finally about to be happy." She would have gotten the same deal as Yosuke. Her going over to smash Yosuke's face in was bad from all angles imo.

[Arya]

Originally Posted by Kanon

That's where we fundamentally disagree. After she became famous, she only cared about her own happiness, not her children's. Or rather, she was so self-absorbed she was convinced that as long as she was happy, her children would be too.

Does this look like a happy family to you?

That flashback took place after she became famous, as she's reading a script. She started neglecting them after they helped her attain stardom. The older kids, the ones who really understand what's going on, look resentful. We didn't see them smile a single time.

I never denied she was a bitch, but that despite that, she cared for her children and rose them well enough. Considering the environment of violence, the fact that most certainly her children were unwanted, at least the first one, things went pretty smoothly until she became famous. The fact that they are upset to her means that their expectation got betrayed then and not before, otherwise they wouldn't be so upset.

Originally Posted by Kanon

The game is there to bring out people's true nature. You only need to watch her reaction when her children appeared to know how she thought of them. While they initiated the attack, she was delighted, but once she realized they didn't do much damage, she was incredibly pissed off. It tells you everything to know about her. She was using her kids for her own sake. I'm not saying she didn't love them in her own way, but their happiness was secondary. At the end, she asked to be send back to them, but she never expressed the desire to become a better mother. She was perfectly happy as things were despite the fact her children weren't. And she damn well knew her chilren weren't happy, as the flashback above was shown after Kyousuke explained he wasn't talking to his mom and asked her what her family is like.

That's a fair point, she is a bitch, but still all considered I don't think she truly put herself over her children, I don't think she was truly happy, but happy that for once things turned good for her. So she has been selfish, but not in nature.

Originally Posted by HandofFate

My impression from the flashbacks was that her family didn't seem happy with her and felt very neglected. Career wise, I can say they looked fine though.
The part with her manager has her blaming the manager, but looks like its a common occurrence.

Her Super attack with her family was also very weak, showing that the bonds she tried to make with them was unsuccessful. The only one that struck around was the baby, because he too young to actually feel anything other than total dependence on the mother.

I agree with Kanon and other's assessment though, counting misfortunes isn't what decides things, its how they react to it in front of Decim.
If she went about trying to make her children happy instead of "I was finally about to be happy." She would have gotten the same deal as Yosuke. Her going over to smash Yosuke's face in was bad from all angles imo.

I know and I wasn't counting misfortunes, that were also bad choices, it's just that I find this way to sort things a bit weak.
About smashing someone else's head, well I know it is bad, but in context, if you have to choose to leave your five children alone, given they didn't have fathers to rely on, and die or kill some stranger, well actually it make sense to me. (it would not if she cared just for her live obviously).

[Cloudedmind]

Originally Posted by Ryuga

Yosuke didn't really realise what he had until he killed himself because he was terribly depressed. Through isolating himself, he hurt himself and indirectly hurt his step-mother who wanted his love and he caused further grief through his suicide, which he regretted. I like the fact that Decim both told them that they did well and hugged them, because that's what they needed to hear. They both felt rather unappreciated in life and having their families support them in-game helped too.

I'm glad you mentioned this, because even if this wasn't the shows intent, watching Yousuke was hella painful. He's like the poster child for an anti-depressant commercial. I saw way to much of myself in him. It's not really about not appreciating life, or giving up on life, even if you want to be happy, even if you want to be connected with other people it doesn't always work. One's desire can't always be put into actions. This can clearly been seen with Yousuke's words towards the end. The fact that he expressed regret that he couldn't even grant his stepmom that one request. It's not exactly like he avoided her and only her, the guy didn't seem to have any real relationships with anyone, which just shows to me that he had a hard time making connections even if he may have wanted to. His expression of "Why am I so..." really hit me where it hurt.

[ryllharu]

You're meant to think that Misaki is a bitch, was ignoring her children, and was a conniving, deceitful, ruthless woman after she got famous. Yes, her older children resented her when she was too busy studying for a role to pay attention to them. But that wasn't the whole story.

The scene where she slaps her manager reveals her true motives. She wanted to spend time with her children. She turned her life around from the cycle of abuse by remaining a single mother and becoming a star so she could support herself and not have to rely on men (who consistently abused her) ever again.

She slaps her manager because she had scheduled Misaki for work when she was supposed to go to a school event or whatever.

- She accuses her manager of scheduling work without checking with her first.
- She slaps her manager.
- She calls her daughter immediately and apologizes for having to break a promise and asks about the youngest one.
- Then she is murdered.

Misaki gained fame to be self reliant, and to earn enough money with relatively short hours so she could have some family time. She took great pride in being a mother of five, and there was a variety show that featured her spending time with her family. It's the first thing she mentions to Yousuke, not the fact that she was an actress is Something-Or-Other drama of the month.

Also, the video games super moves are both secrets. Misaki had no idea it will summon her children (but was delighted that it did), the same way Yousuke had no idea it would summon his stepmother.

[DOmus]

Originally Posted by ryllharu

Idea

But how she did it was wrong in every sense. While young, she was continuely abused because (in some way) they were stronger than her, so she felt helpless, but when she got famous, she felt that she had the power, she was the strong one, and it was her time to feel better, and, if thats an escuse to cause pain to others that may be in the way, then even if u had a hard life adn a excuse, is utterly wrong.

Then, about her family, u see that even when she is doing her best to spend time with them, she is doing that for herself, because she want happiness, and that family helps her get it, she wanting to spend time with them means that she has happiness, one that last only if its with the ones that were with her in her hardest moments.
For me, its like if they were a reflection of her, in the game u see that they come and attack without doing much, reflecting her deep weakness(she even say that they were weak), but her last son(representing her new life and fresh start, since he was born by the time she got into the industry) stood there, showing that it will last; this means that she held her sanity and hope to move on in them, and something that may not help, will awaken her twisted mind to wreck that obstacle(face to the screen scene).

[Miraluka]

Originally Posted by ryllharu

You're meant to think that Misaki is a bitch, was ignoring her children, and was a conniving, deceitful, ruthless woman after she got famous. Yes, her older children resented her when she was too busy studying for a role to pay attention to them. But that wasn't the whole story.

The scene where she slaps her manager reveals her true motives. She wanted to spend time with her children. She turned her life around from the cycle of abuse by remaining a single mother and becoming a star so she could support herself and not have to rely on men (who consistently abused her) ever again.

She slaps her manager because she had scheduled Misaki for work when she was supposed to go to a school event or whatever.

- She accuses her manager of scheduling work without checking with her first.
- She slaps her manager.
- She calls her daughter immediately and apologizes for having to break a promise and asks about the youngest one.
- Then she is murdered.

Misaki gained fame to be self reliant, and to earn enough money with relatively short hours so she could have some family time. She took great pride in being a mother of five, and there was a variety show that featured her spending time with her family. It's the first thing she mentions to Yousuke, not the fact that she was an actress is Something-Or-Other drama of the month.

Also, the video games super moves are both secrets. Misaki had no idea it will summon her children (but was delighted that it did), the same way Yousuke had no idea it would summon his stepmother.

Pffft, that's lame she could have used her fame towards her family sake for once yet she chose work over her family, she just excused herself and left it as that.

It was her biggest and last chance and she wasted it.

Karma said enough chances and she got her end.

[cleo]

I didn't have much sympathy for Misaki from the start, and my opinion didn't approve when the show was done. She raised her children well, but I think her older kids deserve a lot of credit for that as well. Yosuke expresses regret about not fullfilling his stepmother's wish, but no regrets from Misaki. In the end she wants to go back to her kids, but she never wishes she had spent more time with them.

Originally Posted by ryllharu

She took great pride in being a mother of five, and there was a variety show that featured her spending time with her family. It's the first thing she mentions to Yousuke, not the fact that she was an actress is Something-Or-Other drama of the month.

Uhm, no. The first thing she says is: "Don't you recognise me?", hinting at her fame. Her kids helped her reach it.

[Goty]

Originally Posted by ryllharu

She slaps her manager because she had scheduled Misaki for work when she was supposed to go to a school event or whatever.

- She accuses her manager of scheduling work without checking with her first.
- She slaps her manager.
- She calls her daughter immediately and apologizes for having to break a promise and asks about the youngest one.
- Then she is murdered.

Do you honestly believe that was the only time Misaki was abusive towards her manager? The way the manager was acting around her, and the way she reacted to this slap, everything screams Misaki had been acting like that for a long time (not to mention how she assaulted Yousuke - nope, that certainly wasn't an one-time event that can be easily justified or dismissed).

Misaki, in the end, just said she "would do anything" to come back. And that's how she had been living her life - trampling on others while pursuing her personal happiness. Decim's reaction when she uses that line says everything, her fate was decided. The judgement isn't about one's will to live.

Originally Posted by ryllharu

Also, the video games super moves are both secrets. Misaki had no idea it will summon her children (but was delighted that it did)

She was "delighted" because she was desperate in the game at that point. And her very next move was complaining about how weak they were...like they were being a burden.

[Shadow5YA]

Originally Posted by Flower

As far as I understand it the point of the series is to show what lies deeper at the core of people that are "actually" motivating their decisions - regardless of how they appear on the surface. And it seemed that this episode was telling us that the root motivator for the woman in this case was undeserving of a second chance while that of the young man was.

One of the hints at what the deciding factor there to my mind (and one of the things that is so great about the series is that it deliberately does not spell things out but rather gets you to begin to think about certain questions) was in the response of the two participants when they finally broke down. The woman was weeping over not having the chance to finally obtain happiness and the young man was weeping over not having shown another person love. In other words - the woman's grief was focused on something she personally had not obtained and the man's on something he had not given tp another.

She hit her manager because she was scheduled to work on a day she promised to spend time with her family. I don't think it's fair to say she didn't care about her family.

Originally Posted by Flower

That factor of desperately grasping for something, treading down others (perhaps as she had been trodden down?), and behaving in a nasty, manipulative manner towards others now in preparation for being able to enjoy happiness later on, and even her defiant gaze while she was in the elevator at the end....I think that was what the issue was. Decim did not say that she had not lived a hard life and been treated unfairly or gotten a hard deal. But she was not regretful of what she did to others and certainly expressed no intention to change how she went about doing what she did if she would be sent back.

The young man was quite a contrast to this.

No, the deciding factor was that she behaved poorly in Quindecim. That is precisely why Miss No Name criticized Decim's methods. He judges their character solely based how they act within a few hours under extreme conditions, and as a result, he often makes judgments about people at their worst. This is why he made a mistake in the first episode to begin with: despite receiving memories of the living, he disregards them and judges based on how they act only while under his watch.


Most humans living in society have a little something called restraint or rational thought. Even if I were to say, pass by an attractive woman during my teenage years and think "I want to have sex with her", I obviously would never act on that impulse because I have the time and education to think about consequences.

But in a life-or-death situation (at least like Decim would have them believe), people naturally start getting tunnel vision as they have to think about the crisis in front of them before they can think about something that might or might not happen in the long-term future. Many people would make choices they would never make in a normal situation.


What if Misaki and Yosuke just had to play a regular arcade game, and were never convinced their lives were at stake? Then the situation would be reversed: you would have a jaded woman who would just want to get her work done so she could get her paycheck and go home to her family, while you would also have a depressed otaku who killed himself out of boredom.

Yosuke was the worse character before he died, and the situation was reversed simply because Misaki acted out.

[Cloudedmind]

Originally Posted by Shadow5YA

She hit her manager because she was scheduled to work on a day she promised to spend time with her family. I don't think it's fair to say she didn't care about her family.



No, the deciding factor was that she behaved poorly in Quindecim. That is precisely why Miss No Name criticized Decim's methods. He judges their character solely based how they act within a few hours under extreme conditions, and as a result, he often makes judgments about people at their worst. This is why he made a mistake in the first episode to begin with: despite receiving memories of the living, he disregards them and judges based on how they act only while under his watch.


Most humans living in society have a little something called restraint or rational thought. Even if I were to say, pass by an attractive woman during my teenage years and think "I want to have sex with her", I obviously would never act on that impulse because I have the time and education to think about consequences.

But in a life-or-death situation (at least like Decim would have them believe), people naturally start getting tunnel vision as they have to think about the crisis in front of them before they can think about something that might or might not happen in the long-term future. Many people would make choices they would never make in a normal situation.


What if Misaki and Yosuke just had to play a regular arcade game, and were never convinced their lives were at stake? Then the situation would be reversed: you would have a jaded woman who would just want to get her work done so she could get her paycheck and go home to her family, while you would also have a depressed otaku who killed himself out of boredom.

Yosuke was the worse character before he died, and the situation was reversed simply because Misaki acted out.

Nobody, and I mean absolutely no one kills themself simple because of boredom. Yousuke killed himself because he was suffering from severe depression, that has nothing to do with boredom.

[Shadow5YA]

Originally Posted by Cloudedmind

Nobody, and I mean absolutely no one kills themself simple because of boredom. Yousuke killed himself because he was suffering from severe depression, that has nothing to do with boredom.

Yes it does, actually. A depressed person does not kill themselves because they found a good reason to die. Yousuke just decided to do it one day that was no different from any other.

Also, putting the DSM-qualified diagnosis aside, the real issue with the episode is that their characters aren't so clear cut if you look at how they lived their lives. Until what she pulled in Quindecim, you couldn't say Misaki was the worse person when she was trying to improve her life while Yosuke wasted his.

That's why to No Name the game was harsh - because for better or worse it made them do and think of things they never would have thought of while they were alive. It's a social experiment even harsher than the Stanford Prison.