And we arrive at, most likely, the biggest unsolved mystery yet mused by Death Parade – who is our Black Haired Woman, and why is she judging if she is only a human? The answers to that and more.
First things first, Mayu gives her life for Harada, by chasing after his spirit in the void at Ginti’s request. No doubt this was a way of judging her, but it appears as though both of their souls were saved in the process.
Oh, and Oculus wasn’t too happy to hear about the truth of Decim. Things didn’t play out quite as poorly as I had originally anticipated, luckily. Quite a good thing, no? He remains skeptical but not completely opposed to the idea of an “arbiter with human emotions.”
Her real name is Chiyuki. She lived a quiet life with her mother and father, frequently asking her mother to read her the book Chavot (The same one pictured earlier in the series about the girl who was deaf and became friends with the boy). Later in her life she became engrossed in ice skating, which became her life itself quite quickly. She won many awards but it wasn’t long before disaster struck – she severely hurt her knee and she would never skate again. She became depressed and detached, despite her mother’s attempts to reconcile and convey how proud she was of Chiyuki. Ultimately, Chiyuki took her own life. Quite possibly the saddest story we’ve had yet.
And then we have Decim – the only arbiter to ever have human emotions. He’s told us countless times that he respects people who have lived fulfilled lives, and even mentions that he hopes those who have been judged by him are “happy to have lived.” Decim has, no doubt, found that very aspect of humans that Chiyuki encompasses so intriguing, him being closer to a human than he is even aware.
Unfortunately, the time has come for Chiyuki to be judged, and he does so in a spectacular, heart wrenching manner. I doubt any words I can write here would do it justice, but it is nothing short of momentously powerful. Watching Chiyuki’s mother break down in tears after making her a dinner in front of her monument, claiming that she is sorry she never understood her stabbed me as though I had watched someone die right in front of my eyes. Decim’s “trick” with the switch that could bring her back to life was ingenious, especially considering he would have to dupe Chiyuki about the very nature of the test in the first place given that she is already familiar with how this works.
Ultimately, she passed and is on track for reincarnation. The whole scene was breathtaking, with Decim sobbing uncontrollably, apologizing for causing Chiyuki so much pain in the process. They share a warm embrace and head for the elevator. Here, the themes of Chavot return just as the sweet old woman had mentioned in the 10th episode – those who cannot understand words or happiness can understand with something non-verbal – a smile. Chiyuki advises Decim to smile more, cries, and gives him the last smile he will ever see from her.
A fantastic, brutal ending to a amazing show. Solid recommendation for Death Parade from me.
