Name(s): Death Billiards / Wakate Animator Ikusei Project / 2012 Young Animator Training Project / Anime Mirai 2012 / デス・ビリヤード
Format: Movie (25 minutes)
Release Date(s): March 2, 2013
Studio(s): Madhouse
Related: Death Parade (2015)

Fuckin’ Madhouse. If they keep making animation this gorgeous my eyes are going to fall right of my head. Urgh. The style just oozes off of the screen. Death aside, I wish I could chill in Quindecim.

The concept of Death Billiards was so up my alley I worried 25 minutes wouldn’t be enough to satisfy, but I was dead wrong. I got everything I wanted and more, and it’s enough for me. Death Billiards possesses the exhilaration and labyrinth thinking that comes with the best gambling and psychological anime, and it’s thoroughly a trip to watch during every second. You feel like you know the characters well even after such a short time. Just watch it. Though a one-shot short it’s a quick lesson in how to tell a simple story very well.