After death, there is no heaven or hell, but there is a bar that decides whether you reincarnate or disappear into oblivion. Pairs of the recently deceased must play a random game which decides their fate.

Death Parade is not just yet another series about death and the afterlife, but rather it makes a game out of it. Its concept of judgement is unique and intriguing to watch. If you are looking for something similar to Death Parade, then pass over below.

For Fans of Life After Death

Angel Beats

One evening Otonashi wakes up in a strange place and a strange girl with a gun tells him he is dead. Trying to recruit him to her organization that rebels against God, Otonashi decides to talk to her enemy, a mysterious girl named Angel. After she kills him for being too literal, he finds himself siding with the SSS Battlefront and the oddballs within.

What happens after you die? In both series the characters end up in a form of purgatory where they are faced with various aspects of who they were. While Death Parade has its moments of comedy, Angel Beats is quite the opposite. It maintains a certain lightheartedness with distinct and impactful serious moments.

Haibane Renmei

Rakka is an amnesiac who only remembers emerging from her cocoon. She is born into the world as a Haibane, a group of young people who small gray wings and halos. While she tries to live a normal life, there is much that the Haibane don’t know and must figure out.

Both are what happens to a person after death in a certain type of purgatory. However, do note that Death Parade has some moments of comedy, but Haibane Renmei is a more melancholic series that has a more somber tone to it.

Hell Girl

It is said that those who hold a powerful grudge can access a particular website at midnight. By entering a name here, that person can be ferried straight to hell. This is the tale of Ai Enma, the Hell Girl that carries out those orders.

Both shows deal with the worthiness of one’s soul. However, the way they are determined does not necessarily separate right from wrong or good from evil. Both shows are episodic in which you watch distinctly contemplative tales come to life and go on a ponderous journey in your own head.

For Fans of Judgement

Shigofumi

When someone dies, their last words – words that couldn’t be said while alive – are sent in letters called shigofumi. Fumika is a mail carrier for these letters. A mail carrier is supposed to be a deceased human that looks the same as they did when they died, but despite this, Fumika is still aging.

Both of these shows are episodic in nature, meaning that each episode is a new tale. However, you also have the overarching story of the main characters as the tales they watch unfold influence them and their beliefs.

Bartender

Ryuu Sasakura is a genius bartender and famous for his incredible cocktails. Seeking his Glass of God, individuals from all walks of life visit his bar to drink his cocktails, bend his ear, and, most of all, get help for their problems.

While Death Parade takes place in a bar and the people that tend it aren’t really counselors, like in Bartender, you watch people just kind of pour themselves out in front of them. Bartender isn’t strictly about judgement, but like Death Parade, it is heavy on self reflection.

Psycho-Pass

In the 22nd century, the justice system has changed. The Sibyl System now determines the threat level of each citizen by examining their mental state for criminal intent. This has become known as their Psycho-Pass. Once criminal intent has been identified, Inspectors like Akane Tsunemori, are in charge of subjugating them. However, this tough job is not without dangers. This is why Inspectors are paired with Enforcers, like Shinya Kougami, latent criminals with just the right amount of psychopathy to keep other criminals in their place.

While both shows are of distinctly different genres, they explore many of the same aspects of judgement. Is it wrong to pass judgement on people who haven’t committed crimes yet? Are the games that bring out the true nature of a person actually just crafting that nature? They are both highly contemplative in nature.

For Fan of Games

Kakegurui

Hyakkaou Private Academy is an institution for the elite of society with a very special curriculum. These students are the children of the wealthiest people in the world, but they won’t need athletic prowess or book smarts for a successful life, they will need to know the art of the deal and how to read people. So instead of traditional classes, this school features a curriculum of rigorous gambling where the winners live like kings and the losers suffer. However, they haven’t seen anything yet until they meet new student Yumeko Jabami.

It is not just that these two series involve playing games at very high stakes, but they have very similar styles. Jazzy music, exaggerates facial expressions, and even a similar color palate are found in both shows. You also get to see the not so shining side of humanity.

No Game No Life

In the real world, siblings Shiro and Sora are NEET shut-ins. However, in the virtual world, they are the legendary gaming duo. One day, after a strange email, they find their reality taken away as they are transported to the realm of Tet, God of Games. Here, Shiro and Sora must play games to defeat the sixteen races of this world as well as Tet in order to become the new gods.

Think of No Game No Life as the main characters entering Death Parade and being just really good at every game they play. They would probably unravel that whole system.

Kaiji

Kaiji Itou is a thug in the truest sense. With his days spent drinking and stealing hubcaps, his world is turned upside down when a co-worker tricks him into taking on a huge debt. In order to pay it off, Kaiji takes up a shady offer to participate in illegal gambling on a cruise ship that is filled with even worse scumbags than him.

Both series offer similar high stakes game playing, though not so much with your afterlife on the line in Kaiji. What you will find is that how the true nature of people tends to come out when placed under high pressure and it is often ugly as hell, especially in Kaiji..

Do you have more anime recommendations like Death Parade? Let fans know in the comments section below.