A review by frdose
Parade by Shūichi Yoshida

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

 

the plotline following their suspicious neighbors turns out to be a red herring, and it's presented almost like a 'got you'.

soon enough, you start to realize that something is deeply disturbing about each of the characters living in apartment 401, like they're all flawed, and in consequence choose to ignore each other's fatal flaws.

if you're looking for a thriller, this is not a very good one. infact, it does such a bad job at making you feel any sort of suspense, treating the thriller plotline as a joke rather than a real threat. it's almost like the 'thriller' aspect is just a ploy to keep you reading about these interesting characters, and honestly i didn't mind that at all. the ending itself is almost a mockery of a plot twist, forcing you to realize that 'nothing really mattered after all'. the characters would all keep on living, avoiding the elephant in the room, and adhering to their ways, never changing.