Synopsis
Two men arrive at a location called Quindecim with no memory of how they got there. A young woman greets them and leads them to a small bar where a bartender is waiting. They are informed that they must take part in a game selected at random by a roulette wheel, and they cannot leave until it ends; refusing would bring severe consequences. Along with the game's rules, the pair is instructed to play as if their lives depend on it. The chosen game is billiards. However, there is more to it than simply sinking balls into pockets, as the two soon discover that the outcome could determine life or death.
Background
Death Billiards is one of the four anime works that each received 38 million yen (about US$480,000) from the "2012 Young Animator Training Project." Just like in 2010 and 2011, the animation labor group received 214.5 million yen (US$2.65 million) from the Japanese government's Agency for Cultural Affairs, and it distributed most of those funds to studios who train young animators on-the-job. The film was later expanded into the 2015 TV anime Death Parade.