Death Note (anime review)

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Death Note is a scifi-thriller anime following high school genius Light Yagami after he finds a mysterious notebook with the power to kill anyone once their name is written in it.

Obviously, everyone knows this one. I've known of this one for almost 10 years myself, I just hadn't gotten myself to watch it yet. I blamed on fear, when I was young. It was dark, semi-realistic, and had the potential to be pretty gory. Then, as I got older and realized I could tolerate more, I suppose I was just tired of hearing about it. I'd gotten all the spoilers I needed to go 'well, I don't care anymore!'.
But, finally, after hearing the uproar about the casting for the American series... scratch that, the fact that there will be an American series at all has caused an uproar... I had to know what everyone has been raving about for the last decade.

It starts out fairly simple. High school kid sick of crime and violence around the country finds this notebook that can kill people and starts writing the names of criminals in it. Good kid, if a little twisted, right? But, too simple. Too boring.
So right away, when the police can't seem to figure out what's going on with all these criminals dying, a quirky genius is brought in to investigate. He's brilliant, and Light can't keep up from where he is. So what's the next logical step? Team up with your ultimate enemy, of course!
From there, it's really humorous, watching Light dance around being caught, always one step ahead of everyone, only a few very special geniuses able to keep up with and/or surpass him.
It's kind of brilliant. More so in the earlier episodes, as you get to see the hints of the plans being dropped before they're revealed as a whole, and the later episodes just give you explanations that you're just supposed to go with. Perfectly plausible, I just would've liked to see more little hints to make me think, and then go 'oh! So that's how that fits in!'. Maybe they were there and I didn't notice? Not sure.

Of most anime characters I've seen, Light is probably the biggest douche bag I've ever seen. Mad genius, yes. But a complete douche. And absolutely psychotic in the end. But the build up was gradual. He starts out truly wanting to help the world, even if he aims to become 'God of the New World', but in the end, he's lost sight of that, and is just doing everything he can to kill off those who pose a threat to him. It's interesting to watch.
I'm torn on whether I like L or Near better. Both are rather brilliant. Near didn't get the same chance to gradually figure everything out as L had, it was practically all handed to him. But, between them, their quirk sets are equally endearing, minds equally calm and calculating.
I was disappointed in the lack of clever or independent women in this series. I didn't expect to like Misa, but I also didn't expect to hate her as much as I did. Kiyomi had a chance, but even she was more willing to just wait and let Light rescue her than do anything to help herself. It's bothersome that the most competent women were side characters, barely given two minutes of screen time.
Otherwise, the character set is pretty good. All pretty individual, with the side characters not having to be completely stupid in order for the main characters to be brilliant. A breath of fresh air in the realm of 'genius battle' anime.

The music was good. I liked the choir voices in the important moments. Very moving. It creates a feeling of tension - I believe to be - similar to what it would feel like to be in those situations in real life.
I wasn't partial to the openings or credits songs. Somehow, Japanese scream-o doesn't jive with me. Or I haven't found the right song yet. All the songs are dark, suiting the air of Death Note. Just nothing I would listen to regularly.
The cast is all-star. Anyone who has read my previous reviews ought to know how much I love Mamoru Miyano. This is one of his finest works. I hated the character, as anyone ought to, but he was played beautifully!
Kappei Yamaguchi is also a favorite of mine. This was a new one for me to hear from him. Calm, quiet, extremely polite (going by how formal L's Japanese is). Fine work on his part! Very well done!
So many people in the Japanese cast are veterans, people who've been in the business for years. They've honed their craft, and displayed much of their prowess in this anime.

The animation is really sharp, exactly what I would expect out of a cult-classic like Death Note. It's dark, with a slightly more grounded art style, where the characters are drawn to better resemble people and carry the weight of the show. There's minimal use of CG, for traffic scenes and panning around the city, and it doesn't stand out too much. The designs of the Shinigami are grotesque and unique, and I liked them rather well!

All over, a really good show. I don't find myself loving it as much as others have, but it was certainly enjoyable! Clever, to say the least, thrilling, for certain, this show keeps even the semi-spoiled user guessing. I came in knowing a couple of important deaths that would happen. I didn't know how they happened, nor did I know what all would happen in getting to them. That was enough for those two deaths to still carry the same weight with me.
So, even someone like me who has known about Death Note for years, never watched it but knows the spoilers, can watch this show and still find a surprise or two in it.
I believe it's safe to recommend this to most any anime fan, as it is a cult classic, a basic show that most of the veteran anime watchers will have seen already, and a good stepping stone toward all the best stuff in anime.

Watching on,
Tatsuno13
© 2016 - 2024 Tatsuno13
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