Warning: Spoilers
I wanted to like this. I really did. And I did for about the first 10-15 episodes. Death Note is probably the most popular anime ever, and when I read the summary, I could see why. After viewing 27 episodes and reading a summary of the subsequent 10, however, that opinion has changed a little bit.
First, a review of the things I DID like:
A) The Concept. Notebook that kills whoever has his name written into it, death gods that love apples, and two genius teens: one a student with a god complex, and the other a highly famous detective with a strong sense ... of justice and a wide variety of quirks. Who wouldn't want to watch this?
B) Protagonist/Antagonist Switch. Stories where the protagonist is the bad guy and the good guy is the antagonist are more in-depth. It makes you think more about whose side you should be on as opposed to the normal setup, where it's obvious that you should be behind the protagonist.
C) L. He's a great character, period. I love how the creators made him a quirky, unattractive genius instead of an attractive, pretty boy genius (*cough* Yagami Light! *cough*). This makes his likability depend on his personality and mannerisms instead of his looks. This so defies any male protagonist guidelines in general, and I love when authors have the brain capacity to create a likable character without making them look like they belong on the front of a magazine.
Now for the things I DID NOT like:
A) The Plot Randomness. After the first 10-15 episodes or so (and especially after 26), the plot seemed to have this "made up on the spot" feel to it, as if the author made the story up as he went along instead of mapping it out before he started writing it. Stories like that tend to tell me that the author is either overconfident or too lazy to plan it out beforehand. While this story had a few plot twists, none of them were really that twisty (except for the unpleasant one I'm about to mention in point B), considering that I wasn't really surprised by any of them and that I was thoroughly bored by episode 18. So if you like spur-of-the-moment plot development, this is the show for you.
B) They Killed L. Seriously. Many of you are probably saying, "It's good that the author was willing to kill off the main good guy. It's a great plot twist, and you don't see many stories where that happens, so it's creative." I do agree that it's a good plot twist, but IT'S L. The creators are quoted as saying that L is "the smartest character in the series," but yet, he gets outsmarted and dies. Not to mention that in the episodes leading up to this, Light wasn't exactly getting the upper hand. In fact, somewhere right before the middle of the show, Light seemed to start drifting away from his previously praised intelligence. L was so close to connecting all the pieces, when BAM! And why did he die?
Because no one seems to realize that Light's girlfriend is the most annoying creature to inhabit the universe.
I mean, really. Two death gods fall in love with her, Matsuda idolizes her, Light's sister loves her, and everyone else acts as if there isn't a little pest buzzing around the room. Honestly, how can you not make her want to shut up? I hated her 30 seconds after she first showed up. She's not even necessary to the story, to be perfectly honest, and it would probably be 10 times better without her. But still, L dies because of a shinigami's misguided love for her.
And then they try to replace him with children, one of which is an obvious ripoff of L himself (dark circles under the eyes, crouching position, black eyes, calm demeanor, etc.). And they don't even offer something like a clever he's-still-a-genius-because-he-planned-his-death solution, which would have made sense considering how smart he's supposed to be. The authors also made L's death out to be unimportant. No one grieves for him or gives him a funeral. Everyone's just like, "L's dead, we need a replacement." Instead they just killed him off and pretended that nothing major just happened.
Overall, it was a great concept with a great start that spiraled into a bunch of random not-so-well-thought-out plothole coverups. I can see why most people like it, but it got way too boring and unoriginal to me.
Finally, I would like to say that this is my opinion. Everyone has them, so I'm sorry if mine is unsatisfactory to you, but I'm just sharing why I think a very popular show is a bit overrated.
Alternative Titles Synonyms: DN Japanese: デスノート Information Type: TV Episodes: 37 Status: Finished Airing Aired: Oct 4, 2006 to Jun 27, 2007 Premiered: Fall 2006 Broadcast: Wednesdays at 00:56 (JST) Licensors: VIZ Media Studios: Madhouse Source: Manga Theme: Psychological Demographic: Shounen Duration: 23 min. per ep. Rating: R - 17+ (violence & profanity) Statistics Score: 8.621 (scored by 2,748,502 users) 1 indicates a . Ranked: #812 2 based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded. Popularity: #2 Members: 3,906,119 Favorites: 174,369 Available AtResources | ReviewsJun 3, 2015 Warning: Spoilers I wanted to like this. I really did. And I did for about the first 10-15 episodes. Death Note is probably the most popular anime ever, and when I read the summary, I could see why. After viewing 27 episodes and reading a summary of the subsequent 10, however, that opinion has changed a little bit. First, a review of the things I DID like: A) The Concept. Notebook that kills whoever has his name written into it, death gods that love apples, and two genius teens: one a student with a god complex, and the other a highly famous detective with a strong sense ... Aug 11, 2008 I might be the only living anime fan that hasn’t enjoyed Death Note. The reason really is because it seemed to be gimmicky to me. It doesn’t mean this series is in any way bad, no not at all, it just isn’t my cup of tea as they say. After about half the series I began to feel less and less like finishing, counting the number of episodes I had left to watch. To be honest it is a quality series with many and more good features, themes, characters and ideas, but it just didn’t mesh with me. The writing ... Jul 5, 2010 I'm one of the few people who would never say this is one of the best animes of all times and here is why: Although the plot of Death Note seems to be very interesting to me, I really belive it is painfully developed all over the anime. For me was pretty cool when the two main characters was presented has rivals (Light and L): I belived it would be really interesting to see which of them will defeat the other and how. However, all I could get watching it was fucking stupid monologues in which Light and L where ridiculously guessing each other thougts. Here it's an ... Jul 12, 2009 "Ever get the feeling of being cheated" because that's what I get about "Death Note". Yagami Raito(Light) is your average high school student who just happens to hate the world (the reason, just because), one day he finds the death note a strange notebook that apparently can be used to kill people with just knowin their name, taking it as seriuosly as a chain letter he tries to prove the "functioning" of the book by writting in it the name of a criminal who saw in the news, short after that the criminal died of a heart faliure, surprised by that fact he tires the book ... Sep 9, 2014 Overview: Death Note is one of the most popular anime ever to air on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block. It is obviously an anime that most otaku and even non-otaku are familiar with, but if you aren't I will give you some examples of the things this show did great and some things it could have improved on. Warning: minor spoilers. I mention a character dies, but I don't say which one. Story: 6/10 The story starts out with a very interesting premise about a brilliant student named Light Yagami that one day finds a mysterious book. The book called the Death Note allows you to write ... Sep 26, 2007 Death Note has a very strong beginning. The story is very thrilling and interesting, since it is a pretty untypical one you might never have seen before. Art, sound and characterdesign were outstanding good, especially because of the serious atmosphere it created throughout the first part of the anime. It definitely would have come out as one of the best anime I've ever seen if it would have gone on this way. But it did not. Actually almost the whole anime changes after about 1/3 of the anime (more clearly you coukl say that the whole atmosphere dies there), what I found really disappointing and made me ... Mar 30, 2018 Look, I am not a regular viewer of anime. For all I know, I'm probably missing something that I would not otherwise if I viewed anime as regularly as you. Still, Death Note was an interesting experience that made me realise that following the culture surrounding it is a good way of losing whatever sense of taste I have apparently cultivated. Death Note is not a bad show. Its just a show that is too clever for its own good. Actually, "clever" makes it sound like a backhanded compliment- "paranoid" would suit it better. Paranoia swirls around in the mind of its protagonist, Yagami Light, ... Jul 18, 2008 If you like psychological thrillers then i suggest you go watch a James Patterson movie. Death Note did not cut it for me, the endless (and sometimes random) mind fight between L and Light gets tedious a few episodes in which slows down the plot considerably. The Sherlock Holmes logic of the characters reduced to intricate details like the colour of a chair (or something) which leads to a massive, yet not massive, clue to the identity of L or Light repeats itself several times always ending in a stalemate and some cliffhangers which i said to myself "Here we go again". The character designs are ... Dec 12, 2015 Let's get right to the point. Death Note is an Anime that many love as well as hate. I'm one of those people who hate Death Note because of it's potential to become a masterpiece but fell flat on it's face. I'm disappointed in Death Note because at first it was just simply amazing and cunning. Light the Main character was doing risky things at all turns and I never knew what would happen next. It had me on the edge of my seat with a bag of popcorn and full attention. The Opening and Ending was simply amazing as well. Everything seemed to be going good ... Dec 17, 2023 After a certain event occurs roughly halfway through the story, the anime loses all its steam. Before this event, the anime would have easily been an 8 or 9, but the story just... flops after it. Almost everyone who has watched the anime knows what I'm referring to by "this event", which just goes to show how it ruined the second half of the show. Even the first half, the "best part" of the show, would still be overhyped just by itself. Overall, I would say that while some people may like this anime, I personally wasn't one of them. It's worth a watch, but ... Aug 18, 2016 Better make sure you're wearing a seat belt, because this piece of knowledge may rock your world: I've never actually watched the Death Note anime all the way through before. I know, how dare I! It's still the most popular anime on MAL, remains one of the most popular anime in today's culture, and is continuing to get more interpretations than the Bible - which is kind of fitting given how many people today still worship the notebook's rules. Hell, I even championed it as one of those anime every newcomer to this medium should watch in order to get a feel for it - ... Dec 6, 2014 Lion Tamers, I got a whole lot of stuff to say about "Death Note". Unfortunately, for the folks who actually liked this anime, I disliked it to the point of dropping it at episode 8. I realize this is usually a no-no; but there is no way I'm going to sit through drivel for 15 hours, after hating it for 3 hours already. First I want to talk about the stuff that was actually quite good. The dialog is written well, and performed above average. And the artwork is above average. Most of the characters did not disturb me too much, including the character named L Lawliet. While many didn't ... Nov 29, 2015 Many anime fans consider Death Note to be one of the best anime of all time. I am not one of those fans. I feel that while Death Note is a good show, it has some very glaring issues. I have no problem with the people who love this show, but I am simply going to cast my opinion into the mix. I will try not to spoil the show too much, but I will have to divulge a few plot points of varying importance to get my point across. These spoilers will mainly occur within the story and character ... Apr 3, 2014 Discussion: I'll start off by saying Death Note is among the most exciting television to watch. The confrontations between the characters are absolutely exhilarating. Even by their very first confrontation in the second episode, you can see that the two lead characters, Yagami Light and "L", are genius, devious, and at least partially insane. Yagami Light, who works under the public alias "Kira" to punish criminals with the Death Note, and "L", a world-renowned detective who has solved several cases previously deemed impossible, close in on each others true identities at an even pace throughout the series - a race that means death to the loser. ... Sep 13, 2023 Death Note was literally a rollercoaster that had its railings removed midway and I fell to my literal death. This anime was so close to being one of my favorite ones but it didn't make it. For the first half of the anime, I was so dang hooked because of the Light VS L case with all the suspense as they battle with their wits and all these clever tricks and plot twists. The whole idea that Light was trying everything to cover up his identity from L who kept uncovering everything; THAT WAS THE VERY FUN PART. I loved the suspense I got to ... Apr 20, 2009 Look, don't get me wrong. I love death note manga. It's my favorite. But the anime COMPLETLY killed it. I've always been a fan of Takeshi Obata, and i still am. His art is great and the story line remains intriguing. But the way they went about showing it is just... different... wrong. It doesn't feel right, but I can't put my finger on exactly what IT is. Not to mention that the voices just sound all wrong, even in the japanese version. The voice actors just don't sound the way that I, and most likely many other viewers, imagined it. Characters attitudes should be ... Nov 7, 2012 An anime that over-stayed its welcome. I was interested in Death Note when the manga was first being translated into english, and when I heard it was becoming an anime, I was excited, since I don't particularly enjoy reading manga. The anime starts of pretty well, but it got old fast. The characters are about as interesting and well defined as anime characters get... but they don't seem to have much development in relation to the story. The interesting philosophical questions never change or are explored differently at all, as the premise is pretty limiting in that regard. As each episode went on, I felt myself feeling ... Aug 25, 2012 [WARNING][slight potential spoilers below, nothing to crazy] I am definitely in the minority with my opinion/review of this show it seems but let me try to justify why i disliked this show so much. Deathnote was an anime that could have been one of the greatest ever made yet it made incredibly poor decisions regarding key plot points (killing off certain characters) and had an ending that was extremely dissatisfying. The first season was magnificent all the way up until how it ended. The ending was horrifying as what happened should have been part of the conclusion of the series as a whole, not a first season ... Jan 12, 2019 I started off really liking the anime, with the cognitive back and forth between Light and L being the highlight. The rules of the Death Note serve as a game constraint pretty much like an elaborate game of Mafia. But when Light somehow loses his advantage of being invisible from investigation and became the most likely suspect, the anime starts to lose its charm. L's infinite resources, including technology, authority (to imprison without trial and whatnot) and manpower. The second portion (I refuse to call this a 'half' simply because of how short it and rushed it was) was a bit of a let down. ... Oct 28, 2022 I'm not going to be popular with this one, but meh. I do respect what it does, but it's not the anime for me. The main character, who we're stuck with, is annoying to be with. He's extremely paranoid and has a false moral compass. He even breaks it for the greater good. I can respect this depth, but dear God do I not want to deal with it so upfront. The smartest detective suspects the main character of killing just because I guess. No logical conclusion other than a gut feeling. Yes, please zero in on this guy ... |