A friend of mine pushed me (heavily) to watch Death Note, and it really made me a fan.
Death Note’s review is pretty simple, outstanding, and beyond words!
SPOILER ALERT!
Death Note is a mind-bending thriller anime adaption of Tsugumi Ohba’s manga, which also goes by Death Note. The 37-episode anime television series adaptation, produced by Madhouse and directed by Tetsurō Araki, was broadcast in Japan on Nippon Television from October 2006 to June 2007. And as of April 2015, the Death Note manga had over 30 million copies in circulation!
THE STORY
Death Note is a story of a nerd (Light Yagami) who acquires a supernatural object. The Death Note. It gives him the ability to kill with a swipe of a pen! The concept is unique. The story revolves around various themes like Justice, Gods, and Mind Games. The most prevalent theme was Justice. Light tries to induce justice to the world by exterminating all criminals like murderers, rapists, etc., from the surface of the planet but is falls behind his own idea of providing justice to all by killing innocent people too so he could reach his goal. L, on the other hand, chases Light and wants to stop him from killing people. Light, aka Kira, and L’s conflict might seem like a long cat and mouse chase story but is very gripping and interesting. Think of them as two high-end detectives. For example, Batman and Sherlock Holmes fighting to outrun each other. The show has dual aspects of justice, and it does a pretty exceptional job dividing its fanbase to think who is actually right and what is real justice in the anime. Not only on papers or the screens, but the philosophy of the characters and the dark themes of the show is simply outstanding. One of the many things you would love about Death Note is that it requires lots of attention to understand and process what’s shown in the show.
ART/ANIMATION
The animation is done by Madhouse and directed by Tetsuro Araki in 2006. The anime was based on the homonym manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. The visuals were Sharp, fluid, and vividly drawn. Light and L looked even better compared to the original manga. The epicness of the art is more prominent during the Opening Song(The World, By Nightmare). Metaphorical, engaging, and jaw-dropping art. One of the best I’ve seen as an Otaku. Understandably, bright colors are rarely used to reflect a dark plot, which can be viewed as a plus point. There is nothing really spectacular about it, though, because it is an old anime, but it does the job quite well for its time: outstanding art, but nothing more, nothing less.
MUSIC
Oh God, this couldn’t have got any better. Probably the most heavenly music I’ve encountered in an anime. You will experience some epic guitar and piano themes. Search on YouTube “The World – Nightmare.” I love that song like anything.
The voice actors do an amazing job. Most notably, Mamoru Miyano’s role as Light Yagami. It was absolutely stunning and most excellent. Of course, that’s not to say the other voice actors did a bad job; in fact, they also did fantastic work, but Yagami’s voice acting stood out the most to me.
THE RIVALRY/CHARACTERS
It’s Kira v/s L. The mind-boggling games these two play will have you stumped. They are trying to outsmart the other at each point, trying to think what the other is thinking and then think of a way to out-think him.
Their level of intelligence and deductive reasoning, when paired with their desire to win, is unmatched. Light comes up with plan after plan, and L quickly counters them with his own. Their rivalry isn’t just limited to the murders; it even spills over to a tennis game the two have. During the match, they each try to outsmart the other, with L trying to predict how likely it is that Light is Kira and Light trying to play in a way that’ll take the heat off of him.
THE PHILOSOPHY AND THE DARK THEME
Apart from the rivalry of the two main characters, Death Note explores themes such as deception, manipulation, and the true meaning of justice. The show somewhat has psychologically perturbing scenes. Kira’s theory is extremely brilliant but gets fundamentally flawed in execution. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, and we, as individuals and society, crave, value, and fear power. These are the truths of our society that Death Note manifested. The point of death note is for you to think for yourself. The show will make you question your own reality, ethics, and your morals.
THE TURN AND TWISTS
The story, in general, is so tight and unpredictable. Personally, while watching anything, I’ve always had this problem of thinking too hard about the next turn in the story and eventually ruining the surprise. Here though, there was no way I could have guessed the twists. Death note will surely be a mind-blowing experience for you if you like mind-bending stuff.
LENGHT
Thankfully unlike many other anime, this one did not try to stretch beyond its limit. 37 episodes, and that’s it. (YOU CAN BINGE-WATCH IT AND COMPLETE IT IN A COUPLE OF DAYS :P) However, the second part of the anime didn’t stand out as the first part to many watchers, But you would definitely love the whole series.
OVERALL
A must watch for any living being. If you like psychological thrillers/mind-blowing stuff, Death Note is made for you, and you would enjoy every single episode, every single minute, and every single second of the show immensely. You suddenly fall in love with the characters and the amazing premise, Extremely addictive and fun. Enjoyment is over 9000. I can’t find any negative points of this anime 😛