Death Note is an anime that needs no introduction. Many people who are remotely versed in the medium of anime have seen it, or at the very least, have heard of it. It’s one of the highest rated anime of all time, and undoubtedly one of the most well-known. They say that the proof is in pudding, so does this mean that Death Note is perfection incarnate? Well, let’s see.
I’m sure most of you have at least a remote idea of the show’s plot, but just to summarize; Light Yagami is a high school student who luckily (or unluckily) stumbles upon a mysterious notebook titled “Death Note” on his way home from school, which claims to have the power to take the life of anyone who’s name is written inside, so long as the time and date of death is provided, as well as a mental image of the target. Out of pure curiosity, he follows the instructions, testing it out on a criminal broadcast on TV. And… it doesn’t work.
Well, of course it works, and combined with Light Yagami’s sense of superiority, justice and hatred for the world’s corruption, he decides to use the notebook’s ability to impose his ideals by “passing judgment”. The results of this mysterious power, stirs public outcry and controversy, which, of course, also triggers a police investigation. A genius detective named “L” is put at the forefront of the case, and thus begins the deadly game of cat and mouse between two men with no knowledge of their rivals’ name or face.
Death Note’s plot, for the most part, is a very intelligently and meticulously crafted story. The events unfolding during the hunt between the often reversed roles of predator and prey are generally very well thought out, given complexity due to its cleverness. The anime does a great job of walking the viewer through step by step however, usually through dialogue explanations, making it easy enough to follow so it doesn’t turn into a jumble of words and puzzles.
Of course, an anime revolving around a great power with limitless potential will often factor in an element of morality, and Death Note does an excellent job of provoking ethical debates. Both Light and L operate on the basis of “the ends justify the means”, and while their intentions seem clear cut from the beginning, the lines further blur into shades of grey as we watch their plans unfold. Many questions can be spawned from these elements of morality, resulting in a memorable, thought provoking experience that I consider to be Death Note’s strongest suit.
The characters, in my opinion, are a bit of a mixed bag. Light is a wonderfully written character, one who actually plays the villain in the context of the story, but seeing as the plot unfolds from his perspective, his intentions and methods are clearly presented. This makes him a difficult character to hate but very easy to side with. He’s truly a multi-layered character, one who has been developed extremely well and often acts as a vessel in order to show the effects on human nature when granted with such a power. L is a known fan favourite, however, while I thought that some parts of his character were done very well, he felt a bit over the top in many other sections. What makes him great is, despite the fact that he’s supposed to represent justice in society, he lacks moral judgment in the conventional sense, proven by his rash and sometimes sacrificial methods of progressing the case. Yes, he is working with the police force and is the apparent “good guy” in the anime, but he is by no means the altruistic figure that society normally associates with that of peace and righteousness. This gives his character a very interesting contrast, but his more over the top elements prevented him from being truly believable. The supporting cast, with the exception of Light’s father, failed to strike much of an impression – from the oddly innocent, obsessed Misa Amane to the rest of the investigation team partaking in the case.
Animation is fairly good in this series, with a couple of barely noticeable inconsistencies. The music however, compliments the scenes extremely well. Perhaps the act of a guy writing in a notebook isn’t very epic visually, but combined with the grandiose orchestrated pieces in the background, the intensity of the scene becomes exponential. The presentation overall is very solid, and I have little to complain about in this department.
What I do have to complain about however, like many others, is the final arc. While it still has its merits, and still contains some fairly well written parts, as a whole, it was simply a huge let down as the show takes a nosedive in quality. I’ve heard that the pacing has been relatively sped up from its manga counterpart, but regardless, the change in the overall experience was just so difficult to ignore. It felt as if ideas were sparse on how to conclude the plot, and in my opinion, crafting an additional sub-par plot on top, where many elements felt noticeably watered down, was the wrong decision. I’m not going so far as to degrade it to the point many other viewers have, but it’s undoubtedly hard to ignore. To me, the ending of a series is almost a make or break deal, one that can either result in a memorable, satisfying experience or a sour taste in the mouth – and Death Note, unfortunately, left me experiencing the latter.
To answer my own question from before: no, Death Note is by no means perfection incarnate. Still, it’s not often that I see such an intense, well constructed battle of the brawns (at least in the first twenty five episodes). This, coupled with some thought provoking elements and solid presentation, makes for a very enjoyable package overall. If you are one of the few who haven’t seen Death Note yet, it’s most definitely worth the watch, regardless the aforementioned flaws. I don’t consider Death Note a masterpiece as many do, but still, it is an experience that manages to be memorable despite a disappointing conclusion.
Overall rating: 8/10
