- Last OnlineSep 29, 2023 11:34 PM
- JoinedOct 24, 2014
No friend yet.
Also Available at
RSS Feeds
|
![]()
Oct 25, 2014
Fan rating: 5/5
Critic Rating: 4/5
Overall rating: 9/10
Death Note is hard boiled. It's not a mystery, because you know whodunnit. You follow the criminal's perspective. What is an antihero? Is it a hero with villainous qualities or is it just a villain who gets the story told from his viewpoint? Both probably.
I think of Death Note as a study of narcissism induced by brilliance or just being a sociopath. In other words, we sometimes possess traits that by nature alienate us from people, leaving us to live in our own inner worlds. To some, mundanity is the death of the soul. Maybe we are such keen
...
observers of the human condition that we can't bare to constantly see the subtext of insecurities that plague every day conversation. Maybe we are just so smart we can't stand being around other people's stupidity.
Light is a narcissist. He just is. He looks like everyone else, acts like everyone else, but this is a farce. Most guys like him are never seen for what they truly are.
We have no choice to believe that Light was born with something missing, that even a boy with a loving family, who grew up comfortable, can just be born wrong. We can't always blame the parents, or even society. Monsters are sometimes just born.
Hard boiled supernatural detective story. Light and L begin a game of one-upping that often seems like it's going to break but doesn't. It begins to seem this might be an infinite story. As Light commits his crimes; L puts him in positions that should be impossible,(and unforeseen factors intervene) but Light adapts , his plans becoming more serpentine in the process. Something has to give.
Light's God Complex contrasts with Man's Greed. Light's genius contrasts with L's genius. Light's darkness really does overwhelm any light. Any character who truly seems to solve crimes from a sense of heart, a desire to make the world better, seems quite irrelevant. Only those who coldly see crimes as puzzles cause change. The rest are pawns, serving grand masters.
I debate the second half of the series, and how I feel about the introduction of new characters. That's why I decked a point for the critic rating, but couldn't for the overall. Overall it's still just so perfect to me. Something had to change to justify the series length. Just as I was thinking Light vs. L needed to end, something happened to make the number of episodes make sense. Still, I wasn't rooting for them, and their back story needed more fleshing out for me. I was curious to their connection to a main character. While some may say the characters needed to be cut, I disagree. I think they represent the idea of cycling generations, of how nothing lasts forever and yet everything repeats. They represent how the next generation can build on the work of those that came before them, of how achievement does not often occur in one lifetime but over many. This is life. We all want to change the world, but sometimes we just pave the way for the next person to do so. You may be able to fight one person, but can you fight generations. When you've learned one enemy so thoroughly, how quickly can you adapt to another? You are the same, but your enemy suddenly changes. From a storytelling perspective, it seems these new characters have an unaffair and unearned advantage. But really, don't we all get to take something our ancestor's accomplished for granted?
I think one of the minor episodes was one of the most brilliant case studies in storytelling I had ever seen. When Light needs to get the full name of his next target to keep from getting busted, a ticking clock begins. He has to get her name before she contacts his father. The writing is like something for the stage, written in carefully controlled beats, that ratchets up the tension. No explosions, no big twists, not even a big plot point, just a slow burning pace that left me wondering who I was rooting for.
The ending wasn't predictable until it happened. That's how engrossed I became. It pushed the proceedings into opera. The detective's great reveal was more than a genre convention; it was a god's lament.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
What did you think of this review?
Nice
 0
Love it
 0
Funny
 0
Confusing
 0
Well-written
 0
Creative
 0Show all
![]()
Oct 24, 2014
Fan Rating: 9/10
Critic Rating: 5/10
Unfortunately, I have to consider Bleach dropped. Once the whole Aizen mess wrapped up, I completely lost interest. I am happy the ending of that whole storyline could easily have served as a series ending. I am content to say Ichigo and his friends lived happily ever after and ignore the fact the series just keeps going and going and going.
I did some research on the manga's later arcs, and I did find myself intrigued by the back story concerning Ichigo's parents. Although, it also struck me as being a little too soapy. I don't know. I may have to give
...
the manga a shot.
Anyway, from a fan perspective, this series is a delight. Unfortunately, after the Bount Saga, the overall quality of the main arcs weaken. However, there are still iconic moments. It's just too difficult to weigh the pros and cons. For all of the tedious filler, it often felt worth it just to get to Ulquiorra vs. Ichigo, or the revelation of Gin, or many other amazingly heart wrenching moments. Still, after the first two arcs, the parts seem greater than the whole. Stunning sequences, but overall weak story structures.
The filler arcs were mostly not that bad. The Bounts I thought was amazing, and I did not know at first it was filler because it fit in with the continuity. The themes of oppression, of denying a minority group, led to complex characters who at times really did make me tear up. Anime excels at making the political personal. Yoshino and ideas of motherhood, cult personality vs. individuality, and martyrdom opened my heart and mind. However, the series is so long, I'm not sure if I will be rewatching anytime soon to expound on those ideas.
And still, there are some gender issues. The main female characters, Orihime and Rukia, are way too sacrificial and weak. Rukia is more interesting as a character study. But I just couldn't with Orihime. At first, I was interested in how she wanted to be stronger, then in how to make her healing powers, a passive power, work in a culture that values active aggression. However, her sacrificing moment was annoying. I know she's not meant to be an Einstein, but the fact that one stupid decision lead to such a huge story arc with so freakin' many episodes, one my absolute favorite, is bittersweet. And yet still, her confrontation with jealously shows how strong her heart is (even if often to the setback of her friends).
The filler arcs are usually too slow in the beginning and wonderfully epic in their ending. The Captain Amagai arc was the worst upfront. The Muramasa arc became redundant in the middle as the same characters used the same powers over and over and the epilogue arc with the Sword Beasts brought the overall quality down further. Still, the proper ending was philosophical and beautiful.
Again, Bleach's highs and lows are in constant dual with me. There were too many arrancars. I am happy the filler arcs were there, but they were all too long. If this whole series were edited down, it would have been a masterpiece. Instead, it's a personal favorite that is good with often extended moments of poignant beauty.
Some more thoughts:
The overall world building has some shaky ideas. The citizens of the Soul Society act like they are a completely different race from humans; yet they really are just humans that have died. Their estrangement with the living does not often make sense.
Also, the series was difficult to adjust to at first. In the beginning, the stories are episodic. Each episode has Ichigo battling a hollow, and the story lines build, getting bigger. Once they enter the social society, I could not believe how decompressed the storytelling became. Battles took on many episodes. Once I skipped ahead to see how long before the Soul Society Arc ended. When I got the gist, I settled into it and enjoyed.
Like the iconic, and often templated, DBZ, Bleach works on a power up model. For some this might be tedious. However, it did not bother me, mainly because of the drama and conflict provided by Ichigo's dark side.
Like many in this genre, the sheer charisma of the characters and the epic spectacles which each have their own (often more interesting) stories kept me from probing the holes too deeply. Unfortunately, the inability to close read the world building without it falling apart leads to a low critic score.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
|
