So you've watched anime like DBZ, Naruto, Bleach or One Piece, and maybe you liked them. But then you come to MAL and see that there's a little anime called "Death Note". The name itself intrigues you, doesn't it? So after watching it you think to yourself, "well that was pretty good, nothing really good about it EXCEPT EVERYTHING." Almost.
Story:-9
This part of the review will split the ratings into 2 parts: the "L arc" and the "N arc".
The story of Death Note is wonderfully unique and is "Near" perfect, I say that because while the unique nature of the anime is one of it's strongest points it definitely has some plot holes here and there.
The first arc is ,in popular opinion, the better of the 2 arcs. It revolves around our Anti-Hero Light and a genius detective "L". This arc has them both dueling it out in a gigantic mind game of clashing ideals. Each character plays large roles in an extremely elaborate chess game. The number of twists throughout the series would even give M. Night Shyamalan a hard on. Then comes the second arc.
If you've read anything about this anime it's the "potato chip" line and/or that the second arc is garbage. I honestly wouldn't say that the second arc is garbage but it definitely is a step down from what we've experienced prior. The mind games are now based on chance and it just seems like Light becomes, dare I say, stupid. No longer is the puzzle complex and fascinating and no longer are the 2, or in this case, 3 main protagonists smart and cunning. The entire anime goes from Professor Layton to Mario Party in the change of arcs.
Overall if not for the the second arc the story would've gotten a 10.
Art:-7
The art in this series is not something I would brag about. Compared to what what Tetsurou Araki has presented us in Black Lagoon prior to Death Note, this cannot be considered his best work by any mean. But in no stretch of the imagination is this animation "bad". No, not even close. The animations in the openings and endings are definitely good if not great. While there is very little action, it still is a treat to the eyes. The writing in the death note itself cannot go unmentioned as well, the way people write in the notebook, while impossible, is staggering. I mean when someone's handwriting sparkles, you know that you're in for a ride.
Sound:-10
This part of the review is split between the soundtrack, openings and endings and Voice Acting respectively.
If I could I would give this part much more than 10, by and for this anime has one of the best soundtracks ever to enter human ears. For an example of this just listen to 3 themes:
1. Kira's Theme
2. L's Theme (A)
3. Low of Solipsism
The entire soundtrack is crafted beautifully and each song compliments the tone of the anime perfect.
The opening of the second arc and both endings are nothing brilliant, but still good to listen to. But then you have the first opening."The World" by Nightmare is one of the best anime openings of all time. The song and animation compliment each other perfectly and even the song in itself is a good listen.
The voice actors for the subbed version of Death Note all fit the character perfectly, the dub on the other hand isn't better, but they do portray each character well, except for Light who sounds like he smokes to much.
Character:-9
There are a variety of characters in this series and if I study each in detail I'll be sitting here for weeks. So I'll only touch on a few.
L is the detective throughout the story who's character acts as a comic relief character as well as a serious detective. He's usually revered as a great character by most of the fanbase and you can easily see why. He's a quirky, fast-thinking and amazing detective and we all love him.
Light is the main anti-hero of the story and is one of the most controversial characters in the series. Unlike L, whom everybody loves, Light is accused of having wrong ideals and sometimes being an all around, pardon my French, dick.
This is true in many cases and yes he can be a dick a lot of the time, especially in episodes 25 and onwards. But in the end he still is a "good" character, not necessarily a likable one though.
Then we have comic relief characters like Matsude, Misa and Ryuk, the Shinigami. Aside from that the rest of the cast is utilized perfectly and only has 2 glaring flaws in my book. Near and Misa. These 2 characters are not likable nor good. Near is someone whom I can't talk about without mentioning major spoilers and Misa is just annoying. She is a classic anime airhead and while I wouldn't have minded if she was in any other anime, in a serious anime like this, her character doesn't fit.
Enjoyment:-8
Overall I liked this anime in totality. The episodes from
1-7 were brilliant
8-16 very good
17-25 again brilliant
26-37 good on their own but when compared to the rest of the anime, average.
The anime will have you on the edge of your seat most of the time and other times it'll have you flabbergasted at the stupid decisions made by some character. It'll also have you crying at the end of a few episodes because "something bad happened".
I would recommend this anime to anyone out there, it's a great anime to watch but just keep in mind that you need to use your brain to watch it.
Overall:- 8.4 (Barely missed a 9)
