I love how fucking original this plotline is. To be honest, I was getting bored of following the same underdog or "rags to riches" style story. Death Note was a breath of fresh air. You follow Light Yagami, a straight A student as he picks up a "Death Note", which allows him to kill the name of the person he writes in it within 40 seconds. After the initial doubt of the validity of such an object... Light is soon greeted by Ryuk, a God of Death or 'Shinigami". At first, Light uses his new found powers for what he thinks is a betterment of the world... that is until the police begin to track him down. Insert L, the man behind a computer screen and the lead investigator on the case to catch Light. What do you get when you cross the world's best detective with a blind-youth brainiac? One of the best iterations of a cat and mouse story around. Not to mention the fact that L may have been the best antagonist you could root for in an anime.
At times during Death Note, the tension was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. I couldn't tell you the last time I was that on the edge of my seat while watching an anime... if ever. As devastated as I was once the first arc ended, the second one picked up with increased steam. Every time I thought Light was about to get caught, he would pull some magic plan out of his hat, and live to hide another day, and the writing was damn brilliant. A powerful, gripping piece of fiction, Death Note kept me glued up till and through its incredible conclusion. The story was so powerful in fact, that it even enticed real-life "Death Notes" to sprout up throughout Japan and caused Vladimir Putin to place regulations on the series in Russia.
Death Note doesn't have the best animation out there, but I also had to take into consideration that it was created almost 10 years ago. Quite a lot of breakthroughs have been made in visuals since then. One thing I will say is that I was both terrified and intrigued the first time I laid eyes on a Shinigami. Ryuk's creepy stare would be enough to scare the living shit out of anyone who came across him in real life. I also like how introverted they drew L to look... socially awkward but genius, right down to the weird way he sat with his feet. I also really enjoyed both openings, even though I almost fell out of my seat in shock when I heard the second one for the first time. The death metal vibe did sit well, amassing the chaos between L and Light while getting you pumped up for the next episode. Situational sound effects were also present at key points during the show... adding to the suspense.
The juxtaposition of Light and his actions during the series are incredible, and entirely believable. The transformation he goes through as a person and the degradation of his morality are showcased most often in the form of inner-monologue, and I couldn't wait to see what he would do next. He's the perfect villain, and it was nice to see a story through the eyes of one as the protagonist.
L may very well be the greatest non-main character I've seen in an anime. I was pulling for him the whole time, and his ability to match wits with Light was incredible. Even when no one else believed him, L stuck to his hunches, and his weird mannerisms and love of sweets made him that much more interesting. Sometimes when he stared at Light you could just read his thoughts and then he would utter some spot on observation of the situation. I want to see more characters like this!
The rest of the ensemble cast was great too. I really enjoyed how goofy Matsuda and Mogi could be, following the clueless Misa around as her bodyguards. Mello and Near also played great roles, and their vengeance rang loud and clear.
I'm normally pretty critical as a reviewer, but there's not much to criticize in Death Note. It's an intense and mind-bending ride, and I enjoyed every second of it. It's "binge-watch" worthy for as I can neither confirm nor deny I finished it in 3 sittings. As the story neared the end, I tried not to look at the episode number in fear that it would end sooner. I would greatly appreciate more shows like this in the future!
