The Story (Potential spoilers may be ahead?): 8/10
Death Note comes in two major portions, so we'll start with the first portion.
The series starts out pretty interestingly, unraveling rather vividly in the very first episode. Light's actions with the supernatural Death Note evolve from simple curiosity to a rather creepy Messiah complex as he becomes the faceless vigilante known as 'Kira', while his antics quickly are picked up by his soon-to-be nemesis, the master investigator, L. The initial confrontation between the two quickly evolves into an epic cat and mouse chase between two extremely intelligent individuals, with the balance continuously shifting between both sides. These exchanges are nothing short of exhilarating to watch, as a majority of the actions, deductions and evasion fit magically as the battle between Kira and L shifts across different locales and scenarios, with plot twist after plot twist; culminating in a shocking finale to the first portion. If left unto the first 25 episodes, I'd say Death Note would easily be the best anime I've watched, but only 'til here.
The second portion would never live up to the bar set by the first, and at many times it became too clever for its' own good. The exceedingly overconfident Light begins getting bolder and bolder, as two new characters N and Mello, are introduced to hunt him down. The plot here on out takes a dive, and it occasionally becomes boring to keep up with the episodes, but there are still moments of brilliance even in this somber pit, but the ending makes up for some of the shakiness and ends on a rather epic note.
Art: 8/10
Death Note is not exactly a super new anime, but the realism and beauty of the artwork still is extremely praiseworthy. It accurately captures the delicate mix between darkness and glory that the series revolves around. You're given a lovely canvas to stare at as it unfolds before you, and it's easy to like what you see.
Sound: 9/10
Death Note's soundtrack is nothing short of incredible. From the godly, malevolent theme that encapsulates Light Yagami to the mysterious, yet epic veil that enshrouds L; the soundtrack nails it all. The first opening is also catchy as heck, and you'll find yourself humming it in the loo before long. The other tunes in the series fit in equally well, save the second opening (which is rather awful to me, but oh well, subjective), which also still serves to remind viewers of the insane take Kira was heading deeper towards.
Character: 8/10
The characters here are easy to love, easy to understand and fun to grow with. Of course the most stunning example would be L Lawliet. L's development and portrayal was fantastic and amazing to follow; and it's easy to fall in love with him as a character. Light's descent from budding messiah to plain psycho killer is also brilliant to watch throughout the series, and though you may have differing views on who Light truly is, you'll enjoy the realism in the shift. Apart from these two, the other members of the Kira taskforce are also rather well built on for side characters, such as the brashly loyal Matsuda, the hot tempered Aizawa, the pillar of justice Yagami and even the irritating yandere bimbo, Misa. Ryuk is also an interesting figure in all this, who reminds you of his importance in the end, despite being slightly more than an observer throughout the series. Apart from Near and Mello who are rather one dimensional 24/7, the others display a large variety of interesting and realistic emotions and personalities, which make you feel a part of something real.
Enjoyment: 10/10
I'll be honest. As a whole, I loved it. Sure, portion 2 was a pain at times, but the flow of the story still progresses well enough to convince you to keep watching, to keep moving. At the end of the day, Death Note gives you that satisfaction every good anime should; despite the rather sad but fitting ending, you leave the final closing sequence with a smile, knowing your time wasn't wasted. The best part of the series was the struggle between L and Light, a captivating series of attack and defense that challenges one's ingenuity to the absolute extremes, and takes looking out of the box to a whole new, satisfying extreme. In the end, despite many hiccups and threats, Death Note doesn't truly forget what it is, and that's what makes it worth it.
Overall: 9/10
So yeah, that's my first review on MAL. These are my views on a show which I genuinely was glued on..for the most part. Thanks for reading!
