Death Note is a very unique anime. It is not every day that you find an anime, or any television show for that matter, that keeps you on your toes for multiple episodes.
The plot picks up pace with the entry of The World’s greatest detective, called L. While the premise was already interesting, the entry of L provided a different perspective to what Light was doing. From the eyes of Light, he was cleansing the world of evil. On the other hand, L believes that what he was doing was extremely childish and stressed the fact that he had no right to take somebody’s life.
This dynamic between Light and L is the highlight of the series. The psychological elements of the series are among the best ever made. The battle of wits between Light and L is an absolute treat to watch.
[Review]
Starting with a strong point of the anime, the plot. The anime is fast paced and highly unpredictable, in a good way. The various schemes plotted by L and Light to outwit the other account for some really good plot points and twists. The conversations between the Japanese police force and L (whom they refer as Ryuzaki, to conceal his identity) are very entertaining. The extent to which Light goes to throw any possible suspicion of being Kira off him is mind-boggling. The addition of Misa Amane a little later accounts for some fun plot development as she makes the image of Kira vulnerable by killing insignificant people. The way Light tackles the problem is again very interesting (and unpredictable). Some of Light’s schemes do start looking really far-fetched and the fact that they always came to pass (even though they were countered by L) wasn’t something I was a big fan of.
However, the plot begins to suffer down the line. It becomes a lot less interesting than it was at the beginning. The main motive of the series was lost somewhere in between and by the time it ended, it had long outlived almost everything entertaining about it. It seemed as if the author started too many plot lines to actually keep in pace with everything and to wrap everything properly for the end. And many of these plot lines, though very unique and creative, were unnecessary. It still had some good moments, but all in all it was much better when it started than when it ended.
I did feel that they could have touched upon the Shinigami world a bit more.
The characters are once again a very strong point of this anime. The best characters of this anime are without a doubt Light and L. They both are among some of the best anime characters ever.
The portrayal of L as the great detective, his mannerism and his nature make him a very good character. And the fact that the author paid attention to very minute things is pleasing to see. One instance in particular I would like to mention is the time when it is revealed that the world’s second best detective and the world’s third best detective are also aliases used by L. That is something that would actually be beneficial for the world’s greatest detective and also something that he is likely to think of.
Light is again, a very good character. We can see how he transformed throughout the series very clearly. The portrayal of his psychopathic behavior is brilliant. Even in the end, when he was completely helpless, the way he reacted to being cornered was shown very well. And another brilliant aspect of his character is that we get to see how he could have been, had he not been corrupted by Death Note. It provides a contrast, something we can compare and clearly see the difference in.
Near and Mello are two characters that enter nearly after two-thirds of the anime as successors of L. Mello is a pretty interesting character. He is different from all the other detectives in the series as he can be very reckless in order to get things done. Near is also a fine character but he was never someone who could replace L despite his pseudo-L behavior. It was entertaining to see him play with his toys though.
Ryuk was a wasted potential in my opinion. In beginning he was fine, but as the series kept going on, his motivation seemed really lackluster. The rest of the support cast support the main characters fairly well. Light’s father was especially a good character, playing an-ever-the-hero police detective. He is the type of character we usually see as a protagonist.
Coming to the art and animation, the dark tone was befitting for the series and provided a good touch to the setting. Other than that, it wasn’t something out of the ordinary. Sound track was another area where they did well, especially in the first half. The background music played in the scenes where L and Light do their plotting and execution was perfect. But later on the same BGM was used on scenes that weren’t really suited for it, making both the BGM and the scene look really cheesy.
[Conclusion]
Death Note is a very good anime, although it could have been a lot better had it not been for the lull in its last third. Being lackluster in the end leaves a bad taste and is a lot more detrimental to a show than being lackluster in the beginning.
That said, it is one of the best anime ever made and is recommended for everyone, whether you like anime or not.
[Key Points]
+ An entertaining and immersive plot.
+ Characters are well written.
+ The atmosphere and suspense is very well developed.
– Story is lackluster towards the end.
[Score]
88/100
