Let's flash back to 2006. Anime at the time was a decently popular entertainment medium with a few great hits that many internationals know. However, we never really got a global phenomenon from the anime industry. A pair of shoes came on at around the same time, and one year later, that pair got an English dub that showed the world the true power of anime genius protagonists and the effects they would have on our world as we know it. One of those was Code Geass, which was amazing, but had but a brief run in the spotlight meaning that despite being so popular on MAL, it would never truly cement its mainstream status the way a Shounen Jump anime adaptation would. Speaking of which, his show Death Note, was the other, more successful brother of the two, even if MAL scores say otherwise. This show originated as a Shounen Jump manga, and judging by Bleach and Naruto, that meant instant stardom, and now Light Yagami and his black notebook of death is the most popular anime of all time, and an anime who's worldwide phenomena juggernaut status would only be challenged twice. One by SAO, once by Attack On Titan. Well, now to the present. This show is officially a classic. Now, how well does this killer hold up? Let's find out, shall we?
Light Yagami is a genius student in high school. One day, a black notebook literally falls from the sky, and in doubt, he tests it out on some criminals currently trying to molest a girl a few hours after class, only to find out, it works. It turns out, it was like a rock being thrown into stagnant water. Ryuk, a shinigami from a realm of shinigami (creatures who created and posses Death Notes) dropped it on purpose waiting for someone to pick it up and "change the world" because he's bored. Soon, the police realize how horrible such a thing could be, and call up the world's greatest detective, L, who quickly reveals the city where this killer, now called Kira, is. It soon becomes a figurative chess match between the two as many police members due to Kira's book, even if some methods are a bit cruel on Light's end. Soon, he gets scouted by Misa Amane, another Death Note wielder, only he is reluctant to have her on board, but decides to use her for this whole ordeal, ready to kill her if he doesn't need her anymore. Soon, after deciding to erase his memory, he and Misa are locked up and mentally tortured for days before joining up with them, as this group of corporate assholes is up to some shady business, and after that sidequest is finished, Light ends up re-encountering his Death Note and regains his memory, and with that, proceeds to finish L off. So, ok, good story. It was a fun little figurative chess match, even if the last few episodes up to that point felt like a tedious sidequest involving corporate assholes for the sake of an antagonist.
Well, apparently, the original mangakas wanted to end it there, but due to fan demand, caved in and created a lackluster 12 episodes to cap it off. A few years later, after somehow having the world under his fear-mongering thumb, and not getting caught at all, he is still working with the police. Apparently, L has two apprenticed known as Near and Mello, who go off to do their own thing to catch the Kira. Mello kidnaps Light's sister and kills kid dad, while Near takes a more analytical and chess player like role. Ultimately, they were still sorta working together. A new Death Note user named Teru Mikami joins Light's cause and looks like a perfect member, only until the ending. Somehow, Near and his men managed to barge into Mikami's room without anyone knowing, switched his Death Note with a fake, in a hackneyed attempt to lure out a super genius like Light, AND IT WORKS!!! Also, Light was never smart enough to come up with a backup plan like he always does, and ends up being exposed, shot, and eventually killed by Ryuk's own Death Note! I'll get to how badly the ending betrayed the characters of the Death Note users in the characters section, but the ending is just bad! I mean, it is so egregious that it is literally one of the worst endings I've seen to date. Sure, Death Note had a decent story, but the ending was so bad. It felt like they had no reasonable way to kill Light, so they took the easy way out. It didn't entirely ruin the story, but the last 12 episodes managed to make a watered-down sequilitis story that bogged everything down overall, instead of waiting and then making this last 12 episode arc into a sequel. Well, we have what we have, and overall, not too shabby, ending aside.
Light Yagami is a villain protagonist and let's be honest, while he was kind of interesting in the first 25 episodes, 26-37 make him lose all of his charm. He was power hungry and had a god complex, but had a decent set of morals that decayed the more he was immersed in his cause to save the world. Some say the path to hell is paved with good intentions, and that absolute power corrupts absolutely, and the first 25 episodes managed to do that brilliantly, and we probably wouldn't mind if he won since despite being morally questionable, he still has some morals about family and was interesting. The last 12 episodes make him cocky, lethal, toxic, and more power hungry than ever, ruining his credibility as a likable character. The ending was a real slap in the face for his character though. He became SO COCKY, that he never bothered to use Misa as a sure-fire backup, gave himself away so easily that way he could gloat if he won, and overall, failed to have a reasonable reason to be defeated. However, he at least died with more dignity than in the manga, so I'll at least give it that. Ryuk is a snarky, narcissistic, creature who admits that he is only working with Light into Light screws up. He makes for some decent comic relief. L is an interesting genius with odd quirks, and a morality that can sink if need be. He also has a sweet tooth, and is kinda kickass, more so than Light. I like the way he died, since he died at just the right moment to jumpstart our hype back up after the fullness of episodes 18-24, and had a reasonable and epic send off. The officers are good people and decent characters as well, but for the sake of time, I will only be talking about four other people. Misa starts off as calculating, and also a good planner when it comes to hooking Light. She doesn't show any of that off afterward, becoming just another Yandere-ish jealous girl that always kisses up to Light, and while I didn't dislike her, I can see why many do.
Now for the worse supporting cast. Teru Mikami, is a bad-guy fighter; always has been. He didn't care if he got hurt. As long as he stopped injustices around her, and grew to hate his mother when she tried to convince him to stop lest he got hurt by some bully. Now, he is crazy, with his epic pen writing skills, and a true immersion with his cause. This causes him to be rather gullible and stupid near the end though, and the fact that Kira like his pawn/ex girlfriend only to find how he did that too and at the exact same time, made me really dislike him after I already hated Light for doing that. Mello, is an asshole. He is always at Near's throat, is blackmailing Light by holding his sister hostage, and is just a muscle asshole because an interesting antagonist in Death Note is a foreign concept. Near... I hate Near. He is literally a watered down L who uses are rally stupid method to somehow come out on top. Plus, he worked with Mello to do his thing, actually using Mello as a pawn, and he's a really good liar. So, yeah, not amazing, but a decent cast nnetheless.
This was done by Studio Madhouse and if you know Madhouse, you know how good they are at their projects. They went for a more realistic look combined with a more digital art that the early 2000's have plagued the industry with, and this show pulls it off rather well. When they try getting some trippy and odd imagery there to make a visual statement, they also succeed very well. The character models don't always look amazing though, but the art is well done nonetheless. Plus, the dark lighting in the final episode really adds to the tone of it, even if the finale sucks.
OP 1is a very good and memorable OP that really fits well with the narcissistic and almost nihilistic tone of Death Note. It's a great OP. OP 2... How do you describe the insanity? It is literally a screamo. I don't like those too much, but the lines are so easy to misconstrue, it gets hilarious towards the end. It's beyond self-indulgent in its own madness, and man did Maximum the Hormone have fun with this one; it's crazy as sin. ED 1 is just ok. Decent for the show it's attached to, but nothing more. ED 2 is awesome. It really brings the edgy and nihilistic tone to the forefront in an awesome song called "Zetsubou Billy" by Maximum Hormone (who also did OP 2), the band responsible for Freiza's theme. The dub, is also solid. Sure, the voices aren't really stand-out, and I could swear Misa sounds different in the last 10 episodes than the rest of the show, but overall, they gave a good performance. Also, Light is voiced by the guy who did Setsuna from Gundam 00, or more hilariously, Rock from Black Lagoon. Make of that what you will.
So, does Death Note deserve all the hype it gets? No, not with that final cour it doesn't. However, it is definitely a respectable global phenomenon with some creative and exciting plans, some mostly good twists, and a sense of tension that is rife throughout its first 2 cours. I just wish that the last 12 episodes didn't exist for they turned a great show into something lesser Even still, some of the music is rest and the visuals are certainly some of the best of the late 2000's. With that said, I bid you adieu.
