Reviews

This anime is honestly my favorite of all time and a lot of that has to do with the battle between the protagonist, Light, and the antagonist, L. Unlike other anime, where the two would battle it out in some huge epic fight scene, Death Note doesn't do that. In fact, unless you count a tennis match (which I don't), there is really only one actual fight between them. This anime is more focused on the two trying to outsmart one another and it instantly got me hooked on the show. Some people say that the show went downhill in the second half of the show, but I don't agree. I think that the new characters introduced were, maybe not as great as some other characters, but still had their personalities used in a way that creates an interesting dynamic between them and Light. Another thing that is great about the way Death Note structured its story, is that there is no clear hero and villain. I've seen many people say that Light is the hero, punishing criminals, and I've seen others (and myself) say that L is the hero, stopping Light from his wrong way of doing things. In the story category, this show gets a perfect 10 from me.

The character designs in the show, while not outstanding in most cases, make sense. The characters aren't meant to be flashy because the police force are trying to stay hidden so they don't get killed, and Light is just trying to pretend to be a normal high school student. However, there are a few character designs to bring up in specific, L and the Shinigami. L looks like a polar opposite of Light, which makes perfect sense considering their clashing ideologies and the Shinigami all look unique and interesting which all convey a different emotion. Ryuk's permanent smile tells us that he is just there to watch the show unfold in front of him, and he is enjoying it. While not the greatest character designs I've ever seen, they certainly aren't bad. However, the art surrounding them in amazing. Once again, unlike most anime, Death Note uses more dulled out colors to show that, except for the Shinigami and the Death Note itself, the entire story is grounded in reality, so don't expect fighting in giant mech suits. 8/10.

Now for the sound. The first opening in the show is amazing and I could listen to it on repeat for hours. It is seriously one of my favorite OPs of all time. As for the second OP.....not nearly as good as the first one. I honestly skipped right past it most of the time. I'm not a huge fan of that song, but moving onto the EDs, they are both great. I'm not a huge music nerd so I can't tell you much else than that. Another 8/10

I've already touched on the fantastic dynamic between Light and L, so let's talk about some of the supporting cast. Misa Amane was too whiny and clingy for me to enjoy her in this show. I might have liked her if she was in another show, but she doesn't really seem to fit in with the rest of the characters in Death Note. Unlike Soichiro Yagami who is probably my second favorite character (after L) and who fits perfectly into the dynamic of the show. Whenever L brings up a piece of evidence that seems to link Light to being the one they need to catch, Soichiro is always there to try and counter it. This not only points out flaws in L's ideas, but also forces L to think harder and figure out the case, which I personally think it really cool. For this, Death Note gets a 9/10.

I've only ever seen the English dub for the show, because I don't like to read when I'm watching a show, but I can say that every voice actor captured that character perfectly. From Light's moral dilemma and psychotic laugh to L's always monotone voice to Ryuk's sinister one, there all just fanatastic. This all just adds to my overall enjoyment of the show. Death Note is a brilliantly crafted cat and mouse game that I think everyone who is looking to get into anime, or is already watching anime should watch. Have you already seen it? Go watch it again! It's amazing!