This is one of many intriguing philosophical questions that the anime poses when bored teenage genius, Light Yagami, stumbles across an otherworldly notebook that allows him to kill anyone whose face and name he knows. He eventually decides to use the notebook to punish criminals as a means to discourage crime and create his idea of a perfect “new world”. The central conflict of the story stems from Light attempting to evade persecution from his actions by the master detective, L.
The first half of Death Note is one of the most thrilling, suspenseful, and exciting pieces of media I have ever seen. The plot is such a well-written thriller, with numerous twists and turns as Light and L use their wits and manipulatory tactics in an attempt to outsmart one another. The titular ‘Death Note’ encourages the viewer to philosophize about the morality of Light’s actions, and themes of justice and power in general. Although, one minor criticism I have with it is that it drags on in places.
The soundtrack, composed by Yoshihisa Hirano and Hideki Taniuchi, masterfully amplifies the mood each scene is trying to go for; often via a booming orchestral score aided by a heavenly choir, or guitar-led pieces reminiscent of Mike Oldfield’s ‘Tubular Bells’.
Both the Japanese and English voice acting are very well done (naturally, the former moreso), and every voice actor is suited to the characters they portray. Relative newcomer at the time Mamoru Miyano gives a chilling and legendary performance as Light, and Kappei Yamaguchi captures the L’s character and personality to a tee.
However, Death Note’s greatest weakness is that, since the first half of Death Note has set such a high bar for itself, anything that doesn’t quite hit the mark (even if it’s still of good quality) seems a bit underwhelming.
The second half of Death Note certainly doesn’t hit this mark. It fails to recreate the same tense, thrilling atmosphere as the first half. It fails to explore or add anything new to the existing philosophical themes and ideas. The second part features more action elements, which may be appealing to some.
Additionally, new characters that are introduced as the plot progresses are not well characterized, and can appear annoying, one-dimensional, or derivative of other characters. This problem is not just exclusive to the second half (as the first half suffers from this as well).
I would highly recommend this anime to anyone who is trying to get into anime - it was actually the show that got me into anime in the first place! I would also recommend it to those who wish to study and write in the thriller/suspense genre, as the first half of Death Note is a prime example on how to do the genre right.
Had it not been for the underwhelming second half, I would have rated it much higher than a 7. Nevertheless, Death Note will always remain an absolute classic that will be cherished by many generations of anime fans to come.
