Reviews

Death Note features a deeply engrossing plot which comes across largely as an isolated battle of ideologies. What starts off as a suppressed story of a school-boy elevates to a battle of epic proportions with your tension verging on the overbearing. As the series progresses, it slowly loses the great momentum with which it rose and settles for a beautiful yet modest climax. Death Note is a celebration of the human spirit which deserved well more than the climax it has - however, it will continue to scour the top tier of animé for the sheer quality of its deepest thoughts and questions raised.

> Character sketch: 9/10
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The series rides on it's brilliant character sketch - see how the characters ride on their highs and fall steeply in their lows - contrast the various characters introduced and explore the series through their eyes.

> Music: 9/10
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Death Note has music that brings out the emotions behind a scene better than words ever can. Quite simply put, the background music deeply settles the events portrayed in the series in your mind.

> Animation: 9/10
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Many scenes of this series hinges on the brilliance of plot portrayal through it's animation - a job done well by it. Simple animation without excess clutter greatly helps in absorbing the rich plot of the series.

> Enjoyment: 8/10
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Death Note's progression, considering the force it started out with, is disappointing. It begins to feel increasingly forced and unplanned as you progress into it, and the later episodes certainly lack the elegant grace of plot revelation that the initial ones had. Averaging the scores of the episode through the series would roughly result in an 8/10 for the enjoyment that it provides.

> Overall: 9/10
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Death Note is very often first suggested by anyone mildly into animé-watching to an animé newbie. This is not without reason - the sheer brilliance of portrayal of distinct ideologies and the techniques used for the same are a stand-out feature of Death Note. Watch how excelling in the above parameters helps Death Note to transcend from a mere fight between humans to a towering battle of ideologies.

> Re-watchable: YES
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The first half of the series has a high re-watch value. However, the series begins to lose re-watch value after that.

> Why should you watch it?
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Death Note starts off with a bang and sports a finesse unrivaled by most other animé, which quickly engrosses you in the plot. For the above reason, Death Note is a great animé to watch for those who haven't watched animé before. Death Note features legendary mind-games which are a treat for those who like to think.