PROS
To start, this anime has an important theme - the definition of right and wrong. Yes, this theme has been used to death (no pun intended) on other anime, TV shows, and movies as well. Yet, no other story has come as close to understanding this theme as much as Death Note. The question of whether it is right or wrong to kill someone because they are "bad" is an interesting idea. I can imagine that many people who have seen Death Note might side with Light, the main character of the story. Of course, there are those who are against such that would probably go with L. Ether way, the debate of such an idea is quite interesting and I am glad this series brought it up. A series that makes you ponder such issues, although impossible, is of importance.
It should be no surprise to anyone that this series looks gorgeous. Death Note is developed by Madhouse, the same studio that made Gunslinger Girl and Highschool of the Dead. Whether you like their past anime or not, there is no denying the fact that they know how to make an anime look great. It stays the same here.
The best compliment I can give Death Note is that it is the most well written anime I've ever watched. If you are one of those people that is dying to find a great written piece of work - this is it. Everything, from the dialogue spoken to the characters, to the story itself, is at its highest form. To say that there are twists and turns in this anime would be an understatement. The writer of this anime, Tsugumi Ohba, is able to create very clever changes in each episode. Some of these surprises can come in 5 minute intervals. It is really quite extraordinary and I applaud the writer for being as good as he is.
Continuing with the writing of the story is the characters. Each character is very interesting and due to certain actions, you ether root for them or go against them. This can differ from viewer to viewer, depending on what kind of person you are. As said above, you might be someone who roots for others to get killed by the notebook, or you might root for the killer to die. I can imagine that the audience for this is divided.
CONS
The intros for this series sucks - really sucks. I love Death Note more than I can possibly describe, but the intros have to be some of the worst I have ever seen. The first intro that came on every episode was bad, but I could kind of deal with it. The second, though, was completely unacceptable. This is a mystery anime series, so why is the intro making it seem like there is so much action in it..I was very disappointed with it. The death metal song used was unbearable. I actually forced myself to skip it every time I began an episode. I didn't have to do this with the first intro, although it was already bad.
The dub for this anime is poor. I watched the complete series in sub form, but I tested myself to watch some of the dub version as well after I finished watching the series. Every character, dubbed, sounded awful. I highly recommend to watch he sub version if you are going to start seeing this series. Bear in mind that I have no problem with dubbed anime. I have seen a lot of dubbed and subbed anime, and haven't had many problems with both, but Death Note should NOT be seen in dubbed form. It's bad.
OVERALL
Death Note is hard to describe, in terms of how great it is. Very few words can live up to this excellent piece of work. While I did have some small gripes with the series, as a whole, it is extremely close to being the best anime I've ever seen. Art, story, and characters are all at the highest form of entertainment for the viewer. Once again, if you do plan on seeing Death Note, please view the subbed version. It is the only acceptable form for such an incredible ride, like this one.
