Story: The story is a masterpiece. The idea of the notebook of Shinigami belonging to a human is terrifying in itself. But, the use to which it can be put is explored quite well by Light(the main character). The 'experiments' carried out to discover all the rules of using the book are something which only a genius could think of. And the best part was the constant chase. By chase, I don't mean one like Tom and Jerry. The chase here was 100 times more exciting. That was because, no one would even dream of a Death Note existing, but still L is able to narrow down the possibility of someone being the culprit quite well. The plot is so good that if there was even a small mistake made by either of the characters, the cost would be their life. And yet, both being absolute geniuses manage to trick the other for the greater part.
Art: The art was quite nice. I especially liked the character designs of Yagami Light, Ryuk and L. Every character was definitely likeable and looked a lot more realistic than the characters in most other animes.
Sound: Just like the art, the sound was also good. The VAs did a really great job in the series. The background music was also nice.
Characters: The characters Yagami Light and L were my favorites among those in the series. While Yagami Light had the looks of someone who people would idolize, L was someone who would freak people out. Yet, they were both masterminds and took every action with the utmost care(of course, their life was on the line). L was one of the best characters I have ever seen in an anime. I was so obsessed with L while watching the anime that I used to sit like him(which looks quite awkward BTW) and watch the anime.
Enjoyment: With a plot as good as this one, you are bound to be watching almost every episode at the edge of the seat. Except for the first few episodes, where the things were quite obvious(and hence a little boring), almost every other episode was exciting. You will be so involved in watching the anime that you will almost imagine yourself to be living in the world of Death Note.
Overall: The concept was amazing and so were the characters and the plot. The only reason why I give it a 9 is because in my opinion, it could have been a bit better in the first few episodes. That said, it ended almost perfectly.
Death Note is indeed one of the best animes ever. It has mystery, supernatural stuff, a little bit of action and also a little amount of romance. If you haven't already watched it, you are missing out on one of the masterpieces among the animes.
