Death Note Review - 84/100
Death Note: Yagami Light finds himself a notebook, dropped by a Shinigami: the Death Note. If you write down the name of a person in this Death Note, he’ll die, no matter what. With this new Death Note, Light begins to create a perfect world, killing off all criminals. Then, a detective who goes by the name of “L” gets assigned to catch him.
Let me first state that Death Note is unique amongst shounen-anime. There are nearly no fights, and nearly the entire anime consists out of people planning and plotting to outsmart each other. Through the course of the anime, Light makes optimal use of the Death Note, and he comes up with a number of really smart and careful plans.
Because of this, the main good points of Death Note, especially in the beginning, are its surprises. Some plot twists are ingeniously incorporated in the storyline, and they make sure for maximum shock-value. This makes sure for a number of really intense episodes, even with the lack of fighting or other forms of physical action.
The graphics and music only contribute to this. The art that is used in Death Note is unique, and incredibly detailed. The animators made some really creative “action”-scenes, which you won’t be seeing in any other anime, and they really makes sure that these scenes are as creepy as they can get. The music consists out of a number of very addictive choir-songs, which fit the mood perfectly.
Still, despite the awesome climaxes, this series didn’t make it in the 90/100-range for a reason, as it’s got quite a few humps and bumps along the way. The most obvious one is the middle part of the series. Death Note has an excellent beginning, and an awesome ending, but the Yotsuba-arc in the middle was so bad that it made me almost lose my faith in the series. The climaxes stop being interesting, and the creators turn the series in some kind of joke of itself. Luckily, the anime picks up again with episode 24, and delivers an awesome climax, but the thorn remains. The beginning is also filled with a couple of nasty coincidences, for example Light’s father being the police-officer who is in charge of catching Light.
There are also a number of rather annoying characters in this anime. I’m referring to the ones that mainly exist for comic relief like Misa and Matsuda. They usually have no purpose at all, and they whine too much to really become interesting. The characters that are introduced later in the series also need a lot of episodes to get enough development to stop getting annoying. There are also quite an amount of people that lack a bit of background. To give one example, we learn just as much about Aizawa’s (a minor character) background as L’s (a major character) background, and believe me, that isn’t much. There’s also a time-leap somewhere in the middle of the series that just lacks proper development as well, with the result that it makes no sense in lots of areas.
Still, despite this, there are a lot of good characters with enough background to become interesting. Light himself is a fascinating person, and it’s interesting to see how he develops and eventually declines. Some temporary and side-characters also turned out really touching, and L, despite his lack of background is well developed and turns into a really enjoyable character.
Overall, it’s not the best anime out there, but it’s definitely worth a watch. It has awesome climaxes, but the fairly low rating comes from the fact that it just has too many areas that could have been improved.
“Let me first state that Death Note is unique amongst shounen-anime.”
Maybe because it is not a shounen in the first place ?
Comment by Karry — June 27, 2007 @ 15:05
Shounen-jump = shounen for me. :P
Comment by psgels — June 27, 2007 @ 15:10
oh psgels, I would hold off or take back on everything you’ve said, even your 84 rating.
Reason: simple.
http://www.animeonline.com/index.php?page=news_details&action=details&id=102438
Comment by dontaskshadow — June 27, 2007 @ 22:22
Whoa, I didn’t see that one coming. Now that I’ve posted it anyway, I’ll keep this review up for now, and I’ll update it accordingly when I’ve seen that special.
Comment by psgels — June 27, 2007 @ 22:29
It was a great anime. The only bump for me was the middle part. Hope I enjoy the animes you rate higher than 85 as much as I enjoyed this one. What is a shounen-anime?
Comment by Victor — June 28, 2007 @ 2:25
Maybe they will even show the place Light went to after his death! That’d be awesome! xD
Comment by Kite — June 28, 2007 @ 4:12
Victor: A shounen-anime is an anime that is aimed at boys. It’s usually centred around the “confrontation” between different parties. Most of the time, these “confrontations” are overblown fights (Naruto, Bleach, etc), in Death Note, they are plans.
Comment by psgels — June 28, 2007 @ 6:44
I LVOE YOU!!! KIRA !!
Comment by Luna — July 10, 2007 @ 17:28
Kira rocks
I loved the episodes in the middle too . L is the cutest.
And misa is nice too . dont call her unimportant. she might be a comic relief (she is funny)
Comment by gagan_goku — July 12, 2007 @ 8:56
http://kuro-hanasubs.com/board/index.php?topic=578.0
Comment by prank — September 5, 2007 @ 20:45
Ugh…. I think they screwed up almost everything after L’s death. A huge missile hidden under a fake desert? And Google Earth noticed nothing during the construction?
Near knowing everything, Mello being a top figure in the Mafia? Ridiculous. So many things were ridiculous, I can’t count them all.
Light, as a genius with such a powerful tool could easily destroy every opponent. Controlling anyone’s actions gives you more control than you think. First episodes were wonderful. You mentioned that Light is the only shounen character that declines instead of growing. Well, I have nothing against that. But only when it’s not screwed up. Near was the character that was artificially powered up. Like Songoku throwing his opponents into the heart of the sun. But on a different kind of level.
I think it was not Light’s mental power that was weakening - it was the scriptwriter’s/mangaka’s.
1/3 of the series was worthless. It could as well end when it was supposed to.
Comment by Eonir — October 7, 2007 @ 21:05
although i agree some of the latter
plot twists were… inane,
the spirit in which Death Note
carries itself && the intellectual
game of cat && mouse played
between L && Light is something
so stimulating. Alot of the anime
is intense && the dialogue extremely
human…
you at least gave Baccano! a 93…
i’m sure Dath Note warrants at least
a 90 for being such an intelligent,
intense, && extremely well drawn anime.
your blog tho
Comment by Venus Vega Is... — February 21, 2008 @ 14:23
Venus: Death Note had indeed some great moments, but at the same time there were enough lesser points, which explains the relatively low rating. Baccano didn’t have any of these in my view, hence the high rating.
Comment by psgels — February 21, 2008 @ 18:34
yep I agree with annoying ones though I guess matsuda was worth it at at the end since he shot light, that was awesome. I think you described how I feel about it so well and I don’t people who drop this show at 17 ,27 etc… and the 2nd half is just like ughhh
Oh and I HATE shonen anime but I liked this one a lot since it didn’t shonen-y on me, ~~~
Comment by sara — April 28, 2008 @ 22:06
Death Note…BEST Anime,Story,Movie,Idea…Everything!
The Smartest! And The Greatest!
And I was with Kira all the way! And STILL!
ROCK ON DN!
Comment by Kira Supporter — July 14, 2008 @ 10:17
Personally, I think your rating of Death Note is way too low.
This really is a fundamentally unique anime. Like you’ve said, it’s amazing how it breaks away from fighting/battle tradition (which is the very core of shounen anime), yet maintains an insurmountably compelling, suspenseful, and exciting plot.
Of course, there are flaws as well. One example may be a lack of background-probing for the central characters, like L. However, I also see this as a point of uniqueness. Instead of relying on the sob stories of each character’s past in order to develop their personalities, the show simply develops them through their thoughts/actions while moving the plot along. Considering the actual storyline of Death Note (a Kira-quest for world domination), the backstories of the characters are irrelevant. Also, with the display of so many different characters — Misa (model/bimbo), L (nobody/genius), Light (perfect student/crazy mastermind) — I think that one of the minor themes of the anime is that it doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from; it’s about what you can accomplish with what you’ve got, here and now.
Also: minor characters. One thing I like about Death Note is its ability to twist minor characters into major players. Naomi Misora, who started out as just “that FBI guy’s fiancee” turned out to be a real threat-potential to Light. Likewise, although Matsuda was introduced as a moron (it pains me to say this; I think Matsuda’s an adorable idiot), in the end, /he/ is the task force member that takes down Kira. Because, hey, I didn’t see Near whip out a gun and empty some lead into Yagami Junior. (Though I’d love to see that. xD) Oh, and Ryuk. I believe that Ryuk was kept low-profile throughout most of the second half so that his sudden role at the end would come as more of a shock; we all pretty much dismissed his ramblings near the beginning of the series, so it’s a surprise when Ryuk comes back for the kill. All in all, even the minor (perhaps annoying) characters have their time in the limelight, which keeps them forever important to the show.
…But, okay, I agree that the Yotsuba arc was a letdown. xD
However. I still maintain that Death Note is one of the most suspenseful and compelling anime I’ve ever seen. Rating-wise, I think it deserves a place in the 90’s, at least. There /are/ flaws, but the sheer wow-ness of the anime and its periodic revivals of suspense outweigh the flaws undoubtedly.
Comment by Serenade — July 28, 2008 @ 15:02
Whoo… gigantic post. xD
Comment by Serenade — July 28, 2008 @ 15:05
Well….there are other suspensful anime that utilize their storylines much better than Death Note.
Man when I got to the Yotsuba storyline, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing….was that in the manga?
And plus, the show loses steam after Misa shows up.
84/100 is right….I would give it an 80/100.
Comment by JJ — August 6, 2008 @ 6:35
This is the only anime i watched without skipping any frames (normally i use 1.5x) and i’ve watched alot of animes too.
Here’s a partical list of them
- Karin
- Shakugan no SHana
- Zero no Tsukaima
- Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru
- Clannad
- Kanon
- Naruto
- Bleach
- Higurashi no Naku koro ni (ok~ i didn’t sky any in this one as well)
- Inukami
- Spice and wolf
- Kogepan
- La Corda d’Oro
- Nagasarete Airantou
- Kaze no Stigma
- Elemental Gelade
- Hatenkou Yuugi
- Vampire Knight
- Prism Ark
- Da Capo
- Hayate the Combat Bulter
- Elfen Lied
- Lucky Star
- Sola
- HellSing
- Full Metal Alchemist
- ef ~ a tale of memories ~
- Darker than Black (this one seems similar to death note to me for some reason)
- The melancholy of of Haruhi Suzumiya
Also a hell lot more of manga
(yes i do have a lot of free time)
Comment by Sun — September 1, 2008 @ 10:07
Sorry in the last post ( Higurashi no Naku koro ni (ok~ i didn’t sky any in this one as well)) it is meant to be Skip not sky
Comment by Sun — September 1, 2008 @ 10:08
I’ve just started to watch this series so I guess I am still missing some critic review, however, I do enjoy the plot and the character is amazing, plus the animation is very well done. In my view the anime has a very unique way of showing us whats happening out there…different reality or not, monster or not, i guess Light only wants to make it right lol
Yes I know I am insane lol
Anyways still haven’t gotten to the dreadful middle part that u refer to as being boring, but I will keep u posted with my opinion…
Meanwhile I wish for no spoilers!!
Comment by leslie — September 23, 2008 @ 12:14