Death Note - Anime series

 

So , We all are in lockdown this year . Strangely enough that was the year I was watching a shit ton of anime yet this one passed me by. Anyways, it’s on Netflix and has been for a while so I thought I’d give it a go.

  The anime Death note is the story of a guy and his name is Light , who finds a notebook dropped by the god of death . If someone write someone's name on that notebook then the person whose name is Written on the notebook will die . There’s a whole bunch of rules to this and what not, but that’s the premise . At first , Light didn't believe on that notebook , then he tried by writing someone's name ( a criminal's name seen from television) . After 10seconds  that criminal get a heart attack and died . Now Light believe on that Death note. Light takes on the alias of Kira and starts using this notebook to murder criminals all over the world in an attempt to end crime and bring about a new era of peace and prosperity with himself as the god of justice.

                      Light yagami

At the same time the authorities bring in a genius detective, L (that’s his name), to help catch Kira. What follows is part cat and mouse, part chess game, and part Holmes Vs Moriarty.

L

 

So Death Note has a very interesting premise and for the most part is really well done. There’s very little actual action in the show though it’s quite fun to watch how they anime-up the writing of names in a notebook. The story really revolves around Light and L trying to outsmart each other. It’s very much the world’s greatest detective Vs the world’s greatest criminal. What starts out as quite a simple move and counter move quickly grows more complex as more Death Notes are added to the story and more characters willing to use them.

At times the pacing is a bit lethargic and at other times it rushes forwards at break neck pace as though it’s suddenly trying to catch up. Sometimes characters are added and then killed off quickly and it gives a good sense of no one being safe in the world… which is fairly accurate when your premise is about a guy who can kill anyone just by writing their true name in a book. And that’s where much of the narrative comes from. The name written in the book has to be a person’s true name. Light soon realises that L is after him and that he is a suspect in the case, but without knowing L’s real name he can’t kill him. The show becomes a deadly game where Light has to both allay suspicion while also trying to discover L’s real name and he has to do it before L can prove that Light is actually Kira. Sounds a bit complicated? It is. Both players weave complex plots and plans to outwit the other and it’s really quite fascinating to watch how they all play out.

Onto the characters. Light is a psychopath (most of the time… I’ll get to that). He truly believes he is doing a good thing by murdering bad guys. In a way he’s very Dr.Doom in that he actually believes the world would be a better place for everyone under his control. He’s also a psychopath! Light is quite clearly addicted to killing people and sees everyone as a threat. Everyone is against him and he is smarter than them all and he will kill anyone to protect himself and his vision of the world. He’s very well written and played for the most part, seeming like your everyday student even as he’s plotting how to kill everyone in his way. He is evil, but he’s also the main character of the story.

L is characterised as very much the eccentric. He’s a genius and thinks both inside and outside the box but has so many distracting quirks that it’s often easy to forget he’s the world’s greatest detective. Honestly from the way he sits, to the fact that he clearly never sleeps, to the fact that he is always eating sugary snacks… He’s either insane or it’s all an act to distract everyone around him. He’s probably just insane. He’s also a joy to watch as he’s the only character that operates on Light’s level and it makes for some brilliant deductive reasoning, not to mention banter between the two. There is a strange hypocrisy in L though. I have to wonder if he too is a bit of a psychopath. He clearly sees Kira as evil and recognises the need to catch the murderer, but he also clearly believes himself above the law and often breaks the law in order to catch Kira. L is probably the most fascinating character of the series. He latches onto Light as the prime suspect because he has no other suspects and the show quickly becomes a sort of witch hunt. Nothing Light can do dissuades L from believing he is Kira.

Overall I enjoyed Death Note. I thought it fun and clever with plenty of interesting characters and twists. However I just couldn’t overlook some of its flaws. I give it 3 stars.

     

But the ending is totally unsatisfying 😅😅...