DEATH NOTE
Would you mind signing my - errr - yearbook?
Review by: M.H. �Dr. Death� Torringjan
Length: 37 episodes
Genre: Crime, action
Watched: Entire series, subbed
For some reason, when I heard of this title, the image that flashed through my mind was about as far as you can get from the actuality of this series (I pictured a club of teenage goth chicks solving mysteries and being in a general malaise, consider me sufficiently corrected!). However, upon checking out a single episode of the series, I was intrigued and excited by the prospect of a good anti-hero doing battle with the forces of good. When it comes to likable evil douchebags, there are far too few of them in entertainment today, in my opinion.
Plot Summary: Yagami Light is the smart kid in his class, making perfect grades effortlessly, popular with all the girls, and highly regarded by all the adults who know him. Luckily, before we can dismiss him as another pointless Larry Drew, he comes across a mysterious notebook on the school grounds, labeled �Death Note.� The book will kill anyone who has their name written in it within 40 seconds by any method of the writer�s choosing, with the default being heart attack (offer void in Kansas, Ohio, and the District of Columbia). While most of us would use it to take out the brainless jock who shoved our heads in a pile of stinky jock straps, or the chess club president who called us a dork, gave us a swirly, and then took our girlfriend, intent on teaching her the Sicilian Defense (as this has invariably happened to everyone at one point), Light has bigger plans, along the order of taking out the world�s criminals and becoming a god reigning over a peaceful world. However, he finds himself in a fight to the death when the genius investigator, L, emerges to challenge him.
Artwork: While the artwork is mostly realistic, there is a great amount of detail employed, and the colors used in the cel animation makes it one of the better purely cel animation titles in recent memory. This is one of the rare titles that has done at least as well as the artwork of the manga (for the most part), and very few noticeable shortcuts were taken. The few supernatural aspects of the series (the Death Gods) are drawn in a truly creepy way, and are among some of the better monster artworks I�ve seen in a while. The gritty, psychedelic animation used in the opening and closing tracks serve well to set the tension level for the battle between god and evil. This is definitely a keeper, not only for the badass protagonist.
Music: While most of the music is somewhat generic orchestral tracks that match the mood pretty well, there are a few interesting orchestral tracks thrown in for good measure. The main attraction for me are the opening and closing tracks, both sets of which are exciting and fit the mood of the series perfectly. The first pair are performed by a group called Nightmare, a J-rock band that has music themed very well for the idea of a contest upon which the future of the world hinges. Both are solid additions to the winamp playlist. The closing tracks are the first example that I have seen of death metal used in an anime series (although, I will gladly stand corrected if anybody says otherwise). The tracks mix primal howls and gritty vocals with clean vocals and a little bit of female vocalist thrown in for good measure (Craig isn�t a fan of this technique for much of any metal band and is a founding member of the Lacuna Coil Haters Club, but I�m okay with judicious use of the female vocalist; she doesn�t even show up in the show�s closing sequence). Both tracks are thoroughly metal (although Craig will debate me on that topic), and definitely guaranteed to give you at least minor neck damage (however, I feel the need to point out that Craig�s review of the rest of the band�s album was �one of the worst I�ve ever heard�).
Characters: The last time that there were this many brains in one place, I was watching Good Will Hunting. The main character, Light, is a scheming little bastard with delusions of grandeur who hides his Napoleonic aspirations behind a veil of goody-two-shoes. He aspires to purge humanity of evil and create a utopia with him as the leaders. However, he views the investigation by L as a competition, and he hates to lose at any endeavor. This character flaw, in combination with his overarching plan, leads to some of the most suspenseful battles of the mind that I can remember. Sometime into the series, his intensity and pure skills may actually make you root for him, even though you realize that he�s a mass-murdering fuckhead who wants to take over the world. L, very much like the clich� line from James Bond, is not so different from Light. L (which is a code-name, as one can imagine, due to security reasons) is a super brainy guy who hates to lose and knows how to hide things from people very well. However, as far as his external mannerisms are concerned, he could be further from Light. He has unkempt hair and generally wears sweatpants and a t-shirt, with a pale complexion that screams, �otaku!� While he initially suspects Light of being Kira, he also views him as an equal. Ryuk is the shinigami who drops the first note that Light picks up, mainly on a lark. He�s a fun-loving death god who is bored with life in the Realm of the Shinigami and wants to be entertained by dropping the Death Note in the human�s world. He has a twisted sense of loyalty to Light, in that he has to accompany Light and wants Light to succeed so that he�s entertained, but he is unable to help in any way. Amane Misa is a goth girl (there�s the goth girl I was thinking of from the start!) who follows Light around , pledging undying loyalty to Kira because he killed the criminal who killed her parents. She has nowhere near the mental capacity of Light (oh, god, she�s dense) and sometimes makes Light go to more trouble than he would like to, but it�s always worth it to have another supporter.
Plot: While there is very little in the way of actual physical action, most of the appeal of this series comes from the clashing of two mammoth intellects in a contest that will likely mean death for one, and regardless of whom you want to win, the suspense of the contest is more than enough to keep you watching. While there is a very slow stretch in the middle where the plot seems to lose itself, things eventually return to their normal pace and it continues to satisfy. There are, however, occasionally some concerns about how much the characters �deduce� by themselves, as sometimes the conclusions they reach seem forced, as though the writers are making them think something that they would not normally know. This can be a little bit jarring at times, but in the longrun, the story is about big-ass brains giving it all they�ve got. And in the end, that�s all that really matters.
CHICKS!! For the most part, there�s very little to drool over in the series. The main chick present is the sort of girl you�d expect to find at a Cure concert, Amane Misa. While she may look about as goth and emo as you can ever imagine, she has a sweet and devoted side to her. Very little is known about her home life, ubt she is a famous model and could look cute if she really wanted to. Really, all you have to do is tell her that you�re Kira and then kill somebody, and you�ve got her. Just be ready for the astronomically high mascara bills.
Overall: While the series suffers from an excruciatingly slow mid-part, the series has enough battles of wits and strategic maneuvering that I was able to make it through the rare bad part. I will gladly admit that I was rooting for Light to win, because of the perfection of his character and how well-thought out his plans were. Regardless of who you cheer for, this series raises interesting questions about the value of life, morality, and love. I would strongly recommend a watch for this series, although I suspect that I�ll have to tell very few people.
In a Nutshell:
+ Intense mental battles
+ Deep characters, great anti-hero
+ Nice artwork
+ Strong character-driven plot
- Boring spot in the middle
Final score: 9/10
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