Well, I finished “Death Note” on Tuesday, and I finished it in record time! (for me anyway…) I started watching it on the 28th of September, meaning I averaged 1.48 episodes per day! As some of you may have read in my first impressions blog entry, I gave it a 10 out of 10 as a first impression. As for whether I still thought this once I had finished all episodes of Death Note, you’ll have to read on. Just a few warnings about the anime, there are some “extreme writing” elements in it that would make you think that the characters were training for a writing contest of some sort, and that Misa’s voice may hurt your ears…
“Death Note”… A notebook that falls from the sky, and is found by a student called “Light Yagami”. Now, just as anyone would think, once he saw the notebook, he instantly thought it was just a prank. But, just as humans would, curiosity got the better of him, and so he begins to see if it really is what it claims to be. What he finds surprises him, and he begins to use the Death Note “for the greater good”, using the alias “Kira”. The police start noticing patterns, they call on the legendary “L” to investigate, and find out who is doing the mass killings, and how. Things start to become complicated for both L and Light, when there is someone else also claiming to be “Kira”.
Now, whether or not I have taken a biased approach to “Death Note”, I do not know. Death Note is said to be “One of the best anime ever”, and right now, I believe I can agree with this statement. Death Note is an anime with a very well constructed plot. The plot and events have been well thought through, with it being difficult to find many holes in the planning. “Death Note” keeps it’s fast moving plot and storyline throughout the series and almost every episode ends with a cliffhanger, making you want more and more! One main thing does seem to disappoint me though. Once it became present that there was a second arc to the series, the tension and the excitement of the plot line seemed to drop (well for me at least) with the events occurring with Yotsuba Group, although it did pick up again with the introduction of “Near”. There is also a Live Action movie version of Death Note which I may watch sometime soon.
As much is hyped up about “Death Note”, it is not “perfect”. Now, the storyline, as I have said before, is very strong. It moves fast, and keeps you wanting more. The animation is exceptional. I do not believe that there is a noticeable slack in standard with the animation, unlike “Higurashi no naku koro ni”. The eyes and hair is detailed, character costumes and shapes don’t seem to be distorted, facial expressions seem appropriate etc. Sound? This, for me, seems to be it’s only not so good side… The soundtrack could have been improved in some areas with it starting to get a little repetitive… The Second opening theme song, some people may find it offensive, however it does seem to fit Light’s Character. The first opening and closings I think could have been improved, nevertheless, the soundtrack was still very good, and the voice actors fitted the characters almost perfectly!
Despite the anime’s very good plot, art, sound and character developments and characteristics, I did not seem to enjoy it as much as I thought I would have, may be due to having over-expectations, however this is how I score it:
Story – 10
Animation – 10
Music – 9
Characters – 10
Enjoyment – 9
Overall Rating – 9.5 out of 10
More info on “Death Note”: Wikipedia ||| Anime News Network ||| My Anime List
