Ending the Year on a Good Note: Death Note
Well, ladies and gentlemen, it
finally happened. I’ve been made fun of
by friends for not seeing it, and now years later I’m reviewing it. That’s right, in my final review of 2018,
I’ll be tackling one of the most renowned anime thrillers of all time…part of
it anyway. Admittedly, this was the last
thing I wanted to review for the end of the year. Unfortunately, though, the film I originally
intended to review didn’t happen because I didn’t have enough time or money to
find a copy. Still, that’s not to say I
didn’t enjoy the show that I’ll be reviewing today or thought it was horrible.
Far from it! But what did I actually
think about it? Well, sit back, relax,
and enjoy my final review of the year as I take a look at Death Note!
Light Yagami was an average high
school student until he stumbled upon a mysterious book called the Death
Note. Light quickly learns that
whoever’s name is written in the book dies shortly after. This also summons the shinigami and original
owner of the Death Note, Ryuk who becomes something of a guardian to him. Light then makes it his mission to rid the
world of crime and evil doers and become a “god of the new world.” However, his actions in taking out criminals
from afar gain the attention of the police and the mysterious and anonymous
super detective known only as L. Soon it
becomes a game of cat and mouse as both Light and L try to out do each other
and stay one step ahead of the other.
Admittedly, I didn’t watch as much
of the series as I probably should have.
But I fortunately had the first couple of chapters of the manga and have
gotten an idea of what to expect. Still,
manga or anime, my opinions on the show are set in stone here. Overall, I give Death Note an 8 out of 10. Though
a little higher for what all I’ve seen, it’s not hard to see why I gave it such
a high ranking. It’s one damn good show! I really love the massive match that L and
Light find themselves in. However,
considering that lives of millions of people are very much at stake makes it
entertaining with that mindset at the forefront. And Light, though not my favorite character,
is hands down one of the smartest characters in anime. I love characters that are super intelligent
and methodical because they’re just so fascinating. They’re always two steps ahead of everyone else
and always have a back up plan if their initial plan fails. What’s also really neat is that the series
takes place in a very realistic setting.
It makes Light seem more human and makes the situations at hand all the
more real and high stakes. And on top of
all of that, Ryuk is an awesome side character. I love his design, I love his voice, and his
very presence in this show adds a supernatural element to the show that feels
just right. Brian Drummond, who voices
Ryuk in the English dub, also does a fantastic job with his creepy performance
of this character; hands down one of my
new favorite English dub performances!
So overall I’ve had plenty of great things to say about this show, even
though I’ve been reluctant to review it.
Still, for all the praise I give it, there was one element to the show that
I really couldn’t ignore.
As strange as it may seem, the one
weak spot to Death Note that I could
see was strangely one of its strong points: Light. Granted, I did state earlier that Light
wasn’t my favorite character in the series.
While I do love intelligent characters and Light definitely fits the
bill of a super intelligent character, it’s not his intelligence that’s the
problem, it’s his ego. You can tell from
episode one that Light is pretty full of himself. If you’re arrogant enough to make yourself
this mighty hand of justice and proclaim
you’ll be the god of a new world, then you’re head is probably so far up your
butt that you’re drinking stomach acid.
I know, gross analogy, but it’s not hard to tell that Light is pretty
arrogant. And at times, it can get a
little annoying. Though his intelligence
pulls him through and puts his cocky attitude in the right place, I won’t lie
when I say that that same attitude made the show kind of
boring. In fact, it’s actually kind of
satisfying and entertaining to watch him get matched by L. But still, he’s not so annoyingly cocky that
he’s uninteresting. And again, I’ve
been very optimistic about this show so far and would definitely recommend it,
cocky lead and all!
So overall, I may have not wanted
to end 2018 with this show, but I still say go give it a watch if you haven’t
seen it already! Definitely take note of
it! You can find it on streaming
service like Hulu as well as find it on DVD wherever anime is sold. And so concludes this week’s review. Be sure
to check out Character of the Month next Sunday in what maybe my last post of
the year!
-Hanime
on Anime
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