For my first review, might as well do the first... er, well, it was the manga that got me into the otaku scene, but it's the anime that I'll be reviewing. Eh, tomayto tomahto. Death Note has been revered as one of the greatest anime to have been made. It's popularity is the reason why I started buying the manga in the first place.
Plot Summary
One day, a brilliant high school student named Light Yagami discovers a notebook marked "Death Note" lying in the middle of the street. Inside the front cover, it claims that "The person whose name is written in this notebook shall die." Light then decides to use it to kill famous and ruthless criminals around the world, which is noticed by world's greatest detective, L. L then gathers a few of the Japanese police to aid him in finding Kyra, the name which the killer of these criminals is known.
Story
Death Note is known for the twists and turns it takes. Each turn the game of cat and mouse is changing, and you don't really know who's the cat, and who's the mouse. Every moment the watcher is on the edge of their seat, trying (and failing) to guess what'll happen next. Even then, they do inject a little comedic relief, enough to give a breather, but not enough to be obnoxious. The plot is intense, and I loved it.
After a certain event in episode 25, the plot is known to take a nosedive. For me, that nosedive wasn't there. Sure it was different, but I found it just as good as the first part, despite the differences. But the second part is all up to personal opinion.
As for the ending, at first I hated it, because of the difference between it and the manga. But, the more I thought about it, the more I grew to accept that the ending of the anime wasn't necessarily bad, just different. Still, there are still some aspects of the manga's ending that I wish had been incorperated into the anime.
9.2/10
Characters
With an intense plot comes...pretty okay characters. The anti-hero, Light, seemed a bit boring to me, with no defining characteristics other than his intelligence and cruel, unmoving sense of justice. Of course, in my case, his coldness did elicit strong emotion - hatred. In contrast, his enemy, L, seemed so lovable to me, it's uncanny. There are other characters that, while not having not a whole lot of development, were still engaging.
8.2/10
Animation
When bringing the beautiful imagination of Ohba and Obata, the animators had a lot to bring to the table. They did well, making moments dramatic when they needed to be, although it lacked those dramatic moments towards the end, which, I'll admit, disappointed me.
8.5/10
Music
I found the first opening and ending beautiful and fitting for the anime. The second opening and closing threw me off at first, and I didn't like it. However, they sort of grew on me. Now I kinda like the second opening, and while I still don't think the second closing's great, I don't hate it, either.
The background music is really good, and fits the anime, but while there are a few songs you'll listen to over and over again, the soundtrack isn't completely composed of that.
8.9/10
Overall
This anime is quite good. It deserves its spot as one of my favorites. It's one I'd recommend, especially if you're into mind-bending twists.
Gibbous
8.7/10
Other
"I'll take a potato chip...and I'll EAT IT!!" ~Light Yagami
**WARNING SPOILERS** Episode 25 (the episode in which L dies) almost couldn't have been any more perfect for me. Beginning with the song Misa no Uta, it definately set the scene of "God watching your every move" and after the rain, when L wipes off Light's feet, aiojvkf the biblical reference makes me almost want to cry. The only thing I didn't like about the episode is that they left out L's last words from the manga, "...but...I..." Either way, I did love this episode.
If you really liked the anime, go check out the side novels L Change the World and The Los Angeles BB Murder Case Files. No really. Go look them up right now.
