LogFAQs > #968736380

80. Death Note
https://myanimelist.net/anime/1535/Death_Note
Fall 2006 (37 episodes)
My Score: 7/10, MAL Score: 8.62/10
Best Character: Yagami Light

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdGOV8FX6F4
(Sorry for the ancient video, but it was either this or one that was 60 FPS)

Premise: Gifted highschooler Yagami Light finds a mysterious notebook on the ground. It turns out to be a Death Note with the power to kill anyone, and Light begins using it to kill criminals.

The Good: Death Note is a psychological thriller about the battle of wits between Light, wielder of the Death Note, and the various people in law enforcement attempting to capture the person behind a supernatural killing spree. His main foe is a masterful detective known only as L, and he and Light quickly zero in on each other and begin enacting schemes to come out on top. I really enjoyed their psychological duel. The supernatural aspects of the setting were also neat. The various rules and abilities that came with the Death Note kept things interesting, and they were always set up in advance, so nothing felt like random or unjustified. A lot of the supporting cast is great too, including Ryuk, Misa, and most of the police detectives.

The Bad: Im one of the many people who thinks Death Note becomes terrible towards the end. I cant talk about it much here because it involves a lot of spoilers, but the final arc of the anime is awful. Death Note was the first anime I ever watched, over a decade before I watched any others, and the ending bugged me the first time. It bugged me even more when I rewatched it a few years ago. That time I knew what was coming and looked for any foreshadowing that might help justify it. There wasnt anything. The ending of Death Note simply sucks.

Overall: Death Note is still a unique and creative anime with a lot of awesome moments, but the ending sours it a lot for me. This show had pulled out so many intelligent gambits, and for it to stumble so many times towards the end is such a letdown. Light is still great, as Ill cover below. Still, if I ever rewatch this again I know exactly what episode Im going to stop on.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/3/6/1/AABz_zAADyCB.jpg

CHARACTER: Yagami Light (Death Note)
https://myanimelist.net/character/80/Light_Yagami
Voiced by: Miyano Mamoru
TOP 100 RANK: 69th

SPOILERS FOR DEATH NOTE

VIDEO LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iakNquyYQwA

Im sure plenty of people over the years have written about Death Note and Light a lot more thoroughly and intelligently than Id ever manage. Since I didnt rewatch this for the ranking, I wont try to summarize every plot point. Ill just talk about one of the big reasons why I like Light as a character. Ive always been a fan of amnesia in fiction. I find it endlessly interesting to compare how a person was versus how they are without their memories. A courageous person can become cowardly after a lifetime of being beaten down, for example, but without those memories holding them back their true self can resurface. Its an interesting way to examine a character and the impact of nature vs nurture on how they came to be.

In one of his many gambits against L, Light utilizes amnesia. He disavows ownership of the Death Note and loses all memories of ever having owned it. He does this partly to prove his innocence, because he planted a false rule that an owner of the Death Note would die if they didnt use it to kill someone every thirty days (I really hope Im remembering that right). Still, it was a risky plan, and thats what made it so amazing. Light needed to perfectly predict what every single person would do over a long period of time, including the equally intelligent and unpredictable L. One of the people whose actions he needed to predict was also himself. It was so awesome watching this all play out the first time, never quite knowing what Lights plan was.

Without his memories, Light begins earnestly helping the investigation team. It was interesting to see the kind of person he couldve been if he never came across that cursed notebook. Light couldve truly been a force for good in the world, and all of that is shown here. Thats what makes it such a tragedy when that side of him dies the second he touches the notebook again. His memories return, and theres no battle between good and evil within his psyche. The good in him is gone forever and only Kira remains. That whole memory arc is still one of the best things Ive ever seen in fiction. It examined Light from so many interesting angles. I just with the final arc with Near had been even half as good. Maybe then the ending wouldnt suck.