LogFAQs > #897879714

Death Note
@pjbasis



A very good adaptation of a GREAT manga. Unlike some of the other classics, including ones that have been brought up in this topic already, Death Note is a series that I tend to enjoy even more each time I watch it. I feel like I always notice new things and make new connections. It's amazing how your impression of the first part of the series can change. Scenes that make it seem like Light is always one step ahead of L are completely changed in purpose, and you realize these are scenes which fully explain just how careless Light is and why L will repeatedly affirm that he is sure that Light is Kira. It's so freaking obvious from L's perspective because Light falls into every single trap while still walking away feeling like he just barely escaped. Brilliant stuff.

Light: A very interesting character who I spend a very long time wanting nothing more than to watch him finally get destroyed. I feel like the author amazingly sets him up and maintains a perfect balance at all times. He almost makes it seem like he wants you to root for Light, and things go just right for Light so often that it feels like this is a manga about him succeeding at his grand goals. Yet, all the same, his downfall is so satisfying to watch.

L: A super cool character that is quirky and unique in all of the right ways. His little schemes are amazing and one thing that has always impressed me is how... consistent they tend to be. On a first watch it's easy to dismiss his intelligence as being handwaved, but the more I studied this series the more I found that everything he does has a purpose and leads to his later conclusions and actions. Amazingly well written.

L's Team: Soichiro, Matsuda, Aizawa are the standouts here. That being said I think all of the supporting characters on this investigation squad were really strong. There is just a sense of familiarity and content that you get whenever watching them take actions on screen. They might not be superhuman geniuses but this grounded collection of individuals make the investigations feel more real and the stakes feel more human.

Misa: Intentionally designed to be at least somewhat grating, some people will find her more annoying than intended. Others, like me, don't really feel all that bothered by her. It probably helps that the 'obsessive stalker' is a type I find totally adorable.

Weak Links: I think Mello and Mikami are probably the two weakest characters of what would be considered the main cast. Mikami is entertaining but not very deep, and in the anime we are given very little time to know him or care about him. Mello is less entertaining but a bit more clever, and he does have some hidden depth if you care enough about him to look for it.

Near: When I finished reading the manga for the first time I had already watched the anime twice. I would say, at that time, Near was definitely my favorite character. After having watched the anime a few more times since then it's a lot more close. I think Near is still my favorite but it's not as definite. Similar to L he is a very cool character. He starts with an unfair advantage in that he's given a lot of evidence rather than having to start from scratch, but I never felt this undermined the conclusions he arrived at by looking at this evidence. He's cool in similar ways that L is, but I found that Near was a character I identified with more and that caused me to like him more ultimately. L is a super genius but he's also the kind of guy who can do martial arts, play tennis like a genius wizard, and generally seemed good at making friends and getting along with others. It almost feels too unrealistic. Near's genius comes at a cost; he's immature, socially destructive, and emotionally unavailable. The SPK followed him because he was obsessed with the truth and because he had the drive to win. It wasn't because they liked him as a person. I always found that very interesting.
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