I can safely say that I've never seen an anime series that I can 100% recommend to anyone and everyone. Granted, I haven't seen Cowboy Bebop yet, but that's for another time. It's not for lack of good animation; goodness gracious, even the very worst anime puts most American cartoons to shame as far as animation is concerned. But, if the shows I've seen are representative of most anime, Japan seems to ascribe a certain ethos to anime that ends up complicating matters, to say the least. With most American animation, intention rarely goes beyond cheap humor or action. Anime is insistent upon delivering some kind of message, a characteristic that I wholeheartedly endorse. Yet not every message works...
Especially when said "message" is morally repugnant, insulting to human dignity, and hateful. Such is the message of Tetsugumi Obha's Death Note.
If my readers have not at least heard of Death Note, then I'll provide a brief history. Death Note is a manga series, written by Tetsugumi Obha, serialized in the shonen anime magazine, Weekly Shonen Jump. (For the record, shonen just means that said material is targeted for male viewers.) The series got popular enough that Madhouse Inc, one of the powerhouses of the shonen anime scene, decided to turn it into an anime. The series ran in America from 2007-2008, rapidly developing a cult following and becoming one of the most famous anime series in the Western world. The show revolves around a "Death Note," a book that has the ability to kill anyone and everyone whose name is written within its pages. A child prodigy named Light Yagami finds this Death Note and uses it to kill off the world's criminals. A battle of wits ensues between Light and L, an investigator who is trying to put an end to Light's murders.
I watched Death Note all the way through for three reasons. One: it has very good dialogue. I will grant it that. Two: it has a strong sense of suspense. Three: it is of sufficient esteem that it has become a central part of Japanese animation culture. Not watching Death Note, at the time of my viewing, felt like not watching The X-Files; it's not a series one can skip over if one wants to be well-versed in popular media. Now, I realize that Death Note is a terrible series that no one should watch; it has many, MANY deplorable elements preventing any critical viewer from possibly enjoying it. Critical acclaim or no, Death Note is a poorly conceived and created excuse for entertainment, an experience I wholeheartedly regret, an experience I hope to dissuade any other potential viewers from undergoing. I will be spoiling the ENTIRE anime in this top ten, so to further dissuade people from watching. If you decide to stop reading now and go watch the show, I cannot stop you. All I can say is that you are wasting precious hours you could be spending on something more valuable.
These are the top ten reasons I hate Death Note.
Number Ten
The above image is Death Note's animation at its very best. Keep in mind that Death Note has little, if anything, to do with tennis.
As far as pure artistry is concerned, Death Note has adequate background art and decent character designs. L, the only character in the show with any degree of good characterization, has a very interesting design, using massive eye size (relative to everyone else) in order to offer the illusion of inhumanity and social distance. The rest of the character models, though, leave a lot to be desired. Light Yagami is just a standard "good-looking" anime male, with none of his animation elements expanding upon the subtleties of his character. Of course, that would suggest that he has subtleties to his character, but, again, I digress.
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| The last time I checked, people don't stick their tongues out when they're having a heart attack. |
To be fair, Death Note has some nice backgrounds and uses lighting competently. It's a shame that most of these elements are ruined by...
Number Nine
OK, look at the above image. That monster that looks like the lovechild of The Joker and Kefka from Final Fantasy VI is a Shinigami, the Grim Reapers of the Death Note universe. This one is eating an apple, a clear allusion to the importance of apples in both Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian religions. In both cases, it's a suggestion of sin and evil, be it the fruit from Eden's Tree of Life and/or Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (there's still a debate as to whether or not there's two trees, but that's a subject for another blog) or the infamous Apple of Discord that kicked off the Trojan War. This is the most subtle symbol used in the entire show... and it has no bearing on the greater themes. Since the Shinigami is the one that eats the apple, there's no reflection on either Light or L. The apples have nothing to do with the humans, who, at the end of the day, are the only characters we are supposed to care about. Apples are never used to convey a greater point about a character's moral stature (in the animators' eyes at least). Thus, their symbolic value ends up tarnished.
The other symbols in the show, however, are much worse.
Last but not least, here's my "favorite" example of bad symbolism in the show.
If a symbol is obvious or meaningless, it isn't worth inclusion. In fact, not including a symbol often forces the viewer to question whether there are symbols or not. Sometimes those symbols we discover that weren't even meant to be symbols are more meaningful than the most excruciatingly planned symbols in the creative process. Symbols should be used as subtle devices, not overt ones. In short, if Death Note wanted to be pure entertainment, it created half-assed symbols that only served to waste the viewer's time. If Death Note wanted to be "high art," then it failed to, formalistically, compare to the greater works that have come before it. Taking the first two issues into account, one can see why I dislike this show as a visual medium.
As for its status as an auditory medium...
Number Eight
The GODAWFUL Music
I cannot say the same for "L's Theme," which is so clearly based around Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells" that the song definitely feels plagiarized. The proof can be found in this cheaply made YouTube video, though I'd personally suggest playing the two songs side by side, using the original Mike Oldfield recording as opposed to The Exorcist remix that this YouTuber uses. "Light's Theme," on the other hand, is the best theme in the show, using the right mixture of King Crimson-inspired flange and piano to create a truly ominous ambience. This is the one song from Death Note that I would actually recommend people to seek out.
But the real reason this category exists is the opening theme music. Like most anime series, Death Note has a new opening theme for each season of the show. To give the first theme a bit of credit, the translation of the lyrics actually does relate to the show. Unfortunately, this is undermined by the needlessly bright and happy vocals. The song is too hyper to really evoke the main ambience of Death Note, a show that tries to be a grim neo-noir, aesthetically. The writers should have taken their cues from The X-Files or Law and Order before using this as the opening theme.
And then there's the second theme song.
Granted, there's ending theme music as well. I didn't really listen to it, because I skipped to the next episode after one ended. I won't say these ending themes were bad, but I will say that terrible opening theme music incentivizes a viewer to not sit through the end credits. If you are so inclined, you can track these themes down, but I am not going to waste your or my time any further.
Number Seven
So, the above image details exactly how Death Note's main plot device works. The Death Note ensures the death of the victim so long as the user has the face and the name of a potential victim in mind. It has to be the victim's real name, so having an alias is the primary defense against death. To its credit, Death Note uses this rule to its fullest. They even expand upon this with the "Shinigami Eyes," which enable the user to learn someone else's name automatically but at the cost of half of one's remaining lifespan. This produces a lot of genuinely creative situations, allowing the show to use its ever flexible writing to its fullest.
But, if one looks at some of the other rules of the "Death Note," one realizes that there are so many other uses that this "Death Note" could have. For instance, "if the cause of death is written withen 40 seconds of writing the person's name, it will happen." Throughout the show's span, Death Note capitalizes upon this rule very few times, only two of which are creative whatsoever. As long as a death is within the laws of physics, the death can and will happen. Hit on the head with an anvil? OK. Impaled by a sword. Good to go. As long as the situation is feasible, the death can happen. The non-heart attack deaths that Death Note actually uses are relatively banal and dull. In my opinion, the show needed to take advantage of the opportunities its premise presented. The use of "more creative deaths" wouldn't only allow for some variety in the animation; it would allow the audience to see just how twisted and psychotic Light is becoming (more on that later). The show could even attempt some black comedy by killing off universally disliked characters in highly over-the-top and ludicrous ways.
To me, the failure to use the "Death Note" properly is a small but significant flaw in the grand scheme of the show. It might not be as glaring a problem as the weak music and animation, but it's ultimately a flaw that more drastically affects the plot, wherein we find most of Death Note's flaws. Including...
Number Six
The INCONSISTENT Tone and Pacing
In this section of the review, I will be formally spoiling the entire plot of Death Note. If, for some God forsaken reason, you still want to watch this show despite making it this far into my rant, I suggest that you skip to the more critical points after this part of the countdown. As for those sticking around for this point, let's break down the plot of the entire show.
Light Yagami, under the guise of an enigmatic figure named "Kira" ends up possessing the first "Death Note," going on a crusade to kill the world's criminals. L, the world's best detective, learns of these murders and sets up a task force to bring in "Kira." Light kills off many agents but lays low when L starts to figure him out. A wrench is thrown into the mix when a fan of Light, Misa Amane, gets a "Death Note" of her own and starts killing people as well. Light eventually brings Misa under his control, only for L to deduce both of their identities. In order to hide the truth, Light induces amnesia using one of the minor rules of the "Death Note," entrusting the note to a greedy businessman named Higuchi, the gentleman with the troll face pictured above. For several episodes after this point, L and the memory-wiped Light join forces to bring Higuchi down.
I will compliment the pacing of the first part of the show, particularly the events prior to Higuchi's gaining the Death Note. The escalation of L's investigation coupled with the increase in Kira's murders does produce the appropriate amount of tension. Nothing feels rushed or forced. It's only when Misa is introduced that things start to get wonky, with L capturing the two in relatively short order after the two ally. The pacing gets more erratic after Light loses his memory, as the show takes an extremely long time to reveal Higuchi as the new "Kira" yet relatively little time to take Higuchi down. The build-up is fine, but the pay-off is deeply unsatisfying. These pacing issues are also a huge detriment to Higuchi's character, as he comes across as more of a stereotypical evil businessman/generic anime psychopath than anything else. He's a character we've seen before, from Patrick Bateman in American Psycho to Solf J. Kimblee in Fullmetal Alchemist/Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.
Also, though the pacing is relatively focused, the tone is not. In the early parts of the show, it appears as if Death Note is going to be a neo-noir of sorts, and the detective elements of the show certainly add to this mystique. But, once more mystical elements are added to the show, like the highly plot convenient amnesia, the tone gets muddled. By the time we enter the "Higuchi cycle," Death Note ceases to be a noir and turns into a buddy cop show. The contrast is glaring, and the aesthetic of the show gets muddled. Also, the addition of Misa to the main cast leads to some particularly awful comedy, as if the show couldn't get further from its origins.
But that's only half the story. Soon, Light gets his memory back and starts killing people again. His chief target: L. Spoilers: he succeeds. To compensate for the tremendous loss to the cast, the creators throw in two new characters to fight against Light: Near, a note-for-note copy of L, and Mello, an intellectually gifted terrorist who is willing to go to any lengths to stop Light. At the same time, Light gathers his own allies: news anchor Kiyomi Takada and fellow psychopath Teru Mikami. In a drawn-out and tedious three-way feud, Near ends up on top, capturing Light. Light, realizing the jig is up, finally gives into his inner psychopath and ends up being killed. The end.
The final arc of Death Note is widely disliked on the Internet and for good reason. After L is killed, the entire dynamic of the show is drastically changed. One can't simply replace L with another genius and expect the show to work the same way. Sadly, the introduction of Near implies that the producers thought they could continue the same shtick without any narrative consequences. Putting it shortly, the technique doesn't work. Near is not L. To his credit, L has a lot of very strong characterization in the beginning of the show. Near does not. Near is boring. Since the conflict of the show has no real driving force, the pacing of the show goes slack and plot points take ages to develop. As the audience no longer cares about the characters involved in the story, each episode feels like another exercise in tedium. Tonally, the show feels as if a cheapened, lackluster version of its former self. The ending in particular, to many, is a massive disappointment, as Light and other characters break identity completely in order to satisfy the demands of the plot/series finale.
Most Death Note fans tend to ignore issues like this, as they are so engrossed in the show that pacing no longer matters. But this is mostly a warning to new viewers. All I will say is this: if inconsistency in pacing and tone are enough for many viewers to discount watching Lost, Dexter, and Angel, why does Death Note get a free pass?
In this section of the review, I will be formally spoiling the entire plot of Death Note. If, for some God forsaken reason, you still want to watch this show despite making it this far into my rant, I suggest that you skip to the more critical points after this part of the countdown. As for those sticking around for this point, let's break down the plot of the entire show.
Light Yagami, under the guise of an enigmatic figure named "Kira" ends up possessing the first "Death Note," going on a crusade to kill the world's criminals. L, the world's best detective, learns of these murders and sets up a task force to bring in "Kira." Light kills off many agents but lays low when L starts to figure him out. A wrench is thrown into the mix when a fan of Light, Misa Amane, gets a "Death Note" of her own and starts killing people as well. Light eventually brings Misa under his control, only for L to deduce both of their identities. In order to hide the truth, Light induces amnesia using one of the minor rules of the "Death Note," entrusting the note to a greedy businessman named Higuchi, the gentleman with the troll face pictured above. For several episodes after this point, L and the memory-wiped Light join forces to bring Higuchi down.
I will compliment the pacing of the first part of the show, particularly the events prior to Higuchi's gaining the Death Note. The escalation of L's investigation coupled with the increase in Kira's murders does produce the appropriate amount of tension. Nothing feels rushed or forced. It's only when Misa is introduced that things start to get wonky, with L capturing the two in relatively short order after the two ally. The pacing gets more erratic after Light loses his memory, as the show takes an extremely long time to reveal Higuchi as the new "Kira" yet relatively little time to take Higuchi down. The build-up is fine, but the pay-off is deeply unsatisfying. These pacing issues are also a huge detriment to Higuchi's character, as he comes across as more of a stereotypical evil businessman/generic anime psychopath than anything else. He's a character we've seen before, from Patrick Bateman in American Psycho to Solf J. Kimblee in Fullmetal Alchemist/Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.
Also, though the pacing is relatively focused, the tone is not. In the early parts of the show, it appears as if Death Note is going to be a neo-noir of sorts, and the detective elements of the show certainly add to this mystique. But, once more mystical elements are added to the show, like the highly plot convenient amnesia, the tone gets muddled. By the time we enter the "Higuchi cycle," Death Note ceases to be a noir and turns into a buddy cop show. The contrast is glaring, and the aesthetic of the show gets muddled. Also, the addition of Misa to the main cast leads to some particularly awful comedy, as if the show couldn't get further from its origins.
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| Stop smiling. Nobody likes you. |
Most Death Note fans tend to ignore issues like this, as they are so engrossed in the show that pacing no longer matters. But this is mostly a warning to new viewers. All I will say is this: if inconsistency in pacing and tone are enough for many viewers to discount watching Lost, Dexter, and Angel, why does Death Note get a free pass?
Number Five
As I described above, most anime contain some kind of moral message or philosophy that they want to impart to the viewer. Often times, these messages are extremely complex and warrant multiple viewings. Fullmetal Alchemist's discussion of equality and humanity leads to some pretty poignant moments, as in the traumatic "Night of the Chimera's Cry." By the same token, Code: Geass offers some salient points on the nature of power and control, exploring the destructive tendencies of those who use these things to exploit others. What does Death Note have to offer?
"If you somehow get the capacity to kill large numbers of people, don't use it. It's wrong."
Thank you for pointing out the obvious, Death Note. Seriously, is this supposed to be the grand message of Death Note? For all its talk of "justice," the morality of Death Note is very black and white. Light is evil, the blood of his victims literally drawn onto his face. L and his allies are good; they might show sociopathic tendencies, but they are fighting for the good of mankind. There's nothing more to this moral; the decision is obvious to anyone who has a functioning mind. Where is the debate? Where is the complexity? Where is the non-obvious message? I can honestly learn more about the world through using my common sense than the message found in Death Note.
If one is to construe the theme to its most complex state, one could call Death Note a criticism of US actions against Japan during WWII, namely, the use of the atomic bomb. The argument: no one, no nation should ever have the capacity to wipe out so many people at once. While said message is strong in its conviction, it is ultimately shallow in its execution. We never see the complex motivations that go into the decision to use a weapon of mass destruction, nor do we see the real impact that it has on those who use it. Light gets the note, starts killing people, and that's that. He's never haunted by his decisions, nor does he ever experience any doubts. Likewise, L never loses faith in his convictions that what Light is doing is wrong (as he should). There's no mechanism by which the audience can really question the ethics of either side. One is obviously good. One is obviously evil. There is no grey. Thus, Death Note's message is tantamount to a basic lesson one could learn from an Aesop's fable. Hell, even one of Aesop's fables is more subtle with its theming than Death Note.
The key thing Death Note lacks is thematic sophistication. There's nothing really complex about it at all, despite what fans seem to say about it. And there's one other element of Death Note that is radically overhyped, one which I have even more problems with...
Number Four
Light Yagami Is a TERRIBLE Villain
Ever since Death Note's conclusion, Light Yagami has been cited as one of the best villains in the anime canon. Many laud his descent into madness and his transformation into one of anime's most accomplished serial killers. Some even consider Light an anti-hero, what with his quest to kill the world's criminals being full of good intentions. People seem to like every single element of his character: his intellect, his dialogue, his motivations, his nefariousness, his complexity. He's a villain so beloved that many people actually want him to win.
I find it very difficult to take any of these laudatory claims seriously.
My main issue with Light is his absolute lack of passion. Since he possesses a James Moriarty-like intellect, every single one of his actions is painstakingly thought out. He never makes mistakes (at least, until the tonally dissonant ending). He never shows emotion. He single-mindedly pursues his goal without taking any time to enjoy it. Needless to say, such behavior does not make for a particularly entertaining or likeable villain. Unlike similar villains from the same mold, Light is never "fun" to watch. I won't act as if Envy from Fullmetal Alchemist or The Major from Hellsing: Ultimate are particularly deep or complex villains on par with Norman Bates or Michael Corleone, but they are at least entertaining. Light just goes about his day, writing names into a notebook and ranting about how he will be a god. He's not likeable; he's just an arrogant, elitist prick.
Perhaps I'm missing the point. Maybe Light is supposed to be more interesting in his fall rather than in the psychopath he is to become. I'd be willing to accept this criticism if Light weren't clearly a psychopath prior to the start of the main plot. People say that Light falls from grace, but it is very apparent that he is a seriously disturbed youth from the show's first episode. He is unable to form genuine friendships; he has a nihilistic worldview; he is emotionally detached from everything. He's the kind of student one would expect to be a serial killer later in life. Also, one recognizes his insanity when he so much as picks up the "Death Note" in the first place. Why on earth would a top student leave in the middle of class to pick up some random notebook that fell to the ground outside the classroom? It makes no sense. Also, once Light starts killing criminals, there is no change to his personality. Since Light was already disturbed, we are not fazed by his murders. He never actually changes. His motivations are as boring as they come, as his desire to kill the world's criminals is pretty infantile when one gets down to it. Light is just a child trying to play God; he's not a moral crusader. Plus, he monologues about his mission with such lack of passion as to further hammer home the point that he is just a psychopath.
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| "Make 'em laugh, make 'em laugh, make 'em laugh!" |
Many people dislike the ending of Death Note, saying it is wholly out of line with Light's character. Personally, the last episode of Death Note is actually one of the better ones. It's the only episode in which Light actually changes. He's been discovered. The "Death Note" is no longer in his possession. He does not know the real names of the people around him. He is well and truly trapped. It comes, then, as no surprise that he'd launch into a maniacal monologue about how he is the morally correct figure in all of this. It's the one time in Death Note that Light becomes the cheesy anime villain that we are hoping for. He laughs maniacally; he rants about moral absolutes to a crowd that does not accept his bull****. Moments like this are fun, and it feels honestly cathartic when Light is shot by the police for his many, many crimes against humanity.
There's the term "so bad, they're good" that we often ascribe to villains. While the very best villains are praised for their complex characterization, others are considered good purely on how much fun they have as villains. Light's greatest sin as a villain is his failure to enjoy himself. Unlike a Joker, a Kefka Palazzo, a Raul Silva, or a Lelouch vi Britannia, he does not take any pleasure in his evil. It's this stoicism that ultimately destroys his credibility as an antagonist we are supposed to like. He tries far too hard to be a god among men, ultimately becoming less interesting because of it.
Number Three
The image you see above is my favorite character in Death Note, Mr. Aizawa. He's a slightly above average cop who manages to survive the events of the show, contributing to the investigation in small but meaningful ways. Most of his victories are either minor or Phyrric, but they are victories nonetheless. He fears for his family, but he's devoted to his work and actual justice. He has his moments of doubt, but he ultimately never loses his moral convictions. He's easily the most likeable character on the show, as he is arguably the most human figure in the entire anime.
It is unfortunate, then, that men like Aizawa end up constantly thrown to the side in this show. For Death Note seems to believe in the average man's inability to do anything against an übermensch. Aizawa and the other police officers stand no chance against Light; every time they try to outsmart him, they end up thwarted and humiliated. They need to have their own übermensch: L. Then, when L dies, he must be replaced by a different übermensch: Near. It's as if the forces of good and evil are wholly at the fingertips of the supermen and no one else. All the while, the "ordinary" characters in this show are regularly used as pawns; they have no free will, being used as mere pieces on a wei qui board.
Perhaps this is supposed to be a warning from Obha and the other creators of Death Note: the various übermensches in control of society's upper echelons are controlling us like puppets. It's a noble thought, but one that doesn't hold up to scrutiny. If Obha were trying to make that point, then he would have had Aizawa be the person that ultimately takes Light down, not Near. As it stands, Aizawa is the only Japanese investigator who ends up being half-competent. Even worse, when he seeks to do more, Near tells him no, as he's not smart enough to deal with Light. It's a complete smack to the face, as Aizawa has a competent intellect and a bravery that Near completely lacks. Near faces no consequences for carelessly discarding his most valuable asset, as he already has the ability to defeat Light with the help of his fellow übermensch, Mello. Such attitudes indicate that Aizawa and the other "normal" characters on the show are essentially useless and have no relevance to our story. They are background that, for all intents and purposes, should be ignored. By extension, in the real world, the average man should be ignored in favor of focusing on the conflict between supermen. They are the only ones that matter to Obha and the other creators of Death Note.
What I hate most about this theme is the insinuation that the average man has no role or significance in the broader universe. All the victories of Aizawa and the other investigators are inconsequential to Death Note's plot. However, in reality, the actions of the "average man" can end up reshaping the world. What can we say about the messenger who dropped General Robert E. Lee's battle plans at The Battle of Gettysburg? What of the man who stood in front of a line of tanks at Tiananmen Square? The man who fired the "shot heard round the world?" The various "average" civilians providing Twitter coverage of the Arab Spring? These "normal" people reshaped the world as we know it. As Tolstoy described, the universe is a network of infinite causes, and each major event that happens is the universe is the product of thousands of thousands of decisions. While chaos and complexity theory does offer mathematical insight as to the relative importance of some phenomena over others, one cannot deny that the smaller causes have, at the very least, some impact. For Obha and the creators of Death Note, the minor characters are completely insignificant to the narrative of the show. Ultimately, the attitude the show expresses towards the "average man" is disdainful and even somewhat hateful.
But, as much as Death Note hates men, that doesn't even come close to...
Number Two
Some people who have read my other reviews and have watched Death Note with a critical eye knew this one was coming. Death Note is the most misogynistic, mainstream television series I have ever seen. Now, I am aware that this show targets a male audience, but that does not excuse its patronizing attitudes towards women. In addition, trust me when I say Death Note is misogynist and not sexist: a sexist show would just show women being inferior to men in some activity for another. No, Death Note actively hates women. The show only has two female characters with any relevance, but the two rank as some of my least favorite characters ever.
I'm sorry. Did I call her a character? Let me start over.
Meet Misa AmaneTM, a sex object whom the animators and male characters throughout the series use to push the plot forward. Over the course of her object arc, Misa grows infatuated with Light after he murders the criminal who killed her parents. She acquires a Death Note of her own and starts killing other people who get in Light's way. Once she meets Light, though, she loses any and all agency. She is his eager slave, willing to do whatever he says without question. No matter what terrible thing she has to undergo, she emerges with the same wide-eyed adoration for Light. She might face death, rape, or both at the same time, but she doesn't care. So long as she has Light, nothing else matters. Not helping her objectification is the fact that Misa Amane is an utter airhead, unable to come up with any thought of her own. She is only able to manipulate others when Light guides her to do so. Her sex is used solely as a weapon, and her physical desire for Light has no value in the "relationship" whatsoever, as he dictates whenever she is to be "used."
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| One of the most appalling frames in pop culture history |
Also, to add a personal gripe to the mix, Misa has the most annoying voice I've ever heard, barring Chris Tucker. The Japanese voice acting sounds like a baby whining as much as humanly possible.
I've learned that Mr. Obha created Misa Amane in order to break up the monotony of an all-male cast. That should never be one's attitude when creating a character. Characters, men or women, need to feel like people. People have complex identities and motives. What is Misa's identity? A perfect servant for Light. What is Misa's motivation? Serving Light in whatever way possible. The creators do not treat Misa like a person. Her fanaticism combined with her stupidity make her practically inhuman in her devotion; for all intents and purposes, she is a robot, a tool used to satisfy the demands of Light and the plot.
In fact, killing and/or brutalizing women in order to enhance male character arcs is very much a constant throughout Death Note. Misa is forced to trade over half her life for the magical "Shinigami Eyes" ability twice during the show. Therefore, at most, she could live 25 years. But, not to worry, Misa need not fear that, as she commits suicide in the show's aftermath. All the women who try to capture Light end up dead, through one reason or another. Mello kidnaps Light's sister in order to coax him out of hiding. Even Light's mother doesn't come away from this show unscarred, as half her family ends up dying because of her son's actions. In the world of Death Note, women are just collateral damage, just bits of debris instead of human beings.
It's quite astonishing that a show of such acclaim as Death Note manages to uphold its reputation despite the hundreds of misogynist moments and concepts contained within it. The women of Death Note are weak, shallow, stupid, annoying, useless, male-dependent, rag dolls who only gain value once they are murdered, very often by their own hands. If that's not indicative of a deep hatred of women, I don't know what is.
And, the worst part? That's not even number one.
NUMBER ONE
DEATH NOTE CELEBRATES MASS MURDER
There are a lot of things to be said about "good intentions." I can certainly understand that most people have them. Indeed, some philosophers argue that no one does anything wrong without having good intentions. And it's clear that Death Note has some good intentions. What was Death Note supposed to be about? It was supposed to be a show about a serial killer, a serial killer whom we are supposed to understand yet despise, and the noble efforts of investigators to take him down in spite of his genius intellect and reign of terror. What is Death Note about, as it is? Death Note is about a genius whose plan to commit global genocide was foiled by dastardly ethical people.Death Note's biggest crime is not the number of murders within it. There are plenty of great works of art that feature disgusting amounts of gore and violence (The Triumph of Death, most of the works of Haruki Murakami, Pulp Fiction). Death Note's biggest crime is claiming that these murders are permissible or "part of a greater good." Death Note believes that Light is the good guy and that we should side with him.
Many readers might be skeptical of this assertion. Is not Light considered one of the best villains in anime (if falsely)? Therefore, how can he possibly be considered a good person on the show? Well, herein comes the matter of Death Note's framing. For the vast majority of the show, Light never indulges in the attitudes that one would expect of a villain. As I said before, this significantly impedes his development as an antagonist. It makes him a formulaic, static character. But such a depiction also indicates that Light is becoming numb to his murders. As he kills more and more people, it becomes more of a day job than an expunging the world of his enemies. There have been plenty of other people who were numb to mass murders. Such people include this one:
Death Note doesn't just frame Light as a good person; Death Note frames Light as a God among men. Take a look at his death, for instance.
It's not the murders that sickens me; it's not Light's boring character; it's the fact that the animators send the viewers an implicit message that is morally wrong under any grounded moral theory in human existence. Kant wouldn't stand for this. Bentham wouldn't stand for this. Nietzsche wouldn't stand for this. Moses wouldn't stand for this. Yeshua of Nazareth wouldn't stand for this. Muhammad wouldn't stand for this. Siddhartha Gautama wouldn't stand for this. No moral person would condone the adoration of a serial killer. Yet Death Note does.
Perhaps some of my readers think I am looking too deeply into this matter. After all, my claim that Death Note supports Light is based on a background cue and a Longinan concept of formalism (props to you if you know what this last term means). Indeed, even if one accepts my terms, there could be a counter-argument. Maybe Death Note is trying to say that anyone with power over life and death is evil, including God himself. I do not subscribe to this theory for two reasons. One: there is a difference between letting someone die within a world that is predetermined by human free will and action and actively killing someone. Two: if this was the grand plan of Death Note, and if this was the real message Death Note was trying to send, then Obha and the other creators would have made it more explicit. Even if I were to agree with this theory, I could then only recommend Death Note to atheists. As it stands, I cannot recommend Death Note to anyone.
If one needed any proof to show that my theory about Death Note's celebration of murder is correct, one only needs to look at Death Note's fanbase. Just a quick check on YouTube gives us plenty of fan theories of "how Light should have won" or "Death Note's ending sucks because Light lost." There were people who tuned into Death Note wanting Light to win. There are fan sites praising Light as the "God of the New World" that he wants to be. There are people who have adopted his same concept of "kill every criminal who has ever committed any crime ever" mentality. "Light Yagamists," as I like to call them, are some of the most frightening fans I have ever witnessed. In a fanatic fashion, they are praising a serial killer as the paragon of human morality.
The very fact that "Light Yagmists" exist indicates that Death Note fails to do its job. Whenever a villain, whenever a truly terrible person is the focus of a show and/or movie, they must be framed as if their actions are wrong. Consider Michael Corleone of The Godfather. He might have elements we can sympathize with, but at no point do we ever think that his actions are moral. The same goes for Tyler Durden, Norman Bates, or the Joker. We are not supposed to admire these people. Yet people do, and the heavy-handedness of Death Note's imagery and morality leads them to whole-heartedly follow their fandom. People who cosplay as the Joker and Harley Quinn say that they wouldn't ever kill someone with lethal laughing gas; people who are fans of Light Yagami say they would use the "Death Note" if one existed in real life. This is in spite of the fact that Death Note should clearly show that no human being should ever want to use the "Death Note." In fact, the "Death Note" ranked as the second-most desired fictional ability in anime in this, popularity-determined WatchMojo countdown; if that isn't a massive moral failing on the creators' part, I don't know what is. The "Death Note" has one function: murder. The fact that people want this power is indelible proof that the show, inadvertently or otherwise, endorses it.
_________________________________________________________________________________
If my ramblings and rankings haven't made the point clear enough. I think Death Note isn't just a bad show. It's an evil show. In spite of good dialogue and appropriate suspense, it promotes a morality that I find wholly repugnant. When watching it, I didn't fully see its flaws. But, after just one day of thinking it over, I realized that this show was quite possibly the worst I had ever seen. Death Note is a waste of time, of paper, of oxygen. It is a show that is lazily produced and paced. It is a show with a clear lack of focus. It is a show that espouses disgusting morals through insidious devices. I do not give traditional ratings and/or recommendations to television series on this blog. This feels appropriate for a show like Death Note, a show that is practically a vacuum in its spiritual emptiness.
I hate this show. So should you.
All of these points were fanbase false, especially the last one. It is a dark anime and getting annoyed at mass murder is the stupidest thing I've heard this week
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I follow. A dark atmosphere alone doesn't excuse a lack of direction or utterly unethical content, especially when the art direction implicitly endorses immoral behavior. Also, what does "fanbase false" mean? Only people in the fanbase understand?
DeletePlus, I thought "getting annoyed at mass murder" was a pretty normal thing. I'm fairly certain annoyance, revulsion, and anger are pretty justified reactions to acts of genocide.
ikr this is just because he is not into anime or just this kind of anime i totally agree.
DeleteTHIS IS SOOOOO BULLSHIT AND INCORRECT I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU THINK THAT DEATH NOTE IS BAD
DeleteYeah dude I came here out of Curiosity that WHO DARES TO SAY SUCH THINGS ABOUT DEATHNOTE while i was making its Fan edit lol and then i was like THIS RUINED MY DAy
DeleteWell you are somehow true. I like you took out flaws out of Death Note. Liked it.
DeleteYou REALLY need to educate yourself before applying your opinion to this show as most of your assumptions are quite misguided and false.
DeleteThis show is a study of human nature at its darkest. It features themes such as 'The benevolent dictator', how does a higher moral power dictate our personal choices, does the end justify the means, etc. The apple is symbolic of Light's bite of 'sin' (choice) and loss of innocence. Once he crossed that point (ACTING on his desire, not just thinking about it)there was no going back. The God representations and 'godly' light represents Light's mental view of himself, his choices/justice, and how a select others see him as well. I could go on an on. Whole essays and studies have been written on this anime as well as others like Neon Genesis Evangelion.
We actually discussed the mental disorders of different characters from the show in my college class.
I find your review quite thoughtless and shallow, as there are even articles written by the Creator of the manga that details philosophy and various religions and other very deep thought processes that inspired him as he wrote this story.
Again do your research before bashing a show. You could unfortunately put someone permanently off of a fantastic and deeply thoughtful story with your THOUGHTLESS REVIEW.
And lastly, do NOT presume that everyone else should blindly follow what is ultimately YOUR opinion. I Loved DEATHNOTE, because I DID understand what it was talking about. I understood the references and symbolism. The characters and story are often just a vehicle for a much larger thought process.
Ultimately, I would encourage people to watch, research references you don't understand, and then form your OWN opinions. Don't let others choose for you!
...this review is a serious blasphemy...
ReplyDeleteAm I not entitled to have a negative opinion of an extremely popular show so long as I explain my rationale?
Delete(4 years late) You just tried to convince that Death Note isn’t a good show. And you said that we should hate it too, trying to make us “not entitled”. There was only one point that I *slightly* agreed with (the misogyny is kinda bad) but these points are used to show you how bad of a guy Light is. It doesn’t “celebrate mass murder”, it shows you (in the end) that ultimate power brings ultimate corruption. If this were an evil show that actually celebrates that kind of crime, it would have shown Light getting what he wanted. Also, the lack of passion is a result of being a psychopath. BUT YOU KNOW WHAT, I still love Death Note and I don’t hate you. I’m a defensive Death Note loving freak. Sorry. Good day.
DeleteThe show has deeper meaning and covert symbolism. That's what makes it fun, it's like a scavenger hunt. Just because you didn't see them, doesn't mean theyre8noy there. Also, not every message has to make you feel good. Death Notes message is about humanity and all sides of it. It emphasizes the complicatedness of being a human, the endless shades of grey we face when it comes to morality, mental illness, the fact that no one is all good or all bad, that some people would be surprise what they would do when given the opportunity. I think this is a good example of people seeing things through completely different lenses. Where you see repugnant and immortality, I see the same thing but I also see that it's not supposed be perfect with perfectly moral people. It's contradictory and a lies and kills and also wants to do good and also wants yo do had. This is possibly the most human show I've seen. It mirrors the real world with the internal contradiction each character faces. That's what made it so enjoyable to me. If you hate a work of fiction so much because it's immoral, then I'd hate to see you watching the evening news.
DeleteI'm not sure if I would say Death Note supports mass murder, if anything one could maybe argue that it goes against it. Light Yagami would've been victorious if that were the case. I also do like how they switched up the protagonist and antagonist with the hero/villian roles. It makes you conflicted on who you actually think about who you should support as the general idea is that the main character is always the best. Also I think that it is more of a fanbase problem when it comes to supporting mass murder, as many fans become extremely toxic and make all types of threats across the planet. Not only does the Death Note fanbase do this actually, there are many others that do this as well. Also I think the theme of Death Note can also be that villains never prosper, even if they are the main character. I think that's just the lesson behind it as well. You could go so far living a happy and twisted life only to end up with misery in the end. Even in the manga, we got to see Light go to the so-called place called "nothingness" and experience reliving death for all the names he had written in the Death Note. It was never explicitly, nor implicitly stated that it had anything to do with supporting or going against it. In the end you can see that Light is saddened in the end and is faced with a whole ton of regret for everything that he has done. Thus, all I'm saying is that I find your number 1 argument refutable by a long-shot.
DeleteAlso about the "godawful music" part the openings are really optional if you want to listen to them so I kinda just ignored it. Alot of points I do agree with however, like the failure to capitalize on good elements and the female characters. I really don't have much objections there. Is Death Note good Idk, but I do think that it is debatable depending on how you look at it I guess. It is enjoyable,on the other hand, as it is able to keep you really hooked for some time. Is Death Note a good show? In my opinion I believe it's a fairly mid show, I do agree the anime has alot of wasted potential and it had the opportunity to be top 10 in my list.
You can, but now that people are bound to disagree with you.
Deleteok i know that I'm 5 years too late however, you seem like the average christian mother that is too concerned for the portection of her son from the real world. Let's face it, if the Death Note was real, this would most likely not happen, however because Light Yagami was bored with his life, he noticed the bad in the world and changed it. Light is an amazing villain in the fact that he is an average teenager with the mind of an intellectual and used that to his advantage to change what he thought was wrong. Your comparison to real life in your follow up comment suggests that you sympathize for fake characters who you a. know none of their back story and b. have not followed them on any journey. Don't get me wrong, Mass murder is a terrible thing in general, but in a work of fiction can make the story compelling just like Death Note has and I have been sad after my favorite characters die in anime, but the fact that you take something fiction to this extreme is ludicrous. I also believe that your comparison of Light to Hitler is flawed. Light took a common issue (crime rate) and dropped it by 80 percent. Yes Hitler and Light both were mass murders for people they saw as incorrect, however, Light actually changed something. Overall, your review is flawed and the music is incredible. Feel free to email me if you would like to discuss further.
DeleteThis review is total bullshit,probably the worst & the most immature review i saw in my life,damn i cant believe that i wasted the precious 10 minutes of my life reading it.
ReplyDeleteI have to strongly disagree with your opinion on this review. Even if you dont agree with any of the points made by the author this is far from being an immature review. In fact it is one of the most sophisticated, thought through reviews I have ever read.
DeleteWhen I stumbled upon this review I expected another "it sucks because... it sucks"-kind "review", but instead I got a well-thought-through analysis of the flaws in one of the most overrated and overhyped anime-shows out there.
Even if I dont fully agree with every single point, I really appreciate the time and effort the author put into this review. The author carefully explains why he or she hates the show instead of just publishing another rant.
In my opinion, the points made are presented in a logical way and it is thoroughly explained why the described flaws lead to the authors verdict. It is a very calm and methodical review that is clearly aimed at sparking a conversation instead of a battle of hate-comments from both sides.
I wholly agree
DeleteDisagree with some points here and there, but absolutely think this review is accurate as a whole. DN is absolutely an immoral, immature, misogynistic show. Thanks for writing this!
ReplyDeleteWhile I don't really know much about music or animation quality, or pacing and tone consistency, I totally agree with all your other points, ESPECIALLY #4 Everyone touts Light as an amazing villain, but he's terrible. He has no attachment to anything he's doing, he's incredibly generic, and, worst of all, he's an idiot.
ReplyDeleteYes, I went there.
Light had been given every single advantage that could be mustered. He had not 1, not 2, but 3 magic notebooks that could kill everyone over the course of the show, and he even had access to a horribly stupid and easily manipulated Shinigami that he used to kill L. He was in an easy position to get the names and faces of criminals, and people were throwing their names and faces at him left and right. And he still screwed everything up. He vastly narrowed down his position by falling for the most obvious trap ever by killing Lind L Taylor, and he (once again) only made it as far as he did because L didn't technically have any proof that he was Kira, even though he knew it. After L's death he basically sits around twiddling his thumbs all day instead of pretending to be looking for Kira, which blows his cover when Near shows up, and he gives his Death Note to probably the most unstable and unreliable person he could possibly find, which quite directly leads to his death. He manages to blow every advantage he had through sheer abject stupidity, and yet everyone lauds him as a mastermind. A true mastermind would be able to finish Operation Godhood without anyone even suspecting him, let alone breathing down his neck.
I did not mean to write this much.
i just finished death note, i agree with you.
DeleteI can honestly agree with that
DeleteI was never able to watch Death Note further than L's death. HE was the one character that kept the show from falling apart (wich eventually, it did)
ReplyDeleteThis I agree with
DeleteHonestly I did finish the whole show twice but I liked the rivalry between L and Light
DeleteI like how some of the comments on this review prove your point about how the fanbase is.
ReplyDeleteStop with the symbolic meanings. You're like an English teacher that gives his own perception of what everything means. The entire anime is insanely huge assumptions that end up being right. You literally compared light to Adolf Hitler. Just because light had no remorse to his murders. Other than the amount of investigators he killed he did actually make the world better. Hitler killed anyone and everyone who apposed him. Same as light. But 85% of everyone light killed deserved it. Even if a couple thousand out of the literal millions that hitler killed were in fact murderers, rapists, e.t.c, it doesn't change the fact that hitler killed millions on 'innocent' lives. I HIGHLY doubt light killed millions. Barely even thousands. But other than about 20 detectives. Its one thing to express your negative opinions on a topic but when you give false assumptions about why ryouk likes apples, and sun light shining on light is giving a heavenly resemblance, it just makes you look like a high school English teacher saying the curtains were blue because he was sad.
ReplyDeleteComparing me to a high school English teacher? Thanks for the compliment!
DeleteAlso... even if every one of the 11 million people Hitler killed was guilty of a crime, the Holocaust would still be wrong. Mass murder is never right.
Talking about inconsistency, why don't you add Truman to your list of "numb to mass murders" people?
DeleteI would have to agree with you, as well. I find the author of this post to be, frankly, quite annoying. As well, to analyze entertainment so heavily seems inane. Anyhow, the author of this post is annoying - as is his way of passionately discussing this analysis. This is being taken quite too seriously for what it is.
DeleteBarely thousands? He killed 124,925 people.
DeleteLight has been shown to have killed millions of criminals, and yes I agree that Light was similar to Hitler (many fans make that comparison.) But the whole point of this show is to say that justice is relative, meaning that although the general idea of killing criminals sounds evil, but the show puts the whole idea of that in question. To quote a scene from the anime (not directly, just from memory) Light states that people on the outside may disagree with his morals, because in society killing anyone is unacceptable, but online people will agree with him. Therefore showing that Light has a reason for his morals. Also, why didn't you point out one of the better hidden symbols? This one is when L massages Lights feet after being out in the rain. This symbolizes how Jesus cleans Judas feet right before he betrayed him. I personally am not religous, but even I knew this was a symbol. This one is so obvious you can look it up.
DeleteAlso ryouk likes apples for the same reason Ilike pizza...it tastes good to me. AAaaand because apples in the shinigami world are rotten nastiness
ReplyDelete... and because apple - forbidden tree - knowledge.
DeleteThe whole symbolism thingy is a big reference to the Bible.
Sorry, i'll rethink what I said. I also agree about the hate for common men. The best plot idea would be if the Light coworkers imprisoned or killed him, the pace would be much better and realistic. And, of course, NO NEAR.
ReplyDeleteI think this is the best and most elaborate troll I have ever seen in my entire life! I really do wish I could award you a medal for that. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteFor what it's worth, I do think the manga does Light's death much better, with him pitifully screaming "I don't wanna die!" at Ryuk's feet. I think the anime directors were beginning to go along more with what the fan perception of Light was in the way they did that scene. Additionally, the manga doesn't really have any sort of judeo-christian notions of heaven present in that scene, with the point being emphasized that humans in the Death Note world all go to the same place (nothingness) when they die. This makes the point very clear that, on a cosmic scale, Death Note sees Light not as a god but just as another human who sought to become a temporary ruler on a pale blue dot.
ReplyDeleteThat said, this review is about the anime, and for what it's worth I do think the opinions you submit are basically correct. I don't particularly think Light needs to be an entertaining villain, Death Note is a very methodical and kind of pedantic series, and that's okay for some people. The tone of the show is pretty all over the place, but I think that's also a result of wanting to inject some drama into a series that, at least in manga form, was rather dry. I don't fault the anime team for this, but it isn't exactly a graceful result in the end. Additionally, the show is entirely misogynistic. The only female characters that particularly have any agency are Hal and Naomi, the former of whom is primarily an interchangeable piece of Near's team and the latter of whom is killed after only being around for 3 episodes, and even then just as an early series obstacle to Light.
Good job overall. Despite all of this I still enjoy the series well enough, though the anime's ending does leave a sour taste in my mouth.
For what it's worth, I do think the manga does Light's death much better, with him pitifully screaming "I don't wanna die!" at Ryuk's feet. I think the anime directors were beginning to go along more with what the fan perception of Light was in the way they did that scene. Additionally, the manga doesn't really have any sort of judeo-christian notions of heaven present in that scene, with the point being emphasized that humans in the Death Note world all go to the same place (nothingness) when they die. This makes the point very clear that, on a cosmic scale, Death Note sees Light not as a god but just as another human who sought to become a temporary ruler on a pale blue dot.
ReplyDeleteThat said, this review is about the anime, and for what it's worth I do think the opinions you submit are basically correct. I don't particularly think Light needs to be an entertaining villain, Death Note is a very methodical and kind of pedantic series, and that's okay for some people. The tone of the show is pretty all over the place, but I think that's also a result of wanting to inject some drama into a series that, at least in manga form, was rather dry. I don't fault the anime team for this, but it isn't exactly a graceful result in the end. Additionally, the show is entirely misogynistic. The only female characters that particularly have any agency are Hal and Naomi, the former of whom is primarily an interchangeable piece of Near's team and the latter of whom is killed after only being around for 3 episodes, and even then just as an early series obstacle to Light.
Good job overall. Despite all of this I still enjoy the series well enough, though the anime's ending does leave a sour taste in my mouth.
After my husband and I finished this series with thoroughly "WTF" reactions, we took to the Internet, hoping to find mirrors of our disdain-- only to be appalled by your "Light Yagamists" and their wholesale condoning of Light. A creative writer and film buff myself, I knew we needed to find someone intellectually capable of analyzing Death Note on a narrative level, and not this mewling redpill fanbase.
ReplyDeleteThankfully, we found your essay. We're relieved that someone else gets it. We truly appreciate you taking the time to hash this out.
(Also, the fact that you acknowledge how horribly this series treats women is heartening. For a while I was pulling for Penbar's fiance Naomi to make a surprise comeback-- she seemed smart, and we didn't see her die; maybe her ID was a fake? But no, of course not. That would make the show too interesting!)
I know its been 4 years and you clearly don't care anymore but whatevs, this complaints constantly annoys me.
DeleteThe show isn't misogynistic. Obata, the artist of the manga, just hates drawing women. And since that will make all of the main characters male, teh female characters are by and large plot devices because the majority of characters in death note are plot devices.
Read this comment all the way through. Death Note is a story. Not a teaching. Most of your points here, keeping aside the misogyny one, focus on Death Note having wrong morals or failing to convey their moral or whatever. But that wasn't Death Note's objective at all, and frankly, it's stupid to think it is. Death Note tells us a story, a story about Light and death and what not. And since he had a God complex, they used the tools at their disposal to convey the symbolism. They are not saying he was God, they are simply trying to show what Light thought he was. It wasn't meant to teach anything to the audience. It's a story meant to entertain, and I'm sure we ALL can agree it was entertaining (at least before L's death). The anime leaves it up to the audience to decide whether they want to agree with Light or not. They simply tell you a story, and you get to decide what you think the moral should be. But they never actually meant for a moral to be there. Not every anime is like that. It's a very interesting concept, the main character transforming from an honour student to a mass murderer. The police and the worlds greatest detective try to stop him. Filled with intellect as the two greatest minds face off.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure you would enjoy if you just kept aside the thought that you have to gain a moral from every anime. You can hate Light if you want. You can hate L if you want. You can hate Misa if you want. You can hate anyone you want. But that won't stop the anime as a whole from becoming bad? It's only the character you hate.
You're right- why does everyone have to look so deeply into it? I personally like how there is more than one major viewpoint you can choose from. It makes it intersting.
DeleteRight? The points in here are garbage, in my opinion. How is someone going to complain about the message being too clear, and the symbolism being too obvious, when they only use the ones that were meant to be obvious as examples, and they go on to whine about how Light's too compelling of a character, if he's technically Hitler? The logic is idiotic. They purposefully pick out horrible examples and this whole thing is incredibly biased, and not based on facts, giving anyone who reads this a bad impression of the anime, instead of just telling them things that are SOLID facts.
Delete
ReplyDeleteFirst, to those who say "I couldn't watch DN after L's death, he was the one holding the show together", shut up, please. You'd do a favor to the world if you did.
Light was almost as good as a character that L was, equally if not more Charismatic than L was and a little inferior in intelligence.
You say the Animation is boring, boohoo, the animation in DN is very good(Emphasis On Very), and the studio that animated it, is reputed as one of the best studios in animating, so I don't exactly see your point there. The characters were quite dramatic.
2) The reason Ryuk eats apple, IS BECAUSE HE FREAKING LIKES APPLES? If you want to criticize such a point, I'd suggest you take your Bullshit out of here and somewhere else. Criticize the show on valid points, or do not criticize it at all.
3) "The GODAWFUL Music", while I'm not a huge fan of anime songs, there's a reason why Death Note songs are liked by people.
They perfectly blend in with the situation, where you do not know what is going to happen next, and you're left at the edge of your seat.
Besides, criticizing a whole show based on THE MUSIC is one of the most stupid things I've seen, after a majority of the BS spewed in this blog. If you think music should not be "loud/noisy", you're seriously being biased there, and cannot look past your own views, and yet write such a shitty blog, defaming one of the greatest works of Anime.
4) The only MORE beneficial way I see in using the Death Note, is using one of the task force members to kill L.
Okay, so you want a variation in a f@#%ing death method, I'm not sure what to reply to that, it doesn't matter if people die of a heart-attack, or if they died due to a train running over them.
Death.Is.Death.
And Light has used the "Method Of Death" multiple times in the show, to throw people off.
5) "Plot Convenient Amnesia", you say, Brilliant plan to throw L off his tracks, would be the true fact.
That wasn't "Plot Convenient", as you daftly stated it. It merely was a rule that had been stated, and manipulated by Light, to something suitable for him, that would help him best L.
While I do agree, the part 2 of the show lacked the luster the part 1 had, it was, by no means, plain out "Bad", as you proceed to state.
The planning was still intricate, not on the level of S1, but still deep. Infact it was Light's victory, if his glorious sub-ordinate Mikami hadn't decided to to try and kill Takada himself.
While again, I agree that the female characters are bad, but there is NO written rule, that in any given show, both the male and female characters should be equal.
I could rant as much as I want over something like Harumi Suzumiya, where the Female MC has the most power. It is a dumb thing to say that "One side of the gender wasn't on par with the other, the show is stupid".
If Girls feel(Most of them don't, I know many who don't) that they shouldn't watch an anime with such a lack of participation from the feminine side, they can watch Melancholy Of Harumi Suzumiya, Fruits Basket, Ouran Highschool and etc etc etc.
The higuchi arc, again, was close to a master-piece, in my opinion, and it is the opinion of a majority of the world ^_^.
Continued in the next post.
ReplyDelete6) You say, and I quote "Code: Geass offers some salient points on the nature of power and control, exploring the destructive tendencies of those who use these things to exploit others. What does Death Note have to offer?"
You see, Light isn't a "Villain" Per se, Light is an "Anti-Hero", his morals were initially GOOD.(Emphasis on Initially)
You've asked the morals of Death Note, it is a very good question, and I'm going to shell out answers befitting the question.
~~~~~First, No matter how good the intention is/was, People could succumb to the bad side, if too lax in a state of power, enough to control death and can end either good or bad, still depending on the people's actions. If Light stopped his indiscriminate killing, he could've still turned out good, it only shows that you shouldn't succumb to the dark side in a position of power, lest you end up like Light.
~~~~~Secondly, Any gift or power can be used for good or evil, abused or praised, it isn't destiny that controls those actions, it is our own decisions. Pretty sure I don't need to explain this.
~~~~~Thirdly, You can't go off on a mass murdering spree, claiming you're cleansing the world, but other viewpoints matter, and this is something you don't consider, at all.
~~~~~Fourthly, it goes onto portray that there are multiple ways to achieve your goal(in this context, peace), but taking the whole dark-evil way, can come and bite you back in the ass.
~~~~~Fifthly, You say other than the obvious Moral of "If you find a notebook of death, don't kill people", and yet compare it to Code Geass. If Lelouch had ever found something like the Death Note, you really think he wouldn't have used it?
7)While "The Hatred Of The Common Man" is indeed something in Death Note, but you talk as if I or you could interject a chess match between Magnus Carlsen and Vishwanathan Anand, and actually hope to suggest moves. That is a dumb notion.
Aizawa doesn't even come under the main cast, for the screen time he's had.
And One Common Character actually proves his worth by shooting Light(Matsuda).
8) *Sighs* You say it is misogyny, I don't. I believe I've already explained that in the world of fiction, I strongly oppose the term "misogyny". In real life, it is a true evil, but in fictional world, it is NOTHING.
I know not one, not two, hundreds of female fans who love Death Note.
And finally, the last point.
9) I'm trying to be as civil as I possibly can, but the last few paras make me blanch in real life.
Death Note "Promotes" Mass-Murder?
Are you even watching the same show as I am?
Death Note CLEARLY admonishes Kira's acts, through the voice of L&Near. You sound like someone who conventionally ignored ALL the moments that clearly went AGAINST the idea of mass-murder.
And please, stop it with the "Light shining from heaven".
Light looks at peace while dying? You crazy or something? I'm pretty sure the last fifteen minutes of episode 37 weren't "Peaceful" in any way.
I'll soon stop this farce of a post, but as someone stated, Light's murders to an extent(Emphasis) were justified. He initially did set out on making the world a better place, but eventually was corrupted by the power.
If you personally think you can change society, you can give out your own ideas, but Light's idea was perfectly valid, to an extent, before he went Mass Psychotic murderer.
You rambled MULTIPLE times about how Death Note constantly portrays "Heavens Looking down upon Light", and yet you COMPLETELY ignore the darn fact that the author explicitly stated there is NO HEAVEN OR HELL.
And before concluding, I find one more thing that makes you seem like one of the most hypocritical asshats I've ever seen.
Continued.
"his morals were initially GOOD" I think we watched a different first episode then. JUst to make sure we're on the same page - in your first episode did the protagonist get over his shock of murder in 10 seconds? Because in mine he did. Did he decide to become a god and kill people and be seen as a god in yours? Because he did in mine.
DeleteOK, like, first of all:
Delete- In the manga, it took Light many many many days to get over the serial killings
- He lost countless hours of sleep thinking of what he had done
- He lost, like, 10 pounds of weight
Secondly:
- Light is a human being with emotions, he cares for his family
- He almost got caught as Kira for caring about his father and sister, in case you forgot
- He suffered almost as much as Misa while in confinement
- While he has no memories, he fits in your definition of human because the "absolute power corrupts absolutely"
He also has the same justice philosophy as Socrates.
Thirdly and lastly:
- He is portrayed like a god because the series is told in his prespective, in which he thinks he is a god
- He is portrayed as Lucifer in the opening song (initially had good intentions and then turned evil)
Light is a human being. I am a human being. You are a human being.
he makes mistakes, I make mistakes, you make mistakes.
We're human.
You're telling me that you would not take full advantage of absolute power if you had it?
You're telling me you are as good as a saint and never feel like getting back on those who hurt and insulted you?
We're humans, we are susceptible to corruption.
This is a response from a jaded viewer who knows not of his attachment to the show.
DeleteI love this comment, as it explicitly states my opinions similarly to how I would have said it. Another moral would be: Curiosity can be the start of an evil in the mind, (Referring to Light testing the deathnote) but a moral will cause one to take action on it. (referring to Light choosing to use the deathnote. Another thing is with the "plot convenient" memory wipe, this was meant to show Light questioning his actions, as when he is searching for Higuchi without the power of the deathnote, he states that although in some ways he agrees with Kira, he himself would not have the will power to do it. This means the death note can corrupt, or any power in general can corrupt, as you stated in this comment.
DeleteYeah the review was total bullshit and I haven't heard a stupider opinion in my whole life. Saying that death note's message is "don't use a magical book for mass murder" is like saying code geass's message is "if you end up getting magic eyes, use them become the villain and pull a lelouch". Its stupid
DeleteThis is because he is a intelligent person and didn't get emotional
Delete
ReplyDelete~~~~~At the end of this trash blog post, you say "I hate Death Note, it is an evil show, you should hate it too", and yet, like the hypocritical person you are, in a reply to one of the comments, you clearly say, and I quote,
"Am I not entitled to have a negative opinion of an extremely popular show so long as I explain my rationale?", alright, you want to be entitled to your trash opinion, and yet you want to force your opinion onto others.
I've only seen a few kinds of people doing this, and they all turned out to be A) Trolls, B) Idiots, C) Both A&B.
Done.
Great job! Never have I laughed so hard in my life! This has to be a joke. Death Note is amazing!
ReplyDelete-A FEMALE Death Note fan
Complete trash of a critique. I should note that I've yet to see Death Note and all I know about it are the synopsis and a few scattered scenes here and there, so bias is hardly involved in my assessment. I can tell a badly reasoned opinion when I see one. How? The lack of genuine caveats is a telltale sign that a sophist is trying to goad you into fit with their overtly provocative language. When someone is so full of themselves that they even jokingly put a "you should too" in their title, as if their opinion is somehow a mathematical axiom, you should on principle disregard everything that they might have to say if you even have a shred of respect for yourself.
ReplyDeleteHalf of this "review" is highly subjective bullshit that can be condensed to "I didn't like how it looked and sounded, and my tastes should supersede yours." The other half is a half-assed attempt at critiquing the themes and supposed "message" of the story, an attempt that fails so spectacularly not so much because it doesn't have anything meaningful to say, on the contrary, the points raised here are well worth discussing and some of the conclusions may even be valid, however the lack of self-awareness (to go back to the caveat bit) is where this so-called analysis falls flat. I would go into detail, but someone already beat me to it in the posts above.
All in all, it is quite frankly, as the author puts it, a "rant" and nothing more. If the author seriously considers this even an acceptable critique, then they should just as seriously reconsider their opinion of their own intellectual worth. Because from what has been demonstrated here, it is not much.
Hell yeah, it is.
DeleteYou don't demonstrate much "intelectual worth" as well.
DeleteYour coment is just rant of this review, and it basically says - I can't stand this.
You focus on the weakest points of this review, the music and art (which are spot on too, but not the main reason to dislike anime, indeed), and completely ignore all other points, because deep down you know thé are truth, and it makes you angry. So angry so you came down to write this pile of garbage, you call a reply.
You are comitting an abuse of emotional language. The demonstration of the author is very well made, with clear arguments and nice examples. You also have no knowledge about the ocabulary you use.
DeleteThe article is trash, but the show is trash too man 🥲🥲🥲
DeleteI love reading all the comments from people who got instantly butthurt by this review. Death Note is trash and belongs in a waste bin with the rest of the garbage.
ReplyDeleteIf by "Garbage", you mean "Amazing Series's", then yea, Death Note belongs there~
DeleteDeath Note is FAR from Trash. Those who consider it trash are the embodiment of trash~
It's a great series but Light without a doubt is one of the worst written characters in anime. He begins his story as a narcissist with a superiority complex and upon discovering the death note, becomes a psychopath with a god-complex. There is little to no character development for Light throughout all the arcs in the anime aside from his initial guilt when he first uses the dn.
DeleteWell isn't somebody upset about people with different opinions
Deleteum.... about the point that where u say light is not a good character, well i have to argue.
Deleteyou see the whole point of making light the character he is is... well the reason why this story exists. he is not badly written he is just not on the good side from the beginning like since when he got the death note. if you realized in the first episode light used the death note just to give the world a warning. he was well aware of the risks. he knew he had a supposed time bomb with him which he can control and he thought that he would be killed if the real owner gets to know about it. so..... yes, he was actually a good guy well aware of all the risks. if u remeber he asked ryuk if he had come to take lights soul. go figure. just means light knew it was a deadly risk.
But that was just to say that he was good and that he didn't become a good guy all of a sudden when he got amnesia. also this trait explains the complexity and realism in his character. no matter ho smart of a kid he was, he still had flaws and was confused until, just to get out of the confusion he made killing people his ultimate goal. throughout the serious, i realized one thing, light was decieving himself thinking something which is not true. this also shows that, light even after being a suoer smart ass, like any person, has his own flaws. he is not perfect. nobody is. even when ryuk tells him that if light killed alll the bad people he would be the only bad person left. light immediately changes the topic to something else even if he understood what ryuk said. tis shows his narcissist side(as if lelouch wasnt a narcissist). hell light is an evil character because he was meant to be. he was a perfect example of how people turn out if given power. this is true with most people. take caesar for an example. he was given power to take care of the country but then, he never gave up his power. light is not a vigilante like a lovable batman or a villain like joker, he is a bit of both. most may not like this. yes you can hate lights character or not like him, but he is not a bad character and is one the most complex, realistic and a person with flaws(good ones which make the story even more interesting for a fact).
Kyle, is that not development? His psychological state worsens dramatically exactly as you described as his self-justification and plan take him from detachment and arrogance to outright psychopathy. The fact that he changes so slowly and subtly is what makes it brilliant, and by the end of the show he is a radically different person than he started it as.
DeleteThis review sucks ass and you seriously didn't understand anything from the anime. Congrats on wasting your time over analyzing shit that didn't need to be analyzed instead of listening to the FICTIONAL story of life and death. You're entitled to your opinion, but your takes on the show literally make zero sense if you actually watched the anime.
DeleteMe when im delusional:
DeleteI'm glad that I'm not the only person who thinks death note is a terrible anime. There are so many people out there basically idolize the series. It's really stupid.
ReplyDeleteExcelent review!! Thank you so much! You are really so brave for write this despite all the stupid Death Note fanatics boys!!
ReplyDeleteDeah Note sucks but above all Light "take a potato chip and eat it"
Fanatic boys?
DeleteI'm sorry, didn't realize me, my mom and my best friends aren't allowed to like Death Note.
Bold of you to put 'boys' after fully agreeing/ having no comment about that misogyny line? It’s a generalisation, I can tell you as a female I love this show! Don’t agree with a point and then go against it in your comment ;)
DeleteAll your points and arguments are so wrong it makes me laugh !
ReplyDeleteHonestly it's just a story and fiction should never be taken so seriously. With that being said, Death Note wasn't the best show ever but it alsp isn't the worst. It had a good concept overall. There were definitely some things the creator could have done differently to make it even "better" however. Anyway, I think that's something everyone should keep in mind when watching/reading anything that's not real, that it isn't reality, so there's no reason to get so caught up with it. (Death Note fan here, who is also female, if it matters.)
ReplyDeleteThis review is weak with it's flimsy "points".
ReplyDeleteI don't like Death Note because it feels like it's made for little kids despite the dark content--which obviously makes it not so. It's just too flimsy and fantastical in terms of how events occur. Death Note = L / Light has a plan and L / Light has an escape that isn't feasible or full of holes. It's like the writer wants you to think "L / Light is super smart" but all I feel is, this is stupid.
The points you listed suck. Totally. Seems like you like DN and are reaching too far.
I think REM is lesbian
DeleteDeath Note sucks. But not for the reason you list. Your reasons are shallow and weak.
ReplyDeleteMisogyny? Because there is a simpleton girl used for comic relief? I guess DN is racist because I don't see any African-Japanese or Hispanic Japanese people represented.
DN is also hateful against the LGBT community too because there are none represented.
Case closed. Haters can just go away.
Just because a show doesnt show anyone from a different community doesnt mean its racist or homophobic. There are plenty of teen dramas I'm sure that you watch that have nobody in these communities. Although I do agree they could have done a better job of including said communities, you must keep in mind the story was made 20 or so years ago.
DeletePoint five and point one contradict each other
ReplyDelete9) You're seeing symbolism where it doesn't exist when it comes to the apples. As for the heavenly light: that's Light as he sees himself. I do admit that the manga ending is much better at shutting down any notion that his self-image is legitimate, as others have noted.
ReplyDelete8) Again, it's from Light's perspective. But yes, the 2nd intro track is indeed horrible.
7) This was my biggest gripe with the show, actually - there are a number of instances where these rules could have been used to spice things up more, but they weren't.
6) Pacing issues usually don't bother me unless they're as awful as DBZ's, so no comment.
5) I saw the message as more along the lines of "nobody has the right to decide who should live and who should die." Light's father says it up-front at one point. Your own point about "Yagamists" (whom I assure you existed well before DN was a thing) proves that it needed to be said.
4) I can't agree with this one, though it's likely partly because I haven't seen enough shows to have a good feel for what constitutes a cliché.
3) I didn't notice this, but good point.
2) See above, though I did despise Misa as a character anyway.
1) As others have stated, the manga did a much better job of avoiding this. As I said before, "Yagamists" predate DN - I know someone who had similar views on crime before even knowing about this franchise. What you see here is likely the product of pandering to a fanbase so twisted that they even cheered for Light in the manga.
Since a long time i actually read a really bad review again
ReplyDeleteI'll always like Death Note. I have the right to like it. You don't like Death Note. You have that right. However, you don't have the right to tell me that I should hate it too. The only part of Death Note I didn't like was Near being in the anime and how females aren't exactly great role models here. Everything else I enjoyed. This review sadly felt more like a rant.
ReplyDeleteI'm actually quite impressed by this review. I scrolled through a lot of comments on the way down to the comment bar, and I have to say, I'm not surprised. People are not going to let clear reasoning get through their "passion" for something.
ReplyDeleteAltogether, this was a well thought out review- even though I disagree with few points.
Looking forward to reading more...
I didn't particularly like this review, partly because I rather enjoyed Death Note, and moreso because in you last paragraphs, you mention that Bentham and Nietzsche would not condone the way Light acted. This is an incorrect assumption. You were right that Kant would oppose the use of such a power to "cleanse the world of evil", because IN KANTIANISM, every person is not just a means, but an end in their own right. However, Bentham was the mind behind Utilitarianism, a cold, mathematical form of morality. In Utilitarianism, what is right is what yields the most positive results for the most people, and if you paid attention in the show, one of the officer directly said that crimes rates went down after Kira started killing people, because, as Bentham said, punishment must be "swift, severe, and certain". Imagine if you were able to accuse someone of a crime publicly, and moments later they would die WITH CERTAINTY, no matter where they are. This knowledge of that those sort of transgressions could result in your death just because of how public records work would make just about anyone second guess themself on committing a crime, thus causing crime to drop, meaning that his killing did save more lives than harm them. As for Nietzsche, well, aside from how he would take offense from being to close in the text to Hitler, he would have been more than okay with Light's actions, because Light was transcending our deontological morality and embracing his own teleological morality, while pursuing power because he wills it. You can argue that Light was evil, genocidal, but you'd be mistaken (firstly, because genocide is targeted extermination of a specific kind of people because of their ethnic, racial, religious, or national origin. You can argue for sexual orientation, sex, or other "protected status", however, "criminal" is not one of those statuses, and virtually every person he killed was a criminal, and at no point can you draw the conclusion that he killed anyone for their racial, religious, ethnic, or national identity). Now, do I agree with Light's approach to having the power to end lives? Not particularly, but, if you had such power and you used it to kill off killers and rapists rather than schoolteachers or bank tellers, I might be a bit more forgiving. But, hey, I'm a Utilitarian, what matters is the results, and as the show showed, Light's use of the Death Note did effect a measurable decrease in crime.
ReplyDeleteAlso, on that remark about misogyny, don't forget: the second person Light used his Note to kill was a rapist.
PS: I do like the term "Yagamist" or even "Light Yagamist", as terms, to describe a character archetype, of a person whose black and white morality comes full circle and they end up as exactly the same kind of person they set out to destroy. Yagami was not a good character, but his intentions were goodly, albeit narcissistic, and yes, the God Complex annoyed me too.
Although I disagreed with you, I mean no insult and hope none was taken, and hope that through open minded conversation, we can, collectively, learn to appreciate the show from another perspective, thank you for sharing yours.
You're such a friggin' goody-goody! Like it or not, Light ahs to be ruthless. By calling him a black-and-white thinker, you're a big fat hypocrite.
DeleteIf you ask me, I see Light in shades of gray because even though what he did is harsh, it's necessary. After all, anyone who's against vigilantism is a goody-two-shoes who thinks black and white.
Those who call Light just as bad as the people who he set out to destroy are self-righteous do-gooders. Whether anyone wants it or not, capital and corporal punishment are necessary.
I love how you blame for people for being self-righteous, seemingly unable to see the irony of your own comment being self-righteous.
DeleteYes sometimes said punishments are necessary, you shouldn't call someone a "goody-goody" in an insulting way for having a defined sense of justice. Just because some criminals recieve death because they are not able to be a healthy citizen doesn't mean they should all die. As has been mentioned many times in the story, there are innocents and those that recovered from their crimes that were killed which is why this punishment is overkill (pun intended).
DeleteWhile a few points might be correct, I disagree with most of these points, especially the music, it's subtle story and easy going tone with the godly symbolic tune make it perfect.
ReplyDeleteAnd this show was never focused on ethics much, good guy doesn't win in real world, but the truth is neither side wins
To hell with that way of deluded thinking you have. What if there are real bad and good guys out there? You think that chaos should run amok? What a know-it-all you are.
DeleteIf you think that crime pays, you're sadly mistaken. So keep this in mind: If you're a real villain, you'll have your ass handed to you by good guys.
Chaos should not run amok.
DeleteWhile a few points might be correct, I disagree with most of these points, especially the music, it's subtle story and easy going tone with the godly symbolic tune make it perfect.
ReplyDeleteAnd this show was never focused on ethics much, good guy doesn't win in real world, but the truth is neither side wins
The ethics part sucks balls. I have an impression that you are a shallow person. However, I am not that sure why I'm telling you this, because you won't see it anyway, because you are shallow. I don't know. I probably just wanted to get it off my chest. ... Well, maybe in your next life. Or something.
ReplyDeleteYou are falling right into what the philosopher Nietzsche calls herd morality, a perspective where you only survive by negating other people, through ressentiment. DT feeds from this, and has exploited you to make a cashcow out of your hopes and dreams.
DeleteExactly what I thought about this guy
DeletePeople have been charmed by Light's mask in both the anime and in real life.... they are like Misa clones, drooling over Light simply because he behaves like a charmer
ReplyDeleteSo many fanfics ignore Light's sexist attitude (no points for guessing WHICH kind) or even make L out to be sexist or perverted (sound familiar?) When he said he could fall for Misa and has shown he respected Naomi
This is why I prefer the funnily enough hated tv drama and the L change the worLd film
The tv drama shows Light as a normal kid who's first kill is to protect his friend from a sick bully and was done out of teen anger not actual malice since he did not know it was real then and even tries to commit suicide out of guilt once he learns it is real
The second kill was to save his father and he is visibly torn in the scene
(I don't think my previous comment made it...)
ReplyDeleteBut I said that a lot of these people are like real life Misas, having been charmed by Light's mask and forgetting that he is a sociopath and narssasist
Some fanfic writers make L out to be sexist or perverted (sound like someone we know? ) to make Light look good and ignore the fact that L said he could fall for Misa and has shown he respected Naomi (perhaps even having a crush on her)
Now I will defend death note a little by saying it was Light's sexist attitude that led to his downfall... he looked at Misa and Takida as useless and annoying ... but they where loyal and did what he said without question well Mikami the favorite, disobeyed orders and led to the mess in the warehouse
If Light had seen the boons he had in them...and took Misa or let Takida live and took her... he could have won because they would have listened and it was ultimately 3 males who he thought would never hurt him or he underestimated that made him lose (Mikami, Ryuk and Matsuda) so it was his favouritism over one gender that made him get screwed
I agree with the fact that some people make L out to be a perv, but the authors have stated that anything that has to do with L stating his feeling towards Misa and Light was a lie. This is not including when L said that Misa was a friend, because that was true. I also think that you are slightly similar to those saying that L is a pervert because you said he might have a crush on Misora, when the authors have also stated that this was unlikely due to the fact that he wasnt even capable of having children. (this reffers to the fact that Near and Mello were planned to be L's twins sons, but decided against it saying L had never felt those kinds of feelings towards someone)
DeleteJust so we are clear the abrhamic God flooded the planet to kill evil people drowning babies by the million during days of rain.. and he is thaugt as the moral absolute to billions. So you might want to rethink your final point here.
ReplyDeleteMost people worship a mass murderer in real life.
this is the best point out of all the comments
DeleteBut that character is portrayed as God, not a petty human.
DeleteDeath Note doesn't say that killing people are bad. It shows the relationship between good and evil. It shows that in such a battle, even though good will win, one cannot exist without the other.
ReplyDeleteThe greatest thing is that u can choose which side you wanna be on, Light or L.
And lastly. Most of us otakus don't watch anime to see and criticize the symbolism, philosophy and stuff. We watch it cuz we have fun with the amazing story of death and water of wits.
The relationship between good and evil is simple: do only good deeds. Also, no one should ever side with a show that spurns excellence and love.
DeleteAnd there's no point in doing something if it's to degrade your intelligence. Art is for art's sake, because it enhances the reader this way.
The best point was probably the misogyny; Death Note needed to at least develop the female characters better. I just skimmed this post, but I recall you saying that the show is black and white, yet your 1st point claims that Light is made out to be good? Isn't that where the complexity is?
ReplyDeleteTo each his own, of course, but the show to me was brilliant and really made me rethink grey areas. Light was a very "the ends justify the means" kind of person, but so was L. Though my favorite character, L was far from innocent, torturing for information, clearly supporting the death penalty (Lind L Taylor + attempting to test the Note later on), and he, a 24 year old man, handcuffed himself to a 17 year old, a teenager. That's slightly creepy even if it was for investigative purposes. Light was not purely evil either.
He simply was speeding up the death penalty process by killing criminals. When he began to kill anyone who opposed him, the anime was basically saying, 'are you sure he's the good guy?' and you can make a compelling argument on either side. Supporting a mass murderer is the wrong way to go, but what makes him any different from the government officials advocated the death penalty? In fact he seems better b/c he does not discriminate between poor/rich influential/nobodies, a criminal is a criminal to Kira.
I loved the music! Second opening was truly frightening but great in its own way. L's theme is great for doing homework btw, suspenseful, peaceful yet not and in some way intellectually stimulating just like the anime.
I like how professionally you made this post, but don't tell people not to watch the show. This anime is such a refreshing break from the simplistic shows I'm used to people enjoying. A shame that its premise was created since before people actually started to see the misogyny where it is, the authors of the manga may have decided to tweak that aspect a bit(yet, we still have shows that are even worse, at least they never made Misa seem "normal" or idealistic for all teenage girls, and poor Takada, Light is a good actor). And another thing I agreed was the animation, but for different reasons. I thought Death Note was beautiful in its Aesthetic so I wish they took a little more time to make the show more smooth(idk the right word at this point I'm just embarrassed that I took so much time out of my life to write this and yet I'm still going). I feel kinda bad, this is 2017 I really shouldn't be doing this, but well if Light can murder people at 17 for being bored, I can indulge in a little shameless fangirling! PLEASE NEW VIEWERS WATCH THE SHOW!!!!
And question to ask yourself, do you support killing people for their crimes or do you believe in redemption?
Killing people for their crimes is a crime in itself.
DeleteHi there, this evaluation was completely biased against Death Note. I'm not sure if we even watched the same anime to be honest. I wholeheartedly disagree with a almost all of your points, especially the music, it's a fantastic part of the show! Also, Light may have been the villain, but he was also the protagonist ... I don't know if that makes a difference, thought I should point it out. Also, I think you really dropped the ball on the "Hitler" comparison because I was going by the number 6 million (as far as people that died in the holocaust) and you went by 11 million which is worse because if Light had written one name in his note book for every minute of every hour of every day of every year for 20 years then he would have killed 11 million people (aka as many people as Hitler). Honestly, I can see why a ton of people disagree with you.
ReplyDeleteI think the person actually missed a lot from the show. The show's message was: even though killing the people who commit the sins may seem right, it is wrong. Also, Light didn't go to heaven nor hell, as symbolized by him dying in the middle of a stair case. Light was also supposed to be sexist, which was partially why he used women as tools. That is shown throughout the anime. First, he uses his date with Yuri as a chance to get information on Raye Penber, and then there is Naomi Misora, and so on. However, your points were still interesting as I actually loved the music of Death Note, even if it plagiarised off of something else (though the things that you said it were plagiarised off of aren't the most internationally popular stuff). I also thought Light was a very interesting character that also helped make Death Note an interesting story for me. The symbolism in Death Note isn't obvious to everyone. I had to rewatch Death Note a couple of times to discover some of them. Also, the red and blue thing between Light and L was apparently used in order to show that Light was evil and that L is the opposite.
ReplyDeleteWell actually the entire point is that there is no black and white. Nears speech, Matsudas arc, even interviews with the author confirm this. The entire point is that there isn't a right or wrong, and that good and evil aren't objective.
DeleteLet me just correct you on this last point (also, yes, i know this comment was posted 2 yrs ago). The red and blue hair were stylized hairstyles for when a character was in deep thought. the thing is none of the two characters (L or Light) are good or evil. Light murdered criminals to make the world a better place and L would do whatever it takes to solve a case (such as torturing Misa). L's hair was blue a symbol of intelligence, and Light's hair i dont know the symbolism behind but there is probably some.
DeleteActually, the music wasn't plagiarized, it was others who copied off of deathnote. Also, the coloring was used for personalities, Misa is light blue, Matsuda is orange, and Namikawa is purple
DeleteI agree with this review completely. My cousin loves this show so I watched it for her, basically, but I almost gave up several times.
ReplyDeleteI actually found this review searching "Death Note misogyny" because I found it so in my face offensive. It first came up with that asshole Ray Penber and his horrible treatment of Naomi. She is smart and capable but she is made to quit her job (which she clearly missed doing) to pop out babies and do his housework. Honestly, I'm against the death penalty but this show made me not sorry when Ray Penber died, and I don't like feeling that way. Ugh.
But yes to the rest too, and I really don't know what I'm going to say if/ when it comes up with my cousin because I just don't get it. I really didn't like this show and wish I'd read this review before ever starting it to save myself the time.
completely agree with you! my friend tried to fight me on this saying that it was naomi's choice to quit the job blah blah blah makink excuses and trying to justify blatant sexism! and my friend's a girl! was so annoying but yeah i completely agree with you and with thus review!
Deletethe authors of deathnote say that is was actually 67% Misora's decision to quit
DeleteLOL, you have got to be kidding me, you can't claim that the Death Note's message was "Don't kill people" and at the same time say that it celebrates mass murder. You're drunk, man, go home.
ReplyDeleteLol. I haven't finished the anime at all, like i just ended the ep in where he meets misa. But I mean, my first impressions are...meh. There's a lot of more engaging animes out there. Besides, I don't like Light. The one character I liked was Naomi (the fianceé of the FBI dude), i was hoping she could investigate Light, maybe on her own, maybe besides L, but they just killed her. I've been avoiding the anime for years, but I thought I should give it a chance on 2017. But, meh. I wouldn't put it in a recommendations list, but it's okay to watch if you're bored and wanna waste time. Besides, I don't like how good and bad are separate, when they can be together? idk.
ReplyDeleteDidn't you ever think they used the 'heavenly light' because he idolised himself as a god, and he was so peaceful during his death because he was both happy with what he'd done, and because his face muscle were no longer responding?
ReplyDeleteOr you could just continue telling everybody to hate a programme because you personally don't like it I guess...
Okay, first of all, I think this review has serious flaws. I'm a blogger myself, and I'm working with anime for a good three years now, and I will say nothing against your personal oppinion. I mean, we are different, and that's great, isn't it? You can hate the music that I like, think the animation has problems, also, you can hate the pacing, which I think is almost perfect (almost. It has problems obviously, but it's not that terrible.) But I will only talk about, why you don't watch this anime properly.
ReplyDeleteDeath Note do not gives it's message easily. I mean, it twists it, turns it, and somehow, it's awfully hard, to get it. I will give my personal example: This was like... my second anime, but the first one didn't give a strong impression, so I take this as my "real" first. And after three years, I'm still thinking on it, I'm still working with the symbolism, and I'm still not done! Because it is horribly complicated. So I won't explain the whole symbolism as far as I got, I will focus on some of the scenes you pointed out, and the big message.
I will post it in several parts, because it's long.
Second part: First of all, Death Note doesn’t says killing is right. The story has many cultural references, mostly biblical and europian, so I will take Faust as the first. In this, we have a man, who is fed up with society, and is tempted by a demonic being (here: Ryuk), who by the way, has great humor, and always follows the guy around, but technically, just playing. In Faust, the main character has a big character developement, and in the end, realises, that making changes in his personal life, and working for the good of others is the only way, he can ever be content, and his soul is saved from Mephisto (the demonic being). Light's story has a twist. Light is the Faust, who cannot develope. His soul is never saved, the ending clearly shows, how far he has fallen. Yes, in the end, he dies in the light, but did you watch the whole episode? He sees L in that light, the person, who wanted to save him so much, he gave up he's life for it. That scene is more about the realisation, that it's too late, that there's a line, you can't cross without consequences.
ReplyDeleteOkay, after Faust, take the bible. Light has three archetypes in him, and none of them is really positive: First, Adam. Really, first opening, the apple motive. He can't stand against temptation. Next, Judas. I will talk about it, but there is the scene, where L literally washes his feet, exactly before his death, after the scene he accepted his death. He also betrays L, and causes his death. And he is also a satanic figure. Not godlike, not idolized. A godlike character would never speak of how godly he is. The scene in the opening is a parody. Also the name, "Light"... "Lucifer" means bringing Light. This reference absolutely shows Light as an anti-hero, or more like, a bad guy.
Third part: Also, there is L, who is a very weird Christ archetype. He does bad things? He does. But has a moral code, and stays true to it? To the end. I've read several novels, and watched several movies, and L is constantly shown as the character, who basically cannot be tempted, and who believes in love. (In the novel "BB Murders" he says, that the biggest power justice can give is "kindness", it is also stated in several novels, that his weirdness comes from the fact that he "took up the pains and bitterness of the world", he is an insomniac, and he only eats sweets, because he can't take all the evil he sees, and it slowly breaks him down.) He is calm, he raises his voice only once in the whole anime. He has visions, basically foresees his own death, but forgives Light for it. (And it is also stated in several novels, that he really saw him as a close, best friend.) He also has followers... if you watch the policemen's personality closely, you will find the archetypes there as well. Soichiro, who trust L, then his trust wavers, but in the end, he shows greater trust in him, than in his own son (he only calms down, and believes Light is not Kira, when he sees his lifespan). He is a typical Peter archetype. There is Aizawa, who always doubts. He has a good heart, but he never trust L completely: absolutely Thomas. It is also shown, when he fails one of L's trials, and in his anger, leaves the group, he breaks down, he cries, and can't even say, why. There is Matsuda, the youngest, naive, and the survivor, who is shown in the manga one year later remembering. He is totally John. And of course, there's the traitor, Light, whom I already mentioned as Judas. So, there are the apostle archetypes as well, which means L is really, basically a Christ archetype. And as one, he carries a message of forgiveness, love, acceptance. And the fact, that as a person he is weird, he is hard to understand, he is abnormal, he shows that you have to look behind the surface. It may turn out, that the scary, autistic insomniac is the good guy, and the sympathetic pretty boy is the bad guy. And of course he dies, which seems to be a big blow to the message but remember: Jesus died to. It doesn't means, that the message he gave wasn't important. It was all the more important, because he was willing to give his life for it. And to go further: the message about love's, forgiveness' and acceptance's importance is not only showed by L, but by all his follower's (the policemen) and also by Rem (who is, in some way, Pontius Pilatus, in which case, Misa can be seen as Barabbas. She bears no grudge against L, she doesn't hate him... but she is cornered, and makes the decision of killing him). So yes, Death Note does carry this message, but it stays realistic.
ReplyDeleteFourth part: And that's why we need Near and Mello, who came to take revenge. They both has a little of L in them (Near the intellect, Mello the bravery, and the will for self sacrifice), but they have a much weaker moral code... they can get down to Light's level, and defeat him there. It is also hinted in the manga (by Matsuda, when he remembers their journey), that Near used the Death Note. They are not there, to represent the ideals L already showed: they are really avengers. They are basically the Deus Ex Machina: their only role is to take down Light, who couldn't change to the right way. It is also shown, that Mello died in the process (fulfilled his role), and it is also stated, that Near died two or three years later, even though, he was just a child! So it is also shown that once their task ended, they simply disappear... they aren't needed anymore.
ReplyDeleteYou also mentioned the color symbolism, and you totally overlooked it. First of all, blue and red not only opposites. Red is the color of life and death, of blood, of violence. It represents many opposites, just as Light has many opposites in his personality. It represents power, showing his obsession with power. Blue, on the other hand is the color of intellect, of getting closed away from the world (L's anonimity and autism). It is the color of truth, and in christianity, the angels, the saints, and Jesus. Also, in the manga, both L and Light has another color representing them: for Light, it's black (death, destruction) and for L it's gold (transcendens, "higher connections"). There are also the side characters, regarding the color symbolism: Soichiro and Aizawa with green (in buddhist symbolism, it's the color of the heart chakra... basically, the color of pure, not attached love, which shows their care and compassion, their connections with their family), Matsuda and Mello with yellow (the color of envy, they are both many times envious, and also, the color of friendship... Matsuda has strong ties with the police team, and Mello had Matt as a great, never leaving friend), and so on. The color symbolism is really deep in this story.
Fifth part: And I could continue on with many scenes, and many references, but I'm happy, if you've read this. As a conlusion, let me say this:
ReplyDeleteDeath Note has a very complicated message, putted together from several parts. It certainly is about: Don't be tempted. Don't let power ruin you, and don't do things like killing people, because you wil have to pay the price in time, and you will be a cursed man. This is quite the surface, but on the next level: Find what is worth fighting for, and worth dying for. Have the strength and bravery to stand up for what you believe in. Learn to forgive your enemies, and never act from hatred or greed. It will always be the harder way, and sometimes you can't win, because the world is not a super happy place, and not a fairy tale, but it doesn't mean, you can trail off this path. And don't judge on first sight! It may turn out, that people are the exact opposites of what you see them. Was it enough message and symbolism for you now? Thanks for reading it.
Valentine Wiggin
I... I am so sorry for this person.
ReplyDeleteThey didn't get it at all.
I don't agree with some of your points although I can see your arguments, especially about the female characters. However, I don't think you should tell people what they should and shouldn't like. This is your opinion and others might have different ones; it's all a matter of taste. You can't push your opinion on others just because you think is right, we can agree to disagree like rational human beings.
ReplyDeleteThis entire thread is based on an opinion. If Light is a mass murderer, then wouldn't Harry Truman be one, too? He purposely dropped bombs in Japan and killed thousands instanty. The Japanese bombed the US, therefore, the US hit back; the criminals killed innocent people, therefore, Light eradicated them. Sounds like justice to me. If someone were to kill a million people and you had the power to prevent that from happening, would you? Or would you sit back and watch and hope that you weren't one of the unlucky. Second, who cares why Ryuk eats apples. I eat apples because I like them. L eats cake because he likes it. There, end of story. Third, Light has brown hair. They make it red to add a dramatic and suspenseful element so that you don't ditch the series after an episode or two. When I see something interesting happening, I'll give it a little more time. Fourth, Light should be considered moral. How many people upon retrieving a book like a Death Note would take it upon himself to make the world a better place, one without criminals? I know tons of people that would take out their enemies first even if they are good people that wouldn't hurt a fly. Thousands of people, especially teenagers--which this show targets--, would attack their teachers and parents and anyone who has ever wronged them. Light didn't do that until he got really desperate. And he spent all that time with L when he could have knocked him out immediately. But he didn't yet. He didn't even kill his own father who was the head of the police department, the people trying to kill him. This show isn't an English essay, it's an anime. This thread bashing Death Note is like watched Vampire Knight and saying, "This show is trash because vampires don't exist." Grow up. Just because you didn't enjoy it doesn't mean you can ruin it for others.
ReplyDeleteIt's just way too long. And there's no reason to double the length by killing L and bringing in L Jr and L-But-Bad-But-Good. Every plot point is "Aha you thought 3 moves ahead but I thought FIVE moves ahead and you'll certainly do all those 5 moves cuz reasons." The reviewer's moral objections are childish and dismissable (though I kinda have to yield to the misogynist accusation, perhaps toned down to just the author had no idea how to write interesting women so should have just given it a pass). There is an interesting show to be had here - maybe 4 or 5 hour long episodes without the time jump, the god-awful Misa Misa, the L Jrs, the repeated 3D chess plots, the special police force made up of Daddy and the 4 (or 5) Marlon Blandos, the ever-increasing number of Notebooks floating around (and fake notebooks thrown in), etc. I can see bulking it up for a manga but for an anime this was just way too much. Going on after L and the time skip felt like doing homework.
ReplyDeleteLOL, yesss. it's not just me who think that death note is worst
ReplyDeletehi , thanks for taking your time doing this ... I totally agree with you on everything especially the second reason I mean seriously the second when I meet characters as Misa Amane in the show made me want to throw my computer and scream. But for the music and the animation I think that it is your opinion cause I didn't find the second opening that awful it was just a metal , hard rock opening that I personally didn't like but there are a lot of people who did and would. And for the animation I didn't find it spectacular and magical but also thought it could depend on what people like. Sorry for my awesome English (I'm kidding my English is the definition of bad). that is all I wanted to say Bye.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you as far as regards some points. Especially the misogyny issue. I think that is a real issue. The female characters are objectively bad written and only serve the purpose of pushing the story forward, a fact that is mostly overlooked by fans. I don' t know why. Maybe because the story is engaging and the characters ( the main two) are interesting to watch... but the problem still remains. I think it is important even if you love a show to admit where it fails. I was a huge fan of death note and i considered it to be perfect but as soon as i start looking at it with a critic eye I realized there are A LOT of flaws, especially in the second arch of the story. But the misogyny stays the biggest problem.Thank you for your review.I don' t hate death note, but you made some fair points.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the review on the majority of the points. Death Note tries really hard to convince the viewer that its a battle of wits between two geniuses - the classical confrontation of good and evil. Instead its more like a game of hide and seek in which two blind and deaf guys try to find each other. Most characters are very one-dimensional letting one single thing define their entire personality (god-complex, wants to be smarter than guy with god-complex, overly attached and weirdly obsessed girlfriend, ...). As the author of the review already pointed out, there is no conflict, no doubt, no hesitation in the main characters. This lets them appear more like robots than human beings and ultimately makes them uninteresting and bland.
ReplyDeleteThe heavy symbolism in the show really makes it borderline unbearable. The authors could only be more obvious if a narrator pointed it out explicitly. There is just no subtlety and most of it doesn't even make any sense.
Another thing that put me off greatly is the weird obsession the show has with Light. It constantly tries to convince the viewer that hes a good guy, which he clearly isn't. Even before he found the DN, there was something really unsettling about him. He came across as a cold emotionless person. So it was not a real surprise to me to "discover" him to be a full-blown psychopath with a god-complex.
A Hitler comparison is almost always a really inapropriate and uncorrect statement. However, in this case it actually kinda makes sense. While the number of victims might not add up, the mind-set certainly does. The argument "Light primarily kills bad guys" is just wrong. He kills everyone he views to be evil or is trying to stop him - regardless if they actually fit in one of these categories. One has to keep in mind, that people convicted of a crime are not always the ones who commited it. Even confessions are not a clear indicator of someone being evil because the might have been forced. So basically it comes down to "I think this one is an evil person, therefore he is and I can morally justify the murder". The problem is that this is the same mindset Hitler had. He didnt order the genocide of the jewish people because he was evil. He did it, because he thought (or at least propagated) that they were the source of all evil in the world. This moronic world-view is of course completely ridiculous, but it just shows how far someone can get lost in their own delusions. Going back to Light. Yeah, he started killing off known murderers, but where would he stop? Is it ok to kill off someone who robbed someone on the street? What if nobody was severly hurt and the robber had a good reason (e.g. couldn't find a job and a close relative is ill and needs medical treatment)? What about a kid stealing a candybar? Where would it end?
One point I don't fully agree with is the last point in the review. I too find it deeply problematic to celebrate/glorify mass-murder. However, I can understand the appeal of the "justified" murders which are depicted as "rightful punishment" in the show. Its a sad fact, that laws (regardless of country) in our world are not always very just. Comon examples for this are the lenient punishment of white collar crimes like tax fraud and million dollar scams or the fact that known murderers, child molesters and rapists are set free because someone in law-enforcement fucked up. I can totally understand the urge to make sure they get what they deserve - by any means possible. As much of a good deed it might seem to give into this temptation and kill these people - it really isn't. A lot of people (including myself) would not condemn someone who kills a murderer who slipped through the cracks of our judicial system, but that doesn't make it right to do so. Understand, if you do something like that, you are not a hero or a good person. You did something wrong to correct something that was also wrong. You are now on the same side as the person you just killed and somebody else (maybe a close relative of the person you killed) could claim it is "righful" and "justified" to take you down. So much for the moral lecturing (sorry for that).
ReplyDeleteAppart from all this, I believe there are some cases where it makes sense to commit such a heinous act of violence like a murder. There are some people in the world who commit terrible crimes and unspeakable atrocities every single day they are alive (primarily dictators, slavers, religious fanatics of high power). So if I had a death note, I would use it to kill those people. Would it be the right thing to do? NO it would not. However, I would gladly sully myself to get rid of these otherwise untouchable, terrible people. Would it make the world a better place? I honestly don't know. You have to realize that the death of one of these powerful people always results in a power vacuum which usually leads to struggle, armed conflict and at least the temporary increase of suffering among the common population. So why do it then? Because there is a slim chance that things would improve eventually. If the situation is as horrifying as it is today in some countries of the world, I think its worth to roll the dice and hope for a better outcome. Just mind that it's not my decision to make. By doing something like that i would force millions of people in unwanted conflict. So this would neither be a right, good or moral decision. Its the self-rightous believe to know what would be best for other people - the act of a dictator. And of course there is always the problem of when to stop. I could not guarantee that I would not become just another Hitler/Light, but I certainly hope someone would kill me in case it happens.
By now you should have realized that Im not a good person and that my sense of moral is quite troubling. So let me correct the statement the author made about noone should ever use the death note if it existed. I would say no person who considers themselves to be a good or moral human should ever use something like a Death Note. As soon as you use it, you irreversibly cross a line and become a tainted, evil human being. Whether this price is worth it everyone has to decide on their own.
@The Listomaniac: Thank you for your detailed and professional review. If more people could/would present their disgust for a certain topic as calm and professional as you did, the internet would be a better place
This is a good piece. I just finished reading the Death Note manga, and I think you've highlighted a lot of what makes this story less-than-engaging when it's not being repulsive.
ReplyDeleteI don't have the knowledge to judge wether the technical points you make are wrong or right. So I can't say wether I apprecriate those or not and will not mention them in this comment.
ReplyDeleteI agree alot with the point about sxism/mysogny I can find no wrong approach/execution in analyzing most of the ethical points.
There are however a few mistakes. First, you misuse the term 'psychopath' just for the nomer for a crazy person. That's a common myth. The crazy serial killers like Ted Bundy all arent psychopaths. You said Light is a would-be-psychopath because he's a loner and has few friends. Its true that most (if not all) serial killers were loners. However only a extremely small minority of loners ever become serial killer (or any other form of kiler) . However its also to note that highfunctioning psychopaths (means psychopaths with high intelligence) are usually social butterflies as it gets the nice things. I'd also question the social context. I know barely anything about Japan, but insane school work combined with stereotyped male behaviour (his father is a police man and very unvailable as well as conservativ so thats where he could have gotten it from) might make a lot of male japanese kids of Light's generation like Light, so Light wouldnt necessarily stand out. You said that seeing the notebook fall down and picking it up in the middle of the lesson shows his insanity. However Light didnt pick it up in the middle of the lesson, he only did so when they were all dismissed onto the school yard. Also, Light saw the notebook falling down out of thin air, with nothing above it from where it could have been dropped. Wouldnt you be curious? Especially in Light's position! And I' not talking about him being insane, I'm talking about his boredom that results from his towering intellect. Well, since I'm often seen as very 'weird' I feel kinda threatened by that paragraph which I would expect to come from Harry Potter's Dursleys. Only such a normal behaviour as picking up a book makes you use such a strong nomer such as insanity? Claiming that Light went out of the lesson to pick up the book is false. It's basically saying all people that differ from your expectation or are falsely claimed to differ fromt hat expectation, are clinically wrong which is what led us over shunning and insane asylums all the way to totaliarism and the nazis.
My comment was deleted or is waiting for approval? Sorry if this gets published automatically; as an anonymous I wont be able to delete it.
ReplyDeleteThe best review ever about Death Note.
ReplyDeleteI see yagamists s.c.u.m. are actually very active trolling en masse, but your points are spot on.
I don't agree only that every show really have to have message, but that also doesn't change the fact this shows indeed glorify mass murderer. Not having message and having evil message are two different things.
Dude you don't know what you are talking about, death note is the best anime ever and will continue to be the best you just didn't understand it, and what kind of story did you expect from an anime that followed the bad guy it's supposed to be cruel the creators of the deathnote tried to bring something new and people like you didn't understand it dude you just wasted my time just for reading and commenting about this DEATHNOTE RULES!!and by the way the theme is one the best.delete,delete
ReplyDeleteYou seem to miss out the point of the show. It symbolises the Kira element that every human has. You may not realise it, but a very small part of you would kick in when you see or hear something truly horrible, eg: Serial murders. The notebook is fuel to that element, turning you into Kira. That's the point of showing Light Yagami, a successful athlete, genius intellect and with a promising future as one of world's top detectives with a sense of justice. The Death Note warps him and turns him into a serial killer. It just shows the things a godly weapon can do to a person's mind. Also, you lose me when you say that it celebrates mass murder. If it truly did, Light would have won. The ray of light shining on his face as he dies doesn't make him a martyr to anyone, its just a symbol of Light seeing his own life up until then, and he dies believing all the while that he's right. You should've seen that every other main character detested his actions, calling him a crazy serial killer with a god complex. The only one who sort of supported his actions and wasn't on his side was Touta Matsuda, but even he was exposed to the monster Light truly is later on. We were never meant to see him as a god, we just watched the whole show from the perspective of a villain, who believed himself to be God, but that doesn't make him one. And about the misogyny, I would call it sexist at most, it does NOT hate women. If it does, it would've condemned their existence, condoned violence against them, but it never did. Sex offenders were detested by Light and the detectives alike. Women don't have any major role in the anime, and the smart ones were killed off quickly. But again, role of women and social justice is not what the show represents(they could've done better with women I agree). That is why even though viewers with a little bit of critical eye noticed the dominant male lead, they do not care about it much, its philosophy is completely different. Even the most feminist critics have appreciated the moral ground of the show, only raising the issue of under representation of women. Very few among them made an extreme issue out of it, and missed the point. You also seem to contradict yourself when you say that we SHOULD hate the anime, whilst saying that you're entitled to have a negative opinion. That said, what you say doesn't align with the fact that Death Note is treated as the best anime ever both in Japan and overseas. At first thought, I found Death Note extremely overrated, but I found the show to be well deserving of the hype in the end. I have and always will love this anime, it'll always be my top favourite, and Light Yagami and L will be my favourite anime characters. I hope that in the future, you will be able to see past the these elements and try to find the point an anime is trying to make, then you will truly enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteI started watching Death Note the other day and, after about 10 good episodes early on, it really started to hit me hard that this show is pretty shitty, ESPECIALLY when you realize just how much the writers hate Misa. Thanks for summing up a lot of my own thoughts on Death Note.
ReplyDeleteThis review could have been cut down, and some things went a little over the top. However, I will agree that DN sucks. Maybe it's just me, but I prefer things with interesting characters and with plots that feel like natural progressions rather than active decisions. Personally, DN feels flat and shallow. It's always seemed to me that it's the kind of story that exists solely to make audiences think it's smart. And yeah, being a neonate girl and seeing every single female character being toted as temporary sexual objects always did leave a bad taste in my mouth.
ReplyDeleteI agree with most of your points. Although Deathnote is one of my favorite shows, I'm always open to hearing other opinions. All I'll say in regards to what I disagree with is that Deathnote has many different themes and morals. And notice that it's not promoting mass murder either because, as you know, Light dies in the end. Of course, the show does kind of put him on a pedestal, but many popular characters on the show mention how wrong his actions are, and how wrong mass murder is. I also believe that many people like Light because of how unusual his character is. You don't see a heartless, manipulative psychopath as the main character very often.
ReplyDeleteI'm no surprised this writing had a lot of haters. Because there are a lot of FanBoys. These Death Note FanBoys are as terrible as Naruto FanBoys, so I'll give you the support you need, mate...
ReplyDeleteFirst things first, it's okay to hate DN. I used to be obsessed with it some time. Now that I've grown out of my obsession, there you go...
Number 10: The boring animation? I'm not an animation expert. It was made in 2007 so... nobody expects it to be perfect.
Number 9: I so very much agreed with this. This anime is interested in Christian stories but the Japanese writer is barely capable of understanding Christianity. I mean, I wouldn't write about another religion before I research. This is just beyond stupidity. If you look up the word "Orientalism", you'll get what I mean.
Number 8: Here I disagree with you. I like the music. I, for one, believe that music is much more worldwide than religion. The music used in this anime is both classical and rock. Classical music is the father of all the genres, including rock. It fits an anime about a boy with a god complex. Think about Dan Brown's villains. Their movie-adaptations are enjoyable with their own classical themes, you get me? I think classical music can lure 99% of the people. But rock... meh. There are so many rock haters out there. So classical music combined with a bit of rock might not be SOME people's cup of coffee, I don't know.
Number 7: I'm skipping this item because I have nothing more to add.
Number 6: I guess everyone's entitled to their own opinion at this point. I divide DN by 4 arcs. For me, the first part was perfect till Misa came. After that, till Higuchi's debut, everything was dull. Higuchi's arc was okay if you don't count Light's changed personality. And four, Near and Mello. I like them too, but they're way too fucking much Americanized. FBI is involved. This sounds like a Bruce Willis movie. Mr President surrenders to Kira. C'mon! The author of this story takes himself too seriously, doesn't he...
(part 1 ended)
(part 2 begins)
ReplyDeleteNumber 5: I think I have to stop here and say, "Hey! The author of this story doesn't take THIS story too seriously..." I mean, he explained that he views it as entertainment - it's no more than any Shonen Jump series. People shouldn't care about what's just and what's not, they should just read the manga and forget about it.
Number 4: Light might not be the best villain out there but he definitely is the best character in the show itself. How am I sure? Without Light, the show is boring. Think about L: Change the World. It was no DN story. When the fourth movie came out -with Light's brief return- it got more interesting. Think about DN the drama. The Light there is a dumbass idiot. It's hella boring. Think about -lastly- the Netflix remake. Light's personality is altered A LOT and I think that is the biggest reason why people think it sucks... Without Light Yagami, this show is nothing. If it was titled Light Yagami, it'd strike the audience as much as it already did. Believe it or not, the show has a huge success and that's thanks to Light Yagami...
Number 3: I have to agree with this. I remember, again, Tsugumi Ohba saying, "Ukita was killed when he raged at the incident at Sakura TV. It might've been Aizawa, they totally don't matter." I mean, c'mon!!! Aizawa is a brilliant character, he was a commonman yet he was able to conclude what Near councluded. And he did it not thanks to his wits, but thanks to his intuition... He represents the commonman brilliantly and he's A LOT different from Ukita, but hey! What do you respect from an author that disrespects his own story like, "You're supposed to laugh. Don't overthink about what's right and what's wrong."
Number 2: Like I said briefly, Misa is the worst thing that could happen to a series with mind games and plot twists. She is a dumbass idiot that is surrounded by geniuses and it's such an eyesore. I don't give a damn to her gender. Kiyomi was a better female than her, at least she doesn't scratch our ears with her terrible voice, but there are some women that could make perfect heroines. Light's first girlfriend Yuri was actually quite a normal girl, I wonder what happened to her later. Naomi is the fan favorite, and I have no comment on her relationshipt to Raye Penber, but she was smarter than Misa, so she'd have been alive. Wedy was one blonde drawn beautifully... and then there's Halle who outlived every. single. female. Why might Misa happen while there's Halle, I mean c'mon!!!
Number 1: Like said previously, Light doesn't die as a fallen angel in the manga. The manga did more justice to the villain. He was begging Ryuk not to write his name down. This was beautifully adapted to the movie series with Tatsuya Fujiwara, Ken'ichi Matsuyama, etc. The anime creators suck at a lot of things, but the worst thing is that Light dies at the same time as Misa. I mean, Light never loved her, used her, they had a toxic relationship and she has to be shown while Light was dying??? Let us alone woman!!! I don't wanna see your stupid gothic make-up while I was watching Light's death and the hallucination of L!!! I mean c'mon!!!
Last but not least, it was a very good read. I hope one day people will learn that it's totally okay to hate a show and present good reasons for disliking it. I mean it's just a stupid entertainment, why do people take it too seriously? Why do you bully this poor man while he was just hating on a stupid show? I mean c'mon!!! One is allowed to hate a fiction, right???
Sincerely yours,
White Cat
I don't particularly enjoy Death Note, but your complaints seem silly to me. It's a show about someone who can kill anyone, and you're upset it celebrates mass murder XD That's like going to see Snow Buddies and being mad since you're a cat person :P The old story of the snake biting someone and saying "you knew what I was when you picked me up" applies. While it's fine to not like something, the "and you should too" portion of your title makes the assumption that you think you're the authority on what entertainment other people should enjoy, and your subsequent issues read more like self-justification to your position as moral authority rather than what they are: reasons that you don't enjoy a particular tv show. Your opinion means nothing more than anyone else's in the world, but please don't word it in such a way that it sounds like you're attempting to force it on others. Just like religion, your opinion is your own, express it, but don't force it on others.
ReplyDeleteAlright, look.
ReplyDeleteThis is complete BS, I'm not sorry for degrading your opinion.
Don't hate on Near. He's interesting in his own way, and his childish are fascination and intriguing. While the show felt different after L died, it didn't change for the worse, exactly. They couldn't keep the Cat and Mouse game going for a whole twelve episodes without the show getting stale, so they needed Near and Mello to do the rest. Besides, the show wouldn't have had a truly satisfying ending if L was the one to solve the full case and defeat Light. Near needed Mello's sacrifice to finish the case once and for all, and he would never have done it without the groundwork laid down by L.
Also, the show in no way celebrates mass murder. Light is given a painful ending with heavenly light as he dies, reflecting on how he was six years ago as a pseudo-normal teenage boy. He has a bit or mixed regret as Ryuk voices his thoughts on the whole ordeal.
Honestly, the only thing I agree with here is the thing about the music. I love all the music except for the opening and ending songs for part 2. The first Intro and Outro were perfect for this show, the next ones were loud and abrasive and killed the calm, mysterious mood of the show.
I think you forgot about three prominent female characters who weren't awful.
ReplyDelete1. Naomi was my favorite character during her two spotlight episodes. She was strong and capable and could have managed to solve the Kira case much faster if that sadistic asshole Light didn't kill her. If only Raye Listened to her.
2. Rem, though I thought she was male for a decent chunk of the show, was the one who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect Misa. Even if Misa is annoying, Rem was willing to give everything for a human friend. That is admirable.
3. That badass bodyguard who was working with Near and sent Takada to Mello was part of reason that Near figured out the case. Near wouldn't have solved the case if she hadn't gone with Mello, and it was her capable decision to send Takada away... and to her death.
So no, the show wasn't completely Misongynistic, even if it was lacking in female characters a bit.
As I stated in an earlier comment... Near doesn't deserve this hate. The only sensible reason here is the one about the awful intro and outro of part 2. Nears theme and all the part 1 music was great, though!
I agree with this review completely. My cousin loves this show so I watched it for her, basically, but I almost gave up several times.
ReplyDeleteI actually found this review searching "Death Note misogyny" because I found it so in my face offensive. It first came up with that asshole Ray Penber and his horrible treatment of Naomi. She is smart and capable but she is made to quit her job (which she clearly missed doing) to pop out babies and do his housework. Honestly, I'm against the death penalty but this show made me not sorry when Ray Penber died, and I don't like feeling that way. Ugh.
But yes to the rest too, and I really don't know what I'm going to say if/ when it comes up with my cousin because I just don't get it. I really didn't like this show and wish I'd read this review before ever starting it to save myself the time.
PART OF FUN
The only thing I didn’t like about Death Note is how after someone in the anime/manga dies, they don’t go to heaven and hell, but rather MU(nothingness). The creator or creators were heavily influenced by Buddhism, that they wanted the characters to stay dead otherwise if someone rose from the dead it would be “cheating”. I mean, how is it possible to resurrect someone from the dead if their spirit and soul are in heaven or in hell. Btw, I’m a devout Christian and a thiest (a person who believes in the existence of God) and Jesus.
ReplyDeleteI know I am five years late but when I read this, I still felt like I had to comment on this. Let’s go through your points chronological.
ReplyDeleteFirst off the Animation: While I agree that the animation of Death Note isn’t the most eye-catching you still have to consider that this anime is from 2006. In addition to that Death Note is not hyped because of it’s animation, in fact I wouldn’t mind if there wasn’t any. That’s because Death Note’s best moments aren’t the big action scenes, the real greatness lies within the mind games L and Light play with each other throughout the series.
Now to the symbolism that you called meaningless: As the series progresses Light Yagami starts to develop a god complex. Therefore, there is so much religious symbolism in this anime like the apples from the garden of Eden, the heavenly light shining upon Light and the imitation of the image in the Sistine chapel. I also disagree with you on the point of the red Kira and the blue L. While L is very cold and never even shocked throughout the series, Light is very emotional about his cause. So in the end they are opposite characters and in my opinion symbolism doesn’t always have to be absolutely genius, sometimes it’s the little things that make a show great.
Talking about little things, let us talk about the music. Music is always a matter of taste so if you dislike the music of Death Note I can’t help you, but one has to acknowledge the pure genius behind the music. Every character theme shows off their interaction with the others and there are great analysis videos available on YouTube just about the soundtracks and how they represent the story.
I don’t really know what to say about your next point because I feel like that is just a personal preference for you. The fact that Kira almost always kills via Heart Attack is explained in the series as through that people will notice him easier, it became something like his trademark. Also Kira is not the character to kill people in an over the top way because he simply abhors the people he kills. This gets worse throughout the series as his God complex evolves.
The change of pacing and tone you mentioned is in my opinion correct but you misunderstood it completely. This part of the show clearly distinguishes from the rest because it becomes clear here, that Light and Kira are different persons because now Light is desperately trying to catch Kira. I can understand if somebody doesn’t like that style but you have to see that the main story evolves around the rivalry between L and Kira. In this part of the show Kira is gone so it is a completely different show. But the tension continues because in the end this was all part of Kira’s plan to finish off L. I too feel like Death Note fell off after the death of L but at the same time this really gives a good ending to the show. I agree that the character Near has his problems but at the same time he isn’t that bad of a character. The problem there is that Near AND Mello are meant to replace L but often only Near is looked at so it is only natural that he feels like an incomplete character without his counterpart.
But the real issue of your article shows up in the fifth point: you did not understand the series. The message isn’t about homicide or killing people it is about what is right and what is wrong. It becomes clear that neither L or Kira are completely in the right or in the wrong as both of them kill people off to get to their goal. Near’s final statement wraps that up really good:
“What is right from wrong? What is good from evil? Nobody can truly distinguish between them. Even if there was a god. Now, supposing a god and his world existed, even the I’d stop and think for myself. I’d decide for myself whether his teachings are right or wrong. After all, I am just the same as you. I put faith in my own convictions as to what I believe is right, and consider them to be righteous.”
This also diminishes your next point because Light Yagami was never the villain of Death Note, in fact there is no villain to be found in this series. But let us consider Light Yagami the villain of the series for a moment. He doesn’t lack passion just because he never celebrates his success, in fact he never reaches his goal of his “perfect world”. He isn’t the type to celebrate over small victories but when L dies you can clearly see the satisfaction on his face but in the end he sees himself as a god and L was just a mere human to him. At the same time for L, Kira is just a child playing god. So, in the end it once again is a clash of ideologies.
ReplyDeleteNow to your next point which is the irrelevance of the “normal” characters. Every character of the task force gives his very best to catch Kira and everyone of them contributes a bit to the overall plot but the main aspect of the Task Force is that they are the people Light and L (or Near later on) have to convince. If they are convinced that Light is Kira this means game over for him and if they turn against L it is for him. In the end it is Matsuda that prevents Kira from killing Near. In the end the normal people make the big difference and it is clearly shown throughout the show that each one of them has his own mind and has his own thoughts. The Task of the “abnormal” characters is it to make the normal people believe in them. This is the only way for them to bring down their opponent. This is also shown at the beginning when L says he only suspects Light for 5% but in reality is almost sure that Light is Kira because otherwise he would’ve never shown himself to him.
On to your next point. First of all you forgot to mention Naomi Misora. While she is only part of two episodes, she clearly has a great impact on the show as she brings L to the conclusion that Kira can kill his victims any way he wants. On to Misa and, yes, her voice is really annoying but that resembles her really good because that’s what she is for Kira. Kira and L both think of her as a mere tool to gain information from. When Light is back to his normal self, he thinks different. While he still is annoyed of her, he refuses to “befriend” her for information about Kira. Of course this is sexism but would have it been different if it was a male character? I did not like Misa too but both Light and L have (from their standpoints) valid reasons to use her.
Now for your last point which is simply hilarious. You proclaim that Death Note celebrates mass murder and that Light is drawn in an admirable style. First of all Light’s motivation is fairly understandable considering there still is the death penalty nowadays and that this moral debate is often brought up. In the end, his actions where cruel but in fact they where effective, there was less crime. The question Death Note brings up is if this was real peace, if he was right or not. That everyone has to decide for himself but to say that Death Note simply portraits Light as the good one is not fair. Both the Task Force and L view him as evil, even his own father said that people who have the Death Note can’t be happy and, even if Light does not realize this, that really is the case. Once again Near’s final quote resembles this is the most fitting way possible.
It is okay to not like a show and of course it is fine to share ones opinion about it. But at the same time I find it amusing that you said that you HAVE to hate this anime, that this anime IS evil when the very theme of the anime is that evil and good, right and wrong is subjective, that we all have our own moral compass and our own taste.
The last paragraph you wrote about Light Yagami's death, I'm in absolute agreement with you. I got sucked into the show but you made me remember something important. Thanks a lot for that.
ReplyDeleteim disgusted to see so many people hating on the person that wrote this review. light did what he thought was right. his beliefs were just opinions and not facts. i believe what he did was unnecessary murder and that it was wrong. the person who wrote this review believes so too. there's nothing wrong with that. this is an unpopular opinion and they dont deserve hate for it. viewing all criminals as bad people is wrong. criminals deserve human rights too. people arent either good or bad, the world isnt black or white its mostly grey. prisoners should be given second chances at life. im not saying all criminals are great people or whatever, but that doesnt mean theyre not human. and using them as test subjects was unbelievably wrong! and lets not forget light killed so many innocents. THIS WAS MASS GENOCIDE AND IT WAS WRONG AND THE SHIW PERPETRATED SOME HORRIBLE IDEAS!
ReplyDeleteI quite agree with everything you've said, out of all anime shows, Death Note is the one I despise the most. And the number 1 reason you've put on the list is the main reason I can't stand this anime.
ReplyDeleteThe only point i agree with is the terrible treatment of female characters and Near an mello. I loved the music of the show, loved Light and L. I don't think it celebrated mass murder, Light gets killed and shot by Matsuda the most sweetest and gullible character cuz even he doesn't agree with Light.
ReplyDeleteMisa was saved by the shinigami so his lifespan was transferred over to her lifespan. So she theoretically could have a lot more years but maybe not because they don't tell us how many years that the shinigami who saved her had.
ReplyDeleteThank you! Someone finally spoke up against this sh*tshow!
ReplyDeleteI strongly agree with this commentary, do not let the Death Note zombies tear you down.
Death note is my favorite anime. and to hear you say it has AWFUL music....I feel like my own existence has been shamed because the music is absolutely wonderful and well constructed. you must be deaf or have sensitive ears or even worse no taste in music. The best song in the whole Anime is Misa No Uta. :)
ReplyDeleteYou just dont understand the show and are delusional to what it is about and the perspectives of the characters and if "the show wants us to think light is a good person" or not. You should watch it again and try and snap out of it and realize the themes of it. You should like it, but if you dont then thats sad, but even if you dont like it you shouldnt be delusional twoards it and not understand it to fit your own agenda. Plz rewatch it again to understand it a little bit more.
ReplyDeleteThe most stupid person can only write these things. The only thing he said right was about Women being treated poorly throughout the show
ReplyDeleteThank you. I watched a few episodes and stopped at the scene where Misa (is that her name?) drops to the floor and begs Light to be her friend. The way women are depicted in death note is just sickening. I absolutely agree with point 1 and 2 of your list (the last two points). I did not dive deep enough into the series to be able to judge on the other eight points. Thank you for this thought through review. It is unbelievable that series like DN are on Netflix etc.
ReplyDeleteI will post the last comment. Points 1 and 3 are the most important reasons why Death Note sucks.
ReplyDeleteIt's good if you consider Death Note as a caper story. Light is evil (utterly, without question).
Death note only sucks in that the villain went too far before being caught. All the people he killed cannot be atoned for by his single life when he dies at the end. It's like seeing an old man waltz into a mall and kill 100 people and then kill himself. Justice is served, the perp paid, but not really. Nobody asked to die and have the murderer pay in the first place. Not to mention one life isnt enough to atone for the number that he killed.
Lights, shameful death and his shameful getting caught at the end was really good. He should die in the worst way possible. In many ways, he didn't- at least not enough. But the look on his face, the shock of having lost, all classic villain reactions after being done in by the hero. They were good.
PLEASE LOOK AT IT THIS WAY. L is the hero of Death Note. the sadness you feel after death note, direct it towards L and you'll feel much better about Death Note. All the memories of L together with Light. Death Note, to me, in my eyes, is a tragic story of L and the people who tried to stop Light.
Light killed more innocent people than his single life at the end atones for (police, that woman, L). It doesnt matter how you justify it. He killed innocent men and women. And not even for a good enough reason, because the very criminals he wants to rid the world of he is one. And there are many flaws in the idea of killing criminals- which is why I understand why L wanted Kira to realize this.
But we have to give props to Death Note as a whole world (the setting, power-system idea, plot, characters, etc.) as a caper story. And if you binge-watched it or simply watched every episode as soon as possible, you can't rate it as a terrible anime.
People are just confused unless they tilt the anime. If you look at the anime from the right angle it is all a tribute to L at the end. Because the tragic death is L's death. The death we are glad for is Light's death (think about all the people he killed and lied to [his own father, who Light indirectly killed] and about his lack of remorse till the end).. We are glad to see Light die shamefully. This is the kind of GOOD anime Death Note is. But I rate it low still because it takes a while to see the anime this way- obviously because Light doesn't suffer more than the people left behind or the innocent people he's killed. Your first impression is to root for Light. Every time he made a bad decision we subconsciously tried to make excuses for him. So, the ending is confusing.
Anyway this was not emphasized enough in the anime so much so that it took even me- a smart guy- a while to realize The True Story Of Death Note.
LMAOOOO this is so fucking stupid. The only thing I agree is that the second arc is boring in comparison to the first one, but rest of your "points", and I think just calling this word vomit an "argument" is giving you too much credit, are garbage nonsense. Something tells me that a dude said that DN is better than an anime that you personally enjoy and now you're salty as fuck
ReplyDeleteI’m trying to understand why you’re putting so much energy into this, it’s a show, an anime, Asian culture is different too, let people enjoy the anime if they want to, of course it’s not for everyone, nothing is for everyone, what I think the show was trying to do, was to give you a Horror/Thriller/murder mystery, all while being an anime, and the moral of the story I believe was that if you are power hungry/thirsty and wanting to make your self God, or a god, then it will never end will. If there is something you like/enjoy, I’m sure anyone can go on and on, how they hate it and you should to, not everything has to be for everyone, you can’t make everyone like and dislike the same things you do, that actually shows your immaturity.......
ReplyDeleteI disagree with this
ReplyDelete10. I don't care much about animation quality
9. The symbolism is intresting and I don't see how that's a negative
8. The music is amazing imo I regularly listen to it in my free time
7. I dont really understand or care
6. It seemed regularly serious and exciting to me so I cant agree
5. I don't watch stuff to learn a message so I dont care
4. I happen to love sociopathic/insane villains so I dont agree
3. Aizawa has a major role in the second half and light is canonically very intelligent so it would make sense
2. Yeah the Mis a fan service is annoying but shes funny so I still like her
1. It does not support mass murder light loses in the end, and near even says "you're nothing more than a crazy serial killer" and the sympathy comes from the fact 5hat he could of been a good person if he never found the notebook and characters say multiple times kira is evil
So I dont agree with most of these but it does seem a bit much to say everyone else should hate it too just because you do
I agree to all your points honestly, the fact that light is shown as a protagonist in the story while killing innocent people is disgusting. I understand it's a dark anime series but the fact the series is glorifying innocents being killed just for being in the way of light is truly the worst thing about this series.
ReplyDeleteguys I just want to know a few things starting with (1.) how do you hate MISA??? I mean sure she's probably got light busted 1 or 2 or... 1 time, but then L didn't suspect them any more!! (but to be honest I think that during the L saga, I think L Knew Light was Kira all along and I DID kind of want L to catch Light, I was really upset when NEAR Found out, But... yeah
ReplyDelete(and 2.) LIGHT YAGAMI AS KIRA WAS A GREAT VILLAN!!!!!!!!!!
(3.) were those guys actully "Villans" in real life?
thats all I had to say
Agree with the review. Death note sucks all the characters just sitting around, predicting the possible crime, looking for clues and then clueless in the every next episode, there's no strong female characters, the non-heart attack deaths were funnier add the slow pacing. This is definitely overrated show.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with most of your points because of the same reasons other people in the coments do, but I agree about misogyny and the common man hatred
ReplyDeletedude, you are aware that Light isn't supposed to be likable, right? The same way someone could say that South Park celebrates racism cuz Eric Cartman is racist. No, both shows make it extremely clear that the protagonist isn't supposed to be loved
ReplyDelete2014 LOL, whatever..
ReplyDeleteSssshhh.. Let people enjoy what they like.
It's okay to hate something but no need to ask others to follow you to hate the thing you hate, it's pathetic.
Agree with most your points, FYI the manga did Light's death better
ReplyDeleteI personally disagree with you I don't think they want you to enjoy mass murder, but in this it is about if killing is right or wrong I myself don't think it is right but imagine you live in a crime filled world and someone who people think are god killing these people, and one of them just so happens to be a person who say bullied you or you were jealous of even depending on your point of view he is a savior or he is a criminal no a monster to some even but it was an inevitable outcome for him as he chose to try out the death note he believed it, and it was true lets say you are perhaps with family lets say one of them is a criminal, and they suddenly had a heart you never knew and you loved them dearly you find out someone known as Kira is why they are dead you get where I am going but in real life we get enjoyment out of watching this think of Tom and Jerry how they are constantly going at it Tom gets hurt and people find it funny it is normal but in death note its not to make you laugh it's not really to make you feel anything not so you can be super happy oh boy I just watched someone die In this show I'm watching my day is great scoff no, but the anime shows us two people one who is being strategic and more human kind of like how blue is and red more aggressive less human but it is still strategic red is an aggressive passionate color Kira is passionate about becoming god and ridding the world of "evil" yesterday I beat my grandpa in a game of chess I usually don't play aggressive but in this game I was really aggressive I had won where I am going with this is Kira or Light was not acting human like he was trying to in the beginning he had won that battle by manipulation and lack of humanity who remembers how L died by a Shinigami who loves Misa he manipulated the Shinigami into killing to protect someone.
ReplyDeleteI watched this show for the first time recently, and while looking for a specific art piece used in the first intro, I found this blog post. I laughed and was intrigued. I've gotta say, though, it seems as though you've missed a few plot points and major framings.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that the plot seems a bit tedious near the middle, and that it is pretty misogynist (but, as a woman, I can't find any action-filled anime that pass the Bechdel test or that don't include balloon boobs. So Death Note was pretty mild on the overt misogyny there), and also that they neglect the point of view of the average person (you say that they hate or have disdain for the average person, but I don't think it was that deliberate. I think they probably didn't have the time within the narrative to focus on the broader world and the common person, as most of the show is quirky mind games).
I will say though,that I laughed at Light and his antics a good amount. The amount of times I laughed realizing the show was Light saying "I know that he knows that I know that HE knows that I know that he knows--" straight to the camera was way higher than I first expected.
Also, Misa recieved a good amount of Shinigami years, since two different Shinigami died for her, thus giving her their years. So, she may only have 25, or possibly 100, or possibly 1000 years added to her lifespan. I was sad to see her go, since I saw her character as a bubbly, smart (she found Light without being caught for a solid amount of time), interesting woman who used her sexuality to her advantage (like when she used her "womanly charms" to worm out the businessman Kira). Having a fun-loving bimbo character in this show was fun, and added a good bit of lightheartedness to the show when it would get too dark or drag on too long.
One important thing I want to say, though: I really don't think this show frames Light as being correct or justified. I agree that in the portrayal of villains we should not be led to think they did the right thing, but this situation with the Death Note is so bizarre that I think it's probably ok to over-explain Light's morals around it in a format as dynamic as anime. Also, many, many times in the show, people describe Kira as being generally right from a very, very basic perspective of crime, but altogether very naïve. I believe it's one of the first things L says about Kira when we first meet L. Because of this, we the viewer can see that Light thinks he's justified in what he's doing, but his actions are inexcusable. But, because we are viewing things from his perspective, they don't seem as bad. It's a complicated issue of discussing morals around crime and the punishments needed (for example, the death penalty), and it's alright if you think it's abhorrent and shouldn't even be talked about slightly positively- it's an opinion thing.
Also! Light is, throughout the first half of the show, paralleled to Judas, whereas L is Jesus. That parallel alone frames Light as wrong and incorrect for what he's doing, which is an obvious condemnation of Light on the writer's part (at the end of the first intro, the painting of the falling angel behind Light is Satan, as well! Light is a fallen angel who is now doing bad things). Also, your blog post seems to contradict itself about whether Light is bad or not-- you say he's obviously framed as bad and L is framed as good (and this is added to when you say that Light is a boring villain), but at the end of your post you say the show glorifies murder and Light's morals. So which is it? Is Light obviously framed as the Evil Character Who Is Evil, or does the show frame him as the righteous underdog?
As for the music thing, I understand. I've gotten used to long shows using the same five songs, so it didn't bother me much, haha.
'snif' i have so many comments about this review but i feel like all the other negative comments pull min thoughts together
ReplyDeleteI disagree with "Near is boring" part. Sure Near didn't have the best character delepovement nor much screen-time but he was interesting. The way he thinks, and even the way he looks. I find him extremely adorable. And I still don't understand why people gotta hate him so much when boy didn't do anything wrong. As for other parts, I completely disagree with everything. Light may not be my fav but he was good villain. And the show is amazing, so shut up.
ReplyDeleteOk you completely lost me at misogyny. Just because the few female characters written into this show are boring and one dimensional does not mean there’s some misogynistic force at play. I mean, everything else you said about the show was valid, although my opinion differs on some cosmetic aspects like music etc. but misogyny is the least of this show’s problems. The word is starting to lose its meaning nowadays.
ReplyDeleteYou can learn a lot and overall get a nice thrilling experience from this manga/anime story. I'm a doctor and I absolutely loved the entire anime. I believe most people interested in human behavior, psychology and psychiatry would enjoy it. Perhaps if you rewatch it after reading a bit about brain science or human history regarding personality disorders, such as the ones depicted in Light's character (narcissistic personality disorder, anti-social personality disorder, etc.), you'll find it incredibly interesting. Also about human history, since, after all, humans are not perfect and mass murderers exist. You see it in the news everyday. Of course I agree with some of your points, such as misogyny. It's true the author excluded women from the whole story and depicted us as secondary characters, undeveloped and incapable beings in the Death Note's human world. Apart from that, I disagree with everything you pointed out. And the music was 100% amazing, I'm amazed someone would critic it so badly. I'm also a classical trained musician and a metal lover. The mix of the openings and endings plus the Bach and Vivaldi in a few episodes was truly epical. I invite you to explore a bit more about human sciences, history and expose yourself to a broader range of music so that you can enjoy great anime and other series such as Death Note! And life in general to be honest!
ReplyDeleteAlright, I see your point. However, using misogyny as a reason to not watch it is kind of wrong. Misogyny is everywhere. Anyone who is mature or smart enough to realise how they depict the female is wrong. If you think about it, almost every man on this planet views women as an object. It isn't something we can just ignore because we want to. It's literally everywhere and will be for many years (I say this for many reason but not the point).In anime, women who have gone through puberty already are ALWAYS viewed with big boobs, a big butt, or both. All school uniforms have short skirts in anime as well. Using this as a point would discourage almost every anime out there.
ReplyDeleteAs for Light being a terrible villain, I agree. His views had good intentions in the very beginning but we quickly see them change as the anime trails on. It's obvious that he goes from a fake prophet to just psychopath. Misa is no better from the very start. She killed innocent people and even sent out the videos. Just because she agrees with Kira's views doesn't mean she follows his rules. She's just, forgive me, a crazy piece of ass.
I never noticed the symbolism before, but that's because I never cared for allegory in school. It was my worst part of English. so it isn't surprising I missed it. I think the point of it being obvious is exactly that. To be frank, I think the symbolism is just there to be a joke and add some sort of comical theme to the dark show.
As for your last point of it idolising mass murdering, I don't agree. I think that this anime/manga is supposed to explain what life would be like if one person happened to gain the power of death. It's not trying to put it on a pedestal but to show why no one person show take charge of trying to make a perfect world. The ideal of being perfect is relative, as is the ideal of being normal. Even in 2007, said ideals are relative and are unachievable. Light's view of a perfect rule is different from Hitler or Stalin. For sake of information, I'm focusing on Hitler.You can't compare the two. Light wanted to rid the world of evil in terms of morality while itler wanted to rid world of 'imperfect beings.' This included Jews, disabled, LGBTQ+, etc. people. Light's version of 'imperfect' had nothing to do with looks, personality, or identification, but solely on morality. The mass murder idol isn't truly there, in my opinion.
With my view of your article out of the way now, I can say that even if you don't like it,other people do. Other people will watch it and enjoy it and its bad elements. I myself am still watching it so I tried not to dive too deep into your article to save my brain a little of the suspension of the show. My view still stands, even without having seen the whole show. Your point of misogyny is still valid, even though I said it shouldn't be. I was just trying to point out that misogyny is everywhere in anime, movies, and life itself. You can't escape it.
I think you hate the series because you clearly didn't understand it. I have no idea why everyone thinks the show is misogynistic, Light literally uses everyone and then discards them when they are no longer useful, man or woman. If Misa was a dude, and was in love with him, he would've done the exact same thing. He even uses his own father's belief in his innocence to his advantage
ReplyDeleteI agree with the misogyny point, but for the others, I guess our opinions differ too much
ReplyDeleteThank you! Too many reviewers gush over Death Note without acknowledging its flaws. Its biggest flaw may be the preposterous notion of world leaders deferring to teenagers to tell them what to do. Death Note seem to be written for rather young viewers who have god complexes of their own.
ReplyDeleteCLEARLY you've never watched the show. Your points are all either subjective or just plain false.
ReplyDeleteonly thing in this review I agree with is the misogyny
ReplyDeleteWhat a garbage review, literally everything is incorrect
ReplyDeleteit’s really not that deep
ReplyDeleteYou just don't have the ability to understand the story
ReplyDeleteNot a die hard fan of Death Note, I felt it became underwhelming after a point, but this review is totally crap. It's like a 6 year old child whining about why others shouldn't like something just because he doesn't.
ReplyDeleteYou have got some serious issues my guy. You have some serious beef with Death Note. The points you made were (mostly) exaggerated distorted version of events.
ReplyDeleteI think criminals and people who oppose me should die. And so should you.
I hate this anime. And so should you.
By saying this you are taking a moral stance above is and putting your hand forward for us ignorant fools.
Light thought in a similar manner. He thought that he was morally superior to everyone else and put a hand out for those miserable fools.
The whole point of the show was to show that just because you "think" you are morally superior to others doesn't mean you can pass judgement over them.
I think you should watch it again.
It isn't the meaningless, plotless, misogynistic shit show that you make it out to be.
It isn't also the greatest show of all time some people think it is.
But it's a good show.
lol CELEBRATE MASS MURDER ... meanwhile aot hides in corner
ReplyDeleteAs someone who is currently watching Death Note I can’t agree with a single point on this list, if I were having a conversation with the author I’d be convinced they hadn’t payed attention to anything important in the anime at all. To say the animation is bad is entirely wrong, the series is animated beautifully for the time period it was released in. And Light is an amazing villain, we see him use all his skills to his advantage without the stereotypical side of nothing being able to go wrong, throughout the series we are reminded that Light is still in school and has more to learn. And if there is any misogyny you clearly had to be looking out for it on purpose, you ignore how smart characters like Naomi are in the series, you focus on Misa's devotion (keep in mind she is only so devoted because Light killed a criminal who affected her life that was about to be cleared). This is an extremely bad take on the show, it is wonderfully logical in reality, only showing the negative points (that aren’t even correct) is no way to show an anime. And the point at the end saying Death Note makes us excuse murder then back to the top talking about American cartoons which kill people simply to make a singular episode less boring with no real intention. Saying you’d recommend it to nobody multiple times because you dislike it then in the comments replying with 'Im entitled to my own opinion' well then maybe don’t be so harsh to the show?! It is a good show whether you like it or not, saying that it’s absolutely horrible and nobody should ever watch it is ridiculous. Next time you review a show at least do it fairly, this can discourage people who may of loved the show from watching it. Be fair.
ReplyDeleteI think the dumbest criticism here is the misogyny one. Light treating women poorly is an aspect of his character, that he uses people, especially infatuated women, without remorse. Its not a reflection on the writers or the show, its another strike against Light to drive home what scumbag he really is.
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing wrong with symbols being obvious. Perhaps it is your problem that you expected something different than what you got. From the very first episodes the very simple plot is spelled out: Is it okay to kill people? And what kind of person does it take to answer this question? Obviously you disagree with Light, which is fine, but it doesn't make the obvious symbolism bad. Light literally says he will become the god of a new world in the first episode. What were you expecting after that? Moreover, why does "high art" require subtle symbolism to be considered such? So that intelligent people (such as yourself) can flex for all the plebs? Lmao.
ReplyDeleteIf you think Light is twisted from the beginning then there's really no need to showcase how his morals are degrading over time with non heart attack deaths. He executes two dozen FBI agents that are investigating the case early on. There's really nothing more twisted than that (if you think Light is wrong) And if you do think Light is correct (like most normal people who don't like criminals) then showing his moral depravity doesn't really matter. The tree of liberty has to be watered, and who are you to say Light's sense of justice is superior to L's? This is the core question the plot asks, and how you answer will determine everything else.
The story does practically end with L dies. For many who thought Light was doing the right thing, the show is basically over at this point. You mention Dexter as an example of a show with good pacing and tone, however Dexter also gets significantly worse after the third or fourth season.
In my opinion Light is not evil. Violent crime goes down as he starts executing criminals, and I'm sure the exact same thing would happen in reality. The author might have disagreed with Light and contrived a horrible ending just to make him lose, but that doesn't change the fact that many people rooted for him. Your assertion that killing large numbers of people (criminals like rapists and killers) is wrong also doesn't change this. You ask for complexity, but you already have it, if you are willing to debate the ethics and morality of this central question
How is Light obviously evil? He kills criminals because he hates the direction the world is heading in, and wants to make it a better place. Just because he has to kill innocents to protect himself doesn't automatically make him evil. The government of every country runs into the problem eventually. Would you call the US government evil just because they killed some civilians in world war 2? Would you call the German government good just because they managed to make the country an economic powerhouse in less than two decades, after suffering a crippling defeat in the first world war? Such stark reductionism ignores the nuance that you seem to crave. In reality
Light is not obviously evil, you just believe he is evil, and I disagree. Like a government, he simply has the power, and the will to use it. Also, I don't think there's any aesop fables where a character attempts to make the world a better place by executing criminals. Seriously, how do you defend criminals like murderers and rapists? If you agree that governments can sometimes be wrong and bad, then surely you must also concede that sometimes they sentence criminals like this incorrectly. What light is attempting is utopian to be sure, but there are plenty of people who agreed with what he did.
You demonize Light as a psychopath without acknowledging anything he says or stands for. This world is rotting. How can you disagree with that, No matter what side of the aisle you fall on? Even years later, it's still true. How many of the world's leaders have been psychopaths and made mistakes in a genuine attempt to make their country better? It takes a certain kind of person to shoulder the burden of leadership. It's not pretty, but it's the truth.
ReplyDeleteThis may come as a shock to you, but not everyone believes the correct side won the second world war, or any other conflict you care to name. That's why they're called conflicts: because two sides are opposed in what they believe. You can't just dismiss Light or Hitler as "evil" and hope to convince people. Again, whatever country you're from, there are certainly some people in your government who you would consider "evil". This does not automatically mean that you should tear down your government because it is totally unsalvageable. And since it's impossible to remove all of these people from positions of power because it's impossible to empirically determine what constitutes "evil", it's a moot point.
I really don't care about the opinions of any of the philosophers you named. If someone raped or murdered someone, I believe they deserve to die. This is why I believe Light was morally righteous. And seriously? Muhammad wouldn't stand for this? Lol, not even going to comment... You speak of no moral person condoning the adoration of a serial killer, and yet God is the chracter who takes the most life in the Bible. How many people follow the teachings of God? This should have been your first clue as to why people would support Light. Even in the earliest myths and religions of humanity, there are righteous figures who are merciful, yet terrible. Light is nothing new.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on the 2019 Joker film. The film that takes Death Note's "this world is rotting" premise and runs with it to establish the origins of the character you name as an exceptional villain earlier in your review. Was George Washington evil for rebelling against the British? Was the British Crown good for trying to protect their property? In the end, there is no mathematical definition of good or evil with which you can bludgeon your opponents into submission. Calling someone evil is not an argument, and is not convincing.
By the way, you used the word "antagonist" incorrectly. It does not mean "villain", simply "character who opposes the protagonist". The protagnoist is Light since he is the dominant POV. L is the antagonist because he opposes him. You could say L is the deuteragonist as well.
Would want to debate a few things on this list but this post is so old and the created stopped replying so I feel my lengthy dialogue would go unanswered. But to anyone who reads this, I think constructive criticism of a show is great, and though there are many problems with the show I still thoroughly enjoyed it and actually loved the soundtrack, and am saddened that you didn't listen to either endings as they were both, in my opinion, the best pieces of music in the show
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