Death Note is pretty big among the Anime community. If you are a fan of anime, chances are that you've heard of it or even watched it. Death Note started out as a manga, then jumped into an anime series and has had three Japanese live action movies made after it. In 2011 North America will get a remake of the live action movies. The Japanese versions were separated into two films with a third film following one of the main characters on a side story. The Japanese films already condensed a a 108 chapter Manga and a 37 episode Anime into two films. I will be interested to how the American remake will fit so much content into one movie.
But what is all this hype about? For those who don't know the story, Death Note follows a bright high school student named Light Yagami who stumbles upon this magical note book that when a name is written down on it's pages while thinking of the individual they will die. This Death Note was dropped into the human world by a Shinigami, or god of death, named Ryuk who was looking to spice up his never ending life. He follows Light around as Light kills criminals with the Death Note to make a better world and dispense his kind of justice. However too many criminals are dying and it gathers the attention of many authorities including the Japanese police force and a mysterious independent crime investigator known only as L. L teams up with the Japanese police to find out the identity of this unknown killer dubbed by the public as Kira.
There is a reason why this anime is so popular, it really is that good. There is no gimmicks and fanservice here, just a good story that is smart and sets a moral dilemma. It's the basic good versus evil motif, but there are times when you are afflicted in deciding if Light is truly evil. Since the story follows light from beginning to end you get to really know his character. In the beginning it seems his actions come from a good place, that he is just a bit misguided, but the power corrupts him as he spirals out of control. Though in the end I could not stop routing for him. This does not mean that you are not routing for L either. L is also a very lovable character and I found myself routing for both sides. Very little do you see that happen as too much emphasis is shown to just one side of the story having the opposite side demonized. Both characters have their shining moments, while at other times you can't believe what they are about to do next. And I think that is what makes the story so enjoyable as well as making real, believable characters as no one is ultimately good or evil.
As for the technical aspects of this anime, I think that the visual and audio are amazing. The English voice acting was done very well, since I've pointed in the past that some anime fans can't stand most of the English Dubs. The style of it gives a very dark feeling for the most part since this is not a light hearted story. The themes and tone are very dark and serious most of the time so this anime might not be for everyone. However the visuals and content aren't as dark and gritty as say When They Cry or Hellsing.
Overall I would recommend this to anyone. Even trying to get Video Animer's other writer to check it out since he seems put off by the hype. If that is a concern of yours, it shouldn't be. This is one anime that I can say I have a hard time finding something I don't like about it.
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