Finally finished "Death Note" *Spoilers* · 5:07am Aug 6th, 2016
Fast as lightning, sharp as a sword
Goddamn, what a great show! It's so intelligent and suspenseful, and it was fascinating watching two geniuses in their battle of wits, exchanging intellectual blows until one man came out on top. The supernatural elements are awesome, the visuals are breathtaking, and the characters each have personality traits exclusive to them. Even the in-between characters with bit parts, and the ones who lasted only one episode, are vivid and different.
For those of you who don't know, "Death Note" centers around a supernatural notebook called the "Death Note". The Japanese gods of death ("Shinigami") are like Grim Reapers, and decide who dies, when, and how, by writing a person's name in their notebook--the notebook kills whoever's name is written in it. The cause of death has to be written within 40 seconds of the name, otherwise the victim dies of a simple heart attack. The writer can also write the circumstances surrounding the death, allowing him or her to control the victim's actions to a limited degree. All the writer needs is that person's name and to picture their face (so similarly named people aren't killed at the same time), and whomever the writer wants dead could die whenever or however he or she wants.
Now, give that powerful artifact to one of the most brilliant young minds on the planet, and watch the madness unfold.
People say Light Yagami, the main character who picks up the Death Note after the Shinigami Ryuk drops it, has no personality and is a terrible character. To a degree, they are right; his obsession with creating a better world in his image is mostly all there is to him, and it drives him to make heinous decisions (at various points in the anime, he consciously ponders whether to kill his father, his sister, both his girlfriends, and the man who considered him his only friend, just because they either opposed him, may outlive their usefulness, or become a liability). But it was fascinating to see him take on the moniker of "Kira" (the Japanese pronunciation of the English word "killer") and judge the world through his own eyes, having been so jaded with life and disgusted with the world around him that he'd push himself this far to change it. Light is a textbook sociopath: he's an obvious narcissist (believing only he has the power to change the world and that no one is smart enough to stop him), he's a manipulator (preying upon the emotions of two women who love him), he's a pathological liar, and has zero empathy for the people he kills, even innocents if they need to serve a purpose. Sociopathic characters fascinate me, if they also disgust me at the same time, and I found myself glued to the screen, wondering when the time would come when the monster calling himself "Kira" would finally be brought down.
I'd have to say that L is my favorite character, though. He's a quirky, mysterious character that doesn't see himself that way. Everything he does is normal to him, and comments and insults roll right off his back. To have an intellect like his go up against Light's mad genius in a perpetual cat-and-mouse game was thrillingly entertaining, and each episode, I wanted desperately to see how their game would end. Although, I can see how Light had some advantages; he was at the top of his game in the first arc, and played his best and kept his mind sharp for a worthy opponent. L had some emotional issues (his superstition regarding shinigami, his growing "friendship" with Light, his brilliant move to hire his number-one suspect for the task force assigned to catch him, etc.). That could be the reason that L ended up dying, and their game ended in Light's victory. And yes, I was sad when L died. 
This brings me to the next investigator assigned to catch "Kira": Near, L's successor. Unlike with L, Light is now more confident and reckless now that his greatest rival is dead, is prone to slipping up even slightly, and underestimates Near because he's younger and more immature. Near, however, is anything but immature: aside from using toys and action figures to illustrate his hypotheses, he possesses the intellect of a man twice his age, or even twice Light's age. He is totally unemotional and logical, with single-minded determination that rivaled L at one point. He makes decisions even L wouldn't have made, and thinks three steps ahead rather than two. It was due to a combination of these things that led to the outcome of the final showdown: Light being outed as "Kira" at last, and his humiliating death at the hands of the police. Many say that that final showdown was not believable and that Light would never have fallen for it. But given the circumstances and how everything turned out, I'd have to say it was fairly believable (hard to believe, however, that one person could have found Light's Death Note, confiscated it, and replaced it with an exact, non-supernatural replica all in one night 
.)
Various other characters were well crafted, as well. Misa Amane, a young woman who also has a Death Note and a connection to a Shinigami, reveres "Kira", as he had killed the thieves who'd murdered her parents. When she meets Light and discovers his secret, she falls in love with him and is more than willing to do his bidding. She has the same regard for human life as Light, but has none of his genius. This makes her vaguely useful to Light, if begrudgingly, and she becomes his willing accomplice--the "Harley Quinn" to Light's "Joker", in a way. Her character flips between obnoxious idiot and disturbed young woman in with a bad crowd, which made me simultaneously detest and pity her--she brought much of what she suffers on herself for obsessing over "Kira", but it's an unhealthy, deadly relationship that she never really could recover from.
Ryuk, the Shinigami responsible for Light's possession of the Death Note, is a smug jokester with an obsession for apples. He does little to further the plot, but his one-liners are a breath of fresh air in a show fraught with suspense and drama. He, too, is jaded with the world around him(since people are living longer, work for an immortal god of death is hard to come by, and eternal life with nothing to do obviously means boredom), and drops his Death Note in the human world simply as a goof. It is Ryuk's boredom that, by extension, ends up changing the world in a short six years' time. And he is perfectly content with it.
There are many subplots during Light and L's game of wits and wills, including a special FBI task force assigned to catch "Kira", a shady corporation using the Death Note for its own selfish game, a third Shinigami looking for his missing Death Note, and another successor to L forming a rivalry with Near. Each one is incorporated into the story beautifully, with nothing skipping a beat from the first moment to the last. And the final two episodes are particularly intense, when Light is cornered at last, outed as Kira, and shot to death.
Overall, the action, mystery, complex plots, complex characters, and complex questions of morality, justice and the perceptions of good and evil are a sight to behold, and I highly recommend this anime. As I understand it, several live-action adaptations were made of this anime/manga series, and I am quite interested in seeing how it was done. I'm also aware of an American film version being developed for Netflix; despite the "whitewashing" controversy with most of the cast, I look forward to seeing that, as well--Especially with Willem Dafoe portraying Ryuk!
Oh, and by the way . . . Near and our very own Spike the dragon are voiced by the same actress, Cathy Weseluck. So, if you ever wondered how Spike would sound as an emo, Near is about as close as you'll ever get. 
(Image by MerlinkPA on DeviantArt)
Lots of MLP voice actors can be found in this anime's credits (Brian Drummond, Cathy Weseluck, Kelly Metzger and Tabitha St. Germain, just to name a few). Even if you're not into anime, watch an episode or two to see if you can pick them out. I guarantee, once you hear Near speak, all you'll see is Spike.
Stay quick, stay sharp, and thanks for reading.
Cathy Weseluck voices Coco Pommel, ya know.
I've been a fan of Death Note for YEARS, and yes, L is best.
And I think you might be very interested in this.
I'm happy that you've watched it!
4134673 Her too? Well, that figures. I just thought Spike because Near sounds the most like him. That's how I figured it out.
4134675 Looks interesting. When I have more time, I'll have to go through that. Cool to know you're a "Death Note" fan, too!
Well I am back
4134804 Hello!
4134808 how you been?
4134811 It's been rocky, but I'm fine now. You?
I really need to watch Death Note now. Ppl I know keep telling me it's something I should definitely watch since they know I'm into 'that kind of stuff', whatever that should mean. Probably have to watch into the late hours of night though... Damn my hectic life.
(Btw, have you watched Code Geass? Some ppl compare Light to Lelouch.)
It's great to find another Death Note fan on here. I love this series. Personally, I like to interpret the story has a variation on the saying "absolute power corrupts absolutely". I mostly say this because we got to see what Light was like before he got the Death Note and defiantly say that is a far cry from Kira. Also, here's a bit of trivia: Near and Mello were initially supposed to be L's sons, but this scrapped because at that point, L was confirmed to be 24 years old. We can see remnants of this idea being used in Near's design and behavior and in Mello's constant eating of chocolate bars.
I remember liking that show.
4134814 Been shitty and I am still shoveling it.
B-but Lightning... you forgot to tell everyone how terrible season 2 is compared to season one.
And how a certain event was probably the worst part of the series. Not to mention how badly paced, executed and just downright nonsensical the event is. Common give the good and the bad.
4134983 Sorry to hear that.
4135495 There's not a lot of bad to give. Yes, I wish it had gone on a bit longer, but I can't really agree that that "certain event" is too far-fetched. No, Season Two isn't quite as good, but it was still excellent. As I said, only one part of that "certain event" bothers me, and I pointed it out.