As you may have been able to tell from my last name, I am Asian. Anime was a big part of my childhood, especially when I lived overseas in those early years. I even went through that awkward Sailor Moon phase in third grade. However, by the time the anime craze hit America, I was over it. So while my classmates traded Pokemon cards and donned cat ears, I quietly filled my heart with loathing and silently complained about the newer animes that everyone else seemed to love so much. In my eyes, nothing seemed to deliver.But just this summer, not only did I manage to tolerate an anime show, I fell in love with it. Enter Death Note, an incredibly engaging anime that just wrapped up its run in Japan three months ago.
The series is based on the manga of the same name and focuses around a young student, Light, who comes across a supernatural notebook (the Death Note) that will kill anyone whose name is written in it. He plans to use this notebook for good by ridding the world of wanted criminals but quickly becomes drunk with power. Aided by his death god, a sort of bizarre goth-rock monster, Light attempts to carry out his mission without getting caught by the super-mysterious super-genius, L, and his team of detectives.
I'll just stop right there because simple description doesn't really do it justice.
What I love most about this anime is not its unpredictable twists and turns and amazing characters, but... it's not annoying. That was the biggest problem I had with most animes: I could not sit through more than ten minutes before feeling the need to stab myself in the eye because of some stupid big-boobed character with an obnoxiously high voice flouncing across the screen or a "giant sweatdrop" gag or something equally cliche and ridiculous. It's not a comedy, but the jokes are funny. The characters are who they are for very human reasons, and even when Light is at his most heartless, it's strange how easily it is to understand why he pushes himself the way he does. Plus, it's incredibly refreshing how the characters are not drawn as the same face but with different hair (yeah, Sailor Moon, I'm talking to you).
Thanks to the magic of the Internet and devoted fans who are fluent in both English and Japanese, there are fan-subbed episodes uploaded everywhere for streaming. Of course, I only resorted to the Internet because the anime is not currently available in America. A Region 1 DVD with bilingual subs will soon be available. For those who are too lazy to read, a dubbed version will probably come out soon as well, because the English voice cast has just been announced. Naturally, I'm always wary of dubs. I'd rather go through the trouble of reading subtitles than deal with bad manipulation of dialogue to fit moving mouths. However, this announcement also means that the show will be more easily available to English-speaking viewers and that can only mean good things.
Anyway, I urge you all to check it out. It's not just a fantastic anime, it's an excellent television show.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-12-2007 @ 7:17PM
Twinkie Beyond said...
"Death Note" is absolutely amazing. It's cerebral enough to entertain adults who think that anime is all Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh!. It's definitely my favorite manga and anime. I really hope that the voice actors aren't total crap.
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9-12-2007 @ 7:20PM
SJ said...
The only anime I really liked was "Cowboy Bebop." Nothing has tickled my fancy since then, but this sounds good.
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9-12-2007 @ 7:36PM
malren said...
That's so weird, I just started watching this yesterday. Two episodes in and I am hooked.
I already see a lot of common themes that run through many of the mature, cerebral anime shows. I'm interested to see how this plays out.
This past year I've watched, among others, Neon Genesis Evangalion, Blood+ and Bleach. All fairly good shows, although Bleach got really weird at the end there.
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9-12-2007 @ 7:38PM
Chris said...
Death Note was great and the live action movie was pretty good too. right now im watching zombie-loan which i have to say isnt bad. but back to death note, most animes are predictible and follow the same pattern. Death Note breaks this pattern and has characters who aren't linier and have 2 (and sometimes 3) sides to them.
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9-12-2007 @ 7:59PM
Chris Muir said...
I thought Lain was pretty good in a sort of SciFi, what would David Lynch do if he aname, sort of way.
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9-12-2007 @ 8:49PM
Manda said...
Wow. What a fantastic show. It really draws you in. Thanks for recommending it.
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9-12-2007 @ 8:52PM
SJ said...
So Annie, are you saying that you had to resort to...*ahem*, illegal measures to watch the show? ;)
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9-12-2007 @ 8:57PM
Annie Wu said...
SJ! How DARE you even suggest such a thing?
*slowly disappears into the shadows*
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9-12-2007 @ 9:04PM
Bluesilo said...
ahhh Death Note...
Amazing Show and even better manga... Hope they play it on adult swim, but if your looking for other more mature recent shows check out Ergo Proxy and upcoming series Red Garden and Welcome to the N.H.K
One more of note...Mushishi....total brilliance..
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9-12-2007 @ 9:27PM
Awperator said...
Cowboy Bebop got me started as well. Amazing piece of art. The music, the storyline, and the characters were A+ perfect. Just amazing. Since then I've branched into The Twelve Kingdoms, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Gundam Wing, Gundam Seed, Hellsing, Ghost in the Shell SAC, Full Metal Panic, lol the list goes on, I won't bore you sorry. Death Note was excellent as well, but Bebop is my first love. I pop that in every now and then whenever I want to relax and soak up the music and story.
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9-13-2007 @ 12:07AM
ukickmydog (NDF - Heart Ring) said...
Cowboy Bebop, Gundam Wing (original and MS800 one), Outlaw star, those are my favorites, i'm looking for a new one so i think i'm gonna start with death note haha
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9-13-2007 @ 12:08AM
Sam said...
Nu? No Wolf's Rain fans?
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9-13-2007 @ 12:17AM
J8675309 said...
a 3 Hour Re-cap episode aired in Japan on Aug 31st, it's currently being subbed.
Keep your eyes peeled on the your torrent sites.
Also, I have declared Death Note my favorite television show, ever, period.
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9-13-2007 @ 12:35AM
Bash said...
How dare you say that big-boobed characters ruin anime! I could say the same about magical- and/or catgirls *yuck*
Wake me when and if there's a new FMP or GitS:SAC. Those had fanservice and robots! The best combination of them all :-)
It all started for me in 1996 with Tenchi Muyo! and NGE. The latter sucketh extraordinarily so it took me another five years and DSL (ahem) to get back into it ;-)
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9-13-2007 @ 1:54AM
Montusama said...
Death Note for me was unbelievably good it always had some sort of action or drama and it just kept growing, true some eps were kinda lame but those were few in between and the ending was very complete (something you don't really see that often) on top of that who couldn't love misa-misa (she's not big-boobed....) btw Gankutsuou also rocks but is totally different (though is deep in both action and drama)
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9-13-2007 @ 4:52AM
radwimp said...
the manga was good up until a certain part, then it dragged its feet and introduced some lame characters and ideas. i think it got so popular in japan that the creators were forced to continue it longer than they intended, it's pretty obvious if you do a marathon view/read.
luckily the anime didn't spend too long on the last arc, and mainly focused on the first 3/4s. i don't read or watch much manga, but this one was certainly unique and worth the time for the most part.
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9-13-2007 @ 5:03AM
M.E. Williams said...
I've read the first volume or two of the Death Note manga and really disliked it (the detective is kind of interesting, though). I was disappointed, because it came with such high praise. I'll give the series a try when and if it makes it to the US, but I'm not optimistic. =/ (There are anime series I like without liking the manga, so it's possible!)
Someone said "Bleach got really weird at the end, there" - Bleach hasn't ended in Japan or the US (if it ended in Japan, it's within the last month, but I don't think it has). I love Bleach, but I do have the issue with it that is similar to my issue with the far-more-annoying InuYasha: as a shonen anime, it has to have endless, drawn-out battle scenes. I don't watch Bleach ahead of its Adult Swim airings, but I am spoiled w/r/t the overall plotline, and I've gotten slightly annoyed with how long the "rescue Rukia and figure out what happened to Captain Aizen" arc has gone on, with a new battle occupying half of every episode. However, it does give viewers a chance to get to know the shinigami (another take on Death Gods!) very well.
Most of the stuff they show on Adult Swim is unexpectedly really good. Blood+ is uneven (some parts are good, others seem to be filler), but Fullmetal Alchemist is probably one of the best anime series ever made (you have to stick with it, though); other people prefer Cowboy Bebop (which is good but very fanservicey); Ghost in the Shell: SAC is great and intelligent. I'm enjoying Bleach a lot, except the issues I mentioned above.
People who think they "don't like anime" have probably mostly been exposed to Pokemon or Dragonball-Z or Sailor Moon; they should try some of the stuff AS airs, then branch out. I suppose one of the first keys to finding decent anime is not watching anime that's made for younger kids. The other two big issues are "How much will the action overwhelm the story?" and "How much fanservice is there?"
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9-13-2007 @ 7:44AM
Neshill said...
It's one of the best anime I've watched (and I've watched a few). That is, up until episode 26. That plot becomes so crap. After that major plot twist, I think they should have finished it. The manga kinda too, but the manga has a better, more symbolic ending than the anime. Don't let me start on the movies. Those should just be ignored.
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9-13-2007 @ 8:06AM
HineyWipe said...
Put me in for Cowboy Bebop fan as well. Still got the "tank" theme in my head...
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9-18-2007 @ 3:08PM
K said...
They'll butcher it soon enough with an American live-action feature version.
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