WattMag: Spooky November Issue

Darkness in Light

Darkness in Light

Article: Featured Anime: Death Note

By: athena_writes 

“There is no heaven or hell.
No matter what you do while you're alive, everybody goes to the same place once you die. Death is Equal.”
 ― Tsugumi Ohba, Death Note, Vol. 12: Finish

 

Death Note is written Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata.Later on it was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from December 2003 to May 2006. serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from December 2003 to May 2006.

Death Note centers on Yagami Light, he is as perfect a hero as you could imagine--perfect grades, perfect public record, perfect looks--in every facet, his image is squeaky clean.

This all ends one fateful day when the Shinigami known as Ryuk drops his Death Note out of the realm of the afterlife, into Light's schoolyard. Light stumbles across it and reads the directions: write the name of the person you want dead in the Death Note--with their image in your mind--and they will die in the manner you have specified in this supernatural journal. Otherwise, if the circumstance is not specified in writing, the victim will, within minutes, suffer a fatal heart attack.

Thinking it a stupid prank initially, Light puts it to the test when saving an innocent woman from being assaulted. To his horror, it works. Could ridding the world of criminals be this easy?

Inspired with a new renewed sense of justice, Light indulges himself completely in his newfound power, self-righteously declaring himself the bringer of a new, utopian future one name at a time.

L is an incredibly interesting character because he has such a way of himself. The way he sits, observes situations, thinks and his use of words. He is brilliantly written that he maybe one of the best heroes in any anime. A hero because he doesn't strive for anything other than taking down Light, who is named 'Kiera' (killer in Japanese). He has an excellent and quiet moment involving his first encounter with Light; he confesses to him that he believes 'Kiera' is him.

While the IQ of the two main characters is straight-out impossible, you still cannot feel but admire just how logical their reasons for making possibilities and theories are (what makes it even scarier is that most of the theories that L or Light, the two protagonists, are true). If you are one who watches things from a personal view, you would have a hard time deciding whether the things they are doing are right and if they are, in reality, insane.

 Death Note goes above and beyond your typical run-of-the-mill action based anime, whereas a lot of anime relies on action packed battles and fights, Death Note is a refreshing change of pace. It's slick, clever, and witty with the eccentric "L" heading the investigation. It's a constant game of cat and mouse as the lead investigator and the suspected "Kira" or "Killer" always seem to be one step ahead of one another. The two brilliant minds constantly outwit each other. The plot is complex but easily laid out for you and the story is intelligent and inventive. All the while you're watching you think, "Wow, this can't possibly get any deeper," but each new episode proves you wrong. What I like the most is that this is very, very complex material but it's flawlessly and easily presented so each new development in the case comes as an exciting shock.

This is great stuff and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who might be looking for a change of pace in anime. It's not for everyone, of course since it's more of an intellectual thriller and not so much an action fantasy, but anyone who can appreciate the mental challenge of following along with this suspenseful battle of wits will be in heaven with Death Note.