The rest of the time, it's just a bunch of talking heads doing talking head things. It's a shame that all the good animation was wasted on such morbid material instead of creating interesting character dynamics. And then there are the death scenes, in which the animators kill various people with ludicrously pronounced heart attacks. First is the tennis match between Light Yagami and L, seen above.
#Death note rules english and japanese series
There are only two times throughout the series where animation actually takes a real focus. The biggest problem with Death Note's animation is its lack of dynamism. Of course, that would suggest that he has subtleties to his character, but, again, I digress. Light Yagami is just a standard "good-looking" anime male, with none of his animation elements expanding upon the subtleties of his character. The rest of the character models, though, leave a lot to be desired. 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. Keep in mind that Death Note has little, if anything, to do with tennis.Īs far as pure artistry is concerned, Death Note has adequate background art and decent character designs. The above image is Death Note's animation at its very best. These are the top ten reasons I hate Death Note. All I can say is that you are wasting precious hours you could be spending on something more valuable. If you decide to stop reading now and go watch the show, I cannot stop you. I will be spoiling the ENTIRE anime in this top ten, so to further dissuade people from watching. 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. 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. 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.
Three: it is of sufficient esteem that it has become a central part of Japanese animation culture.
I watched Death Note all the way through for three reasons. A battle of wits ensues between Light and L, an investigator who is trying to put an end to Light's murders.
A child prodigy named Light Yagami finds this Death Note and uses it to kill off the world's criminals. 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. 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. (For the record, s honen 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. Death Note is a manga series, written by Tetsugumi Obha, serialized in the shonen anime magazine, Weekly Shonen Jump. If my readers have not at least heard of Death Note, then I'll provide a brief history. Such is the message of Tetsugumi Obha's Death Note. Yet not every message works.Įspecially when said "message" is morally repugnant, insulting to human dignity, and hateful. Anime is insistent upon delivering some kind of message, a characteristic that I wholeheartedly endorse. With most American animation, intention rarely goes beyond cheap humor or action. 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. 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. Granted, I haven't seen Cowboy Bebop yet, but that's for another time. I can safely say that I've never seen an anime series that I can 100% recommend to anyone and everyone.