A Slightly Contrarian Review of Death Note

It’s hard not to start this review without using the generic line that Death Note is often regarded as one of the best pieces of narrative in Japanese anime.   

And all of this bothers me because I overall find Death Note kind of meh. This was made worse still by the fact that any attempt to find confirmation bias left me either with people that gave it tempered praise or contrarians that thinks it is one of the most overrated shows ever made. I am not in any of those camps. So like a loner, I have to pitch my tent somewhere else.

There are a few areas of discussion that I feel I could put my own spin on which is why I am writing this review. But considering this is a review, I will briefly go through some of the more obvious points first that are no brainers.

I should also mention that this is a spoiler review. Everything after this point will contain spoilers. I don’t know why I need to say this considering the show is almost 15 years old. Hell, I feel the entire anime community has entirely moved on from the discourse of this show. Wait, why am I talking about this—

1.) Death Note knows how to explore a concept.

Death Note uses the entire buffalo when exploring the concept of a notebook that kills people when you write their name in it. I feel if you got a handful of writers to write down some various concepts you could explore in Death Note, likely it already is an episode of Death Note. That’s how thorough the show is. It’s really fun seeing how various types of people use the Death Note. The rules and mechanics of the Death Note are great. It’s just impressive how much thought went into the Death Note itself.

2.) The show loses a lot of its enjoyment after Episode 25.

I believe this is generally one of the few pieces of consensus regarding criticism of Death Note. L and Light are such a major focus of the show. Once L is gone, the show is left meandering until an admittedly interesting ending. To me, it reminded of the notoriously second season of Twin Peaks. Oh shoot, I guess there is also spoilers of Twin Peaks.

Once you find out who Laura Palmer’s killer is, Twin Peaks struggles to find a purpose for a good chunk of the show. Death Note’s last 12 episodes have that same feeling.

3.) Any further criticism I give to this show, I imagine may not really be a problem in the manga.

I don’t like reading, so I wouldn’t know what the manga is like. All of my criticisms are merely directed towards the show. If the manga addresses any of the problems I have, then that’s great—I am still not reading the manga.

Oh, I guess I should also mention—

3a.) I haven’t seen this show in more than a year, and I am too lazy to rewatch this anime for this review. If I forget some important detail that vindicates the show, don’t @ me. Frankly, I don’t care enough. If I forgot about something then the show didn't make it that important or memorable to begin with. 

So with that out of the way, we are left with the question I posed in the beginning. Why am I “meh” on Death Note?

I have been ruminating on this question for a while ever since I saw it in 2019. And while I could break down my answer into numbered points like before, I think all these points can be boiled down to…

 

1.) I really hate Light Yagami as a character.

 Now saying that alone will obviously draw a ton of rebuttals usually in the form of “you are supposed to hate Light” and “Light is supposed to be a vessel to explore this interesting moral dilemma.” And while both are valid, I don’t think either of those make him compelling.

The thing with Light is that his greatest strength as a character is dictated by whether you are interested in the question “what would you do if you had the Death Note?” I wasn’t, and that left me with a character that wasn’t compelling beyond the notebook in his hands. He was just a boring sociopath.

I feel a worthy comparison to Light Yagami is Walter White from Vince Gilligan’s Breaking Bad. I feel they parallel rather nicely: They are portrayed as normal people with normal lives. They both happen upon something that gives them power. In Death Note, it is obviously the titular notebook. In Breaking Bad, it is Walter White’s discovery of using his chemistry expertise to become a very successful meth cook. And finally, both characters are corrupted by said power leaving them as decayed versions of their former self.

However, what makes Walter White different, and in my opinion better, is twofold. First, Walter White isn’t just about becoming the best crystal meth cook. Walter White’s story diverges into other areas such as his struggling marriage, his connection with his son, and his health early on. I think I am going to end up spoiling Breaking Bad too, aren’t I? This is unlike Light where I felt his sole interest was related to the Death Note (as well as not getting caught). The only exception is arguably his romantic relationships. But considering those relationships are either superficial or purely to further his goals with the Death Note, it doesn’t really mean anything. Walter White’s struggling marriage and the like are also a part of his character long before White breaks bad. They are tangentially related. This is why Walter White’s tragedy is more impactful as we are seeing how his path is exacerbating his problems established at the beginning of the show. Light is sort of a blank slate in the beginning, so it’s hard for me to get invested. When he does become more evil, I am left indifferent because I am not given a reason to care.

It also helps that Walter White has a clear motivation which not only makes him more relatable but makes his plunge into darkness more unsettling.

What I found interesting from fans of both shows is that both like to make the observation that the main characters are the true villains or at least both stories can be described as villain origin stories. However, while I find Breaking Bad fans are genuine when saying this, I feel Death Note fans only say this as an excuse for Light being a one-dimensional character. I think this goes without saying but even villain characters need to be well written, and a simple way to make someone better written is to give them an interesting motivation. Hell, the sole reason why some of narrative’s most popular villains work, like Thanos, is because of their motivation.

Whenever I watch Breaking Bad, I always felt convinced that Walter White was doing the things he was doing for the purposes of providing for his family. However, the scariness of White’s character is how his flaws and insecurities corrupt White’s virtuous motivations into something evil. It’s partly why White remains such a relatable character despite doing some of the most horrible things I have ever seen on television as well as losing sight of his initial goal in the later seasons.

Now in fairness, Death Note kind of does this. We see Light rewarded with hero points by saving a random girl before he quickly wants to become an enforcer of justice before even more quickly developing a God complex. Any other motivations feel like throwaway lines to try to give this blank slate more depth such as his dad being a cop which could tie into his want for justice in the world “yadda yadda yadda.”

It’s so thin to me. It’s so thin to the point where the show becomes more interesting when other people have the Death Note. At least most of the other Death Note owners have a clear goal in mind instead of the nebulous goal of ridding the world of evil.

I feel you can blame this on the show rather focusing on the cat and mouse dynamics between Light and L which overshadows any opportunities for Light to have any personal stakes in the story. Speaking of which…

1a.) L is part of the problem.

For this, I would like to make the obvious comparison to Sherlock Holmes. It’s pretty obvious that the Light and L dynamic bears a striking resemblance to the dynamic between Holmes and Professor Moriarty. The thing is I like Moriarty a whole lot more than L (or Light if you think Light is the villain).

The appeal of Moriarty is that he is the only match to Sherlock Holmes’ intelligence which is an unusual contrast to a normal Sherlock Holmes story. Sherlock Holmes, at its core, is pure power fantasy. It is just Sherlock Holmes pwning noobs. In most episodes or chapters, he seems invincible. It is only until Moriarty is thrown into the mix that we get a dose of vulnerability in Sherlock which in turn makes Moriarty more intimidating.

It should also be worth noting that this only works in small doses. It’s why Moriarty tends to work better in shorter formats and why most other Sherlock villains seem like weaker attempts to make lighting strike twice. It certainly doesn’t work having a Sherlock-Moriarty dynamic in a 37-episode stretch.

Now, I really like L, but he is introduced way too early in the show. That dose of vulnerability lasts for a few episodes before it just becomes a mindless back and forth of Light and L trying to one up each other. Admittedly, the show does shines in certain spots when they play psychological mind games with one another. The “Encounter” episode is one of my favorites because of this. I also like when Light uses the rules of Death Note in creative ways going back to the show doing really well at exploring a concept. However, a lot of the tension is lost because after long stretch of this back and forth, you get the sense that Light is going to make it until the very end. Granted, the same can be said for Sherlock, Moriarty doesn’t overstay his welcome for that to be an issue. Moriarty comes and goes in two separate episodes of BBC Sherlock. If we were to split those episodes using Death Note’s typical runtime, that is about eight episodes. Of course, this is ignoring the later seasons of Sherlock which have their own problems but that is for another review. Does that count as Sherlock spoilers? I don’t know anymore.

Instead, we get a show that tries to have its cake and eat it too. It wants to be a Sherlock like power fantasy but is too bloated for it to be compelling throughout. However, it also wants to be a character study that explores into the moral hypothetical questions that Death Note brings, but Light is just not explored enough for those concepts to be at least interesting because the show is so lasered focus on the Light v. L rivalry. Both are fighting for space, but it seems the Light v. L side of Death Note won. And frankly, I would have preferred if they have spent less time on Light v. L in favor of making Light a more complete character.  

But that is my take on Death Note. I want this to be clear that this isn’t an objective take down of one of anime’s most beloved shows. I won’t say that it is overrated. I just couldn’t get into it. I found it “meh” and I wanted to know why. I hope this explains why Death Note didn’t work for me.

And no, I am still not reading the manga.

A Ramble on What My Favorite Things Are

As a film buff, a TV buff, game buff, etc., I feel one of the most exciting things that can happen is when you come across a new favorite in whatever media you are interested in. It’s great when something can light a fire in you, inspire you, or is just damn good. And unlike a significant other where they tend to disappoint from time to time, a favorite book or movie will always stay the same quality for the rest of your life.

As for me, I take my favorite things very seriously because my favorite pieces of media serve as a standard for that medium, so it is an even bigger deal for me whenever I find a new favorite. A new favorite could lay a new era of consuming art if it is particularly striking. Well recently, I sort of came across that new era, but the feeling wasn’t of excitement but of confusion and slight existentialism.

Over this past year or so, I had a large shake up in two mediums that I have enjoy intensely since the later part of high school, movies & Japanese anime. Originally, my all-time favorites respectively were Brad Bird’s the Iron Giant and the Kawai Complex. Spoiler alert, I don’t think they are my all-time favorites anymore, but I am getting ahead of myself.

Why do we consider our favorite things as our favorites? Well for me, at least for a while, the reason is technical prowess. People value narrative or artistic strengths over others, and certain pieces cater to those tastes. I love stories with nuanced character dynamics, unpredictability, and a sincere personality. Bonus points if it can asks questions that leaves the audience ruminating on the experience. Both Kawai Complex and the Iron Giant share those qualities. Although unfortunately, Kawai Complex doesn’t nab the bonus points as the biggest question it asks is whether a perverted masochist is the most likable character in the show. 

Now, I feel that I am giving both Kawai Complex and Iron Giant too little and too much credit which I will get to a little later. But with this mind, let’s talk about the anime that I feel might have topped Kawai Complex as my favorite anime, and that show is School Rumble. 

School Rumble was a show that I began watching around the end of my high school career. I remember watching it on the Crackle website but quickly stopped because Crackles ads were so long and excessive it would take 45-minutes to watch a 20-minute episode. I may have gotten about three episodes in before quitting. It was only until recently with Hulu’s far less egregious ad time that I was able to actually watch School Rumble in the year 2020. And I gotta say, I picked the perfect time to watch School Rumble. 

In a time of genuine cynicism, School Rumble offers a remedy I have never seen a show pull off. It may be the most wholesome show I have ever watched, and this is coming from someone who loves Winnie the Pooh. It’s so great. And while I haven’t finished the entire series, I am making a safe bet that it is going to be one of if not the favorite.

The thing is though is that if we are going by criteria of technical prowess, School Rumble isn’t necessarily a masterclass in storytelling. While it has some really funny situations and timing, that’s just it. And the characters are great, but I would be disingenuous if I said their relationships are equal to the likes of some of narrative’s most iconic character dynamics like Gatsby & Daisy or Hamlet & every other character in Hamlet.

I think I tend to forget that another reason why people develop favorites is that we tend to associate nostalgic experiences to pieces of work simply because they hit us at the right time. In fact, Iron Giant and Kawai Complex are great examples of that. Iron Giant was one of the few movies as a kid that could hold my very short attention span. Kawai Complex, along with No Game No Life, was the first pieces of anime I have ever watched assuming we were to ignore the Pillars of Childhood Anime (DBZ, YUGIOH, Pokémon). In fact, one can argue Kawai Complex came into a similarly turbulent life in the same way as School Rumble in a time where I was transitioning from high school to college which is why I like it so much. At least, I think that is more the case because Kawai Complex shares a lot of the same qualities as School Rumble but with a better art style and intimate cast. This is why saying I was giving my favorites too little and too much credit. It's technical prowess both undermines my personal attachment to these works but the personal connections sort of also undermines all the work the creative team put in to bring the story to life.

All of this is to say that School Rumble is a perfect example of a work that I am going to develop a really deep nostalgic love for. When I look back at this period of my life, I am going to look back at School Rumble as the show that got me through it. In a time where I am struggling, cynical, and sometimes outright depressed, School Rumble picked me back up. It’s escapism, but it is also a reminder of what I am striving for which is the joy School Rumble exudes every episode. It’s because of this that I consider School Rumble as my new all-time favorite anime. While I have a nostalgia to Kawai Complex as well, School Rumble’s place in my life feels more meaningful especially in the age we are in.

When thinking about this, I started thinking about the aforementioned Iron Giant as well as my favorite movie runner up, the Graduate. Both of whom were replaced relatively recently. The Iron Giant was replaced by Satoshi Kon’s Perfect Blue, a master class in suspense, editing, and animation, and the Graduate was replaced by Finding Frances, a television episode that is so good—and feature length—that I have just threw up my arms and called it one of my favorite movies. I could do separate essays on both movies to explain why they are great. Frankly, I don’t think I have the words or the qualifications to.

That being said, if we were to go back to the second criteria of nostalgia, then neither hold a candle to either the Iron Giant or the Graduate. Both the Iron Giant and the Graduate were films I loved to analyze when I became enamored with filmmaking and visual storytelling as a teenager. When I was in Acadeca, my prepared speech was an analysis of the Iron Giant. And every time I watched the Graduate, it would give me something new to think about in relation to where my life was at the time. But at the end of the day, I find Perfect Blue and Finding Frances far superior films and worthy of the title of “my favorite things.”

Now, I know what you are thinking. Why are you overthinking about something as nonsensical as what your favorite nerdy things are? Why are you comparing the Iron Giant to Perfect Blue which are apples and oranges from one another? Why can’t you say you have two all-time favorites? Isn’t picking just one favorite from every category really arbitrary?   

To answer that: No, there is no reason. I guess this stems from my personality that likes to overthink stuff. I had a therapist even say that I should learn to smell the roses more.

However, I think my overthinking in this case also stems from how a change in my favorite things reflects a change in me as a person. I often laugh at people who believe in conspiracy theories as a sad attempt of maintaining control in their lives. And while fretting about favorite movies is not even within the atmosphere of bad compared to conspiracy theorists, I am essentially trying to maintain control in my own little way. I remember setting a goal that I would find a movie that would be better than the Iron Giant. And now that I have, a small part of my purpose has been gone, and I am left wondering what to do in a time where I already feel like I am meandering. I guess all I can do for now is now find a movie that is better than Perfect Blue as the cycle begins anew. 

You know, I called this essay a “Ramble” because it is essentially a freewriting splurge. Honestly, I didn’t know I was going to be talking about conspiracy theorists and purpose at the end. To be honest, I don’t even have a good conclusion to tie this essay in a nice little bow.

….well I least I can take some comfort in knowing that Gengar is my all-time favorite Pokémon and nothing will ever change that!