Revisiting the anime series Death Note

[noname223]

Today I watched the first episode of Death Note again. I watched the series myriad of times as teenager. For a long time I thought it would always be my most favorite anime of all time. The last re-watch might be 10 years ago.

Recently, I re-watched all Ghost in the Shell series/films. I really like the philosophical aspects, the series is intricate and very deep. This time I read more about Debort, McLuhan Baudrilla. The producers were influenced by their academic work. The re-watch felt really good and worthwhile. Maybe it is my favorite anime franchise now. The TV series have some weaknesses though. Death Note is more dense in comparison.

I really like the idea behind Death Note. I have the feeling though the series is more for adolescence. In some ways Light Yagami has a naive and childish view of the world. Very manichean. And obvioulsy megalomaniac. Maybe I just watched it too often. It is an extremely good thriller. But if you know every twist of all episodes there is not much value to re-watch it. L and Light are fantastic characters without a doubt. The second half of Death Note isn't as good as the first half.

I really enjoyed the Ohba and Obata co-production Bakuman. I can highly recommend the manga. The anime was mediocre.

I was extremely disappointed by Platinum End. (It has horrible takes on life and death.) I stopped reading it after a few volumes and I considered it trash. I really don't get how the author didn't realize the issues of the manga. Personally, I hope for a new Ohba project. I could imagine after Platinum End this won't happen.

Probably my favorite manga accouncement I ever experienced was the Death Note Short Story that shadow dropped 2020. A part of me said it was worth to have survived to witness this to happen. And I loved the short story.

Maybe I will continue to re-watch Death Note. But in some ways Death Note is fascinating because you imagine yourself what you would do in Light's position. For some this can be an escape of boredom, a philosophical experiment, a self-interrogation about good and evil. I think though besides that Death Note isn't that deep. It is edgy, it has great protagonists/antagonists and is extremely thrilling. The philosophy is rather superficial even though the battle of wits is fantastic.

What do you think?

By the way do you know there is a short story of Death Note that is extremely against assisted suicide?

 

[floatingair]

Haha. I imagined myself in Light's position. I would take out the world's evildoers (the ones who start wars) and find a way to post on it safely on the dark net as a prediction so they know someone out there is exacting VENGEANCE. Then I would make requirements, such as stopping wars or I kill the leaders, getting rid of homelessness, etc.

I would have to find a way to make money through it though. What would you do? One of the short stories, the character has them giving money to all of the people using a certain bank. That's risky in the modern day as it would put a spotlight on me.

 

[noname223]

Haha. I imagined myself in Light's position. I would take out the world's evildoers (the ones who start wars) and find a way to post on it safely on the dark net as a prediction so they know someone out there is exacting VENGEANCE. Then I would make requirements, such as stopping wars or I kill the leaders, getting rid of homelessness, etc.

I would have to find a way to make money through it though. What would you do? One of the short stories, the character has them giving money to all of the people using a certain bank. That's risky in the modern day as it would put a spotlight on me.

Yeah in the modern world getting away with it is much harder. The protagonist of the 2020 story found a good way. Maybe writing evil billionaires into the Death Note. And they have to donate the money to the average citizen. In some ways it would be Bernie Sanders there should be no billionaires but in a radical way. By fighting inequality in general everyone would benefit also me. I think though it is likely they would find it out. For example with intelligencer services and tracking of internet activities.

I also wanted to ask where Light Yagami might go if he cannot go to heaven nor hell. It is a rule in the Death Note. There is the fan theory he becomes a shinigami.

 

[DeathByBananabread]

I absolutely LOVED the 2020 Death Note oneshot. Interesting use of the remaining characters. Near ends up exactly how you'd expect him to be & he's painfully relatable. I hope that design of him gets a figure or something someday.

I do think in-general the pressures of making a hit story for Shonen Jump (seemingly writing a lot of it rushed, on-the-fly) negatively impacted the latter half of Death Note & the rest of Obha's work. My pie-in-the-sky hope is that Death Note someday gets a remake with the same premise that can explore the idea more deeply & more thoroughly with less nonsense.

I love Near, & Mello is iconic, but BOTH characters could be completely, utterly, entirely removed for a better story. The musical does that, & while I'm not a fan of the musical it has a lot of fans devoted to it.

 

[stiarling]

Today I watched the first episode of Death Note again. I watched the series myriad of times as teenager. For a long time I thought it would always be my most favorite anime of all time. The last re-watch might be 10 years ago.

I recommend watching attack on titan if you havent already.

 

[noname223]

I recommend watching attack on titan if you havent already.

I think I read one volume. But this is over a decade ago before hell broke lose in my life.

I finished my re-watch of Death Note. And I still think the series is amazing. I forgot how great the series was. But the series works very differently compared to Ghost in the Shell.
I always was (still am) Light Yagami fan. It is a tragedy how such a smart young thinker becomes so evil. I think the power of the Death Note corrupted him. I think for some anime nerds it might be a tale what would you do with your bullies if you had the power over them. At least for me when I was younger I would have wanted the Death Note for revenge. I think nowadays I would use it very differently. And not really for revenge. I still consider it likely that I would use it. I think it would be too tempting. Even though, it sounds scary that you can neither go to hell nor heaven once you used it. Does Light Yagami become a shinigami then? I don't think the Death Note would make me happy though. The weight for one's actions must be crushing. In a different scenario one could have portrayed the inner demons more thoroughly. But it would not have fitted to Light.

In the last episode I have to admit Light reminded me of Adolf Hitler in his megalomania. The manga ending is better than the anime ending. In the anime Light maintains more dignitiy. I think though the post Kira case scene in the manga makes the manga ending way superior.

I think in the current re-watch I had more sympathy with L Lawliet. Maybe I would have a different opinion on Near and Mello if I read the manga. I watched animes numerous times though.

I am not sure whether Death Note or Ghost in the Shell is my favorite anime now. Gits made me cry a little bit and it is more emotional. Tachikoma I love you. I have a lot of Death Note merchandise. In my country not sure whether also in other countries they eventually realized that Death Note fans can be squeezed. I see so much merch and I already bought a lot of them. Not the very expensive things though. Death Note never made me cry.

I could write more and more. I recommend reading the volume 13 of the manga series. The How to Read. I think I should read this one more time. Also the interviews. There is a quiz in volume 13 which character you would actually be. And I think I never ended up as Light. One reason I am not popular with the girls. Lol. And I think I don't think shinigamis resemble me. This time I ended up as Soichiro Yagami. I think this disapppointed me alwayw when making this quiz.

My German teacher in school told me: Young people who read Goethe's Faust perceive the book completely different when they read it in a different stage of their life. Honestly, none of us actually read the book in our classes. We just watched the disturbing movie. And this is a shame for a German student with 14 points in the finale German exams. My point: I perceive Death Note very differently depending on my age. Lol.

 

[sannoji]

oh, death note! i've been really into it since 2020, just in time for that one-shot… donald trump being canon to the death note universe is really something! did you ever read the prequel one-shot? (it's in how to read so i guess so…) i enjoyed it but i think narratively it was definitely the right decision to remove the death eraser. i think if i had a death note i wouldn't be able to resist the urge to just write myself in it… i don't know if i'd be cut out for the whole moral crusade thing… plus i don't think that sort of thing can ever work long term. i mean, at least not in the way light wanted it.

i always see people my age who maybe haven't even read it wondering why light decided to reveal even more about himself when he could have just… not done that, but i think it's partly a character flaw and partly on purpose. the lind L taylor thing was a mistake because he's literally seventeen so wayyy too hasty and egotistical, but from then on he purposely is getting L closer so that he can catch L first… if you didn't do that, or better yet weren't so provoked by the broadcast, you could probably do it in the shadows for much longer. so if i did have that sort of inclination, that would be my plan… i think i'm much more introverted. that said, i did the how to read quiz and the only thing that affects whether i end up getting near or light is literally just choosing their organisations! i think it's an interesting exploration of what people would do with the power to kill… i think it also reveals a lot about the readers. and i agree with your point about viewing it differently as you grow older… even though it's been only 6 years i definitely read it very differently than i did in 2020.

i need to get around to reading bakuman… i thought about reading platinum end but then my first impression was that strange rant about homophobia in there. i guess ohba didn't like the death note fujoshis lol

 

[noname223]

oh, death note! i've been really into it since 2020, just in time for that one-shot… donald trump being canon to the death note universe is really something! did you ever read the prequel one-shot? (it's in how to read so i guess so…) i enjoyed it but i think narratively it was definitely the right decision to remove the death eraser. i think if i had a death note i wouldn't be able to resist the urge to just write myself in it… i don't know if i'd be cut out for the whole moral crusade thing… plus i don't think that sort of thing can ever work long term. i mean, at least not in the way light wanted it.

i always see people my age who maybe haven't even read it wondering why light decided to reveal even more about himself when he could have just… not done that, but i think it's partly a character flaw and partly on purpose. the lind L taylor thing was a mistake because he's literally seventeen so wayyy too hasty and egotistical, but from then on he purposely is getting L closer so that he can catch L first… if you didn't do that, or better yet weren't so provoked by the broadcast, you could probably do it in the shadows for much longer. so if i did have that sort of inclination, that would be my plan… i think i'm much more introverted. that said, i did the how to read quiz and the only thing that affects whether i end up getting near or light is literally just choosing their organisations! i think it's an interesting exploration of what people would do with the power to kill… i think it also reveals a lot about the readers. and i agree with your point about viewing it differently as you grow older… even though it's been only 6 years i definitely read it very differently than i did in 2020.

i need to get around to reading bakuman… i thought about reading platinum end but then my first impression was that strange rant about homophobia in there. i guess ohba didn't like the death note fujoshis lol

Yes, I read the prequel one-shot. And indeed the death eraser was sort of weird. And yes I think Light's arrogance makes him prone to strategical mistakes. But it is probably also just a plot device.

I can highly recommend Bakuman. It is probably the best manga about mangakas. I found Platinum End horrible and stopped reading it. I wish Ohba and Obata create a new manga. Platinum made this unlikely though.

 

[akiyama346]

I watched the show recently and I really liked it. I was kind of disappointed after L died though. But I really liked the ending, I honestly expected Light to win lol

 

[sannoji]

And yes I think Light's arrogance makes him prone to strategical mistakes. But it is probably also just a plot device.

yeah i think if he stayed in the shadows proper it would make it way too hard to have a story. plus it seems about right for the specific age and background ohba chose for him lol. i think teenagers have a real dunning-kruger effect for life in general or at least i did, thinking i had everything figured out.

i'll definitely check out bakuman then! and yeah i'd really like to see them collaborate again but since i hardly heard of platinum end for anything but criticism i agree it's unlikely. but we can hope! i think everyone was definitely surprised by the 2020 one-shot… i think i'd like to see more about death note but that's just the fan in me, as a story i think it's completely finished and doesn't really need much more expansion, at least in an 'official' capacity.

I watched the show recently and I really liked it. I was kind of disappointed after L died though. But I really liked the ending, I honestly expected Light to win lol

i'd really recommend the manga if you liked the show! ik it might feel kind of silly when you already know the story but for the second half in particular, it takes its time to develop in the manga so you get a better overall view of the characters, especially near. i think he attracted a lot of hate in the show because for some reason they decided the best thing to cut was any kind of exploration of how he reached his conclusions..

 

[BradGuy123]

I loved this show. It's what got me into anime. The transformation of Light a mild-mannered teenager who someone who was kind of hardened reminded me of what happened the main character in Breaking Bad.