Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
Revolution666
May contain light spoilers...
Death Note is a solid series with some brilliant moments in it, but some equally ridiculous ones too. Most of it is pretty much the same thing: a long-ass cat-and-mouse game that keeps taking turns going for and against the two lead foes. Early on it's rather boring as you watching everything take it's time to pick up, and there's even an episode that consists almost entirely of two characters wandering around aimlessly that get real boring real fast. Once the big twists start happening they're mostly impressive, but you almost get kind of sick of them after they keep coming over and over and they start to get a little repetitious. The last few episodes leading up to a major character's death are really good, but after it actually happens the plot goes off th…
Read at the sourceSorrowful
The #1 popular anime on this site, and perhaps in the world. But does Death Note deserve all that popularity and praise? People are entitled to their own opinions based off of how they perceived (if there were any) the themes in Death Note, and how much people individually enjoyed the anime. But this anime is definitely one that EVERYONE should watch and decide for themselves how much they like/dislike it. If you haven't seen Death Note yet, then I'd definitely recommend you to watch it, because in my own opinion, Death Note is the greatest anime made. Of course, I may have over-thought the "deep" concepts in Death Note that may not have been written to be interpreted that way, but I'll write in my review, facts and the way I personally interpreted Death Note.
First off the story was sur…
Read at the sourceNegativeFeelings
There's something fundamentally contrived about Death Note which takes what would normally be its best quality, the story/plot, and makes it difficult for a viewer to enjoy it once they start questioning the plot points and devices. For different people, these are things that can either be overlooked or overtake the show absolutely, and it really depends on both how critically one wants to watch Death Note and how far they're willing to suspend their disbelief. The major problem Death Note faces is how seriously it takes the threat of a killer notebook being dropped into the world, and how realistic a stance it takes on the response by police forces. Since it attempts to be as realistic as possible given a fantastic story, the viewer is forced to start viewing the show critically, and if y…
Read at the sourceZeomne
Allow me to explain my love of "the pay off" in entertainment:
I hate when I watch something, and it doesn't really matter if I'm following it or not because nothing pays off. So many times I the credits of a movie roll and I'm left stupified thinking to myself "That's it? What about the ___ and the ___? What was the point of me paying attention to the first hour and 20 minutes of this film?"
Some shows or movies set little subconscious mental snares, so that when something happens later on-it pays off. Your friend walks in the room and sees a scene that looks like nothing happened, but you're going :O OMGG! They don't understand what it means, the significance of what happened, because they didn't see the set up. Therefore, when you watched that early part and did get the set up, it was…
Read at the sourceMind-freak
“The human whose name is written in this note shall die.” – Death Note
Imagine one day you come across a notebook, but it’s not like those notebooks that you can buy at the nearest bookstore for a buck or two. By writing someone’s name on that notebook, you can kill that someone. What would you do? Would you kill those people who bully you during your grade school? Would you kill those who rejected you when you confessed your love? Or would you…?
The story of Death Note starts when a perfect student, appearance-wise and intelligence-wise, Yagami Light comes across the Death Note, a Shinigami’s (God of Death, literally) notebook. On Death Note, an instruction of how to use the Death Note is written in English language. Light, being curious, tries to write a criminal’s name onto the Death No…
Read at the sourcePolyphemus
Q: What happens when an unstoppable Mary Sue meets an immovable Mary Sue?
A: Death Note.
The protagonist, and his adversary, are both genius pretty boys (with the odd names of Light and L) who have an incredible amount of achievements and skill for their young age. Light somehow predicts things that he could not possibly have the foresight to predict, because, you know, probability is a thing. Don’t worry though, it’s not like you know that he’ll always win, because L possesses this exact same unexplained and ludicrous ability to predict the future; he just does so without a cheesy “Just as planned!” catchphrase that makes me want to shoot myself every-time I hear it. In this way, rather than being a dark and mysterious thriller, Death Note often manages to be an overblown mental mudsli…
Read at the sourcehontobaka
Death Note. Another famous anime. But this time there is one reason for it. In fact, there are lots of good reasons but they can be summed up in one thing: this anime is amazing. Want to know why? Then just keep on reading.
Story (8): The first half of this anime is a masterpiece. The concept itself - the Shinigami's notebook which grants the person who has it the power to kill anyone by simply writing the person's name while picturing the face in his mind - is already brilliant to begin with as it presents the viewer questions like "What would I do if I had that power?" The way it is developed brings us yet more questions and defies our morals.
Light Yagami, the main character, is a brilliant high school student who's angry at all the injustice in the world. One day, he finds the noteboo…
Read at the sourceabeldi
To tell the truth, there are very, very few animes that I really disliked like this one. Actually, dislike is a euphemism. I should say, I loath it. And for good reasons.
I know lots of people think Death Note is one of the masterpiece of the anime-manga industry and that is also why I forced myself to watch it till the last minute. But as I was going through this anime, disliking it more with every episode, I really thought that it was probably me not grasping the full subtlety of the story. But by the last episode, I could honestly say, that this was simply a smartly presented empty shell. Maybe the manga is better than that, I wouldn't know, as I haven't read it. And to be honest, I don't feel like to.
The whole story starts on quite an interesting premise, with a complete psychopat…
Read at the sourcekrelyan
Adapted by Madhouse in 2006 from the popular Shonen Jump manga written by Ohba Tsugumi and drawn by Obata Takeshi, Death Note is an entertaining ride if an ultimately shallow work. Unless you just got into the fandom, I’ll assume you are already familiar with the basic plot.
One aspect of the show that its fans seem to constantly praise is its writing and if you can swallow the cheesy, over-the-top dialogue (“All according to plan,” must be repeated at least a dozen times throughout the series) then you will definitely be rewarded with fan-favorite gems such as the infamous, “I’ll take a potato chip… and EAT IT!” scene. The writing also has a tendency to rely on unnecessarily absurd plans in order to establish its characters as geniuses. While some viewers may find these facets clever and…
Read at the sourceiamjoe
Death Note is original, awesome, and a great anime to watch. The only reason it isn't perfect is because of Near who has to be the lamest enemy ever. Also, the ending was a total cop-out. DUMB, DUMB, DUMB.
The art wasn't that great, but I sure did like this anime anyway.
The sound was fitting; it suited the tense atmosphere and scenes.
The characters were all intriguing and deep, especially Light. It's cool to see such an evil protagonist in an anime. He's certainly original.
If you want a super-cool anime to watch, watch Death Note. Except for L and Near, who made everything totally unfabulous.
Read at the sourceSaperella
When approaching Death Note it is important not to let any preconceptions you may have about the series cloud your vision of the series itself. Being one of the most popular anime/manga series of recent times, means that it has its fair share of both advocates and detractors. In fact it is easy to have already formed an opinion on Death Note without having watched a single episode or read a single volume.
So, does it live up to the hype? Is Death Note a series worth watching? Well, the answer, as is often the case, is both yes and no.
The series' plot is one of it's major selling points. Being somewhat loosely classed as a 'Psychological thriller', the storyline is the single most important aspect of the series' success. The series certainly starts out strongly, with the first five or so…
Read at the sourceholdenn
Death Note will forever be the best suspense anime for me..... and millions of fans.
The anime starts off Light Yagami, a brilliant college student. While walking towards home, he stumbled upon a notebook that has the word Death Note written on it. As soon as he finds out that the notebook can easily kill off anyone by just knowing the name and face of an person, Light only desire for one thing. To be God of the new world that he will create by erasing all unjust people of the world. And nothing in the world can stop him....except an illustrious detective, who hides under the alias of L, known for solving every case he took.
While not successful on all fronts, it certainly does its share of anticipating, entertaining, and making the viewer think... which is a lot more than most anime's m…
Read at the sourceMedliSage
Death Note
Before you read this review I want you to know that a "10" does not mean perfect, because nothing is perfect. A rating of "10" is what MAL says it is, "outstanding."
Story (10/10)
I'm not going to bother writing a synopsis of the preface of the story since you can read one if you scroll up a little. So moving onto to what I thought of it:
One of the things I loved about Death Note is I felt the need to pay attention. If you don't, you're going to miss what's going on -- and not only did I need to pay attention, I wanted to. Something I haven't experienced in an anime for a long time. The story was unique, original, intriguing, and really makes you rethink your own morals and views on the world, another thing I had yet to experience while watching an anime. On a side note, I p…
Read at the sourcenyarlathotepsama
I might be the only living anime fan that hasn’t enjoyed Death Note. The reason really is because it seemed to be gimmicky to me. It doesn’t mean this series is in any way bad, no not at all, it just isn’t my cup of tea as they say. After about half the series I began to feel less and less like finishing, counting the number of episodes I had left to watch. To be honest it is a quality series with many and more good features, themes, characters and ideas, but it just didn’t mesh with me.
The writing in the series is its strongest points and the voice it uses to tell the story in each episode is very strong, I suppose the real problem I had was with the supporting characters, I just didn’t find any of them really entertaining. The plot was good and can keep y…
Read at the sourcekiriska
Death Note was probably one of the first anime series for which I read the manga first, but that's the main reason I was disappointed in it.
STORY - As I said in my review of the manga, I find Death Note's story impressive in many ways, the most prominent of which is its ability to deal with such serious and controversial issues without offending or alienating anyone. The themes in this series are some of the most relevant and volatile ones I've encountered in a long time, and I really admire the manga for that. Unfortunately, adaptations of brilliant works will always be subject to comparisons with the original. This will probably be a very comparative review then, and I know myself to be a bit of a purist; that's my bias. Just keep it in mind, I suppose.
The first twenty-three or so e…
Read at the sourceTheLlama
This has to be one of the most ingenious shows ever!
Yagami Light finds the Death Note, a notebook he found falling down from the sky one day. If he knows someone's face and writes down their name, they die.
So, he wants to kill all the criminals in the world with this, and he gets off to a good start. But then this legendary detective - L - is set to stop him. So starts the battle of the extraordinary geniuses. Yes, they're geniuses. And the same can be said about the ones who created the show. At times I just had to pause it and take a deep breath because everything that happened was so ingenious. Seriously, how could anyone think up such a good plot. It's just... awesomeness! Light trying to avoid detection by L, and L trying to find out who the killer - a.k.a. Kira - is. They even ge…
Read at the sourceMaster10K
This is a unique show that brings a new meaning to the concept of “Death Gods”. Death Note would have to be the finest written non-action, non-romance anime/manga of our time, with a story that can easily get you hooked. ^_^
This is the setting of this incredibly unique show. From the summary it may not seem like something worth watching but the first two episodes are capable of getting almost any anime fan hooked, to this thought-provoking show. Underneath all the death and normal day-to-day occurrences is a battle of wits, where you have two geniuses Light and L, constantly trying to outsmart each other. During these mental clashes it is easy to change the side you support, as both characters are so alike but with different ideals.
The animation quality of this show can onl…
Read at the sourceXyik
Death Note is definitely one of the best anime series of all time, for it presents a deeply unique and compelling story rivaled by few. I can truly say it is one of the best, if not the best anime I've watched.
Story: The story is unique. A notebook falls from the sky, and the human who writes a name in it is capable of killing the individual pictured in his mind (I left out the details that you don't care about). This presents the viewers with a highly debatable theme based on morals and justice. Yagami Light, who obtains this power to kill, utilizes it in hopes of creating a utopia in which he is god. Criminals, and only criminals, are to be punished in hopes of a perfect society. Is this however, right? Is it right to kill individuals who have done wrong, and will do wrong again? Can t…
Read at the sourcejet2r0cks
Death Note is probably one of the best series I’ve ever seen. What I really like about it is that I feel the need to pay attention – that rarely happens with the other series I’ve watched. If you blink too much you might miss what’s happening.
Everything that happened was just so interesting. The details are always so well thought of and there are little to no loopholes. I think something major happens in each episode. I always have my jaw dropped at the end of each episode. I do have to admit that Death Note died down around 25-26. I’ll leave it at that to avoid spoilers.
The characters are just amazing. The way they think and act really contributes to the output of the story. I like how Light, despite his evil and sick ways (I hate his evil grins and laugh…
Read at the sourceRanivus
This is one of the most engaging thriller anime i have ever seen EVER. How could that be? Let me count the ways...
Story - The first story arc involves an extremely intelligent high schooler (Yagami Light) with the power to kill against the best detective the world has to offer (only known to the world as "L"). Its a classic story of cat and mouse, one consistently outwitting the other with cunning tactics and sly tricks. Each episode also leaves the viewer with just enough suspense to keep you wanting more EVERYTIME! Not only that, like any good detective show (i.e. CSI), both main characters love to tell the viewers exactly how they pull off plans and show of their intelligence.
Animation its very good and smooth no stuttering. The whole screen seems to have a purpose. The mood of the…
Read at the source