Anime is no cartoon. Death Note proves it.

Written by SolidEther on November 4, 2010 at 7:35 AM

Death Note is one of the rare anime that proves the art form is just as signifgant a medium for cinema as live action or more so.

Death Note is a master piece of writing and clever storytelling. It involves two minds of two young men on different ends of a puzzle involving homocide, investigation and psychological deductive reasoning. On par with any great psychological thriller but not the same run of the mill detective drama. I usually do not get into those types of re-cone films. I will tell you Death Note is entirely new and unique.

A Shinigami (those that control death in the living world) Ryuk plays a role in the evolution of an entity known as Kira and his battle with the worlds most prominent detective known only as L. Both are unknown by thier real identities to anyone. Their foray begins when the bored shinigami "ahem, accidentally" allows a death note to fall into the human world. This note has the most ominous power to control the exact time, place and type of death that will befall anyone written in the book. It has certain rules, and Light Yagami finds it and is the one who learns about the notebooks rules from Ryuk. Ryuk is selective about revealing consequences and chooses to watch events unfold as his own entertainment. This creates such an intense relationship between the two that they are not friends but certainly not enemies. That makes for some serious drama. Light decides to punish criminal types and develops and omnipotent God syndrome. I will not tell the story entirely but it is ultimately achieved in this what if scenario to a gripping extent.

Death Note is a anime that has no large scale powerful supernatural blasts or big breasted wizard girls with shirts that rip off, and super powered items and Treasure. It does have the edge of your seat addictive can't wait to see the next episode drama befitting any anime lover who enjoys clever storytelling. It has power on a much more powerful intellectual scale. It makes you think about it and each episode is titled with one word that perfectly sums up the overall base in the storyline.

That is not to say it is all boring talk and crime scene investigation and drawn out story. It has the perfect amount of supernatural surrealism with plot twists and just the right touch of humor to bring the exploits of every character to true life. Death Note manages to make even conversations seem just as intense as a last breath sword battle through great cinematography and superb dialouge. It has an incredible way of creating this entirely impossible event become believable real. The two main protaginasts are so unknowingly close to discovering each others secrets and so matched with an extraordinary intelligence and overwhelming clever thinking watching them play the mental chess game is pulse-pounding.

Even if psychological thrillers are not your usual viewing type. I would suggest trying 5 episodes, by then I can almost guarantee you'll be wanting more long after the whole series is over. It has excellent animation. Quality character designs with exacting detail and beautifully drawn scenes. The characters personalities are diverse and memorable. There are no large battles as I said, but a lot of police -detective style action and intense moments. The only flaw is that if you are a very serious action fan some episodes will be plain, but I found them all appropriate to the overall story.

Death Note is good. Warner Brother released a live action movie in Japan type of good. Try it Fellow anime access members.

Solid Ether