Death Note is my favorite anime of all time (as can be seen in my top five favorite anime article seen here).  Add in that there is an American live action adaptation of this series and I thought it was time that I did a highlight on it.  The Death Note American live action adaptation IMDB page is here.  When more casting decisions (like who will play L) are made on the movie, I will definitely be doing an article on it.  Meanwhile, check out this awesome fan made video for the anime series of Death Note by 2010/01/28-Nothingness on youtube.

Death Note is a story that revolves around Light Yagami, an ingenious high school student, who stumbles across a notebook called a Death Note.  This is no ordinary notebook, as he soon comes to find out, but a notebook dropped by the shinigami Ryuk.  If any one’s name is written in the Death Note while the person writing the name is picturing their face in their mind, then that person will die within forty seconds from a heart attack.  The Death Note can be further used to plan out elaborate ways to kill people if the person with the Death Note starts to write a means and time of death.  Light not only doesn’t shy away from the Death Note, but really embraces it as he begins to write down any criminal whose name and picture he gets a hold of with Ryuk watching him as he does this.

Soon these deaths start to look suspicious to the ICPO (International Criminal Police Organization) as the deaths are crossing international borders (though most are in Japan).  This is when a genius investigator and recluse who only goes by the name “L” steps in and vows to take down Kira which is Light’s nickname on the internet.  The story turns into a cat and mouse game as these two circle each other and whoever figures out the other’s identity first wins and kills the other.  It’s an intense and elaborate chess match with all the world and the people in it as pieces on the board.

This anime was one of the first ones I saw and after that I began searching for anything that could equal the sheer depth, intensity and brilliance of this anime.  So far, nothing has toppled Death Note in those categories.

Light Yagami

Light Yagami has to be one of the most interesting villains out there.  And one could say that Death Note is really the story of a making of a villain and his unraveling.  To start out with Light has everything in his favor: he’s handsome, extremely intelligent, comes from a well off and respected family, charismatic, and he has a bright future in front of him.  So what would drive such a seemingly well rounded individual to use the Death Note in the first place?

Light is what some people would call a megalomaniac with a god complex.  At first, you’re thinking: he’s doing good and killing criminals and “bad guys”.  Then you start to see that he is not doing it for the common good (well not as the main reason), but because he sees himself as a god who is going to change the world as he sees it.  He feels that he has what is necessary to make these decisions and he wants to clean up the world.  Yet with anyone that young and with everything in his favor, his pride and his ego will not allow for any sort of opposition to his plans, even if that opposition are the police and good people.

Throughout the series, you really see the damage having such a power over life and death can have especially on someone who is as intelligent as Light is.  His ego eventually leads to his own undoing.  This series takes a close look at what makes up a villain, one that is probably one of the darkest minds I have seen.  Even though the story is told mainly through Light’s perspective, never did I actually root for him.  I actually wanted the cops (in particular L) to stop him. Though there are fans out there who root for Light. After he kills the FBI agents and the fiancée of Raye Penber that was when I knew that anyone could end up in the Death Note, even those who are good people working to protect others.  It is at this point that it becomes obvious that Light’s motivation is not altruistic at all.  He wants to become the new god of the world and wants people to tremble in fear of him.  And the question to ask is:  once all the truly bad people are gone, what offense will get someone in the Death Note?  An opposing opinion?

This is what makes Death Note so brilliant.  It asks some really thought provoking questions especially on issues of what is right and who determines what is right as well as what is the true nature of evil.

“L”

I remember seeing the Death Note posters for the limited release of the Japanese live action adaptation in America.  This was before I ever watched the anime.  I was in a theater waiting in line to see another movie and I saw the Death Note poster.  Without knowing the plot, I actually thought “L” in the poster was more ominous and was the villain of the story.

Looking at it now, I have no idea what made me think that, but I think it really says something about the story and the nature of the characters.

“L” (whose true name is Lawliet) is a quirky and reclusive genius who helps out the police to solve their hardest cases.  He is extremely intelligent, but has some curious habits like always sitting in a crouched position (because his reasoning ability will drop drastically if he sits normal).  Appearance wise he is the complete opposite of Light as in he is disheveled, always wears the same clothes, walks and sits strange and he is a bit more socially awkward.

Yet when it comes to stroke and counterstroke in this dark game he is playing with Light, “L” can easily match and counteract Light’s moves.  Unlike Light, he is trying to do what is right as he sees Kira as being a mass murderer and no one should play God and circumvent the law.

I found myself drawn to L’s quirky and yet somewhat innocent behavior as he tries to catch Light.  There are plenty of times that L full out tells everyone he thinks Light is Kira, but there is no proof.  What’s interesting is that the one character (Light) who has all the attributes of a hero is actually the villain and “L”, the strange one, is the hero in a way.  Yet even L does things that are not completely the actions of a typical hero.  Both Light and L are extremely complex and human characters in that they both have their flaws.

Death Note is an edge of your seat thriller that is thought provoking and exciting.  The intensity of this anime may be better than a typical action story.  I liked the play on good and evil and how there really isn’t a firm line of who is right or wrong (though I lean towards L).  If you are an anime lover or someone who has never seen an anime in their life and wants to watch a good thriller, check out Death Note.  It’s one of the few animes I would say is good both dubbed and subbed.  It is a brilliant story and well worth the watch.