Death Note: My Take 2 - Character Review

*spoilers*

Ryuk : iApple iBored *****

'This is so boring'

'Humans are so interesting'

'Lightttttttt give me some applessssssssssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'

'There is nothing more I hate than explaining something twice'

'We eased each other's boredom for quite a long time'

'Good Bye Light'

Ryuk is the best shinigami in the series. He is amusing and he loves apples. He drops a Death Note into the human world whenever he is bored. He likes to taunt Light by delaying to mention some important detail about the Death Note and likes to be kept in suspense about Light's next moves. He makes it clear to Light that he is not on his side or on L's side. But he does occasional favors for his own amusement or to get some apples. He also gets annoyed when Light ignores him. I like the way his character was portrayed.

Light Yagami : iGod iJustice *****

'I will become the God of the New World'

'I am Justice!!!!!!!!!!!!'

'Matsuda you idiot!!!!!!!!!!'

'Where are you Misa......Ms.Takeda'

'eeeeeeeehahahahahahahhahahaaaaaaaaa haha hahaha haaaaaaaa'

Light Yagami, with his creepy little evil smile is a unique character for being both likeable and despicable. He is extremely intelligent, perfect, popular and athletic with an imperturbable composure. But he is also a conceited, arrogant, cold, apathetic and manipulative egomaniac. His ability to manipulate is scary. He never hesitates to kill anyone who threatens the idea of his ideal totalitarian world where he will be the supreme power. I have always rooted for Light even though I did not like the fact that he never hesitates to kill honest people who cross his path because I thought his 'New World' would be better. I wish he had managed somehow without killing all those innocent people. It is hard to decide whether he is good or evil. I think Death Note spoiled him and it's power got into his head.

I wonder what would have happened if Light did not react to L’s first move?? Even after that what if he had decided not kill Ray Penber? L would have been unable to narrow down his list of suspects. That would have left Light in peace with Ryuk, ball point pens, apples and without porn magazines and the evil potato chip eating ordeal. Even the great L cannot convict him without any solid evidence. If Light wasn't obsessed about beating L, things would have been different I guess. This reminds of one of the Death Note comics by SilentReaper from Deviantart. And man seriously who needs reputation when you are God??

I would have loved to see Light having a serious romantic interest. It would be definitely interesting to see how he would woo his girl.Light may not be an angel of mercy, but at the end you would feel sorry for him. If I had a Death Note and if Light existed, I would have given it to Light. I do not deny that he is evil, but still I support his views.

L : iJustice iEatSweet iCatchKira *****

‘I am justice’

‘Because I am also childish and I hate loosing too’

‘Light I am L’

‘Is she always like this’

‘Matsuda is acting stupid again’

‘You are the only friend I have ever had’

‘Watari’

L is the world’s top rated detective and also the top rated character in the anime. He is the most intriguing and idiosyncratic character in the series. His quirks include crouching on a chair instead of sitting, a diet filled with desserts. And holding anything delicately (His way of holding the mobile is epic). He has been portrayed in such way that despite all his eccentricities he was still a visual treat to watch. You can’t help but like this guy.

His appearance in contrast to Light, is disheveled and slouchy masking his extraordinary deduction skills. He is also a great tennis player. His eyes are emotionless and his voice is always in the same low monotone. He always has this intense and eerie gaze. I guess he never lost his composure throughout his existence in the series except just before he died. He raised his voice saying ‘Quick find the Shinigami…..’

Even though Light was hell bent on killing L, L might have started to respect and like Light towards the end. He looked like he half hoped that Light was not Kira. The writer of the series, Tsugumi Ohba had some nerve to kill such a popular character.

This bizarre brilliant earned more applause than Light did. It’s been said that after L’s death, the series ratings dropped. I would have liked to see L’s past. He was my favorite character on the series.

Misa Amane : iLoveLight iAnnoy **

‘Oh Light I love you’

‘Light Light Light’

‘I am Light’s girl friend’

‘Misa Misa Misa'

Misa’s character is annoying. I guess she was created just for the sake of a female lead character being on the show. Anyways, she is an airhead model who is infatuated with Light. Apart from the fact she was not a boring character, there is little to discuss about her other than what I mentioned above. This is again one of those SilentReaper comics I like about Misa.

Rem: Shinigami Rem developed feelings for Misa and ended up being a pain in the neck for Light. Rem was boring. Light tricked her into killing L for the sake of Misa and brought her death. Good Riddance I say. Rem was boring.

Watari: He assists L in his missions. I liked this character even though less has been shown about him. This good old gentleman established Wammy’s House, an orphanage for gifted children where L, Near, Mello and Matt were brought up.

Near and Mellow: They are fine characters, but they failed create the magic L did and thus left little impact. I couldn’t have cared less whether they lived or died in the series, but they are likeable.

Teru Mikami: He was fun to watch. He looked sharp and every bit like a criminal prosecutor. He is an ardent supporter of Kira. He refers to Light as 'God'. I liked his 'Delete Delete Delete' rant.

Touta Matsuda: A comic relief. Which he managed perfectly. A simple, typical young man and an average detective.

Ray Penber and Naomi Misora: Typical plain characters who justified their roles. They were pawns in our ego maniac's 'all-for-greater-good' machinations. Poor guys.

Hitoshi Demegawa: He is the delusional Kira's spokesperson and the director of Sakura TV. A selfish character designed as a publicity hound.

Soichiro Yagami: Typical dad and police officer. Kind of boring.

Sachiko Yagami: Light's mother and house wife unaware of her son's obsession.

Sayu Yagami: The naughty and cute sister. She goes into a state of shock after the kidnap.

Kiyomi Takada: Light's manipulative victim other than Misa. Unlike Misa, she is intelligent, calm and composed. But unfortunately she has fallen for Light which brought her misfortune. Her character is just plain old boring.

Kyosuke Higuchi: The dumb, greedy villian.

Shuichi Aizawa: The tough, sincere police officer. Has been portrayed as having-problems-with family types.

Kanzo Mogi: Silent but dedicated types. Addressed as 'Motchi' by Misa.

Hirokazu Ukita: Sincere brave guy. The one from the Kira investigation team who was killed by Misa.

The rest of the minor characters. Worth mentioning are: Aiber - a professional con man, Wedy - a professional burglar ( both hired by L), Sidoh – a shinigami who stalks Ryuk and whose death note made its way to Mellow, Matt – Mellow’s accomplice, Stephen Gevanni – the SPK investigator assigned to Mikami, Halle Lidner and Anthony Rester of the SPK team.

Death Note: My Take 1

Death Note is an amazing anime about a 17 year old student Light Yagami who is bored and disgusted with the crimes in the society. One day, Light encounters a book called Death Note and its owner Shinigami (God of Death) Ryuk. When Light knows that he could kill anyone by just writing their name in the Death Note while having their face in his mind, there is no stopping him. He decides to kill all the criminals and create a ‘New World’ free of crime where only honest people can live in peace. This earns him the title ‘Kira’ (Killer in English). It’s not long before the police realize that they are witnessing a mass murder. They call in ‘L’ a detective with extraordinary intellect.

From here it becomes a cat and mouse chase between Kira and L. The mental board game between these two becomes mind blowing. The constant battle of wit comes down to ‘Will he outthink my outthinking?’

What I really love about Death Note is its impeccable suspense. Just watch two episodes and then you will not stop till you see the last one. My heart skipped a beat in the last but one episode. It also raises some curious questions about ethics. If you had the power to kill people without getting caught who would you kill? Is it alright to kill criminals? Do they deserve it? Is that considered as murder?

Even though Death Note is an astounding series in the recent anime history, it is not without plot holes. For instance there is this scene where Sidoh takes the Death Note from Mellow. Mellow says that the notebook flew from his hands. It has been said that anyone who touches the Death Note can see its original owner, the Shinigami. How come Mellow couldn’t see Sidoh even though he had touched the book? Is it like they can only see the God of Death after the original human owner has touched it?? Or did I miss any point? Ok I will watch it again just to make sure :D. And Teru Mikami suicides with a pen? And the blood flows out like a fountain? Oh give me a break.

Another flaw is the character development. We really don’t get to know the characters much. For me everyone seemed kind of shallow with no deep emotions. If you consider Light, he never regrets while killing and neither he has any deep emotions towards any other character nor he has any romantic interest. All he cares about is his ‘I-am-justice-I-am-God-I-create-New-World’ perception. That was kind of dreary. Still I love him :D

Keeping the critic part of me aside, I think Death Note is awesome. Simply fascinating. Totally Love Love Love :D :D :D. I could watch it everyday. Hell I am watching it everyday.