There were many times when Death Note hit a lull, or was simply horrible, but episode 36 got me excited about the finale. [spoilers]

I seem to always be doing a write-up of series finales here on popho, and for the most part, I’ve been happy with how most of them have ended, even the Sopranos finale. (It seems at first everyone hated the Sopranos finale, but as more time passed and people let it sink in, the internet mass seems to accept it for what “it” is now.)

I started watching Death Note based on some recommendations from friends. Now let it be known that I am no anime connoisseur, or otaku, but I have been known to enjoy a series every now and then, and I thought the first several episodes of Death Note were fantastic. There were many times when Death Note hit a lull, or was simply horrible, but episode 36 got me excited about the finale.

We finally get to see the nearly invincible Yagami Light finally defeated at the hands of Near. It was interesting how Light’s defeat was not technically his fault, but due to Mikami not obeying his instructions. I just thought that for once Light would make a mistake or forget a variable and that would lead to his downfall, but no, Light was basically infallible. Light would have gotten away with everything it weren’t for that pesky Mikami and dog Near.

Like I earlier, I think Death Note’s main flaw was that it was too long. The entire series could have easily been condensed to the standard 26 or something episodes. Many of the characters just got annoying, and the one that I did like, L, ended up dying halfway through the series in one of the cheesiest anti-climatic anime deaths of all time. There’s also the whole “leap in logic” and the unreasonable reasoning that Light, L, Near, and the others make. (This did not bother me too much, but I can understand why this would be annoying.)

Death Note also had a lot of positives; very interesting concept, the early Light-L battles were phenomenal, and great animated sequences despite there being no real “fight” scenes. At times, the atmosphere was so thick, you could cut it with a cliche. Plus there’s the whole morality hoobahbahblah. The main character of the series, Yagami Light, could not be easily categorized into the traditional hero, anti-hero categories. I kind of saw him as a horrific vigilante, but I can see how some people would support his decisions to kill of the criminals of the world (it’s a tought call… would the world really be a better place if all criminals were killed?). If you fall into the later camp, you are a horrific vigilante supporter. Please seek help immediately.

All in all, I liked Death Note. I don’t watch many anime series to completion; the last time I actually finished one was Samurai Champloo and that was years and years ago. I can dwell on the negatives forever and ever, but as a whole, I thought Death Note was a worthwhile watch.

Score: 8.5

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