Death Note
If you had the power to decide whether and when another person would die, would you use it? Not to hurt or injure someone—but to kill. Would you use it to take revenge, would you become a murderer, or would you never dare to use such power? Or would you perhaps try to eradicate the evil people of this world—killers, thieves, rapists, unscrupulous businessmen (“politicians? – note from subconscious”). And if you dared to take such a step, would you be able to carry on your conscience the lives of all those people you had taken, no matter how evil they were?
Yagami Light (often pronounced Yagami Raito) is a young, seventeen-year-old student. Handsome, charming, always calm, charismatic, popular among his peers, adored by girls. On top of that, he’s a world-class genius, with perfect grades and excellent athletic ability. A model son, a good older brother… In other words, a pretty perfect (perhaps too perfect) and complete person.
Yagami, in principle, has a good soul and a strong sense of justice. He knows the world is cruel and unfair and feels sorry for the suffering of others. His wish, after finishing his studies, is to follow in his father’s footsteps and work in the Japanese version of the FBI (though, with his intellect, he could choose any career he wanted).
However, despite his brilliance, our hero is bored with life. Something is clearly missing. Although he is charismatic, he doesn’t show much desire to make friends or engage deeply in romantic relationships. Though he studies, it seems he hardly needs to put in any effort to remain number one. The only thing he seems to care about, at least somewhat, is his family.
And one day, our hero finds an unusual notebook in his schoolyard, which for a moment seemed to him as if it literally fell from the sky.
The Death Note…
Clearly, someone was trying to be funny and prank people. You can find all sorts of junk on AliExpress for a few bucks that can be used for pranks.
Since it was obvious no one needed this notebook, Yagami, out of boredom, took it home. Like any teenager, he locked himself in his room and, mixing boredom with curiosity, began flipping through the Death Note.
How to Use the Death Note
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The human whose name is written in this note shall die.
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This note will not take effect unless the writer has the person’s face in mind when writing the name. Thus, people sharing the same name will not be affected.
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If the cause of death is written within 40 seconds of writing the person’s name, it will happen.
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If the cause of death is not specified, the person will simply die of a heart attack.
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After the cause of death is written, details of the death should be written within the next 6 minutes and 40 seconds.
Wow, someone really put a lot of effort into this prank, right?
At that very moment, on a small TV, Yagami saw a live news broadcast of a hostage situation. The television showed the kidnapper’s full name and photo. And of course, our righteous Yagami, out of boredom, wrote down the kidnapper’s name and began to stare at the clock, counting the seconds.
… 35…36…37…38…
…39…
…40
And nothing.
The kidnapper was still alive and the police would have to deal with him.
Yagami Light threw the stupid Death Note into the trash, turned back to his studies, went on to have a successful career, married a supermodel, had two children, later became an entrepreneur, and built a massive IT empire.
The End.
Okay, now let’s rewind the tape a little.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
… 35…36…37…38…
…39…
…40
The reporter announces that something strange is happening. Police storm the building where the kidnapper is hiding with hostages. Breaking news! The hostages are safe, and the kidnapper is dead! They say he suddenly collapsed. As if… as if he had suffered a heart attack.
Yagami Light is in disbelief.
Impossible… impossible! That must have been a coincidence! Yes, that’s it—it was just a coincidence!
But was it?
No, it wasn’t coincidence. Our hero Yagami soon had further proof. The Death Note was real.
Whoever’s name was written in the Death Note… would die.
But that’s not all!
If you order your Death Note in the next 10 minutes, you also get THIS for free!
Your very own God of Death! In Japanese culture, known as a Shinigami.
Enter Ryuk, the Shinigami who got bored and decided to “accidentally” drop his Death Note into the human world, hoping that someone interesting would pick it up and come up with original ways to use it.
Why is Ryuk interesting? Aside from being a Shinigami, he can only be seen and heard by the one who possesses his Death Note (in this case, Yagami). He’s quite the nuisance, loves apples, and is stingy with information (partly just his personality), and when he does give it, it’s often ambiguous. The one who possesses his Death Note isn’t his friend, and in most cases, it’s actually the Shinigami himself who eventually takes the life of the notebook’s user.
So, besides being ugly, he’s also an eccentric bastard.
But let’s get back to the events.
Yagami realizes that the Death Note is exactly what his life was missing. It gave him the power to punish criminals. The world exists in a strange state of status quo, where bad people are tolerated, and because of that, the world slowly rots. But he will fix it. He will become “Kira” (the Japanese pronunciation of the English word killer)—a vigilante who punishes criminals. No, he will become a new God, one who will create a world free of crime, where honest and decent people can live in peace. He will create a utopia. He will continue killing criminals.
Soon, criminals all over the world start dying under strange circumstances or of heart attacks—not just those who are free, but even those already in prison. Global media are convinced that behind all these deaths is one brilliant mastermind who is becoming the savior of the world—“Kira.” Criminals live in fear, while ordinary people admire and idolize him, and the police are unsure whether to respect him or not.
However, international security organizations, led by Interpol, are certain of one thing: the person behind the name “Kira” is nothing more than a murderer. Someone who thinks he is above the law, someone who believes he alone can decide who is guilty and who deserves to live or die.
But who can stand up to “Kira”/Yagami? One of the most intelligent people in the world, who possesses the strange ability to kill unseen?
Is Yagami just a few steps away from becoming the God in the shadows of a new world? Clearly yes. All he needs is a name, a surname, and a face to kill.
“Kira. You are in Japan. More precisely, in the Kanto region. And I’ve understood quite a lot about your method of killing.”
Yagami has gained a rival worthy of his brilliance: the most famous detective in the shadows, the one whom every security agency turns to when they need to catch the uncatchable criminal.
L.
No, that’s not a typo. The famous detective, whose face no one has ever seen, hides behind the pseudonym L.
And it didn’t take him long to figure out where “Kira” was.
But what if Yagami/“Kira” and L were to meet face-to-face? One only wants to discover the identity of the other, while the other just wants to prove that “Kira” is standing right in front of him.
From that moment, the real battle begins. A mental duel between two masterminds. A game of cat and mouse. Black against white. Sherlock Holmes versus Moriarty. Karpov versus Kasparov. Starbucks versus Costa Coffee. Ćevapi versus pork knuckle. Sarma versus beans (“Alright, we get the point—it’s a dead heat!” – note from subconscious).
The series Death Note is, in essence, a psychological thriller. We follow the mental chess match of two brilliant individuals who must think not five or ten, but twenty or more steps ahead. They must pay attention to every trivial detail, to every word they say to each other, because their lives (literally) depend on it.
Who will win this duel? Will Yagami create his utopia, or will L stop him? Is Ryuk the only Shinigami on Earth? What other hidden rules does the Death Note contain? Can a person ever rid themselves of the Death Note? Who is the mysterious model Misa Amane, who adores “Kira” and is willing to do anything for him?
There are so many intriguing questions hidden in Death Note.
The star of the series is, of course, “Kira”/Yagami Light. The moment he began using the Death Note, his true nature emerged. Although he did have a strong sense of justice and good intentions, the power of the notebook consumed him. Combined with his genius, he developed a God complex. He became convinced this power was destined for him, that he understood how the world should function, and that all evil people should be punished at any cost (i.e., killed). Because of that, he decided to use all his skills to the maximum: cold-bloodedly manipulating people and their emotions, using them like pawns and sacrificing them when necessary, staying calm at all costs, lying to those closest to him, exploiting confidential information from people around him… truly an egomaniac and egocentric, blind to how dangerous he had become for the world.
What more can be said, except that Yagami Light is such an incredibly complex and brilliantly written character that hours could be spent just analyzing his psychological profile and motivations. One thing is certain: at no point will you know whether to root for L to catch him, or for him to achieve his dream of a crime-free utopia. However, as the episodes progress, your view of Yagami will gradually crystallize. But you’ll still wait impatiently for each new episode, just to see how he manages to walk this very, very, very thin ice without being caught.
Of course, the other characters are also interesting. The mysterious, sweet-toothed L; the fanatical Misa Amane; the twisted Shinigami Ryuk; the policeman Matsuda, and the rest… their personalities won’t leave you indifferent.
Naturally, the visual design keeps up with the story. The characters are beautifully drawn, as is the environment. Dark colors dominate, perfectly matching the theme of the series. Particularly striking are the details when the main characters are feverishly thinking—time seems to stop, their eye color changes—or when they are writing in the Death Note, and it looks as if they’ve fallen into a trance. The musical score isn’t bad either.
All in all, this isn’t just one of the top animated series—this is one of the top series in general. It’s no coincidence that it received excellent ratings and has continued to intrigue audiences for years. If you love Sherlock Holmes and that kind of mental game, you’ll love Death Note.
And you, dear reader—would you dare to use the Death Note? 🙂
Imdb | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic
Release date: 2006
Format: TV show
Number of seasons: 1 (37 episodes)
Average episode runtime: 24 minutes
