Death Note was awesome as a first series... then on the second it went to shit. And my favorite characters were L and Light. They made the cool logic battles. The snotty one was bad. And the movie sucked.
Decoy Doctorpus: I loved deathnote, it's a rare breath of fresh air in the stale anime industry. I do believe it went downhill a little bit in the second act, the new characters just weren't very appealing. Near and Mellow stood out as particularly shitty.
So true... Though I'm mostly thinking of that last comment. It appears most people got sick of Death Note when the "cast rotation" started up. I liked the way the first, um, "arc" went, but the second one became offensively stupid before descending into a tiresomely predictable conclusion.
Death Note had a lot of potential, but it just didn't do enough with it. Blade of the Immortal, Monster, RahXephon, Ghost in the Shell: SAC (either season, I've seen almost all of the 2nd season, and I still prefer the first one) and even Hunter X Hunter all do a better job with presenting an intelligent storyline in a compelling fashion, as they don't equate "intelligent" with "having a lot of words."
Seriously, Death Note's as bad as any random average Webcomic in that way.
I disagree. I don't think Death Note set out to be 'intelligent' per-se. In fact I think the ridiculously complex double dealings made the series a bit silly but it gave it that cat-and-mouse appeal which is what kept me coming back all the way to the end. I don't think it was particularly verbose, particularly when compared to GITS: SAC which has obscene ammounts of waffling dialogue in places. In my opinion Death Note is the most compelling anime to come out in a long while, perhaps because it's more like a regular tv show in tone and structure than your average anime.
Also, Rahxephon is one of my favourite anime bootlegs. I call it "The Chinese Evangelion"
Trace2010: I enjoy Deathnote. I believe it is simply another Faust, but presented in a very creative and intelligent way. I also enjoy FMA.
EDIT: To be honest, I have seen up through Episode 29 on youtube, but then they pulled it, so I haven't been able to see much else.
If you have access to Hulu.com (I think there's a regionacy issue for some people), you can watch Death Note for free. It's all in original japanese with subtitles, I believe. I think they've got the whole show up. You do have to create user account like on youtube, but it's all free.
i prefer the deathnote manga to the anime, of course my favorite episode is the last episode, because it ended and that heavy metal intro song while i thought it was good they started it to early and i got tired of it
Not Good: ITT: Weeaboo's debate on the cutest Yaoi couple.
Easily Lelouch and Suzaku from Code Geass.
Easily. Yes, that would be a perfect word for it.
Death Note was good to begin with, but it went down the tubes with the Near and Mello storyline. I especially liked it once Light got onto the task force and started helping them. The epsionage was perfect.
Trace2010: I enjoy Deathnote. I believe it is simply another Faust, but presented in a very creative and intelligent way. I also enjoy FMA.
EDIT: To be honest, I have seen up through Episode 29 on youtube, but then they pulled it, so I haven't been able to see much else.
If you have access to Hulu.com (I think there's a regionacy issue for some people), you can watch Death Note for free. It's all in original japanese with subtitles, I believe. I think they've got the whole show up. You do have to create user account like on youtube, but it's all free.
or perhaps try www..com - the downloads are a little slow but otherwise it is good
Ronwue: Death Note was awesome as a first series... then on the second it went to shit. And my favorite characters were L and Light. They made the cool logic battles. The snotty one was bad. And the movie sucked.
Who exactly is the "snotty one"? And what was wrong with the movie?
Death Note is probably my favorite anime, or at least is in the top five, and I enjoyed the whole series. I did think that the series went a bit downhill after L died, but that was mostly because L is my favorite character ever , but I did think that Mello and Near (once you stop thinking of him as an L clone) were both interesting and likable. I think Decoy Doctorpus did a good job of summarising what made the series great.
Oh, and Light had the epic line (you knew this was coming, people): "I'll take a potato chip... and eat it! "
Decoy Doctorpus: I loved deathnote, it's a rare breath of fresh air in the stale anime industry. I do believe it went downhill a little bit in the second act, the new characters just weren't very appealing. Near and Mellow stood out as particularly shitty.
So true... Though I'm mostly thinking of that last comment. It appears most people got sick of Death Note when the "cast rotation" started up. I liked the way the first, um, "arc" went, but the second one became offensively stupid before descending into a tiresomely predictable conclusion.
Death Note had a lot of potential, but it just didn't do enough with it. Blade of the Immortal, Monster, RahXephon, Ghost in the Shell: SAC (either season, I've seen almost all of the 2nd season, and I still prefer the first one) and even Hunter X Hunter all do a better job with presenting an intelligent storyline in a compelling fashion, as they don't equate "intelligent" with "having a lot of words."
Seriously, Death Note's as bad as any random average Webcomic in that way.
I disagree. I don't think Death Note set out to be 'intelligent' per-se. In fact I think the ridiculously complex double dealings made the series a bit silly but it gave it that cat-and-mouse appeal which is what kept me coming back all the way to the end. I don't think it was particularly verbose, particularly when compared to GITS: SAC which has obscene ammounts of waffling dialogue in places. In my opinion Death Note is the most compelling anime to come out in a long while, perhaps because it's more like a regular tv show in tone and structure than your average anime.
Also, Rahxephon is one of my favourite anime bootlegs. I call it "The Chinese Evangelion"
Well, I'm talking about the Death Note MANGA, because that's what I was exposed to. The "talking heads with massive word balloons" effect is in full force in those books. I'm not going to watch the anime, however, because I doubt the anime would actually be BETTER from a storyline standpoint. It usually isn't, if the original work was a manga.
RahXephon is my favorite anime of all time. A lot of people consider it a cheap Evangelion rip-off, but I see it as the culmination of all of Eva's wasted potential. The characters are a lot more human and likable, and the plot manages to be vast, yet still personal to the characters. The conclusion is also extremely satisfying. It's like the creators of RahXephon looked very carefully at Evangelion, took note of all the little places where it went wrong, then took precautions to reign themselves in whenever they went a bit too close to those spots.
Really, only the episode structure is similar... Although it's VERY similar. Episode 19 will always stand out in my mind as the pinnacle of the series (apart from the last episode.) Episode 19 has an emotional impact and maturity not usually found in anime, and few things stand out in my mind more. It packs about the same punch as the conclusion of Silent Hill 2 or Se7en.
Well, I could talk about RahXephon all day, but I won't. I will say, however, that fans of Death Note may find RahXephon very engrossing. Also, it doesn't lose itself halfway through the episodes, unlike Death Note.
Ronwue: Death Note was awesome as a first series... then on the second it went to shit. And my favorite characters were L and Light. They made the cool logic battles. The snotty one was bad. And the movie sucked.
Who exactly is the "snotty one"? And what was wrong with the movie?
Death Note is probably my favorite anime, or at least is in the top five, and I enjoyed the whole series. I did think that the series went a bit downhill after L died, but that was mostly because L is my favorite character ever , but I did think that Mello and Near (once you stop thinking of him as an L clone) were both interesting and likable. I think Decoy Doctorpus did a good job of summarising what made the series great.
Oh, and Light had the epic line (you knew this was coming, people): "I'll take a potato chip... and eat it! "
Near was the snotty one.
The movie was extremely bad in my opinion because they didn't follow the story in the Anime (I don't know how the manga were). The effects were decent, the acting was adequate and Ryuk was awesome as always. But the way the story was told (I will answer in PM more of this cause of spoilers) really put me off it.
I think the Anime was "blah" about halfway through. I just felt that the storyline could have been alot better. Felt kind of like a game of CLUE gone bad. "It was Kira, in the library with the candle stick."
But then again. I prefer different types of Anime: Elfen Lied Saikano (She! The ultimate Weapon) Last Exile GITS/GITSAC most Clamp
I kinda missed the majority of the episodes as they air under here, but Light's idea of a perfect world seems like some moralistic reconstruction of the 3rd Reich.
With this I fufill Godwin's Law: "As a Usenet discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one"
Death Note is the best anime ever. My favorite character is Light, and I have 4 favorite episodes: 7,24,36, and 37. Seriously, after watching death note, all other animes just plain suck. It's like tasting nice clean water after drinking from a toilet all your life.
Eyclonus: I kinda missed the majority of the episodes as they air under here, but Light's idea of a perfect world seems like some moralistic reconstruction of the 3rd Reich.
With this I fufill Godwin's Law: "As a Usenet discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one"
EDIT: Nazis mentioned, thread ends.
Thus it's interesting how many people, myself included, were rooting for him to win. A world without crime? Hells yeah.
I think that after the first half, there would have been potential to explore what such power does with a human, and how Light handles it. On the other hand, the series, up till that point, was a thriller, a battle between masterminds. A moral exploration might have broken the series as well.
SoulkeeperX: Death Note is the best anime ever. My favorite character is Light, and I have 4 favorite episodes: 7,24,36, and 37. Seriously, after watching death note, all other animes just plain suck. It's like tasting nice clean water after drinking from a toilet all your life.
I almost agree with you there. I still enjoy other animes, but Deathnote really was something special.
Girlysprite: I think that after the first half, there would have been potential to explore what such power does with a human, and how Light handles it. On the other hand, the series, up till that point, was a thriller, a battle between masterminds. A moral exploration might have broken the series as well.
Reguardless - the entire thing was still pretty dam good
Eyclonus: I kinda missed the majority of the episodes as they air under here, but Light's idea of a perfect world seems like some moralistic reconstruction of the 3rd Reich.
With this I fufill Godwin's Law: "As a Usenet discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one"
EDIT: Nazis mentioned, thread ends.
Thus it's interesting how many people, myself included, were rooting for him to win. A world without crime? Hells yeah.
I think the reason why it starts off as some uber-drug and then goes off track is that conflict between L and Light. L can't make an obvious move against Light because of the Deathnote and he also he needs clear evidence. Light can't just come out and say he's the original Kira or else its pretty much him versus the world.
Stating the obvious but the tension and suspense comes from having to conceal and observe, indeed "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" on both sides, killing L pretty much killed all of this concept. The way his replacement's entered the narrative just turned it into a murder story with a badguy, a puzzle only for the characters and a commentary for the readers on a twist ending they already knew.
this is crazy, they've turned Death Note from a pretty cool thing to a new way to waste one's life. Seriously, its an animated television show, why is it turning into a religion?
sherpaherder: this is crazy, they've turned Death Note from a pretty cool thing to a new way to waste one's life. Seriously, its an animated television show, why is it turning into a religion?
Eyclonus: I kinda missed the majority of the episodes as they air under here, but Light's idea of a perfect world seems like some moralistic reconstruction of the 3rd Reich.
With this I fufill Godwin's Law: "As a Usenet discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one"
EDIT: Nazis mentioned, thread ends.
Thus it's interesting how many people, myself included, were rooting for him to win. A world without crime? Hells yeah.
I think the reason why it starts off as some uber-drug and then goes off track is that conflict between L and Light. L can't make an obvious move against Light because of the Deathnote and he also he needs clear evidence. Light can't just come out and say he's the original Kira or else its pretty much him versus the world.
Stating the obvious but the tension and suspense comes from having to conceal and observe, indeed "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" on both sides, killing L pretty much killed all of this concept. The way his replacement's entered the narrative just turned it into a murder story with a badguy, a puzzle only for the characters and a commentary for the readers on a twist ending they already knew.
Exactly, although I personally was very happy at the way L met his end. It seems to me that a better ending from that point on might have been to sort of trail off, drop a few hints about the state of the world changing, and just let people guess at what Kira might do next. Either that, or bring in some more interaction between the Shinigami and human worlds, maybe get rid of the "good" guys altogether, and bring in another fake Kira or two... How various people used the Death Notes was very interesting, and I'd rather have read more about that then see Near playing with LEGOs for the fiftieth time. A Kira face-off, "Good, Bad and the Ugly"-style would have been really neat.
Say what you will, but I really liked Mikami. He was deranged, but at least he was another interesting caricature of the human psyche, and I kind of thought Death Note was supposed to be ABOUT that sort of well-meaning malevolence. I really don't see what Near and Mello added to the series, if anything.
I believe one of the Death Note mangas near the end had a bonus story. It was actually pretty good, being dark, tragic and completely without a "happy" ending. Does anyone else think having a series like Death Note end well kind of undermines the whole feeling of unease and moral uncertainty the series is trying to evoke?
I liked it back when it was just Light in his room taking on the world. When he gave up the deathnote it just became so horribly convuluted. You wait like ten episodes for something to actually happen and the result is just stupid.
I think its a case of, "Hey lets shock 'em by killing a main character?" and so L died, and Mellow and Near were brought in because they just realized how necessary an intelligent(Can you think of better word for this? Please?) adversary is when Light is such a manipulative Marchevilli himself.
That derangement and craziness, whilst refreshing, still needs the long and complicated schemes to make it work properly, otherwise its just several crazy people not killing each other, like Dragon "Out of Breath for 20 episodes" Ball Z.
I think its a case of, "Hey lets shock 'em by killing a main character?" and so L died, and Mellow and Near were brought in because they just realized how necessary an intelligent(Can you think of better word for this? Please?) adversary is when Light is such a manipulative Marchevilli himself.
That derangement and craziness, whilst refreshing, still needs the long and complicated schemes to make it work properly, otherwise its just several crazy people not killing each other, like Dragon "Out of Breath for 20 episodes" Ball Z.
But still - when L died.... i was like NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! it tuggs at your heartstrings big time
Ameatypie, I'll be blunt: Get the hell off these forums. You've done nothing but post subpar topics. We like to think of this place as the final bastion of intelligent discussion, and you see fit to metaphorically shit all over that.
Look, I love the Death Note (it's two words, genius) manga, though I prefer Berserk, HxH, and the Elfen Lied anime, but this ain't the place to discuss that.
Get off while you can. Ultrajoe is coming for you.
The Sorrow: Ameatypie, I'll be blunt: Get the hell off these forums. You've done nothing but post subpar topics. We like to think of this place as the final bastion of intelligent discussion, and you see fit to metaphorically shit all over that.
Look, I love the Death Note (it's two words, genius) manga, though I prefer Berserk, HxH, and the Elfen Lied anime, but this ain't the place to discuss that.
Get off while you can. Ultrajoe is coming for you.
The Sorrow: Ameatypie, I'll be blunt: Get the hell off these forums. You've done nothing but post subpar topics. We like to think of this place as the final bastion of intelligent discussion, and you see fit to metaphorically shit all over that.
Look, I love the Death Note (it's two words, genius) manga, though I prefer Berserk, HxH, and the Elfen Lied anime, but this ain't the place to discuss that.
Get off while you can. Ultrajoe is coming for you.
Hmmm, i see.... thats interesting. But personally, i think i have something to contribute to these forums, so i will decline your kind but slightly roughly put offer. Now if you do not want to discuss deathnote, go away
You have contributed NOTHING OF VALUE to these forums. For someone supposedly about to turn 25, you're frighteningly vacuous. And it's Death Note. Two words. TWO. WORDS.
The Sorrow: You have contributed NOTHING OF VALUE to these forums. For someone supposedly about to turn 25, you're frighteningly vacuous. And it's Death Note. Two words. TWO. WORDS.
I assure you sir that i have contributed plenty of content to these forums.
The Sorrow: You have contributed NOTHING OF VALUE to these forums. For someone supposedly about to turn 25, you're frighteningly vacuous. And it's Death Note. Two words. TWO. WORDS.
I assure you sir that i have contributed plenty of content to these forums.
Basic computer knowledge? Chatspeak? Ridiculously overdone and inane topics? Golly! What a contributor!
Death Note was awesome as a first series... then on the second it went to shit. And my favorite characters were L and Light. They made the cool logic battles. The snotty one was bad. And the movie sucked.