Reliving 'Death Note'

THANK YOU GUYS FOR THE VOTES! THE WINNER OF THE POLL THIS TIME IS "DEATH NOTE" LET US RELIVE OUR 'DEATH NOTE' EXPERIENCE!!!

      The theme of ‘INSTINCTS 2K14’, cartoons, made us all look back into our lives, to those times when Batman and Wolverine were just two-dimensional drawings and not Hugh Jackman or Christian Bale. It helps us to reminisce and smile at those young selves, throwing plastic balls, yelling "Pikachu! I choose you!" or throwing a deck of cards in the air and trying to tap them while they are still in air, with a baton-like stick, calling ourselves Sakura (yes, I used to do that). And when I look back to those times – to those times of ‘Card Captor Sakura’ and ‘Diagunder’ and ‘Full Metal Alchemist’ – the first anime that comes to my mind is ‘Death Note’.

     This anime will definitely be in every anime maniac’s list of favourites, often topping it (as in my case) unless they are DBZ fans. With a theme as dark as, no, darker than death, and a plot so intricate, this anime, unlike other fantasy animes, successfully merges the fictional ideas with the real world, making us fall in love with it and its characters.

Plotline:

            Light Yagami, a high schooler, finds a notebook called, ‘The Death Note’. It is a magical (cursed, actually) notebook belonging to Ryuk, one of the shinigamis or ‘Death Gods’. Any person, whose name is written in the note, will die out of a heart attack within six minutes of writing. The handler of the note can also provide the time and details of their victims’ death. Light uses the note to kill the criminals or those who indulge in immoral activities. These mass deaths catch the interest of L, an international private detective, who starts working on the case of finding the killer. The rest of the plot deals with games of trust and deception being played won and lost, as the two fight to win each other.

           

         The presentation of the storyline was excellent; the creators not only teased our minds with suspense, which seemed to linger throughout the series, but also provided the necessary emotional content to connect the viewers with the characters. Each episode was scripted wonderfully, with even the very finest of the details taken care of, with no loopholes left, despite the plot being very intricate. Every episode ended on tenterhooks, one of the main reasons of it becoming a successful thriller. Also, unlike other popular animes, this one focuses mainly on the plot and hence you don’t find any filler episodes.

            The beauty of this anime lies, not only in its elaborate plot, but also in the presentation of the characters. From the silently deceptive Light, the weird but astute L, the cheerful yet mysterious Misa and the terrifying yet funny Ryuk, the characters were diverse; their personas were complex. They were not completely good or evil but straying amidst the boundary; each taking both sides when the need arose. They took us along with them all through the series, making us happy with their smiles and sad with their tears.  

            This anime diverted the audience from the usual adventure/fantasy to artful ones, shifting its focus from commercialism. This anime would always be my favourite, would always continue to be everyone's favourite as well, with its vivid images remaining forever etched in our minds. 

-Varshini