Series Review: Death Note

Death Note
Genre: Shonen; Psychological Thriller/Fantasy
Author: Tsugumi Ohba
Artist: Takeshi Obata [also drew for Hikaru no Go]

Story Premise: Light Yagami is a young scholar with everything in his favor. His grades are among the best in the nation. He's handsome and charismatic. His father is chief of the Japanese police. His future is bright, but he's bored. And most of all, he's sick of the world. Every day he's disgusted by things he sees in the news, and appalled by the behavior of people around him. He firmly believes that the world has fallen to depravity, and that nothing can save it.... Until he finds the Death Note.
Dropped by the Shinigami [or death god] Ryuk, who also happened to be bored, the Death Note grants its owner the power to kill anyone, anywhere. As long as the holder knows the name and face of the one he wishes to kill, he can. He could write simply the person's name, and they will die of a heart attack. Or, he could specify the time of death and the way in which the person will die. The power of a Shinigami is in the hands of whoever holds the notebook.
With the notebook, Light decides to recreate the world and its way of thinking. He decides to use the Death Note to kill those he deems evil, and uses only heart attacks as his trademark to invoke fear in the police and the public. He also uses other causes of death to get rid of those standing in his way under-the-radar. It's his perfect plan to create a utopia free of crime, where the innocent can live in peace and safety. A world where HE will become God.
As Light's power and authority grow, the public dubs their new savior 'Kira.' And soon a challenger arises: the mysterious detective known to the world only as 'L'. L is the world's greatest detective-- and to Light's disadvantage, no one knows L's true name or his face.
The battle of wits thus begins as L recruits the international police and Light gathers followers and fanatics to support him. It is an ultimate game of good versus evil where the winner will be declared righteous. Who is truly justice? And which side will win?

Why you should read it: Death Note is a different kind of manga experience for the more mature and intellectual reader. It does not have all that much comedy, and it's not 'fun' or 'colorful'. But it's just as rewarding of a read if you have the patience/intellect to enjoy it fully.
The most well-known reward of the series is the thought-provoking plot. As L and Light both grow closer and closer to killing one another, and their plans begin to fall into place, it is up to the reader to decide who is truly on the side of justice in their battle of good versus evil. This aspect is never quite clearly defined FOR you, and is left up to you to decide. Is it okay to kill someone who is evil? If so, under what circumstances? Is a criminal simply a criminal, no matter what his intentions are? Should people decide right and wrong for themselves, or should someone else lay down the law for them? These are just a few of the prevalent questions the series raises.
From the get-go, the series has a very dark and somewhat morbid atmosphere. It focuses on the depravity of mankind, and shows how truly warped and sadistic people can be- and even how people who think of themselves as good are just as selfish as everyone else when the going gets rough. It does not sugar-coat anything, or portray any fluffy romance or heartwarming scenes of friendship or family. This is a psychological thriller. Though it lacks any true physical action, it's fast-paced and heart-pounding all the same. It addresses the big issues, like rape and murder, without holding anything back. Even its art style is far more realistic than the average manga, with lots of precise shading and mostly proportional facial features [with the exception of the Shinigami-- though this is because they are grotesque supernatural beings. Trust me, they aren't exactly pretty.]
The way the series portrays people really makes you take a second, closer look at the world around you. It makes you notice a few things-- how some people will give up once anything goes wrong, while others won't give up even when the odds are against them; or how some people simply go with the flow of the world and let others decide morals for them, while others stand firm in their beliefs even when the rest of humanity thinks otherwise. The story highlights the somewhat terrifying powers that true love or blind faith can have over a person. It portrays the way that the most innocent people with the truest of intentions can be corrupted and twisted by pride, by power, and by greed. It even shows another side of the 'good guy' and his role-- that it's not always going to be the easy choice to make and that sometimes the right thing to do will be unclear.
Most older teenage or young adult manga fans will recommend this series. And it's clear why: this is much more than just a fun read, it's a thoughtful, artistic. and insightful plunge into the oftentimes frightening world we live in. Highly Reccomended.

Anime Versus Manga: The Death Note anime is, in short, fantastic. Its dark, muted colors and suspenseful operatic soundtrack, along with wonderful jobs by the voice actors in both Japanese and English, are the perfect vessel for portraying the drama and darkness of the title.
The art style is creative, and often harnesses colored filters, slow motion, and strange visual effects like 'cracked glass' or 'glowing edges' to give things the surreal and mystical feel they have in the manga. The characters, though simplified a bit, are very accurate to the manga renditions, down to their outfits and their facial expressions.
The soundtrack is just glorious-- it uses a lot of very suspenseful music, often with operatic choirs singing in other languages, to really help with the psychological suspense of the plot. It seems that there is a perfect song for every major scenario in the manga; so perfect that they sound just like what you heard playing in your head when you read that particular scene. I also love the various opening and ending themes so much that I downloaded them all for my iPod. The voice actors are all perfectly cast-- I personally love L's voice in both English and Japanese. The actors are so talented that they make everything seem so real, and every word has an impact.
If I had one complaint about this anime, it would be about the way it ended. For the very last episodes of the anime, the creators took a slightly different approach from the manga's ending. I don't want to give anything away by explaining the differences, but it's certainly something you will notice.... Though I do personally like the way they portrayed Light in this episode, even with the differences.