In a place like India where the trend to watch American and British TV shows is just catching up, Anime is a long shot for the masses to be attracted to. For most, the maximum they have seen of anime is Pokemon, Digimon and Dragon Ball Z. Coming out of that shell, I saw a small anime that made me want to turn from a TV fanatic to an Otaku. That show was Death Note.
What happens when the gods of death get bored and decide to test humanity, just for the sake of it. No lessons, no morals, just a shinigami and a high school boy hell bent on making the world a better place. What ensues can only be described as one of the epicest detective stories ever to premiere on the small screen.
Light Yagami, a brilliant high school student comes across a regular looking book in his school backyard. Written inside is the step-by-step guide on how to use it. The book can be used to kill anyone whose name the holder of the book knows. There are a lot of other rules that make it more interesting to use the book.
One would think this is the entire plot of the story, 'how the boy learns to use the book' - NO. This is just a small part of the first episode of this epic 37 episode saga. In comes L, a world class detective whose real name nobody knows, to capture the killer who kills in very mysterious ways. 'Kira', the psuedonym Light uses to kill and L are engaged in a battle of wits to gain the upper hand.
I cannot be a judge of Japanese animation, but the visuals are quite stunning and it is definitely not for the faint hearted. What compelled me the most into watching the entire show is the thought that a human mind is capable of thinking such complex plots. hats off to the creators.
The show, in the middle parts, seem to be stretched a bit. In my opinion, they made it to be the perfect setting for the second shoe to fall, making the audience already on the edge of their seats to fall down. Both L and Light are shown to be highly intelligent and seem to be one step ahead of each other all the time.
First is Andrew Scott's Moriarty, second Heath Ledger's Joker and third is Light, the only villains who I root for. I have deliberately not revealed any important plotlines here because I want my audience to go log on to their computers without any idea of what they are up for. I wish I could see this show for the first time again, but alas, I cannot.
Do let me know how was your experiece. If you need any other details or you did not understand any plot line, leave a comment below and I will get back to you ASAP. ArigatÅ