Category: Death Note

Short Synopsis: Melo carries out his plan, and what does Light do? Well, nothing. Good: Not sure how to describe it. See below. Bad: Please, someone, kill Misa. Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10 You know what, my opinion of Death Note wasn’t that high after the previous episode, and I expected it to fall apart any minute now during this episode. Still, this episode turned surprisingly good, but not in the way that we’ve come to know Death Note. This episode definitely was different from all other episodes yet, perhaps the Naomi-arc has been the closest. For so many episodes, the main reason why I liked Death Note was to see Light trump his opponents over and over. At only two times, Light was the one being trumped: by Naomi and in the second episode, when L first showed himself. Yes, it’s a bit strange, but apart from that, L never really was that big of a threat to him. Okay, his move at the university did make Light angry, but it didn’t really bring him closer to catching Light. This episode was really meant to bash Light in the ground, over and over. Remember what L liked to say early in the series? Kira hates to lose. I expected this episode to be really annoying, and indeed, certain parts in this episode really got on my nerves. But for some reason, the episode itself left me with a really good feeling. The thing is, Light shines when he can prepare. This time, he really had no chance of preparing. It’ll be interesting to see what Light can do when he’s got a proper plan prepared to get rid of Melo. Still, Melo know has a Death Note, and he’s not afraid to use it. I do wonder how he found out about Light’s father, being part of the investigation-team, or the different members of Near’s investigation-team. Also, I demand to see some scenes of L’s childhood. The current amount of background on both Near and Melo is just way too little, I want to know what kind of influence L had on the two of them, how they met him, and why they don’t even know each other’s names. The shinigami are also going to play some kind of role in the coming episodes. They’re promising to be interesting, but will nine episodes be enough to develop them well?]]>

Short Synopsis: The final part of Death Note will feature Light vs Near vs Melo. N and M seem to hate each other. Good: Thankfully, Light isn’t as annoying as I feared. Bad: N and M, however, are. Overall Enjoyment Value: 7/10 I can understand why people felt that N and M didn’t live up to L. The two of them just aren’t introduced properly. Not only that, but their quirks are even more annoying. N likes to play puzzles with inhumane precision, while M is obsessed with chocolate. What happened to the subtlety in which L added a dozen lumps of sugar in his tea? Still, I do admit that things will get interesting once Light starts thinking. I really feared that he’d be way too obsessed with creating his perfect world, but somehow, being part of the investigation-team kept his head on earth. Still, I do fear that his cognitive abilities have declining, since he’s had it rather easy for the past three years. Matsuda also was a surprise, as it seems that he’s turned into a much more important character now. That’s a definite improvement, as this won’t allow him to goof off too much. Misa, however, was horrible. In this episode, her only purpose was fanservice. Light’s father also remained interesting, due to the fact that he now has a more of a leader-like role, now that he doesn’t have to listen to L anymore. It’s also great to see Aizawa back. Also, one final complaint: why the heck did N and M choose the exact same time to get into action?]]>

Short Synopsis: Now that L is gone, the second half of Death Note starts. But first: recap! Good: Hmm…I guess the punishment-scene. Bad: Obviously, the recap-part. Overall Enjoyment Value: 6.5/10 Ah, of course. The recap-episode. Thankfully the final part of the episode did show plot progression, the majority of the episode was just boring. I also noticed an inconsistency with the fansubbers, who suddenly shortened the fifty days that Light spent in confinement to a much more bearable fifteen. If you still haven’t seen this episode: skip to the second part, as there’s nothing new in the first one. The second part of the episode closes L’s story, while it lightly introduces the second half of Death Note, considered by manga-fans as much weaker than we’ve seen up till now. If I had to guess, then the grown-up Light will have no personality at all, making him boring. And yes, I do hope that the five years that have been skipped did develop Light more than just making him more insane. The next two “antagonists” also are introduced in this episode. Eleven episodes remain after this, which means that they’ll have less opportunity for fleshing out than in L’s case. They look interesting, though their voices are annoying, from what I’ve heard. I also have no idea why it took this long for them to get alerted about L’s death, and why Light never noticed that timer. I’m also disappointed in one thing: that for five years, nobody ever got the idea of going after Kira. Someone who watched the tv-programs regarding Kira could easily have obtained quite a few clues about what went on. I mean, I was surprised that nobody tried to send him messages after this and to try and manipulate him. It’s also a wonder of heaven that Misa never once screwed up in all these five years. I dislike how the new antagonists just have to be L’s acquaintances. But we’ll see if these new guys can actually become interesting.]]>

Short Synopsis: Finally, we get to see a part of Ryuzaki’s background. Good: The first plot twist was awesome. The background was awesome. Bad: The background could have been more, certain parts could have been cut out of your resident bishie-anime, too bad I saw the second plot twist coming. Good: Still, the results of that plot twist were awesome as well. Overall Enjoyment Value: 8.5/10 Oh boy. I had a hunch about what was going to happen in this episode, but I never saw Light’s plan coming. Instead of the easy way around, make Misa meet L, and write down his name afterwards, which would obviously place Misa yet again on the place of a major suspect. Instead, he uses Misa in order to place Rem in an inescapable plan. He makes Misa kill people again. Because of this, it’s evident that the Death Note has to be researched yet again. Once L finds out that the rules are fake by testing it on actual prisoners, Misa will become a major suspect yet again, and will definitely face the death punishment with all the charges found against her. The genius plan: the only way to save Misa from being killed: Rem killing Ryuzaki, and taking her own life with her. She can’t take Light with her in the process, as this would bring great sadness to Misa, who apparently does have a short life-span. She has NO choice but to kill Ryuzaki, and sacrifice herself for it! Not only does this not place any suspects on neither Light nor Misa, it also removes the pesky problem of Rem, preventing Light to kill or harm Misa. Still, she probably would have been smarter to kill off Light right ahead. After all, I doubt that Misa will survive long. Then again, she does prove him useful with her eyes and all. He’ll probably decide to keep her, and kill her off when he really needs to. Also, Ryuzaki’s background definitely was interesting, albeit a bit vague and short. L hints that he’s never told the truth to anyone he knew before. We hear some bells, we see a couple of kids playing and crying and we see Watari stand with a young Ryuzaki right next to him. This probably means that L lost his parents at young age, and then got put in the care of Watari. Watari then probably taught him how to think like a detective. Also, the wet-bishie-towel-scene may have been a bit too much. Still, the underlying thought was quite interesting, as we see L struggling with his own morals. Obviously, the only way to really find out about the Death Note is to try it out. This means nothing other than to kill somebody with it. Not only does this mean a to go to the same depths as Kira, it also means big trouble for Rem, so she kills both Watari and L off before they have the chance. The fact remains that this final thing was predictable, but it still was great to see it! Also, Light is now not only Kira, he’s also head of the research, in charge of tracking down Kira. One thing I’d love him to do is look at Rem’s Death Note, and look at Ryuzaki’s real name. I’ve been dying to know what it actually was, and I do hope that the next episode will tell a bit more about Ryuzaki’s background. The guys we’ve been seeing in the OP will probably arrive also in a couple of episodes as well. Sounds promising!]]>

Short Synopsis: Higuchi dies, while Light’s plan gets revealed. Good: With this episode, my faith in Death Note is entirely restored again. Bad: What? No fingerprint analysis? Overall Enjoyment Value: 8,5/10 Holy god, this episode clearly proved the point I’ve been making for episodes: evil Light is awesome. I can’t believe how awesomely evil he was, ever since he got his note back. His plan also was pure brilliance. I can’t believe he believed in this enough to actually risk this. But then again, if your life is at stake you start to behave strangely. I hated the Yotsuba-arc because of the horribly dull good Light, but with this I can finally enjoy Death Note again to its fullest. And it’s a more ingenious when you start to think about it. It took me a while to figure out that Light first made Ryuk write some fake rules in Light’s Death note. Light then gave up the ownership of the Death Note he got from Misa to Rem, making Rem the owner. Rem then gave this Death Note to Ryuk, making Ryuk the owner. Ryuk then dropped it yet again, so that Light could pick it up. His own Death Note then transferred to Rem, making Rem the owner. Because of this, when the police would find Higuchi’s Death Note, they’d find a list of the people who were killed by Light, instead of Misa’s actions. This would probably make the policemen less wary about the existence of the second note, though it seems that L has seen beyond that. Light would then use the Death Note, owned by Ryuk, Misa’s original Death Note in order to bring back Misa’s memories. He buried it, gave Ryuk some instructions, and then he later gave up his ownership. My only problem: how come Light’s fingerprints haven’t been found on the Death Note? Or do they actually disappear after a number of days? And how about handwriting analysis? Still, I loved how Light used Misa in this episode. This just shows the incredible confidence he has in himself. Before, he was a bit wary about using her, but now it seems that she’s doomed to accompany him (otherwise Rem will kill him) he’s probably planning to get her full support, and make full use of her eyes. That was so evil. And of course, seeing Ryuk back was awesome. 🙂 In terms of Misa’s life-span, it’s interesting to wonder how much she’s got left. If I’m not mistaken, she now has a quarter of the lifespan of an average shinigami. Aren’t those supposed to live very long? Still, judging by Rem’s and Ryuk’s reaction, she doesn’t have much time left. I wonder how much it is actually. It can’t be too short either, otherwise Rem would never have allowed her to make the eye-deal for the first time.]]>

Short Synopsis: The climax of the Yotsuba-arc. Good: Finally the Yotsuba-arc is over. Bad: The second half of the previous episode was better; A deus ex machina? Death Note, I thought you knew better. Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10 Those who have been reading my blog know that I’ve been annoyed with the Yotsuba-arc. It was basically one huge joke, in comparison to the Misa-arc and the Naomi-arc. Still, I’m glad it’s over, and I’m glad that it actually managed to end well. The past episode and this one have been excellent, but they once again show that Death Note is a shounen-anime, where the pattern of good and bad episodes is almost predictable. SPOILER for the manga up ahead. Beware! What will happen next could be very interesting, in theory. Still, I’ve got a problem with it: the fanbase of the manga. It seems that after Higuchi got caught, the manga featured a huge plot twist. The problem with this is that the people who read the manga found this twist so amazing, that they kept dropping way too obvious and unsubtle hints about it. It’s almost impossible not to get spoiled by the fact that [SPOILER]L is about to die[/spoiler]. It’s just like the fact that I won’t be able to really enjoy Starwars and Final Fantasy VII, due to the fact that their plot twists also have become famous. The anime now has to deliver something really good in order to make up for this. Anyway, about the episode, it definitely was good, but the previous episode, as mentioned above, was better. Nothing much changed with Higuchi. He just was trying to find ways to kill Matsuda, and the huge change from calm to desperate in the previous episode never really found its equal. The police-cars at the climax also came from nowhere, what were the creators thinking of putting a deus ex machina at that point?]]>

Short Synopsis: Ah, of course. Misa didn’t reveal exactly how she convinced Higuchi that she was the second Kira. Because of this, L was able to come up with a plan to capture the guy and reveal his method of killing. Good: Ah, Finally the Yotsuba-arc stops playing around and this series turns interesting again. Bad: L’s obsession with sweets is turning more ridiculous with every episode; Good Light still remains annoying. Overall Enjoyment Value: 8.5/10 Ah, I’ve been waiting for this. Death Note has been getting worse with every episode progressing, I almost gave up on this. Luckily this episode fixes a lot of things when it stops with the out-of-place comedy and finally brings some kind of climax. The second half of the episode was awesome, due to the high stress it puts on Higuchi. Not only that, if the plan actually works, L will actually be able to figure out the secret behind the Death Note. The first half was decent, though. It featured a bit out-of-place animation at times, and quite frankly I’m beginning to get a bit sick of L’s obsession with sweets. He isn’t Blossom, you know? The way Watari brought in sweets like a butler as if he’s got nothing else to do really was ridiculous. I liked when this was still rather subtle, like the first time the police officers met with L, and he put an unusually large amount of sugar lumps in his coffee. Still, I’m glad to say that the other members of the Yotsuba-arc finally turned a bit interesting, when three of them showed that they’d actually wish to get rid of Kira as well. Misa had a small role, so her usual annoying blabbering also was pretty much absent from this episode. Overall, it’s a very good episode, and I’m really hoping that this episode marked the end of Death Note, trying to make fun of itself. Still, that climax was definitely worth watching. One final note about Light: he made a mistake this time. This just shows how much the Death Note changed him. After all, when he made the call, his life wasn’t really in danger. The guy basically doesn’t have to fear for his life at this point. That very much was a different case when he still was Kira, when he came up with some crazy plans, in order not to get caught. It’s the basics of human nature, when something very important is at stake (especially your life), you start to unconsciously perform better. At least, if you manage to keep your head cool ;)]]>

Short Synopsis: A Misa-episode. See what happens when the other idiot acts on her own. Good: Finally the plot moves along a bit faster. And finally Misa gets a bit useful again. Bad: Still, Misa remains annoying. Just as Light and the non-Kira members of the Yotsuba-group. Overall Enjoyment Value: 7.5/10 Finally we see Rem again. The mystery of the third Death Note also has been solved with this. Instead of a third Death God descending down to earth, we have Rem, who went to the Yotsuba-group. In there, she told the current holder of the Death Note about Misa being the second Kira, though this person appeared to be a complete bastard with the same intentions of Kira-Light: kill Misa after using her. This time, however, she can’t blackmail him for some strange reason. Most probably, this reason is Light. In the end, everything is one big scheme, thought out by Light. Right now, he’s fooling L completely. He sent Rem to the Yotsuba-group, and right now he’s just waiting for the right opportuned moment in which he’ll regain his memory, and probably kill L at the same time. I wish that moment would hurry up. Misa also made one annoyingly huge mistake when she showed the conversation of her with Higuchi: taking L lightly. From the outside, wouldn’t it have been strange for Misa to just know and pick out the right Kira? After all, if she would have chosen the wrong Kira, he would have reported it to the others. Also, how is she going to cover up for the death of that important CEO-guy? I mean, L can check this right away, and from this point, it’ll be easy to figure out the rest. On a side-note, I like how Mochi finally got a personality this episode. He’s always been staying in the shadows, but now that Misa needs another manager, it looks like he’s finally getting some scenes of his own. Actually, in comparison to Matsuda, I kindof like him. He’s not as air-headed as Matsuda, he isn’t really good at acting, but still he wants to do his best. The result was pretty funny. ^^;]]>

Short Synopsis: New OP! New ED! Oh, and L and Light have a few differences of opinion. Good: The OP; The OP; The ED; Have I already mentioned the OP? Bad: As much as I like L’s antics, I’d wish Light would turn back to normal and the plot would take a more serious turn. Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10 Oh my god, that was one awesome OP. I may have mentioned it a few times, but I’m a huge metal fan. One of the things that’s always been bothering me a bit about anime is how it never features any metal. The only thing that even comes a bit near to metal was the J-rock, but real metal has never really appeared. Probably the closest up till now was the OP for Naruto Shippuuden. But Death Note’s new OP finally answered my prayers and delivered one AWESOME ROCKING song. I love it! 😀 On a more serious note, I’d just wish that Light would turn back to his normal self. Not only do I miss Ryuk, but his new personality is just way too boring. Heck, he’s now probably the dullest character of the entire Death Note cast. Except Misa, perhaps. The Yotsuba-arc definitely has been the most comedy-focused arc up till now, but there has to be a limit. I mean, one episode of wackiness is good (see the one with the chips-bag-opening-action), but the past few episodes all seemed to have been aimed at comedy. It’s fun, I know, but that’s not where Death Note excels in. Was the manga also as wacky at this point, or is it something the creators of the anime thought of? Also, regarding the Yotsuba’s, there are still six people left who could have possession of the Death Note. I’m not sure if this is one of those shows in which the creators drop hints about who might be it or not, but I didn’t see any yet. For now, I think it’s the brown-haired ones. He was the most cautious of all when they were in meeting, which seems to suggest that he has the most fears of being caught, which in turn suggests that he has a Death Note. At least, the chance of this is bigger than with the others. Also, one final note. I don’t often complain about animation, but when a show used to feature excellent animation, and now tries to get away with this episode, even I start to notice it.]]>

Short Synopsis: A Matsuda-episode. See what happens when the idiot starts to act on his own. Good: The beginning of the episode was great. L was too funny at times. Bad: It’s a miracle Matsuda stayed alive through all this. Overall Enjoyment Value: 7.5/10 The creators found a nice way to develop the Yotsuba-arc further this episode. Earlier I mentioned that Matsuda is the most unprofessional of Kira’s group, and this time, we see what his stupidity brings him to. Heck, he even gets his own special hair-colour, differentiating from the usual red and blue. The episode would have sucked, if it wasn’t for L’s reaction to everything. He surely managed to turn this entertaining with his constant annoyance at the poor Matsuda. I loved how he had to act as a mere ambulance worker in the end. ^^ While certain parts of the episode smelled a bit too much like “filler”, certain parts were pretty interesting regarding the main plot. First of all, it showed that the security in the main office of the Yotsuba-group is garbage. The fact that Matsuda could sneak in and go to the secret meeting has to say something. You’d think that the members of the Yotsuba group would be extra careful, now that they’re playing with things that can get them in jail for the rest of their lives, but surprisingly, they don’t. Matsuda now also has been stripped from his role as Misa’s manager. As it would be troublesome if people recognized him on the street, it looks like he’s going to be promoted to full-time coffee-bringer. The climax of the episode definitely was interesting, while Light’s father yet again showed how easy it is to get into the Yotsuba-building when he manages to bring a giant mattress inside of it, in order to save Matsuda. Actually, I’m suspecting that they went to another building when Misa and her friends arrived. Matsuda, however, surprised me with his athletic ability. The two thieves also were interesting in their acting. Overall, a funny episode. I liked how this episode tried to give an actual comedic note to the scenes. Still, Misa remains annoying. I’m suspecting that the Yotsuba-arc will be more of a comedic arc, since it now became clear that it’s being managed by a bunch of idiots. ^^;]]>