Vulkurt 0 Posted July 27, 2008 Report Share Posted July 27, 2008 This post is not intended to invite silly or mean-spirited comments. Rather, I am genuinely confused about the popularity of Death Note. It seems like everyone is DN crazy, with lots of people cosplaying as characters at the past few cons I've been at. When I was in Japan a year ago, DN merchandise was everywhere. Now, there's tons in the dealers' rooms here. I've been watching the series on DVD (am through Vol. 4), and instead of buying Vol. 5, I'm considering just selling off the volumes I currently bought, because I am not really enjoying it. I think that the premise of the show is intriguing, but I'm wondering why it wasn't an OVA instead of a 37-episode show. I've been watching anime for a long time, and I'm not sure why this particular show is garnering all this attention. Is it because the show hinges on ambiguous morality? Are the characters all that interesting? Is the artwork particularly stylish? My problem is that the plot seems incredibly contrived. You have two people who are trying to one-up each other on investigative tactics. Each episode seems to go like this: Light: "I must do this to succeed and triumph." L: "I anticipated that, and am countering your move like this..." Light: "Yes, I knew you would do that, so to cover my actions, I will do this..." L: "Of course you will. I knew it all along. So, my next move is this..." And so on. It's sort of like watching a chess match, or an episode of Dragonball Z, except instead of moving pieces on a board or increasing power levels, you have a guy in a room with a book vs. a guy in a hotel room with snacks. I realize this reading appears rather reductionist, but I've had people, people who I respect, tell me this is a great show, and I'm just not seeing it. I don't think it is drawn particularly well, I don't find anything redeeming about any of the purported protagonists, and the rules of the Death Note book itself look more like McGuffins for plot points rather than logical precepts (the thing reads more like tax code). Does it get better after Vol. 4? Should I keep buying and watching it? It seems weird to note a spoiler alert to a show I haven't finished yet know the outcome to (being a fan of AMVs will do that to you), but given that I know who's dead at the end, what is my motivation to keep watching? I look forward to hearing your comments. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Champagon 0 Posted July 27, 2008 Report Share Posted July 27, 2008 i think the intrigue of death note is that you have to pay attention to EVERYTHING in order for it to make a bit of sense. I couldn' understand why it was so popular. so i watched a few episodes and as it turned out the dude named "L" i think (the creepy kid looking guy) is trying to prove that "Light" (the person whom all the girls like) is a dude named Kira (some guy with the power to kill people at will) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tstidm1 0 Posted July 27, 2008 Report Share Posted July 27, 2008 I like mysteries. I watched Murder, She Wrote as a kid. That is part of the reason I am watching Death Note. It is also a show that an adult can enjoy. Cowboy Bebop and Evangelion are two shows that adults and teens can enjoy. We are seeing fewer of those shows out in the anime marketplace. I think that is why you are seeing the few licenses out there being for shows that go for adults and teens. The industry is trying to broaden it's audience. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ithilienne 2 Posted July 27, 2008 Report Share Posted July 27, 2008 I think your analysis of a chess match is accurate. I'm not floored by the show, and I don't think it's the end-all be-all of anime ever, but it is pleasing to me (<-- not so much a fan of shonen series like DBZ or Naruto) to see something more cerebral enjoying the spotlight. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ota_retired 6 Posted July 28, 2008 Report Share Posted July 28, 2008 I for one find it a nice break from the OMG NINJAS AND DANCING GIRLS AND SOUL REAPERS YAY that's infected the greater part of anime programming. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IDTDNDND45 0 Posted July 28, 2008 Report Share Posted July 28, 2008 I think its because one of those shows that reaches into tons of different audiences. It has things for everyone, weither you watch the show for the great animation quality, music, character design, religious/social messages, mystery, the amazing rivalry between Light and L, etc... That's why you can have anyone from a college professor to a 11-year old Narutard can like it on equal levels. Its almost as if Monster (series or manga) had babies with a boy band, imo. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lambogirl 0 Posted July 28, 2008 Report Share Posted July 28, 2008 It's because of L duh. no srsly. It is. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
evaunit01berserk 0 Posted July 28, 2008 Report Share Posted July 28, 2008 i mainly watch it for its dramatic jokes. ie "I'll take a potato chip....AND EAT IT!" Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RPGoddess 0 Posted July 28, 2008 Report Share Posted July 28, 2008 (edited) Man, Monster has ruined me for so much anime... ;____; RUINED. I tried to watch Death Note, as I heard it was a "thoughtful" anime; however, it just seemed like a lot of posturing. I did like the idea, though, but I wished they got more into the "morality question" part and less into the "ain't I cool" bit. Also it's more fun to cosplay Death Note than it is to cosplay Monster. How does one even cosplay Monster? Edited July 28, 2008 by RPGoddess Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ota_retired 6 Posted July 29, 2008 Report Share Posted July 29, 2008 (edited) i mainly watch it for its dramatic jokes. ie "I'll take a potato chip....AND EAT IT!" Edited July 29, 2008 by Otaku Ru Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yellowkaiq 0 Posted August 1, 2008 Report Share Posted August 1, 2008 (edited) It's popular because it minimizes the amount of people who don't like it (aka you) and maximizes the people who do like it (aka everyone else). Just because you don't like it for a particular reason doesn't mean others won't like it for that reason. Everyone has different likes and dislikes. The thing with Death Note and other popular anime is that they have something that stands out. For Death Note, it's the storyline, animation, and general conflict between geniuses, all combined together, that make it so popular. For other anime like Bleach or Naruto, it's the fact that it's shounen-oriented, and usually shounen-oriented anime with good storylines are very popular. However, what really makes an anime shine is often the manga that inspires it. Edited August 1, 2008 by yellowkaiq Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Vulkurt 0 Posted August 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2008 It's popular because it minimizes the amount of people who don't like it (aka you) and maximizes the people who do like it (aka everyone else). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
theshaggyfreak 0 Posted August 2, 2008 Report Share Posted August 2, 2008 Here's my take on why I feel Death Note has gained a bit of popularity. 1) Scientific and paranormal type crime shows seem to be rather popular. Death Note captures a pretty good feel for that sort of thing. 2) The quirkiness of L and Ryuuk provides for comic relief for a good bit of the series which helps balance out it's serious nature. 3) The beginning of the series draws you in because you're trying to decide whether Light is good or evil. Those are at least the three main reasons that make sense to me but it's just an opinion after all. Everyone isn't going to like everything or understand why it's popular. I'm probably one of the few people that can't get into the new Battlestar Galactica or Firefly. Some thing just are what they are. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
.Schala. 0 Posted August 17, 2008 Report Share Posted August 17, 2008 (edited) I actually watched the live action movie first. I thought it was interesting and decided to check out the manga. I finished the manga before watching the anime. I only watched...maybe 12 episodes of the anime? It seemed to follow the manga pretty close, but for some reason I couldn't get into the anime that much. However, I could not put the manga down. I was hooked the entire way. But then again, I seem more likely to read manga than to watch anime nowadays. It's funny because I used to watch anime all the time in high school, but was never interested in reading manga. o_O Anime and manga are similar to the whole "the book is better than the movie" rule. Many times the manga is better than the anime. ^^0 Edited August 17, 2008 by .Schala. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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