Here's a show that proves once you begin a kill list, there won't ever be an 🔚 to it.

DN is an intricate mouse trap of a chess game. Being fairly new to anime, DN is unlike anything else I've seen. Don't expect any laughs, DN is as utterly cheerless as it is enthralling. Don't expect any warmth, either: DN is all head, no ❤.

Light Yagami is like many other anime protagonists. In the West, we are charmed with teen girl warriors, and in the East, they can't get enough of brave & daring high IQ'd teen males who embody cold-blooded, paralyzing logic. I've since seen Code Geass and Kaguya sama which also feature masculine protagonists who have all their logical 🔐tumblers in place, quite similarly to Light. {The adorable and funny Kaguya sama actually involves a HS r💓mance, so it has plenty of heart, and Code Geass involves a widescale rebellion, a family tearing itself apart, and an emperor that plans to kill God, but it's warmer than DN by far, just as a reference.}

Doubtless there's dozens, if not 💯's of these anime dudes. That's a good thing, especially for enlightening our minds. Light Yagami is such. He's a brilliant HS student, residing in a loving, well-adjusted home with mom, his detective father, and his sister. He is #1 in his class, and headed for a bright, full of light, future. He's also interested in a smart & practical girl that is much like him, Kiyomi Takada.

Light's life alights on a new path when he crosses paths with a strange 📓. Light uproots the volume from the ground without pausing to reflect on its strange allure. On the blackest of black covers is written: Death Note. Inscribed inside are rules, or operating instructions:

1. The human whose name is written in this note shall die.

2. This note will not take effect unless the writer has the person's face in their mind when writing his/her name. Therefore, people sharing the same name will not be affected.

3. If the cause of death is written within the next 40 seconds of writing the person's name, it will happen.

4. If the cause of death is not specified, the person will simply die of a heart attack.

5. After writing the cause of death, details of the death should be written in the next 6 minutes and 40 seconds.

The 📓 also has the caution that users are not permitted to go to heaven nor hell, but will rather face oblivion.

Nevertheless, after watching a horrific newscast about Kurou Otoharada, who killed 6 people before taking hostages at a nursery school, Light, out of anger and disgust, decides to try it out.

It worked like magic. It works... like... it's supernatural.

GAME 🎱N

Light starts 〰🖋 names in the 📓 every day - after his homework📚 is done, of course. He can rid the world of its most heinous villains! He is doing good work! He can recreate society. He applies🔍 himself in the same manner that he's adopted for schoolwork. Scouring the 📰, he has no trouble finding names worthy of inscription, in our world of trouble.

It doesn't take long for law enforcement to realize there's a mysterious killer afoot. Even though the targets are, arguably, deserving of their fates, this killer is breaking the law by, from the shadows, taking on the role of judge and executioner. (We all know police can't stand vigilantes. No one likes being shown up). The investigation begins. Eventually, a group of world famous detectives get involved, which is when the real fun starts. The rest of the show is 🐱-and-🐭, the hunter and the prey, next the prey becomes the hunter. Who is the 🦅, and who's the 🐿? And around it goes. It's a supreme battle of deductive reasoning, strategems, and wits, and it is terribly clever.

Light starts to become corrupted by the power he's obtained. Having not read the manga, it isn't clear if the very DN📓 itself is corrupting, but certainly, human nature alone is plenty sufficient to wholly rot the core of a person who is afforded absolute power. The tragedy of human nature is that most individuals believe they are better than that; that they would only use this power for good.

Even so, it's smooth riding shotgun with Light, until the cops start closing in. As all the initial deaths occurred in the vicinity of Tokyo, the culprit's likely location is pinpointed as being there. In order for Light to avoid arrest and continue his virtuous work of creating a new and better 🌏, what will he do? Will Light become dark?

Another aspect of the DN📓 is that once a human touches it, they can see Shinigamis. Shinigamis are the reapers who own the 📓📓📓. It is their job to 〰🖋 & deal death at the proper time. Once in awhile, Shinigamis misplace their DNs📓. Sometimes they'll do it on purpose; especially when they're bored. The creepy looking guy in the show's artwork is Ryuk, the owner of the DN📓 that Light found. He becomes Light's constant companion. Ryuk seems easygoing, and he has a sufficient sense of humor. As long as he gets 🍎🍎🍎 to eat (his one obsession) he's no trouble. As Ryuk is, in all respects, enjoying his time and particularly his discussions, with the bright Light, Ryuk's attentions and flatteries only embolden Light more.

The manga and the show take place over several years. The timeline is from November, 2003, when Light first picks up the DN📓, until early 2011. We'll see Light 🎓 school and become a detective himself, working on the taskforce assigned to catch the killer, who has taken the moniker, "Kira".

Eventually, governments, the media, and the mobs weigh in on Kira. Everyone has an opinion, right? Even a mature and carefully virtuous person might succumb to out-of-control pride with all of these multiplying factors, but when we first meet Light, he seems considerate, thoughtful, and modest about his accomplishments. How would worldwide attention affect him?

DN has become my prototype example of all-head-no-❤ anime. One can easily infer from the name that there's a fair amount of killing in the show. As my temperament is on the softer side, DN dem😟ralized me a little. I was often sad as I watched. However, it's too good to not keep watching. Small doses was the 🗝 for me.

On one hand, claiming that DN is 'merely intellectual curiosity about unmitigated power over life and death' could be an excercise in feeding the monster that's in each of us. Only by nurturing the good within can we quiet the brute. On the other hand, DN is an honest look at the human condition and how our choices can slowly corrode us, if we aren't careful.

Regardless, DN is outstanding. Periodt. It has passionate fans, many of whom consider it in company with the all-time great mangas/anime. They have their valid arguments. DN delivers the goods, without question. While it's high quality throughout, the last handful of episodes are decidedly riveting. The exciting outcome is not revealed until the final episode, which is titled: New World.

Not superficial for one moment, DN is also an examination of justice and society. One character spouts: "Evil must be deleted. There are only good⬜ and bad⬛ people." While many readers/watchers may feel that way about many individuals or groups these days, (particularly about those on the opposite political spectrum) it's rigidly simplistic thinking; it would create a brutal culture. True justice punishes wrongdoing for the good of society.

{Justice and forgiveness are wholly unique in perspective, btw. Justice is corporate, being by community🏛 for the benefit of community, while forgiveness is personal, and practiced for our own good. Forgiveness is allowing one to put a person and event behind them, in order to move on. Forgiveness does not allow an offender to inhabit one's brain, which h/s otherwise would. Don't carry the weighty burden of offenses with you. Free yourself. Ain't nobody sayin it's easy. Forgiveness is hard. I find I'm only able to forgive with divine help. Sometimes, it doesn't stick, & a repeat cycle is necessary. As important as it is, forgiveness does not negate the need for justice, though.}

Regardless of the full spectrum of my reactions along the way, when the final credit rolled (I was immobile during the closing music) the only conclusion to be drawn is that DN is a true thrill. The artwork, sound, voices, directing, and editing are crisp & skillful. The English voice actors for the dubbing were excellent as well. The last shot is beautifully eerie.

In summary, DN is mandatory for those who are interested in anime or a good dectective story. It's a shining milestone on anime's path to world domination. Write it on your list.

Case closed.

IMHO... 🎬8 🎭8 😅0 🤔10 🎨7 🌞0 🎵8 ⚡9 🔚10

Age 14+

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