Death Note TV series review: Interesting but too long and a tad bit dramatic to sit through the entire season

3/5

Story:

Yagami Light receives a Death Note and goes on a journey to end all the corruption in the world. However, since he goes against the law, Light is up against a strong opponent in a detective named L. The story explores whether Light can achieve his goals and to what extent.

Review:

Death Note, in comparison to the manga and anime, explores a lot. To top it up, real actors show real emotions which makes his series a must-watch. However, the makers have tried to accommodate a bit too much in one season. Each of the 11 episodes is an hour-long, making it nearly impossible to binge-watch it.

The show begins on an abrupt note. However, it gives instructions on what is about to happen. Although it continues on a bright note, this series is nothing like anime. It doesn’t follow the same timeline as the manga/anime. Here, Misa-Misa is introduced right at the beginning of the show. Every anime fan knows that she becomes the second Kira because she is obsessed with Yagami Light.

Here, the plotline is changed and Yagami is introduced as a waiter over being a student. His best friend Kamoda gets bullied which is the cause of his rage this time around. This concept wasn't explored earlier. Of course, it is the moment when Light comes across the 'Death Note' dropped by Ryuk.

Masataka Kubota does a fair job as Yagami Light. His shocked and revenge expressions, however, are on point. His anger and disappointment in the scene upon finding L is the highlight of the first episode.

Reiko Fujiwara as Sayu Yagami is adorable just like in the anime. This time, the kids have lost their mother.

For no particular reason, he again introduces what the Death Note does. He doesn’t particularly come across as a smart person, in contrast to the anime.

Yutaka Matsushige as Shoicho Yagami also makes a fair first impression. Jiro Sato as his closest colleague Kanzo Mogi is quite a character. We are then introduced to Goki Maeda and Tomohisa Yuge, who play the roles of Tota Matsuda and Shuichi Aizawa respectively. The two share brief screen space and thus, it wouldn't be fair to judge them on a first impression basis.

The story moves on too fast and abruptly. The drama goes on with slow music adding up to it. Ryuk's entry however is too awesome. His whole presence lights up the screen and by that, I do not mean just in the daytime. He will make you laugh by going on with modern times and being Light's biggest support.

Light is disappointing this time around. He lacks the intelligence of the original character and is shown too weak, which the Light from the manga isn't.

Kazuagi Hankai as Watari (L's house help) makes a mysterious first impression. On the other hand, Kento Yamazaki as L also makes a mysterious but yet powerful entry. You know from the time that he is going to play a big role in unravelling this story. He manages to keep the swag of L alive. Without being indisciplined, L exhibits power. His obsession with white is also quite clear in the scenes. Kento fits into the character like a glove in the hand.

Megumi Seki as Himura Shoko makes a brief appearance in the first episode which isn't very memorable either. Only Ryuk manages to make an impression in the episode.

Kira's journey begins on a hopeful note. The scene is shot around sunrise, thus talking about a new beginning for Light.

Hinako Sano's Misa Amane (Misa-Misa) gets a good introduction. Her character's graph becomes clearer as she goes along in the story. Being a fashion and music icon, she is adorable and also powerful. Near, who ends up becoming an important part of the story, is introduced in the first episode itself, thus raising the bar. Her character, however, develops further as the show moves forward.

Here, Kira is in love with Misa-Misa, in contrast to the manga and anime, where he wanted nothing to do with her.

This time around, Ryuk brings in news about Misa-Misa. Tota and L's first interaction, as expected, is cool. L's relation with Near is also explored in this series which is sugge (awesome). The sad part about this series, however, is that Misa-Misa gets a red Death Note just because she is a girl.

While Light Yagami's character grows, L becomes even better. As the series progresses, there is never a moment that bores you, even though Death Note could tend to get dramatic in bits and pieces.

Rem is a too motherly figure which makes Misa-Misa's bit a boring watch. J-dramas usually feel that changing camera angles cause an impact on a scene. While it succeeds sometimes, it fails many other times. Death Note is an example of the latter.

L and Light's first meeting is just fab. L shines out through-and-through. Unfortunately, how Misa regained her life or got the Shinigami eyes is not explored in depth in this series.

Light and Misa-Misa's first meeting is too intense and that is a moment to be cherished. L and Sayu's almost-heated moments are something to look forward to. However, Light's changing expressions make things clear and thus, his scene with L after being found out, appears forced.

The background music could get a bit too much and pull down an otherwise powerful scene. L and Light's moments at Misa-Misa's concert is, however, brilliant. L, as always, is expectedly good.

While Ryuk is genuinely terrifying, Rem tries too hard and still fails in doing so. The drama element in the show just doesn't seem to stop. Fortunately, we also get to see Light in action, which is one of the high moments on the show.

Near being introduced to Light is a scene worth watching. L and Near's relationship is explored in depth in the series which makes it better than the anime, where Near is introduced much later as a surprise.

L gives out a big hint about the ending of the show in a very interesting scene, one that suits his personality well. Another scene that works well is between L and Light as they work together to catch the third Kira. While L is seen calm in his white formals, Light looks active in a black pantsuit. This scene reflects their personality well too.

L and Light's reaction upon touching the Death Note is brilliant. Although Light slightly overacts, L maintains a perfect balance after witnessing the new world, which once again fits his personality well.

One thing that hasn't changed from the anime to the TV series is how Light takes Misa for granted. He doesn't care about her, which is a drastic change in his character, who is fond of her at the beginning. The behaviour does not make any sense and just makes you feel Light has no strong personality.

The series also has some unexpected twists that make your heart beat a little faster. However, obviously, the graph could have been improved to a considerable amount.

The TV series introduces the third Kira beautifully. Since we know his background already, we also get to know why his personality develops the way it does.

Watari's moments with L have always been beautiful but their last memories are special. It is also the moment when Near's personality unravels clearly.

Near/Mello's personality is quite interesting. He is bipolar and still, manages to control himself well unless the situation is extreme. This proves he is more than capable of handling someone like Kira, sometimes even more than L himself.

Himura comes as a big surprise. Although she is almost invisible throughout the show, she eventually plays a very important role, the one that you do not see coming.

Masataka (Light) tries too hard to act in a few scenes but ends up overacting and it is quite visible. The dramatic music only takes the scene to a lower level. Thus, the near-ending scenes become a little disappointing. The drama takes over the otherwise intriguing plot. Yagami Senior (Shoicho) and Yagami Junior(Light)'s interaction goes on for way too long, making you lose interest in watching the series any further. While the scene is important, it goes on and on, just like the series.

Keeping the plotline of the last scene intact was a smart move on the makers' part. Seeing the impact it has created previously, the TV series also nearly excels in this scene, especially with Light and Ryuk, who began the whole story.

Verdict:

Death Note TV series unfolds beautifully. However, the only problem with this TV series is that it tries to cover too much in very few episodes. With 11 episodes in a season, each lasting for an hour, the series gets too long to binge-watch. Even if the dramatic moments are ignored, the TV series takes three days to complete and by that time, people are bound to lose interest in the story.