Death Note is one of the most acclaimed anime and manga series worldwide. Death Note falls into Supernatural & Psychological Thriller.
Death Note is renowned for its bold themes compared to its peers, such as God Complex, Weight of Responsibility, True Justice, Vigilantism, Good Vs. Evil and where the lines blur from one another etc.
The series ran from October 2006 to June 2007. Death Note had 37 episodes.
Plot
Bored, one of the Shinigamis from the nether realm, Death Gods/ Reapers named Ryuk, dropped his Death Note to our world.
Death Note is a special notebook in which, if a person’s name is written, they will die precisely as dictated in the notebook.
Death Note was founded by an exceptionally bright and genius high school student named Light Yagami.
Once he understands the power of the Death Note and Ryuk’s vague instructions, he begins killing off the criminals under the guise of Kira. The common populace has deemed Kira a Godlike being who exacts justice on evil.
However, Kira soon becomes power drunk and goes on a rampage against whoever he deems immoral. This alerts the authorities, who look down on Kira’s Vigilantism and feels that Kira is not on the side of true justice.
It takes the combined efforts of a teen prodigy named L, the world’s greatest detective, and the unique Japanese police force to take down Kira.
Characters and Voice Actors
Light Yagami/Kira voiced by Mamoru Miyano (Japanese)
Brad Swaile (English).
Light Yagami is the main protagonist/anti-hero of the series. He’s a world-class genius and a master manipulator. He believes in creating a world truly devoid of evil where Kira will be worshipped as a god.
L/Lawliet Shin-ichiro, voiced by Miki (Japanese) and Alessandro Juliani (English)
L or Lawliet is known as the world’s greatest detective. He is fond of sweets and becomes friends/rivals with Light Yagami. However, he is reclusive and appears odd in social situations.
Ryuk is voiced by Nakamura ShidÅ & Jun Fukushima (Japanese, anime, and films) as well as Brian Drummond and Willem Dafoe (English, anime, and movies)
Ryuk is the shinigami who drops the Death Note into the world. He, out of boredom, wants to toy with the humans and their destinies.
He acts passively to Light as he does not care much to intervene or act directly in the affairs of Humans. He is also invisible to humans.
He is addicted to apples, which is a motif in many episodes about him and fan art.
Misa Amane voiced by Hinako Sano
Misa Amane is a music idol and a lover of Light. She is hopelessly in love with Kira, and once she realizes Light and Kira are the same, she worships and goes to any extent for him.
Gelus, a shinigami, fell in love with her and protected her from her attacker, thereby killing him in the process.
Another shinigami named Rem witnessed the entire event, gave her the notebook, and protected her.
Awards and Reception
Death Note, as mentioned before, is one of the most acclaimed Anime and Manga series in the world that got both critical and widespread acclaim.
It got many awards but also had its share of controversies.
Death Note won Best TV Anime 2007 at Tokyo International Anime Fair and held a 100 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Death Note inspired many copycat murders, and many youngsters created Death Notes of their own, imitating the same and writing the names of their peers.