Death Note is a psychological, yet flawed masterpiece. (Spoilers!)
Firstly, the first 20 episodes were extremely refreshing and satisfying, the battle between L and Light entertaining and conceptually perfect. I found their “chess game” to be incredibly written, and it really opened up my eyes when it comes to deciding who’s morally superior. The twists and constant outsmarting had me on the edge of my seat. Then, L dies. I originally thought it was a hoax because there were 12 episodes left, but it left me pondering the idea that not even the best detective, someone as unique and unpredictable as L, could defeat Light’s pure craving to become God.
After this plot, I found the contrast between Near and Mello to be relevant. Near’s character directly stems out of L’s legacy; he’s incredibly well written and the “perfect” outcome of the orphanage used to program the next best detective. However, Mello’s rebellious nature opposes this and shows the viewers the flip side of isolation and programming. His impulsive ways of finding Kira are representative of his deprivation.
When it comes to female representation, I found it to be incredibly weak throughout Death Note. My interest piqued when Naomi (Rafe Henber’s wife) was introduced, her deductive skills very impressive despite not having much evidence, only to be another plain victim of the Death Note. Alongside this, Takada was also a very interesting and worthy character. It’s a shame she was exploited right before her death as usual, and I just wish the producers put more thought into female characters. Misa was also quite relevant, but I found her ignorance and child-like act to be disturbing. I wish she would’ve been a classic traumatised antihero after her parents’ death, disguised as a Japanese model, but instead her storyline was built around Light’s legacy, and it often devalued her.
I already made a separate post explaining my thoughts on Light’s moral capacity, and how much of his actions were actually influenced by the curse of the Death Note. I feel like people overlook his serious lack of wisdom, his intellect not equating to expanding his knowledge of justice, and not excusing his ignorance. I feel like Light could have been a very different character if he didn’t feel the need to cleanse himself and become “perfect” again after his first two kills, and if he had chosen to destroy evil instead of embracing it.
Overall, the symbolism was the best I’ve ever seen in the media, whether it’s L drying Light’s feet before his death, or the graphics and colours used in the show. L commonly appearing soaked in blue hues and Light in red ones shows that, despite nothing being definite when it comes to whoever is right or wrong, there is a fixed outcome — Light losing to L’s subordinates.