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After watching the first episode of "Desu Nōto", I thought it was a very cleaver premise, but not really complex or open enough to allow for a compelling storyline. The story device, in short, if a person's name is written on the death note by someone holding that person's face in mind, that person will die. The death note is, of course, found a by a high school kid.
By the end of the pilot, our hero, Light Yagami, has killed a few people, met the death god who dropped the note, resolved to rid the world of the wicked and then rule over the remaining population as a god. I'm afraid I didn't have much hope after this, but continued watching to see where they'd go.
Turns out, Light is a true genius. We watch his brain tick and can't help but admire him in his megalomaniacal mechanizations. Just when the series starts to loose momentum, the plot twists. The base story changes many times over the run, while still functioning as a single continuous narrative.
While mass murder is a driving force, there's little gore; heart attack is the default method of demise. All the characters are fascinating. Many characters have active internal dialogs and we get to share their thoughts, plots and plans. It is engrossing, intelligent, thought provoking, and just really damn good. Early on I thought of Dexter watching this, but this is actually better.
I've seen twenty-five of the twenty-nine episodes aired in Japan; all good. Thirty-nine episodes are planned. This one is so well done that even those with anime aversion might be convinced to watch.
By the end of the pilot, our hero, Light Yagami, has killed a few people, met the death god who dropped the note, resolved to rid the world of the wicked and then rule over the remaining population as a god. I'm afraid I didn't have much hope after this, but continued watching to see where they'd go.
Turns out, Light is a true genius. We watch his brain tick and can't help but admire him in his megalomaniacal mechanizations. Just when the series starts to loose momentum, the plot twists. The base story changes many times over the run, while still functioning as a single continuous narrative.
While mass murder is a driving force, there's little gore; heart attack is the default method of demise. All the characters are fascinating. Many characters have active internal dialogs and we get to share their thoughts, plots and plans. It is engrossing, intelligent, thought provoking, and just really damn good. Early on I thought of Dexter watching this, but this is actually better.
I've seen twenty-five of the twenty-nine episodes aired in Japan; all good. Thirty-nine episodes are planned. This one is so well done that even those with anime aversion might be convinced to watch.