Forum - View topicWhy is Death Note so popular?
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dtm42
Posts: 14084 Location: currently stalking my waifu |
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Maybe the movie was so good that most of those who gave it a positive review were being unbiased? Plenty of critics made their distaste of The Dark Knight public, so it isn't like there was a culture where people couldn't speak their minds. As much as it shocks and disturbs the Kiwi in me, there were even people who hated the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. When they made their feelings public, they weren't lynched. Too much, at any rate.
Well, the first season of Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, and the first two-thirds of Death Note, are two of my favourite Anime, so it's subjective. But yes, there are shows which I think more people should know about and appreciate, but which were passed over for shows I consider inferior. That's just the way it is. It happens to virtually everyone.
It is my belief that popular shows are popular not because of the criticism, but despite it. Take Naruto; how many people - who have never seen it before - have read a scathing comment or review about it and then wanted to go and watch it? Not many.
Yeah, it is my opinion that while constructive criticism is good, it would be better used on the truly mediocre or average series. The truly bad shows won't benefit from it (because their problems are so much deeper), and the good shows don't really need it. I would rather that Shuffle! or some similarly bad Anime was the target of such criticism rather than Death Note, which is perfectly enjoyable without it. As for the strong criticism of Death Note that so many people resort to (the "harsh critique"), well that sort of thing doesn't help. It just makes us fans angry, while making those levelling such criticism to come across as petty. There are other shows that are far more deserving of criticism; if people don't much care for Death Note, then why are they even bothering to attack it? Last edited by dtm42 on Wed Apr 15, 2009 11:49 am; edited 2 times in total |
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Ausdoerrt
 Posts: 481 |
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The people who dare to speak their opinion for the major titles are too few and too far apart IMO.
That said, is it that bad to criticize the title, even if it angers the fans? My personal philosophy is that one needs to criticize anything they find as harshly as they can, because, as I said, critique brings quality while the lack thereof results only in laziness. If everyone just acts to make the fans happy, then the third rate titles will only multiply in quantity. |
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_Earthwyrm_
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'Us fans'? I count myself as a fan of Death Note, so when you make that generalisation you group me together with people who get angry about reviews that are critical of it. Please don't - fans of a show do not constitute a unified group which you (or anyone else) can speak for. To me, even as a fan, criticism of Death Note has a place and serves a purpose. Death Note has issues and there is nothing wrong with pointing them out, even as a professional reviewer. Please continue though to lambaste Shuffle!. 
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PetrifiedJello
Posts: 3782 |
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It wasn't a slap. It was a truth. Yes, sometimes it's hard for people to accept it, but that really isn't my problem. It's one thing to share opinions, but quite another when those opinions are meaningless to the OP. Please read the replies since this post, and you'll understand. So far, the question of its popularity still hasn't been answered. And it's not going to be. It's impossible to do. The disrespect, as I see it, comes from asking an asinine question while getting people to answer it. Bottom line: Nothing you or anyone else said matters to the OP. Why would it? He's passionately defending the reasons why he doesn't like the show. Maybe I took the thread too seriously. If so, then I'll apologize now. But I can't see answering a close-minded thread like this, especially if the OP wasted no time in trashing what I like from the start. I'll blame it on the title while wondering why the OP didn't read the Death Note page, all the while people repeat what's in it. This one simple action would have answered his own question. For me to reply the way I did comes down to understanding this forum. I still don't get while a thread like this remains open while others, offering discussion, get locked. I'm sure my arrogance will offend some, but that's part of understanding the audience. I'll change from learning, especially with feedback like you provided. I'll attempt to be more tactful next time. |
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wii.sabi
 Posts: 5 Location: US |
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It almost made me get up and dance uncontrollably...almost... 
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DuelLadyS
 Posts: 1705 Location: WA state |
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How can you be sure? Several years back, a group of pyschologists did a study- they dressed up as doctors and has people ask questions to someone in a sealed room via radio. If they answered incorrectly, a doctor in the room told the person to press a button that gave an electrical shock. Each wrong answer got a progressively stronger shock, until lethal levels were reached. Of course, no one got shocked for real- the test was to see how many people would press those clearly marked as lethal shock buttons. The doctors assumed only a handful of people would. Much to their surprise, over half complied with the 'doctor' and pressed those lethal buttons. (Look into it yourself: Milgram experiment) That, I think, helps sum up this part of the appeal of Deathnote. People are aware that humans are capable of great evil, and wonder/fear just how 'bad' they could go, given the opportunity. Everyone judges others- most people just limit it to superfical things, like 'what ugly clothes' and 'why would they want to smoke anyway'. Why bother with more? you can't control it... well, to an extent, Light can. I know for me, that's the interesting part. (And L. L is neat.  )
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Zin5ki
 Posts: 6680 Location: London, UK |
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I don't formally study aesthetics, but I don't consider the notion of the value of a work of art being subject-independent to be an obviously justifiable one. Though we have both contributed to this thread already, could you please elaborate upon this notion of artistic objectivism? Last edited by Zin5ki on Wed Apr 15, 2009 12:19 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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GhstDreamer
 Posts: 134 |
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I don't think the experiment is about judging others so much as following the herd and conforming to the authorities/peers, despite one's conscience or morality. I think a more appropriate example would be the Standford Prison experiment, in which some people were prisoners and others were prison guards and the results of the study found people who are normally quiet, non-violent, etc. exhibit a lot of aggression and violence towards their prisoners when given the power and authority over others. I enjoyed Death Note (manga and anime) as something that entertained me, much like an episode of CSI, Law&Order, etc. It has all the components of a classic shonen jump product and I hate to admit this but I do like some shonen jump materials (Bleach, Kekkaishi, etc.). The one thing I liked about the character development in DN and in a sense, the only person in the story that changed was Light. Everyone else including L stayed the same from beginning to end - they just simply exist either to help or to antagonize Light . What made Light different from other shonen jump protagonists is that his character devolves instead of evolving to something greater than what and who he was at the beginning. Death Note is entertaining without being seriously thought-provoking. It skims over questions such a morality, justice, corruption, etc. without delving deep into them before it basically becomes more action oriented - which makes sense. It is shonen jump material and it is written for a specific target market (of course it can have spillover effects). If someone wants to watch something that's deeper, mature and thought provoking, there's always Monster, Texhnoloyze, Jin-Roh or Paranoia Agent. Death Note is popular because it simply contains the Shonen Jump formula to make it successful. |
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dtm42
Posts: 14084 Location: currently stalking my waifu |
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I believe Death Note was mature and thought-provoking, certainly as far as Shounen Jump titles go, but also as far as the vast majority of Anime titles go. As for Texhnolyze, now there's a show that deserves constructive criticism if ever there was one. Why do people pick on Death Note and yet generally overlook that particular title? I'll never understand the support for that show; perhaps I should start a thread about it. Anyway, moving back on to topic:
Or maybe not. Don't get me wrong Zin5ki, it is not my intention to chastise you, but that's a can of worms that no-one has answered, ever. If it has, I for one would love the hyperlink. Trying to establish the objective "worth" of a title is apparently impossible even for a professional reviewer, let alone little So you have a point; I shouldn't say a title is "objectively" inferior if there is no nice way to prove that it is. Not even for such a show as Shuffle!, which I assume most people don't much care for. So I'll rephrase - and hopefully fix - my previous unfounded statement:
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GhstDreamer
Posts: 134 |
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Texhnolyze simply doesn't have the fan following of Death Note to garner a thread about it that a lot of people would respond to. In fact, most people I lend my Texhnolyze dvds to actually hated the series and never watched past the first volume. Their complaints were that the show was too odd, strange and doesn't make sense. Whenever a series get that popular like Death Note, Naruto, Bleach, Dragon Ball, etc. there will always be a minority of people who will not like it. Here at ANN it just appears that a lot of people don't like Death Note but irl, the majority loves the series (at least everyone that I know who watched it). |
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arachneia
 Posts: 415 Location: On the wings of Bob Lennon |
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That's right, I won't. When you come up with some points that are actually pertinent to what I said instead of being a product of your belligerence and boredom, then I'll be happy to talk to you.
Do you actually expect people to be familiar with all those thousands of titles that have been made?
My point is that the show barely touches on the subject of morality and propriety of Light's actions although it is in reality a fascinating topic to cover. If Death Note inspires us to think about the morality or the ubiquity of humans judging each other, that is purely coincidental to the show's plot. Last edited by arachneia on Wed Apr 15, 2009 2:13 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Ausdoerrt
Posts: 481 |
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Yes and no. There's a plenty of anime titles that can offer more depth, the ones mentioned among them. Not to even get into things like GiTS, Haibane Renmei, Perfect Blue, etc. There's also a plenty of difference between a show that's trying to look serious and a show that raises serious questions. DN is more the first, but not so much the second. That said, as I mentioned before, I don't have any problems with DN itself, it's a decent work (albeit quite simplistic - won't go into that unless you want me to, since arachneia already did), but I do have a problem with the fanboyism about it, like people claiming it's the most thoughtful and deep work ever produced. As far as Texnolyze goes, I have only seen part of it. It deserves every ounce of criticism it gets for being slow; however, I don't buy (never do) the criticisms like "it doesn't make sense", a.k.a. it makes you *think*. Maybe it wasn't too deep, but at least it was thought-provoking. It does not get criticized so much because it barely ever gets mentioned (the few people I've seen on this forum are an exception, I guess), and as I mentioned before, I think a title being overlooked is far worse than a title being criticised. That said, Texnolyze is a niche work, and has none of traditional fanboy/fangirl candy, so it's not like I'd expect it to be very popular anyway. (sorry for a long off-topic) |
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arachneia
Posts: 415 Location: On the wings of Bob Lennon |
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Well, let's try your approach: who cares that you like the show? The OP may be starting the thread with an implicit notion that Death Note is an inferior series that does not deserve half the praise and the fanbase that it gets, but considering that we can all recognize the show as flawed, no one should be personally offended by that. I'm a fan. I'm a fan of many crappy things. But I'm not about to get apoplectic and call people close-minded for calling a spade a spade. |
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Ausdoerrt
Posts: 481 |
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In fact, it's not a "maybe". It's rather explicit. Quoting the OP:
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Voradors
Posts: 7 |
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you make alot of assumptions as to what i will or will not do. iv read just about every reply here (except the ones that are just flat out too argumentative). Hell even before u posted that crap i said thanks to the people who had already replied. so i will say to you AGAIN, read before you post and make urself look like an ass. dude, u come in here saying u dont like it when someone rags on something/someone else, but all u have done is try to be a complete ass to me when i haven't even said anything that bad about the show. obviously u took some offense because i dont like the show you obviously love. get over it, move on, and grow up. Last edited by Voradors on Wed Apr 15, 2009 3:21 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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I'd not be so cynical, but some recent trends I have seen, especially with reviewing big titles (game titles, specifically), make me completely disillusioned in the review industry (not that I have ever considered journalist completely trustworthy anyway). The Dark Knight was a decent movie, but it in no way "lived up" to the hype, not under my definition anyway. There's much better films out there that did not get as much credit. The fact that too little people have the balls to write an unbiased review is part of the consequence of something being overrated. 
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