Forum - View topicREVIEW: Death Note DVDs 7 + 8
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maichips
 Posts: 96 |
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I definitely agree with you! I thought Mello's approach was quite unique, and even a little reminicent of L and Light's mentalities when it comes to dealing justice. Light deals justice by murdering, and even L wanted to test the Death Note on someone to see if it worked. Near's just too... "pure justice" for my tastes, while I think Mello has a more realistic persona, with actual human flaws. I think the story after L could have been a lot more gratifying if spoiler[Mello had taken down Light instead of Near]. So yes, I think Near actually was the series' worst flaw. 
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Unit 03.5-ish
Posts: 1540 Location: This space for rent |
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Maybe it's just me, but I still am not sold on this series. For all the positives I hear about it (good animation, strange cast of characters, drama and story-building) I hear just as many down sides (pretentious at times, thinks it's more clever than it is, unlikable main character). Eh, well, I'm guessing that at this point, if I'm not interested, nothing can draw me in. It's a shame that the concept is interesting, but probably could have been handled better in someone else's hands.
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pachy_boy
Posts: 1323 |
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I never read that, so I've learned something official here |
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maaya
Posts: 976 |
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But if I remember correctly in "how to read" the author states that they only decided for L to die pretty shortly before it actually happened and before that he had also considered to let him live. In other words, they didn't intend for him to die from the beginning and Ohba wrote most of the story while the manga was already running and not before hand.
Has "how to read" been translated into english already? Would be helpfull ^^ |
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farichada
 Posts: 303 Location: Wisconsin, USA |
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Wut you guys mean? DN is Godly just like how Light is God. How dare you blaspheme DN. Of course, I only kid. DN is an enjoyable series, though not one of particularly high quality. I agree with the reviewer the artsistry and animation are top notch. I also agree that the dub is one of DVD's strong points -- which is a rarity in a sea of bad dubs. I am also really glad this review of DN didn't digress into why you the morality and philosophy of the series are inherentl flawed. Great review of an above average series with blaring melodrama. Somehow it is only fitting and best in my opinion that the very review that reviews is absent of this melodrama and is a clear cut above the rest in terms of quality. Great review!
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DestG7
Posts: 11 |
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Unfortunately, Death Note is one of those
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Top Gun
 Posts: 4570 |
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Out of the shows you listed, I've seen very few comments on the harshly negative side of things about Gurren-Lagann, but your point still stands. I look on Death Note as a substantially-overrated series that frequently attempts to pass off massive plot contrivances and circuitous logic as intelligent writing; this view is further reinforced by the fact that the original author has freely admitted that she was following a "make-it-up-as-you-go" course of action. The show falls into that relatively rare category where I don't actively dislike it, yet feel no real compulsion to rewatch it; it just left sort of a "meh" impression on me. Most of the enjoyment I did take from the show (aside from Matsuda's adorable n00bishness and Ryuk's wink-at-the-camera antics) was in observing L's amusing mannerisms and quirks, with the added bonus of his truly excellent dub. Once he fell out of the picture, my motivation to continue watching took a nosedive, as neither Near nor Mello were remotely as endearing as he was. For a show that sold itself as being about the great "Light vs. L" battle of wits, having one of the two main players be yanked from the plot so far away from the end makes no real sense. (At least the show does distinguish itself by having one of the most memorable OPs out there. I can't decide if the song is ridiculously awesome or ridiculously awful...maybe both.  )
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mrsticky005
Posts: 113 |
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To me this seems more like an Anti-Near rant
than a review. It seems incredibly biased. I mean I hate Higuchi and I think Yotsuba in the manga was quite boring but they did a really good job in the anime. I think the problem isn't Near but that the anime version of the Near and Mello arc was rushed too quickly, cut out too much, and gave Near and Mello pretty bad voices in both versions. (Mello in the Japanese is ok. The voice actor is good but it doesn't fit Mello.) It's annoying to me everyone saying Near is a L copycat. Yeah sure he LOOKS somewhat like L and he even has some similar gimmicks as L. But L and Near are two totally different people. If anything Near is closer to Light than he is to L. (Mello is more like L than Near is really.) |
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jr240483
 Posts: 4374 Location: New York City,New York,USA |
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Not quite.Sure i can agree about some series being overated but there's brealy any,and death note isn't. Though it's ending leaves something to be desired,same with near himself (And learning his VA is the same for C-ko for the Project A-ko series didn't helped much and what's worse was how light became such a complete psychopath. Just hope the writers for CG didn't do that to lelouch otherwise people are gonna be pissed since people are compaing the two main characters in any series that's very hard to like and very easy to loathe. |
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Quark
 Posts: 710 Location: British Columbia, Canada |
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Or you know, instead of appealing to the fangirls with foot fetishes (really? c'mon...I don't think there's a huge market for that) they might have actually been making a Biblical reference. You know, Jesus washing the feet of the twelve disciples, before his betrayal by Judas the Iscariot? It's a parable, showing that spoiler[L knows that Light is lying and that he is going to betray him] Personally, I thought it fit Death Note well, as the show is just slathered in melodrama. Biblical knowledge! It's a good thing. |
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CCSYueh
 Posts: 2707 Location: San Diego, CA |
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Gurren Laggan is over-rated. I have 1 dvd. Someday I'll continue I suppose, but it's not all that like everyone makes it out to be. I really enjoyed Super Robot Wars much more.
Sorry, most shonen manga falls into this. Shojo also. Akira Toriyama spoke of lunching regularly with a couple other manga-kas & bouncing ideas off/stealing outright for ideas because the weekly grind is brutal. I'm sorry, it's blatently obvious Kubo's on the fly also. I loved how suddenly everyone had a bankai. It's like discovering Super Saiyan. In DN:HTR the author said she had thru chapter 3 planned out before starting which isn't bad, but she also said it was always going to end the way it ended--sort of like Harry Potter's Rowling always claimed to have that last line written all along. She intended for there to be 108 chapters to represent the 108 earthly desires represented in Buddhism. but it was really hard to get it just right, She states (pg 58 DN:HTR if you care) she did think of it ending with L winning & Light dying, but went with the final ending because her big point was "when you die, you become nothingess" so one needs to live life to the fullest. Se feels bringing characters back to life is cheating. The reason Mello kidnapped Sayu & not Misa was Light would just let Misa die.
Ever talk to a mystery fan? Many mystery fans are totally addicted, while most of us see a mystery once so we know who dun it & that's that.
Actually the editor crossed the pix of the 2. The artist meant them to be the other way around, but the editor presented them to the author the other way so that was that. WHich is interesting because in DN:HTR the artist expressed strong dislike for Near--that he was his least favorite character. The author apparently planned to have Mello beat Kira, but he found out too much about the DN so poor Mello. I liked Mello much more than Near. Something to watch for--Near apparently really didn't like L in the artist's opinion. He felt Kira's puppet was bought & altered, but Near made the rest & took extra care on Mello's
Were you calling Rem a dude? I was rather perturbed at the dub because they made the character sound feminine. I was totally blown away when Rem said she was female in the manga. (Yuri, guys! Go for it) |
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Top Gun
Posts: 4570 |
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No offense, but it's generally customary to watch more than one-sixth of a series before declaring the work in its entirety to be "overrated."  I can't really put into words how much...well...larger the show gets, in every sense of that word, so I'll just have to hope that you get around to seeing more of it at some point.
I realize that most shounen manga authors probably do something similar, but most shounen manga don't profess to be some sort of well-crafted battle of wits. Someone like Oda can throw together new plot elements at the drop of a hat and make it work, since a work like One Piece neatly segments itself into separate story arcs. However, Death Note was very much a thoroughly narrative sort of story, with one continuous plot thread. Trying to cobble that sort of story together piecemeal just leads to a whole bunch of awkward transitions and contrivances that stick out like a sore thumb, which were both evident in spades in Death Note.
To be perfectly honest, that whole "become nothingness" bit was perhaps the one element that drew the most sarcastic laughter from me out of the whole series. It was a perfectly childish form of nihilism, and it felt more like a royal cop-out than anything else. I personally feel that a much more profound ending would have been achieved by making those who used the Death Note wind up becoming shinigami, as it both explains their origin and acts as a pretty decent punishment for those who chose to take the lives of others. I can't imagine much worse of a fate than an eternity spent in that dreadfully dull existence. I felt like the series had dropped some hints along that line, which is why the whole nothingness ending felt completely out of right field to me.
I count myself as somewhat of a mystery fan (love Sherlock Holmes and the Hardy Boys), so that really isn't it. It's more that I didn't really find the show all that mentally engaging, and I feel like I wouldn't get much at all out of it on a re-watch. It doesn't help that the main character of the series is a complete flaming douche.
I think I can chalk him up as just about my least-favorite character, if for no other reason than the absolutely asinine manner in which he dressed.
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DestG7
Posts: 11 |
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With all respect, even if dtm42 has mentioned something in the past review discussion, why all your post seems so malicious Top_Gun? I know that all the popular series have detractors, but that sort of provoking the fans it's unnecessary. I liked Light, I found it a very singular anti-heroe, is interesting to watch and specially, entertaining. Well, at least Light got some recognition in the Anime in America: The Best (And Worst) Of 2007 Last edited by DestG7 on Fri Feb 13, 2009 2:26 am; edited 3 times in total |
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penguintruth
 Posts: 8459 Location: Penguinopolis |
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Sometimes I feel like I'm the only fan of Near.
How can you hate a detective who takes his toys when he retreats from his base? |
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Top Gun
Posts: 4570 |
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I'm not "provoking" anyone; that is my humble and honest opinion on the character of Light Yagami. He's a petulant, murdersome brat with a god complex and no regard at all for humanity. Any depth or conflict in his character gets thrown out within the course of an episode or two, leaving nothing at all but contrived conniving and rampant dickery. Really, I find it a complete head-scratcher as to how anyone can even tolerate him, let alone like him.
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