CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

so Anyone else watching death note, its really something, this guys got quite the idea of justice if you ask me, and quite the rule the world complex for a your college freshmen, but it grabs me intellectually and has some great art, would not recommend for everyone though...what you think???

death note is one of my LEAST favorite mangas. i watched the first episode of the anime to see how the music and voices and animation was, but that's it. as for the manga, i had read up to like chapter 50 before SJ even announced that they were releasing gonna start releasing it. i used to think it was awesome, now i just don't like it. i really hate the main character. he's probably the main reason why i don't read the manga. he takes advantage of people and kills innocent people as well. his idea of "cleansing the world" is just a washed up excuse to excercise and abuse his power with the Death Note. yes, the art is amazingly detailed. sure the plot itself is genius and totally original. but i simply can't bring myself to like this manga...

If it helps any, Jon, I don't think you're supposed to like Light.

Cap'n Nick wrote:If it helps any, Jon, I don't think you're supposed to like Light.

yes. i know that is true. but still, it's sorta odd that you begin the series rooting for the main character, and it's only a matter of time before you realize that the protagonist has turned into the VILLIAN of the series (in a way) and you actually start to root for the antagonist (L).

I would recommend it to most people, especially ones who are a fair bit more intellectual. It's a great series. My friend -- who is highly critical of film and anime -- adores Death Note.

jon_jinn wrote:yes. i know that is true. but still, it's sorta odd that you begin the series rooting for the main character, and it's only a matter of time before you realize that the main character has turned into the antagonist of the series (in a way).

Ever read John Milton's Paradise Lost? Same thing. In the beginning you are sort of rooting for Satan, then you end up realizing he sucks.

Mr. SmartyPants wrote:Ever read John Milton's Paradise Lost? Same thing. In the beginning you are sort of rooting for Satan, then you end up realizing he sucks.

nope. never read it. yeah, as you might be able to see, i am NOT a big fan of those types of stories. you like 'em at the beginning, but by the end you don't know who to cheer for. sorta like those horror/slasher movies where the main guy becomes the killer dude.

jon_jinn wrote:nope. never read it. yeah, as you might be able to see, i am NOT a big fan of those types of stories. you like 'em at the beginning, but by the end you don't know who to cheer for. sorta like those horror/slasher movies where the main guy becomes the killer dude.

But think about how realistic it can be. You don't know in real life who the villain is, and you might assume wrong. It's so much better than being blatantly pointed out who the antagonist is. It also shows that life is not a matter of being black and white.

I don't follow Death Note, but I can appreciate it for this fact. :>

I love the series. It is real interesting that you cheer on Light at beginning but then you start to dislike him when you figure out he is the antagonist of the story. It is not your typical manga. I recommend to those who like these kind of stories and horror genere.

I watch this series as well, it's really great. Though, it's not often you see the evil guy being the main character in a series. He does seem to have a messed up way of seeing justice, by how he kills innocent people. He thinks that he can make the world "good" by the use of fear, even though that's a fools' errand. According to his own "justice", he deserves death himself IMO. But what I find interesting about it is the "fight" between Light and L, how they know who the other is, but can't finish each other off yet.

jon_jinn wrote:yes. i know that is true. but still, it's sorta odd that you begin the series rooting for the main character, and it's only a matter of time before you realize that the main character has turned into the antagonist of the series (in a way).

See, that's the thing. I was never rooting for Light. His idea of vigilante-style murder never seemed noble to me at all. When I watched the first episode, I thought, "Man, that's one screwed up kid." When I watched the second episode, I thought, "Wow, L is so cool!" XD So yeah, that's my take on it.

Also, Light is not the antagonist. L is. Remember, the definition of "antagonist" is not the "bad guy", though 99% of the time, the antagonist is portrayed that way. The antagonist is simply against the protagonist, and the protagonist is the main character. It's similar to Macbeth, in a way, since you typically spend most of the story rooting for Macduff rather than the murderous Macbeth.

Anyways, yeah, I love this series. XD

Radical Dreamer wrote:When I watched the first episode, I thought, "Man, that's one screwed up kid." When I watched the second episode, I thought, "Wow, L is so cool!" XD So yeah, that's my take on it.

Although I wouldn't really think he's so screwed up, I mean I've seen countless anime where a villian has that sort of mindset, and really, I wouldn;t be surprised if something similar happened in reality if a person got their hands on a Death Note :/ Wouldn't be pretty...

As for L, he sure is the coolest guy with Asperger's^^ But that just totally makes up his unique character.

As for me, I love the series^^ The fact that Light's the bad guy like, makes the story. And really, there's not too too many series that portray the characters with such an opposite effect, so I love it^^ I really am curious as to how it ends, and that what keeps me going with the series... cept that they licensed it and the downloaded eps aren't available yet (sheesh, eps have passed already... what ever happened to the "RIGHT after Japan airs them" thing, anyhow?)

Death Note is teh r0x0rs 'nuff said

jon_jinn wrote:death note is one of my LEAST favorite mangas. i watched the first episode of the anime to see how the music and voices and animation was, but that's it. as for the manga, i had read up to like chapter 50 before SJ even announced that they were releasing gonna start releasing it. i used to think it was awesome, now i just don't like it. i really hate the main character. he's probably the main reason why i don't read the manga. he takes advantage of people and kills innocent people as well. his idea of "cleansing the world" is just a washed up excuse to excercise and abuse his power with the Death Note. yes, the art is amazingly detailed. sure the plot itself is genius and totally original. but i simply can't bring myself to like this manga...

There's a difference between an antagonist and a villain.

I for one enjoy reading at least one manga in which we see the story mainly through the opposing eyes, yet we still the good guy's point of view, just not as much.

I sorta rooted for Light to and the good guys to me always appeared as bad ones. "How dare they thwart the plans of evil?" I thought. The author of this excellent series succeeds in showing pity for the villain and wanting him to win in a way (in my part, at least).

Plus, just like in most other tales of good vs. evil,
[SPOILER]Good triumphs over evil. Light dies. I fail to see a difference regardless of whose point of view we see it from. The bad guy loses just the That doesn't mean the main character's methods are morally correct.[/SPOILER]

Darn, that post was repetitive.

I quit liking Light early on. Pardon me if this offends some of you, but I might have been able to stomach what he chose to do if he'd stuck to only executing "evil." But then he quickly turned towards godhood, using people like toys, and killing off those who opposed him. I knew who I wanted to lose from then on. By the time I finished vol. 9, I wasn't even sure I wanted him to get out of this alive.

Tom Dincht wrote:There's a difference between an antagonist and a villain.

yes yes. radical dreamer already pointed out the difference. allow me to change my original post

jon_jinn wrote:yes. i know that is true. but still, it's sorta odd that you begin the series rooting for the main character, and it's only a matter of time before you realize that the protagonist has turned into the VILLIAN of the series (in a way) and you actually start to root for the antagonist (L).

*has to jump in and say somthing* I love this manga, and show!!^^*huggles L*Thats all I have to say^^.*jumps away*

How you react to the series says a great deal about your personal beliefs. Personally, what interested me in the series was that the main character is the villain... I was mildly surprised (though I should not have been) that many supported him until he began doing classically bad things. People who kill in order to make themselves gods aren't bad until they begin hitting puppies.

uc pseudonym wrote:How you react to the series says a great deal about your personal beliefs. Personally, what interested me in the series was that the main character is the villain... I was mildly surprised (though I should not have been) that many supported him until he began doing classically bad things. People who kill in order to make themselves gods aren't bad until they begin hitting puppies.

I personally never agreed with Lights doing SINCE the beginning. Helping the world by getting rid of the bad people... who are already on death row? They are already incarcerated and aren't exactly doing anything murderous or whatever in bars. "Cleansing" the world from one "intellegent" person's own judgement. ...and that's why God's the Righteous Judge and not us^^ I actually was thinking alot on that issue during the first few eps, including the symbolism of the apples...

Amsuing how in the end (well, since the beginning), Light becomes the murderer, just like all those he's killed... what a hypocrite!

uc pseudonym wrote:How you react to the series says a great deal about your personal beliefs. Personally, what interested me in the series was that the main character is the villain... I was mildly surprised (though I should not have been) that many supported him until he began doing classically bad things. People who kill in order to make themselves gods aren't bad until they begin hitting puppies.

As soon as Light started muttering about gods, I knew it was the beginning of the end for him.

To be frank, I really like Death Note, and the whole idea behind it. The only thing that makes Death Note a little unnerving for me is the extent to which Light thinks himself as superior to everyone else. I think his character is very well done (and I <3 Miyano Mamoru! :3) but as was stated above, you're not supposed to want Light to win. In episode 2, when he declares that he is "absoulte Justice," you know he's gonna go down.

The entire "playing God" complex bothers me, so it's a good thing L is around.

Its kinda intresting to think, what would you do if you had a death note, I know it would be hard not to put judgment on to those we portray as evil.. i.e. a rapist

I love Death Note, and never liked Light at all [although I respected his cunning]. [spoiler] When he killed L, though . . . that was the last straw. Yes, he was already despicable for his "I'm gonna be God" deal, but L was so awesome . . . much cooler than Near and Mello IMO [/spoiler]

Not to sound like I'm mounting some sort of moral high horse, but I would probably burn a Death Note if I had one. I wouldn't trust myself with that sort of power. 'Tisn't my place, you know.

.rai//

I love this series!

I love it because it has a highly thought out amazing storyline that makes you looka t yourself and ask -

"what do I believe about death"

"what decides right and wrong"

"is it ever Ok to kill someone"

This is one of my top five favourite anime/manga! if your willing to look at the situation objectively and realize that the protagonist is not the type of person you want to model yourself after then I reccomend you read it!

On the other hand if you dont want to read about death and right and wrong... or you dont understand it... just pass it by!

That's a good point - is there any right way to use a Death Note? The only thing I could think of would be to turn it over to an established authority so that they could command its power in line with the jurisdiction they have over human life to begin with, but there are all sorts of things that could go wrong with that. As frustrating as it is when the guilty go unpunished, there are some blessings in limited law enforcement.

I'd also like to add that while I said you aren't supposed to like Light, I don't think that L and his crew are automatically heroes. L is pretty unscrupulous, too, and puts a lot of people through a lot of pain. In the end both of them are willing to sacrifice anything and everything for what they believe in, and seem especially willing to sacrifice those around them. I think that may be the overarching message of Death Note - that living by a moral code doesn't give an easy answer to every situation. Or, put more cynically, that uncompromising beliefs lead inevitably to destruction and despair.

Raiden no Kishi wrote:[spoiler] When he killed L, though . . . that was the last straw. Yes, he was already despicable for his "I'm gonna be God" deal, but L was so awesome . . . much cooler than Near and Mello IMO [/spoiler]

yep. and THAT, my friend, is where i stopped reading the manga...

uc pseudonym wrote:until they begin hitting puppies.

Paranoia Agent reference...

[SPOILER]What if the puppy is the villian?XD[/SPOILER]

>_< Sometimes, I REALLY know I shouldn't look at spoilers, but my curiousity is that of a cat's :/ Oh well, I figured so with the stuff I read. Wouldn't have been surprised at all, for either of those big spoilers.

Yes, Light is twisted, dark, and intelligent, maybe that's why Ilike rooting for him so much.

Most of anime is filled over clich'ed generic good guys, so getting such a morbid character who is actually very intelligent and not just another ridiculous bishonen boy with a giant sword is pretty cool.

Call me evil...call me twisted.....but up until EP 16. I'm still rooting for Yagami.

Kai Robin wrote:Yes, Light is twisted, dark, and intelligent, maybe that's why Ilike rooting for him so much.

Most of anime is filled over clich'ed generic good guys, so getting such a morbid character who is actually very intelligent and not just another ridiculous bishonen boy with a giant sword is pretty cool.

Call me evil...call me twisted.....but up until EP 16. I'm still rooting for Yagami.

[spoiler]Well you're going to be disappointed at the end =p.











He died *hooray*[/spoiler]

Mr. SmartyPants wrote:[spoiler]Well you're going to be disappointed at the end =p.











He died *hooray*[/spoiler]

XD i didn't even finish the series but i knew by the time i'd reached like volume 4 that that would probably be how the series ends...