Death Note - anime or manga, which is better?

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

I've heard this series is excellent and I'm interested in pursuing it. The way it goes I'll probably watch the anime, since it comes to Australian tv sometime this year. I've heard the anime improves on some areas and skimps on others. Still I'm curious to hear from the fans what they think.

Thanks!

[Lord Traith]

The manga wins, hands-down.

I can't really say why without spoiling anything, but suffice it to say, you'll kick yourself for not reading it if you watch the anime first

[bakura_fan]

I'd have to agree with the manga part. however, I havn't finished it, but I love the art either way *manga or anime*. ;-; I had all the volumes...but lost volume 3 on a trip so I have to replace it *sniff*

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Dang. I just wish manga wasn't so expensive here then (costs about $19 each).
Thanks anyway.

[ADXC]

Well crud! You guys get the short end of the stick then, don't ya! How much does a regular anime dvd cost there? About $20 for us, and around $10 for manga.

Anyway, I really like the Death Note anime, Im sorry I really haven't read the manga. Probably because it costs a bit. But nevertheless, I think its an anime/manga to invest your time in. But thats just my opinion.

[minakichan]

The anime is actually a lot closer to the original manga than, well, a lot of manga-to-anime adaptations. The anime does pander to fans a bit more, and it's quite a bit darker and more violent. The ending also takes a different tone that most people (aside from silly fangirls, I suppose) really dislike.

I do think the anime is more beautifully symbolic, lots of religious symbolism that is really lovely (although SOMEHOW yaoi fangirls STILL misinterpret it... argh).

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Okay cool!

Animedude, here in Australia a manga volume usually costs upwards of $19 and an anime DVD is about $30 a volume.
You get more bang for your buck with anime.

[mechana2015]

manga and... for the storyline... the movies. I like the resolution from the movies a lot.

[bakura_fan]

manga and... for the storyline... the movies. I like the resolution from the movies a lot.

yeah. I like the movies more too. ^_^

[uc pseudonym]

Whichever way you go, rest assured that with the anime you still get the essence of Death Note. There are no major changes or (as far as I know) filler episodes. Personally, I prefer the manga simply because I don't want to spend half an hour watching people talk when I could read the same thing in a third of the time.

[Mist]

All of the above (anime, manga, movies). I find that I get a better grasp of a series if I see it in all the media available. Then again, that's me. ^^;

-Mist

[king atlantis]

[color="DeepSkyBlue"]manga>anime in every which way plausible.[/color]

[Slytherine]

*reads previous posts*

*grimace* Ok then.

I had been hearing of the amazing-ness of Death Note from my Death Note obsessed friend about just how totally amazing it is. She practically threw the first manga volume at me because she wanted to have someone to talk to about the "awesome-ness that is Death Note."

So, because I'm a good friend, I read it.

*sigh*

I will never be getting back those 15 minutes of my life I wasted reading it. In my opinion, it doesn't even come close to meeting the hype. I place it at the mediocre level at best.

I saw the first three anime episodes too, in an attempt to get intersted in the series; not any better really.

But if I had to choose, I think I would prefer the anime to the manga. No real reason for it, I just like pretty moving color pictures.

That is all. *walks off*

~Slytherine

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

It can't be mediocre because it has lots of accolades for it's writing and art. Well, then I guess it's probably just not your cup of tea.

[uc pseudonym]

I will never be getting back those 15 minutes of my life I wasted reading it. In my opinion, it doesn't even come close to meeting the hype. I place it at the mediocre level at best.

Naturally, posting in a thread such as this is essentially declaring yourself fair game. So I have to ask: what were the reasons that you found it mediocre? I'm not saying that to attack you, I would just prefer to believe it is something other than:

I just like pretty moving color pictures.

[Fish and Chips]

Most all of my complaints with Death Note, such as they are, fall further down the road. Not sure what could've acted as such a turn off for her in the first volume and three episodes.

Unless you're not keen on the villain being the protagonist.

[minakichan]

Eh, whatever floats your boat. I've had friends that freaking read Monster and found it "mediocre" after the first 3 chapters ("It's so boring! Nothing happens! There's no action!").

Personally, I kind of have issues with the idea that Death Note could have "hype" in the first place because it really shouldn't be a fandom-heavy series anyway. Most of that "hype" is centered on yaoi or character-fangirling (case in point: the L craze from this last year. Something is seriously wrong with the world if Matsuyama Kenichi releases a photobook of L eating sweets and going on ride at the amusement park.). The fan hype is completely exaggerated; lots of people go into Death Note expecting lots of "service" content (and some actually believe it's a yaoi series), but they get disappointed at the results (and others don't care because they can make up their own version of characters >_>).

[Fish and Chips]

I've had friends that freaking read Monster and found it "mediocre" after the first 3 chapters ("It's so boring! Nothing happens! There's no action!").

What.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

I'm interested in Death Note because of the psychological crime/ supernatural thriller/philosophical themes are an unusual and interesting sounding blend. Not because of the Yaoi content (lol).

[Roy Mustang]

Most all of my complaints with Death Note, such as they are, fall further down the road. Not sure what could've acted as such a turn off for her in the first volume and three episodes.

I feel the same way now. When I first watch Death Note anime, I felt that it was pretty good and seeing a series from the villain's POV is nice.

It started out like an anime version of Macbeth. But then Misa shows up and some cheesy lines has turn it from Macbeth to Shakespeare's comedies, The Comedy of Errors and Two Gentlemen of Verona.

And if that wasn't enough, then the otaku hype rear its ugly head and really has made it annoying.

[font="Book Antiqua"]
[color="Red"]Col. Roy Mustang[/color][/font]

[Sakura15]

I've only seen a few episodes of the anime, but I'm going to have to say I like the manga much better.

[ADXC]

This story not only reminds me of Macbeth, but also Crime and Punishment. Why?
As W4J said it earlier that makes the show good is

"because of the psychological crime/ supernatural thriller/philosophical themes are an unusual and interesting sounding blend."

Some of this decribes Crimes and Punishment. Im not sure if
[SPOILER] Light is punished for his crimes just like Raskolnikov was sent to prison for commiting his crime.[/SPOILER], but there are some hints of C&P in DN. Like L for instance, he seems just like Porfiry in C&P. Porfiry was a detective in C&P, and was very good at it as well. He knew that the murder of the pawnbroker was [SPOILER] Raskolnikov's fault after a while, and knew that no body else could be.[/SPOILER] Just like L in a recent episode when he said [SPOILER] that Light is kira and that NO once could be. And that was right to Lights face![/SPOILER] And there are other hints of this stuff. Sometimes you wonder if these ideas are taken from classic literature, but then that may be a coincedence. And really how many people actually read books(Not including manga.)? Well maybe some, but not many.

[Slytherine]

All I was trying to say was that, from the perspective of an outsider, Death Note doesn't live up to the hype placed on it. I went in thinking I was going to be reading the most amazing manga ever in existence, when in reality it wasn't anything special at all. Very generic. Ok, so you get to see a manga written with a complex "bad guy?" as a protagonist. So what? I'm sure there are loads of manga like that if that's you thing. Can't say it's mine, but whatever.

All I was saying was that everyone put Death Note on this high level, and I just felt like it didn't even come close to meeting the high expectations placed on it, for my personally. Also, it's annoying. Lol. That's all. <3

~Slytherine

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Please recommend me some 'better' manga in the same/similar genre complexity.

I'm still going to check out 'Death Note' - although I found out it's only released in Australia in April.

[Radical Dreamer]

Please recommend me some 'better' manga in the same/similar genre complexity.

Naoki Urasawa's Monster. Also, 20th Century Boys, by the same manga-ka. Excellent suspenseful stories, both of which are favorites of mine that I prefer over Death Note. I'm not sure if they've been licensed in Australia, but Monster is currently being released here, and 20CB will be following shortly after. That may or may not be the case for Australia, but definitely look into it. They're both excellent series!

[minakichan]

The ones I always recommend are Urasawa Naoki's Monster and uh, Crime and Punishment, which is a REAL BOOK, but you should still give it a try ^^

Monster is deeper, more meaningful, and more perfectly executed than Death Note. I do prefer Death Note at times because it bears depth but still scores higher in pure entertainment value, but Monster is certainly the superior series.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

My bro has the first volume of Monster (he bought it when we went on a mission trip to Japan in 2006), so I'll check it out.

Thanks!

[MasterDias]

And I was wondering when someone was going to recommend Monster...

There are plenty of people who think Death Note completely "jumps-the-shark" during the second half. I wouldn't go nearly that far but I admit I don't think it's as fun to read as the first part.

[minakichan]

Heck, I thought Death Note jumped the shark when Misa showed up-- and it's one of my favorite manga. But considering that Ohba, who normally planned a ton and had all kind of ideas from the very beginning, didn't have any plans to write the second half and only did so (after taking a disappointing couple-month hiatus) in response to Death Note's unexpected popularity, it's only natural that the characters and plot were not as good. The whole 108 chapter thing also screwed over the pacing...

[Fish and Chips]

I think the issue most people have with the second arc of Death Note is that it feels like a Hollywood sequel. Cashing in on the popularity of the first bit, they tried to write it "Bigger and better" and ended up losing what it was that defined the original, leaving us with a weaker follow up.