I was browsing the forum and surprised: NOT A SINGLE TOPIC FOR DN anime ? :(
Come on guys, it's the most epic series ever. jump in and discuss! :)

Death Note is a story where questions of morality are frequently asked, but only rarely answered. It seems to leave us to make up our own minds about these topics. Or at least if it has answers to offer, it isn't going to do so for quite a while to come.

In this show, both L and Light are portrayed as good and bad. At times it is hard to tell which is the villian and which is the hero. Both have good motives and their own ways of accomplishing them. Does this show even have any sense of good and evil, or just many shades of gray? By not giving us any solid answers about this topic, the writer seems to be asking us to start a dialogue about the meaning of the character's goals and if their means are justified by their worthwhile goals.

The mind of the storyteller has great imaginative powers.Yagami Light is an ace student with great prospects, who's bored out of his mind. One day he finds the "Death Note": a notebook from the realm of the Death Gods, with the power to kill people in any way he desires. In the anime, Light Yagami discovers a mysterious notebook on the ground at his school. Written on the cover: the words "Death Note". The Death Note's instructions state that if a human's name is written within it, that person shall die. Light is initially skeptical of the notebook's authenticity, but after experimenting with it, Light realizes that the Death Note is real. It is in this way that Light Yagami found his true purpose in life: to become Justice by judging and killing all criminals with the Death Note. Light feels that he is the only one fit to judge humanity, thus he decides to create a New World where he alone is "God." After meeting the previous owner of the Death Note, a Shinigami named Ryuk, Light seeks to control the world with Divine Rule, passing judgment on those he deems to be evil or those who get in the way of his goals.

A short time later, Light sets to work ridding the world of criminals, attracting the attention of the master detective L. Light and L encounter each other in several different battles of wit and logic throughout the first arc of the series. Once the second Kira, Misa Amane emerges, L is able to corner them both. After giving up the Death Note briefly to clear their names, Light is able to manipulate Rem into saving Misa's life. Kira's goal: to kill L, antagonist and arch-rival to Kira. When L is attempting to test the Death Note, Rem realizes that Light has trapped her. She is forced into a situation where she must choose: the life of Misa Amane, or her own existence as a Shinigami. It is only then that Rem has an epiphany: Light Yagami has surpassed all Shinigami, having the ability to even kill "immortal" Shinigami. Rem kills both L and Watari, and then dies, leaving her Death Note at Light's disposal.

With L dead, Light takes up his mantle in order to hide L's death from the world, becoming the second L while also putting him in the perfect position to continue killing criminals as Kira. He comes into contact with L's true successors, Near and Mello, who are out for revenge in the name of the true L: Mello wants Light dead, Near wants him exposed as Kira. After making a mistake in using Teru Mikami as a proxy, Near is finally able to corner Light. Having decided that it is time to end Kira's game, Ryuk decides to kill Light.In brief,I like Death Note very much!

Just for the record...OF COURSE there were topics on DN--3-4 years ago!! Before the anime was even made! Essays were written and heated debates were raged. I remember being one of the essayers myself, and analysed intensively every little detail...

Anyway. Just look at the little line besides my avatar, and I think you'll know where I stand even after all these years...

I wasn't satisfied with the ending; it left me with too much of an empty feeling, like it wasn't an ending at all. Though, I agree with my friends that, in the end, Light was distorted by his godly power. He even took such illogical steps as putting all his faith into a person he didn't really even know and not having any contingency plans. His blinding arrogance ultimately cost him his life.

I would have liked a bit of a combination of the anime and manga endings: Light gets gunned down and Mikami draws attention to himself like he did, allowing Light to get away. Light proceeds to write down Near's name and causes his death, and while basking in his absolute victory, that's when a pain occurs that makes him realize that Ryuk fulfilled his promise of killing Light at the end. Then maybe they can show him living his own torment, or flashing his life before his eyes, inspiring guilt and regret.

I didn't like Near at all, and seeing him prevail was probably one of the thorns that didn't come out. His death would have had the effect that everyone was truly helpless against the Death Note. Besides, who knows what could potentially happen afterward. Near touched the notebook, so had the otherworldly experience of witnessing a Shinigami. Naturally this would inspire doubt in ones own existence, so it wouldn't be too far out of the question to have him savor a page or two from the Notebook before incinerating it.

Light, when he lost his memories, became a very valuable source in capturing the 'then' Kira. The only difference between the two Light's was the otherworldly experience of Shinigami's and Death Note's. It would be safe to assume that this 'experience' is enough to turn one into a being capable of using the Death Note.

My friends and I had a major dispute (within reason) about the ending. They kept pointing out these ridiculous notation that Near had beaten everyone somehow but I pointed out that it was not Near that won, it was Near and Mello together. Alone, Near would be a challenge, but Light would have gotten him, the same way as he did with L. It was absolutely as Near said, Light surpass both Near and Mello, but them standing together would be really tough though I do believe that Light would have won if Mikami hadn't screwed up. I absolutely love the ending, though I knew that Light would probably loose. But it was how it was done. Watching Light freaking out, going crazy, to me that just meant that he too is just a person, after all. What horrible pressure it must be, living like that.

Mikami too, it was not fun at all when he killed himself, being totally obsessed with Kira and seeing his "God" die must have been devastating. But don't you see that he did it to save Kira? I mean he got all the attention, so that Light had the opportunity to escape. And when Ryuk seems to have some feelings himself, in the end, when he's writing Light's name in the Note. Though I have to read the rest of the manga to find out, seems like there's a slightly different ending there? Never got around to reading the manga till this day. What I don't understand though, is when Light sees himself walking past him in the end. It is himself, right? My friend says it's L.. It being L would mean that L was really behind all of it. It being Light could mean as he just sees himself as the person he was before he got the note, which would absolutely make sense.

Though Light is Kira, and has murdered lots of people, he does it for the purpose of good. But then it drives him quite mad at the end. But we see his feelings and I just think it's absolutely beautiful! Hahaha, the murderer has feelings and so do I, I love him. Argh, I understand Misa and Takada so much... But then again, the fact that I love Light so much would probably result in me ending up dead, lol. I think the entire plot comes to the fact that Kira is trying to use something evil to make good. Could that ever work? And it just leaves us wondering if the world's really hopeless.