Death Note

Death Note isn't quite as completely amazing as its hype might suggest, but it's still great. With so many shows being the same old romantic comedy or mindless action, it's awesome to see something that depends on being intelligent and thrives because of it. If you don't know, the idea is a guy named Light finds a notebook that allows him to kill people by writing their name in it. After he confirms that it works by testing it on a criminal, he goes on a quest to get rid of all the bad people in the world, and he gradually becomes more evil and insane as the show goes on. At first Light seems like a protagonist, but before long it's clear that he really isn't. L is a detective of equal wit who's trying to track him down, and a huge part of the show is the cat and mouse battle between them. There's a lot of genuinely good, smart interplay going on as they struggle to outsmart each other. I think a little too much is just posturing, but there's plenty of genius schemes to keep the viewer entertained.

There are other elements of the show that are less interesting, as the two characters interact with the rest of the world. Light has to protect his secret from his family and keep control over his overzealous girlfriend. As it goes on, the show does tend to lose some steam, as the games start failing to top the previous one and the same thing happens again. There's a twist that changes the whole complexion of the show, and it's really not the same afterward. There's still some interesting stuff, but the new elements just aren't as well developed. As the show ends, it becomes clear it was about time it did anyway. The conclusion is decent, but more satisfaction could have been had with some tweaking. It's still a good, sometimes funny show, and it features some of the most ridiculously dramatic animation for mundane tasks I've ever seen. You'd never think writing a name down or opening a bag of chips could be so exciting. Despite diminishing returns, Death Note has more great "Oh, snap!" moments than a lot of shows put together, and every anime fan should check it out.