Death Note is an anime based on the manga created by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata in the early 2000s. It follows the main character Light who discovers a notebook dropped by Shinigami Ryuk, which has the ability of causing the death of any person whose name you write in it. He tasks himself with ridding the world of all criminals and evil, crowning himself as God of the New World and being dubbed Kira (‘killer’) by the media. The show documents the cat and mouse game between Light and the world’s most esteemed detectives, most notably L Lawliet. A tug of war ensues between self-appointed divine authority and the justice of humanity, with manipulation, deception and wit centered at the rope’s very core.

There are many reasons I love this show and it will be difficult to contain them all in one succinct webpage. One of my favourite parts of the show is its religious symbolism throughout. Just in the show’s first opening alone, there is symbolism of a red apple representing original sin, temptation and Light’s crossing of natural law into the powers of God (Light is depicted in an adaption of Michelangelo’s ‘Creation of Adam’ in the bottom left image as receiving an apple from Ryuk). Also included in the opening is the bottom right image of Naomi Misora carrying her dead husband depicts Michelangelo’s statue ‘Pietà’ of the Virgin Mary and Jesus. Later in the show, there is a very well-known scene where L massages Light’s feet (Lawlight is a very popular ship, but I personally hate it for reasons I will not divulge in), which symbolises Jesus washing Judas’ feet (I would describe this scene's significance in further detail, but I don’t want to include any major spoilers).

It’s clear the show places a large emphasis on morality, which is evident in its heavy religious symbolism. I think the fact that fans are really split on whether Light or L should have won shows how well the characters are written and depicts them both as more morally grey, rather than strictly good or evil. The causes they fight for cannot be clearly constrained by the definitions of ‘good’ or ‘evil’. Shouldn’t L be deemed evil for wanting to capture a man eliminating all those who commit atrocious acts against others in order to create world peace? That then proposes the idea that Light too should be held to a mortal standard of morality, rather than playing God and having unchecked control over the entire world, which may ultimately lead to its demise. L can be thought of as a callous man who neglects others in the pursuit of an investigation, who doesn’t work for the good of humanity but rather to treat cases as games or puzzles. As the show progresses, Light begins to lose contact with the person he was before finding the notebook and has no issue in leaving his ethical prinicpals astray in the pursuit of his goal. Both of their egos are palpable. I am personally on L’s side, but the debate remains.

I could talk about the show for eons, but I will refrain. I want to give a special mention to my favourite characters - L, Matt, Mello, Naomi and Ryuk. The plot is thrilling, the soundtrack is incredible, the art-style is beautiful and the dialogue is memorable. These characteristics of the show all tie together into the masterpiece that is Death Note.