Why Death Note is a Good Starter Anime.
Discussing the qualities that made Death Note a good starter anime for me and many others.
Around ten years ago I started my anime watching journey with Death Note, an anime series based on the manga of the same name by Tsugumi Ohba, and fell in love with the show and the medium of anime as a whole. Ever since then, I have recommended it as a starter anime for others and have more deeply reflected on why it seems to be such a popular starting point for any individual wishing to introduce themselves or someone they know to anime, aside from the medium’s cinematic efforts, such as the works of Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. I have come up with several reasons for why I believe the series to be a great introduction to the medium of anime. If you disagree or wish to add any thoughts of your own, please do so in the comments below.
First of all, we cannot understate the importance of a good premise, a short description of the story that, if successful, grabs our attention and makes us curious to see more. Death Note has a strong premise that focuses on the series’ main character and the Death Note itself. The premise of the series boils down to a smart Tokyo high school student named Light Yagami, who finds a mysterious black notebook called a Death Note, with rules that state that the owner of the notebook can end anyone’s life in seconds, as long as they know the target's true name and face. Such a premise makes its reader immediately curious about the nature of the notebook, in terms of how these deaths occur, where it comes from and what would a high school student use it for? Its simplicity allows its reader to imagine countless possibilities, each more intriguing than the last, raising their curiosity and their desire to find out more.
Secondly, if a TV series successfully manages to convince you to watch it, either due to a friend’s recommendation or its trailer, poster or premise, what it needs next is a great first episode to make you keep watching, and I believe that Death Note accomplishes this in spades. It depicts Light Yagami, finding the titular Death Note and testing its legitimacy, his confrontation with the Death Note’s original owner and the revelation of Light’s plans to said previous owner and to the viewers. Leading them being unable to stop watching the show and being eager to see exactly how Light Yagami will fulfill his ambitious plans.
Many viewers new to anime will venture into it outside of the work’s original language, Japanese. Many such viewers will view it in English, which is why I believe that any great anime that wants to be a great introductory point for the realm of Japanese animation should have a good English dub. In my opinion Death Note has a great English dub, particularly with Brad Swaile, Brian Drummond and Alessandro Juliani serving up memorable performances as the English voices of Light Yagami, Ruyk and L. In my opinion it stands among the best English dubs of anime I’ve ever seen, amongst the likes of Studio Ghibli films or series like Code Geass and Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.
Lastly, I believe Death Note to be a great starter anime because of its many other qualities that I have not yet mentioned. Its amazing music, animation, art design, story and characters, all work together to form a series that should satisfy its watchers and like it did for me, motivate them to delve deeper into the realm of Japanese anime. Feel free to comment on Death Note and how you started or are thinking of starting your own or anime journey in the comments.
References
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0877057/
https://myanimelist.net/anime/1535/Death_Note