Death Note
Our Review
A brilliant student finds a notebook that kills anyone whose name he writes in it, and the cat and mouse game that follows is the tightest thriller anime ever made. Light Yagami decides to cleanse the world of criminals and become its god. The detective L decides to stop him. Two of the smartest characters in fiction, trying to destroy each other with nothing but deduction, misdirection, and sheer nerve.
Every episode escalates. The potato chip scene, the tennis match, the final confrontation: these are legendary moments in anime for a reason. The second half changes direction and loses a little steam, but the first 25 episodes are as close to a perfect thriller as the medium gets. If someone has never watched anime, this is the one to start with.
