I both agree and disagree with this. Death notes premise and plot is better, that we can both agree on, however, death note had next to no character development with the exception of light becoming more of an ass as the series progressed. Shows like Bebop and especially trigun had superior plot development@Haofan123:
Smarter plot
Better premise
Better character development
I believe that people use the word classic a little too frequently. It's lost its credibility to me. Death Note came out in 2006 which is only five years ago. In comparison to something like Gigantor, Doraemon, Mazinger Z, or Space Pirate Captain Harlock, I personally wouldn't feel comfortable calling it a classic for at least another fifteen years. Noteworthy? Yes. Classic? I don't know since people, especially anime fans, have very short memories. I guess if something is around long enough it gets to be a classic in one sense. I really don't know if it will be all that popular in 2026. I would be surprised if a significant number of anime fans have seen it then.
@PenguinDust: I don't think popularity has as much to do with it as whether the impact it had on the industry will still be felt in 15 years or so the same way the impact of those you mentioned are felt today in many of the animes released nowadays.
Personally, even though I don't really like it I think it's a classic and it'll remain one because it paved the way for some darker animes that appeal to most people, even those who don't usually like anime.
@Black_Rose said:
@PenguinDust: I don't think popularity has as much to do with it as whether the impact it had on the industry will still be felt in 15 years or so the same way the impact of those you mentioned are felt today in many of the animes released nowadays.
Personally, even though I don't really like it I think it's a classic and it'll remain one because it paved the way for some darker animes that appeal to most people, even those who don't usually like anime.
I can accept that. I'm just extremely reluctant to call it a classic a mere 5 years after its debut. I'd have the same problem with Haruhi Suzumiya and Lucky Star even though they might be worthy of the title a decade or so from now.
It would fit in an "Anime Classics" DVD release where anything that was once popular is considered to be a classic, but I don't think of it as a classic.
It was really good up to a point, but that's it imo. Stuff like Evangelion and DBZ came out years ago and they are still super popular, have a huge fanbase, and are still pretty big series. Death Note had it's time but now it's over. I don't think that in 15 or 20 years people will still be fervently talking about Death Note the way that they still talk about stuff like Evangelion and DBZ.
@Black_Rose said:
it paved the way for some darker animes that appeal to most people, even those who don't usually like anime.
You'd say it paved the way? When I hear that phrase I usually think that there was a serious lack of something and then one thing paved the way so that more could come, but there wasn't a lack of dark anime prior to Death Note and it's not like the genre exploded post Death Note.
It would probably become a true classic in 15-20 years since it just started in 2006, but I do think it's a classic in a way because it was one of the few anime shows that had a topic that many fans still talk about to this very day and that was regarding about if you had the power to kill people by writing their names down, what would you do with that power? Would you use it to make the world a better place by killing off the worst criminals, which was Light's original goal or would you use it to rule the world which Light eventually succumb to.
Juuhachi
391 points
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