Support NeoGAF

[Lights and Waves]

A few weeks ago I made a thread asking if GAF thought that killing L off was a mistake. My next question: How do you feel about Death Note's ending? Did you like the way it ended? Did you think Near won too easily? Did you miss the Shinigami's involvement in the final few episodes? What would you have done differently?

What I liked:

• My bb Matsuda made it out alive!
• Near is kind of endearing. I like the finger puppets.
• I liked Light's somber death in the anime a lot more than his whacky death in the manga. I'm going to get attacked for this opinion.
• Mikami was really interesting. It was cool to see a person defined by teenage Light's actions.

What bothered me:

• Near was such an unimaginative copy of L. The writers couldn't even be bothered to make him look just a tiny bit more different than L, beyond the hair color?
• Mello was underutilized and killed off too quickly. It was hard to give a shit.
• Fucking Misa. She gets the shinigami eyes twice, reducing her life drastically, just to get years back through Rem's sacrifice, JUST TO END UP KILLING HERSELF. I get that she was obsessed with Light, but I feel like it would have been a good twist for her to abandon him at the very end and just come to her senses.
• Ryuk had like one line past episode 26. That was dumb.

 

[SalvaPot]

It ended the best way the could, Light winning would have been cheap since he beat his biggest rival (L), so him losing made a bigger impact. Also his breakdown was intense.

I hate the last page of the manga, it felt forced.

About Misa, you could argue she killed herself because she reduced her life, as in "a shinigami took her".

 

[Manu]

Manga ending > Anime ending

The anime made Light's death too dignified, almost heroic.

In the manga he dies begging Ryuk for his life like the cowardly piece of shit he is.

 

[Two Words]

It's always good to see the villain intellectually foiled.

 

[Meowster]

The manga ending was great for me, you saw him unravel and reveal himself as the cowardly monster Light Yagami really is when he loses his composure and order.

 

[DarkKyo]

The manga ending is a bit different in that it's implied that Near may have used the Death Note himself to control Mikami and some of the events around or during the final showdown. I like that idea, it makes Near a bit more interesting. It makes him a bit more pragmatic than L, who would likely never use the Death Note because it forces you to take a life.

 

[Lights and Waves]

It ended the best way the could, Light winning would have been cheap since he beat his biggest rival (L), so him losing made a bigger impact. Also his breakdown was intense.

I hate the last page of the manga, it felt forced.

About Misa, you could argue she killed herself because she reduced her life, as in "a shinigami took her".

When Rem died, didn't it give Misa back the life she had lost from her deal for the Shinigami eyes? That's what happened when the other Shinigame died for her. I think it was supposed to be ironic that Misa killed herself, seeing as she cheated an early death through Rem's sacrifice.

 

[Servbot24]

One of the best finales in television (not just anime).

 

[Afrocious]

I liked the ending.

I should read the ending of the manga. You folks make it sound interesting.

 

[Akuun]

Misa killed herself? In the manga, I thought she led the Light cult that was portrayed after Light's death.

I thought the ending was satisfying. Light gets outed for being the mass murdering psycho that he is, has an epic meltdown and then dies by Ryuk's hand, just like Ryuk said.

 

[Mupod]

Pretty decent swimming lessons, but he didn't explain how to kick.

 

[Lights and Waves]

Misa killed herself? In the manga, I thought she led the Light cult that was portrayed after Light's death.

I thought the ending was satisfying. Light gets outed for being the mass murdering psycho that he is, has an epic meltdown and then dies by Ryuk's hand, just like Ryuk said.

The author confirmed that the girl at the end is just some random chick, not Misa.

 

[egruntz]

I really enjoyed the ending. Not quite as much as Code Geass's, but it was still a great ending.

 

[Firemind]

Near > L

It is known.

 

[emb]

Misa killing herself is the result of cutting her life so much. She ends the series as a mostly ignorant bystander to show how tragic that sacrifice of lifespan is. (Although I don't think her suicide is told directly, it's in like an extra note thing or something.)

I really liked the way the end was presented. Last two episodes are very watchable, made for a great finale. Light's megalomania, and pathetic desperation when he loses seemed very well done (and I say this from only watching the anime).

I didn't really get some of it:
Why did Mikami try to kill Mello?
What even connect Light to Mikami or led Near to discover Mikami in the first place?
Why did Near wait an hour to take off his mask?

I was also a little offput that Near didn't have a better plan. If Light had kept his cool, there was nothing to implicate him. For all the rest of the SPK knew, Near could have asked any crazy guy to show up at the door with a notebook.

 

[FUNKNOWN iXi]

It should have ended with L dying, around episode 32 IIRC. It felt dragged on past that point, but it has been a while since I watched it.

 

[OniBarubary]

I thought it was a bit of a downer to end on L dying right as he figured it all out and Light getting away with it.

 

[Senoculum]

It should have ended with L dying, around episode 32 IIRC. It felt dragged on past that point, but it has been a while since I watched it.

No way. The whole conceit of the series is to see Light go down in either a blaze of glory or a life sentence. Ending the series on the demise of the antagonist (who happens to be a fan favourite) would have felt empty and unresolved. We would be complaining about Light not getting his Just desserts.

 

[Talents]

I found it quite dumb how Light was suddenly unable to keep his composure. Plus how just before he was shot instead of stealthily removing the paper from his watch and writing a name on it, he goes into theatrics and pulls the paper and pen out while spinning around with it in his hand only to get gunned down. Like wtf.

 

[Linkark07]

Liked that Light died, especially in the manga. Would have wanted Near to die too.

 

[Nickle]

My heart has never beat faster then it did during the ending of the penultimate episode, I legitimately had no idea what was going to happen next.

I didn't like the ending when I first watched it, but I appreciated it a lot more on my second watch. I like that Light ends up being pitied, he was cursed with the Death Note after all. I didn't like the way Misa was handled in the second half, but overall it's not nearly as bad as people say it is. Obviously the second half didn't reach the god-like heights of the first half, but it fleshed out the characters and gave us a great conclusion.

Still my favorite TV show.

 

[Erigu]

The manga ending is a bit different in that it's implied that Near may have used the Death Note himself to control Mikami and some of the events around or during the final showdown. I like that idea, it makes Near a bit more interesting. It makes him a bit more pragmatic than L, who would likely never use the Death Note because it forces you to take a life.

Yeah, I think Matsuda's theory makes a lot of sense (... well, it sure makes some of those last events a bit easier to swallow, anyway *cough*), and I like the idea that the supposedly "good" successor actually was kind of a cheating bastard, whereas Mello really wasn't so bad after all.
Not that the one-shot sequel followed up on that idea at all...

 

[infinitys_7th]

When Rem died, didn't it give Misa back the life she had lost from her deal for the Shinigami eyes? That's what happened when the other Shinigame died for her. I think it was supposed to be ironic that Misa killed herself, seeing as she cheated an early death through Rem's sacrifice.

I never thought about this at all. So after Deal #2, Misa's remaining lifespan = (natural lifespan + Gelus' accumulated lifespan + Rem's accumulated lifespan before Deal #1 - current age)/2.

So, based on a woman in Japan expecting to live 83 years and Misa being 24 at the end of the series, she would have likely lived to 54. Then you add on half of Gelus' and Rem's lives, so. . .she probably still would have lived a long time.

 

[FUNKNOWN iXi]

No way. The whole conceit of the series is to see Light go down in either a blaze of glory or a life sentence. Ending the series on the demise of the antagonist (who happens to be a fan favourite) would have felt empty and unresolved. We would be complaining about Light not getting his Just desserts.

It has been a while since I've watched it, so I wonder if I'd feel differently today as I can't fully remember everything with the show.

 

[Langdon Alger]

The best thing about Death Note is that you could close your eyes for like 80% of the show and not miss anything. It's crazy that a show that's almost all dialogue and monologue is so entertaining.

 

[foxuzamaki]

Man, theres been alot of death note threads recently
The 10th anniversary was last year, did something else get announced?

 

[Lights and Waves]

Man, theres been alot of death note threads recently
The 10th anniversary was last year, did something else get announced?

There's an American remake in the works, the Blu-Ray of the series came out 2 weeks ago, the Japanese TV drama just ended, and there's a new Japanese movie coming out.

 

[mantidor]

I found it quite dumb how Light was suddenly unable to keep his composure. Plus how just before he was shot instead of stealthily removing the paper from his watch and writing a name on it, he goes into theatrics and pulls the paper and pen out while spinning around with it in his hand only to get gunned down. Like wtf.

To be fair everyone writes on the Death Note dramatically , I don't think it was meant to depict Light as a theatrical maniac, but more like what was in his head while attempting to write in the paper hidden in the clock. Kind of like an artistic choice to narrate that part, after all, it seems only Near notices something is wrong and alert the others.

 

[Ishida]

Absolutely loved it.

Sometimes I just watch the final episode, just to see Light fall again and again.

It was delicious.

 

[Nocturnowl]

Fine by me, I like that you get to see the villain have his win for a bit with the post L content before gradually unravelling for various reasons and losing it all.
The anime takes some liberties with the finale that aren't quite as strong as in the manga but really I can't complain, it's so gloriously overacted and Light finally getting exposed is good wholesome fun for all the family.

Plus I always liked how Near wasn't as squeaky clean as L in his approach, gave the character a much needed subtle shift to not just be L 2.0.

 

[daveo42]

Light got what he deserved and he begged like a bitch because he knew he was a piece of shit that got a bit too big for his own plans and false sense of superiority. Outside of that, I would have liked to see either Light lose to L or some other twist other than what we got in the 2nd half of the manga. Big step down for me with the whole N arc.

 

[Mr. Crow]

Ending was good and I liked Light's death, but last episodes had an incomplete feeling for me and I wanted more.
Overall I liked the first half of Death Note much more than second half.
Episodes 1-24: 10/10
Episode 25: 11/10
Episodes 26-37: 7/10

 

[MUnited83]

Episode was great, but I feel like the whole thing should have been easily prevented by Light. We fell for a trap wasn't that good to begin with and that only ever happened because of a mere coicidence. I know that the point was that Light had grown careless over year of no opposition and never considered Near as a real threath, but it still felt kinda forced .

 

[inked_illusion]

Alternate Anime Ending is best edning

 

[Mexen]

I liked the ending.

I should read the ending of the manga. You folks make it sound interesting.

That makes the two of us.

 

[Ganzlinger]

It was great. But Light should have won to become even better.

 

[Ishida]

It was great. But Light should have won to become even better.

Yuck. That would've ruined the series.

 

[Azuran]

The anime ending was complete garbage. I hated that they made him die like a righteous messiah in the anime just to please the stupid fangirls.

Light was supposed to die like the whiny piece of shit he was. Matsuda shooting him over and over again and then Ryuk telling him to go fuck himself was the most satisfying part of the entire series.

 

[Danis Saur]

Last time I watched the show it was almost 10 years ago, so I'm blurry on the ending. All I remember it was that second arc of the show was a bit "we have to get this wrapped up as soon as possible". But from what I remember, that ending scene was good enough to satisfy me.

I just sometimes wish there was other arcs in the manga, like after L, there was an arc with Light vs another Death Note holder who was a smart ass like him.

 

[Reset]

The show got really boring once the two kids showed up and with L's death. I also hated how they made Light stupid enough to fall for the kid's trap.

 

[teruterubozu]

It should have ended with L dying, around episode 32 IIRC. It felt dragged on past that point, but it has been a while since I watched it.

Yup. I watched it until the end, but by the last handful of episodes I couldn't wait for the fucking thing to end. It dragged on way too long.

 

[Ishida]

The show got really boring once the two kids showed up and with L's death. I also hated how they made Light stupid enough to fall for the kid's trap.

It fits. Light only ever saw L as his rival/equal. Once L was out of the equation Light got sloppy, since he felt he was so superior to everyone else in the planet that he took Near and Mello lightly.

 

[Theodoricos]

Regardless of the fact that the show stumbled a bit in its second half, the ending is pretty much perfect. The anime's ending, at least. It's one of my favorite conclusions.

I'm not familiar with the manga.

 

[FStubbs]

Alternate Anime Ending is best edning

Doesn't that end with

Spoiler

Ryuk writing Light's name in his book anyway?

 

[Manu]

The anime ending was complete garbage. I hated that they made him die like a righteous messiah in the anime just to please the stupid fangirls.

Light was supposed to die like the whiny piece of shit he was. Matsuda shooting him over and over again and then Ryuk telling him to go fuck himself was the most satisfying part of the entire series.

 

[protonion]

I made a thread a few months ago...

As a Light supporter, the ending sucked. He should have won and the final shot sould've been him a grandpa standing on a mountain of all the evil people he killed.

L's involvement is what started the side killings. Couldn't he deduce that??
So it's ok if a detective sends people to prison for life or death sentence, but not when a regular guy does it? How did you like your heart attack you pos?

And Near's trap was the stupidest thing ever. Light could avoid being caught by .... doing nothing!!! Just stand there and wait. Near would be like " lol any minute now...".

Light is the real hero. The one that could pave the road to a great future but in the end stupid won. Fuck L, Near, Mello and all the police force.

Hurray for Light!!

 

[Erigu]

As a Light supporter

You're joking, right? I'm going to assume you are.

 

[xRaizen]

I made a thread a few months ago...

As a Light supporter, the ending sucked. He should have won and the final shot sould've been him a grandpa standing on a mountain of all the evil people he killed.

L's involvement is what started the side killings. Couldn't he deduce that??
So it's ok if a detective sends people to prison for life or death sentence, but not when a regular guy does it? How did you like your heart attack you pos?

And Near's trap was the stupidest thing ever. Light could avoid being caught by .... doing nothing!!! Just stand there and wait. Near would be like " lol any minute now...".

Light is the real hero. The one that could pave the road to a great future but in the end stupid won. Fuck L, Near, Mello and all the police force.

Hurray for Light!!

What am I reading?

 

[Ganzlinger]

I made a thread a few months ago...

As a Light supporter, the ending sucked. He should have won and the final shot sould've been him a grandpa standing on a mountain of all the evil people he killed.

L's involvement is what started the side killings. Couldn't he deduce that??
So it's ok if a detective sends people to prison for life or death sentence, but not when a regular guy does it? How did you like your heart attack you pos?

And Near's trap was the stupidest thing ever. Light could avoid being caught by .... doing nothing!!! Just stand there and wait. Near would be like " lol any minute now...".

Light is the real hero. The one that could pave the road to a great future but in the end stupid won. Fuck L, Near, Mello and all the police force.

Hurray for Light!!

I support Light, but not for that (wrong) reasons. lol

 

[protonion]

You're joking, right? I'm going to assume you are.

yeah I was called a psychopath in my thread...

What am I reading?

I'm talking about L's point of view. He is someone that sends people to death all the time. What was so "evil" about killing a rapist and a children kidnaper??
Light in the first episodes was pretty great. L's pressure brought the later madness.