Review of Death Note

After watching the anime, a month ago, I decided to try this drama series. Despite of what most people think, I think I found a real gem. In my opinion, it is pretty irrelevant to think the series is bad because it didn't follow the source material step by step. That wasn't the point, was it? I love how they portrayed characters I didn't care much about in the anime, such as Near and even Misa. Many of the ideas presented in the series are brilliant and unique, such as Mello being some sort of an alter-ego of Near. A big highlight is the portrayal of Light. At first, he is actually very scared of the power of the death note and feels remorse, at some point even wanting to throw the note away! His path to insanity and lack of humanity is gradual. It is a much more believable version of this character, and one I honestly prefer over the one in the anime. Every character was very well thought out and enjoyable, having both a touch of the original manga and the director's vision. The story was engaging and had me at the edge of my seat from start to finish. Each actor was the embodiment of the played character, not just because of the looks, but also the attitude and reactions. Whoever chose these specific actors for the series is a genius. I enjoyed this series a lot. It made my appreciation for Death Note grow even bigger.