Was DeathNote more soul destroying than Eva?

[Conzy91]

I just finished watching Death Note for the first time, and I actually think it made me feel worse than when I watched either EoTV or EoE. Sure, Eva made me feel more and certainly left me unable to think straight for a while but at the end of Death Note I felt no more than pity and regret during the last episode, and I still feel a massive sadness everytime I think about it, now a few weeks on from having finished it.

Did anyone else feel this or know why this is? Can I say first, I was a Kira supporter, however I really liked L as a character, probably because he was so much like Light. However Near was the most annoying character ever, and I felt he was totally unworthy of catching Light, and could only do it with the help of Mellow. Therefore for L to die and Light to be caught at the hands of Near is probably the worst ending possible for me personally.

My thinking is that at least with Eva there was a chance for the future, something to make you think the whole struggle and death of characters was worth it. In Death Note it started as the good work of Light and ended with the death of a shadow of the man he once was at the hands of the notebook. In my opinion however, Light died with L, as he had no worthy adversary, and this I think led to his descent into madness.

Discuss.

[NAveryW]

Near was still a pretty worthy adversary. If you look at the funeral scene in the first director's cut (It's up to you to decide whether that's canon since it changed so many other details), he was already pretty insane.

[Hotaru]

I felt hope at the end of NGE but with DN (mostly the manga) made me feel empty and worthless...Like nothing was worth anything. Then I realized I was being stupid and went off to watch something else.

[Axell]

NAveryW, the directors cut movie ends where it death note should have ended, near doesnt exist and ryuk kills kira at the end of it just like the series. Much better than having the whole thing carry on for another 25 boring episodes. God i'm sick of deathnote

[backseatjesus]

I didn't think it was boring. Not one bit. Especially when compared to the manga, which feels like it's going on forever.

And I'm glad Near exists. He's my favorite character.

[oOoOoOo]

Well, even though Light would have treated me like trash (see also: Second Kira), I had a big 2D crush on him. I really wanted to see him win. He stopped war! That isn't too bad, is it? Now, if I were to write you a term paper on ethics, I'd be all "wah wah Kira Kira evil" but he's no worse than any other such "system". And he's handsome and plays tennis well!

When you look at the big players in Death Note, you realize that out of all of these geniuses, Light was the only one who wanted to accomplish something, or change the world. L/M/N/O/P just wanted to be the best detectives ever, doing the most interesting cases. They were bored! They were no more good guys than Light.

It is just so rare that narrative fiction ends with the bad guys winning. I wanted to see Light change society, not watch the old order be restored. Ugh! Evangelion was satisfying because of the apocalyptic ending, which is pretty unusual and interesting. That was the unpredictable thing. The predictable ending for Death Note was the one we got.

NGE/EoE always makes me feel reflective, whereas Death Note made me sad... sad that my precious Light died a miserable, humiliating death.

[schismatics]

EoE left me confused, battered and in severe need of an abortion after the first viewing.

Death Note gave me the "DAMN YOU NEAR!!!" feeling. Not really depressing though...

[Psychotronic]

It is just so rare that narrative fiction ends with the bad guys winning. I wanted to see Light change society, not watch the old order be restored. Ugh! Evangelion was satisfying because of the apocalyptic ending, which is pretty unusual and interesting. That was the unpredictable thing. The predictable ending for Death Note was the one we got.

The ending for DN was predictable but also rare?

Anyway, I didn't find DN to be more 'soul destroying' then Eva. Then again, I'm also a member of the camp that thinks Light was in the wrong (though I do find Near annoying)

[Sailor Star Dust]

I haven't seen the whole thing, but enough important subbed bits including the ending/Light's death to know what it was all about. From what I have seen, ESPECIALLY with Light's death, I actually felt empty/hopeless for like a day afterwards. Probably because Light ended up being such a sick fuck in the end, but yeah, it wasn't a good feeling.

Either way, yes I'd say Death Note is more soul-crushing considering EoE/EoTV has some sense of hope. Death Note otho, seems to imply that horrible things like Light's corruption of power could continue on with other people, thereby negating any hope.

[The Bastard King]

I was pumped by the end of the last episode. Thanks to Light, I finally knew how to swim, and I was ready to try it out for the first time!

[oOoOoOo]

The ending for DN was predictable but also rare?

Wha-what? o_O Light is the "bad guy". He did not win. That would be unpredictable. The predictable ending was Light losing. Because the bad guys usually lose.

[Synapsid]

Well, I didn't really find the same impact in DN, Death Note is quite dark and it deals with morality and power while covering Light's ethical descent in a of Portrait of Dorrian Gray type maner...but it was also quite a bit more conventional than EVA and never realy touched on issues like Identity or dispair the same way...Kira realy just fell into an already well troden path for "evil" protagonists.

Well, even though Light would have treated me like trash (see also: Second Kira), I had a big 2D crush on him. I really wanted to see him win. He stopped war! That isn't too bad, is it? Now, if I were to write you a term paper on ethics, I'd be all "wah wah Kira Kira evil" but he's no worse than any other such "system". And he's handsome and plays tennis well!

But he's sort of like Ted Bundy, without the same creepy murder...okay well he's actualy more like Dorian Gray...Oh I see you're point, I liked Dorian

I was pumped by the end of the last episode. Thanks to Light, I finally knew how to swim, and I was ready to try it out for the first time!

Yes I guess Dorrian Light did care about society in the end, even if that wasn't quite a death I'd have expected for prince charming.

[Psychotronic]

The ending for DN was predictable but also rare?

Wha-what? o_O Light is the "bad guy". He did not win. That would be unpredictable. The predictable ending was Light losing. Because the bad guys usually lose.

4orry, I misread your post. I thought you meant that the anti-Light side winning was an example of a rare "Bad Guy Victory"

[I Accidentally Dracula]

I enjoyed Misa as a character and as a background decoration.

That is all I have to say on this topic.

[GVman]

I didn't. Death Note, at it's heart, is just generic shounen fighting anime and manga series disguised as a thriller.

[TheAyanamiOtaku]

I was a supporter of Kira as well, and agree with the other opinion that Kira really worked himself to change international society.

The second season (or whatever you call the last few episodes with Near and Mello) really pissed me off. Near could basically read all of Light's moves, and that's not too interesting at all. Also, I felt Light made quite a few mistakes...or maybe he lost a little of his drive.

The ending of DN felt very nihilistic, displaying the triumph of the status quo over the provocateur, with collateral damage, namely Misamisa's dramatically shortened lifespan and damaged memories. Yes, no hope at all. No triumph of the will.

You know, I did expect a little more discussion between the detectives on whether or not to view Light's actions as evil or not. I mean, as soon as the killings started, most of the detectives either thought him as evil or noble (or scary), and...that was that. Not much of a change or middle ground...just one extreme or the other.

[BrikHaus]

And I'm glad Near exists. He's my favorite character.

Nice attempt at trolling.

[Squirrel Ninja]

When you look at the big players in Death Note, you realize that out of all of these geniuses, Light was the only one who wanted to accomplish something, or change the world. L/M/N/O/P just wanted to be the best detectives ever, doing the most interesting cases. They were bored! They were no more good guys than Light.

I agree that they were no more good or bad than light, but that was half the point of death note, the irrelevance of morality. I do have to punch wholes in your argument though, at the very beginning, Light says that he's going to try to become a god because he's bored. I hold this to his credit though, it's a much more understandable reason than being crazy or overly moral. It's a particularly relevant reason to do something in our day and age. Also, wanting to be the best detective is still doing something. It doesn't help people or anything, but neither was what light was doing. Besides helping people is vastly overrated (tl;dr Ayn Rand.)
incidentally, I thought this boredom being everyone's driving force was a very compelling part of death note's story.

On topic: Like Ayanami said, the ending of Death Note was basically nihilism in visual form. It's a horror story, and any good horror story has to be nihilistic to get off the ground (tl;dw 7th Seal). It get's some balance, because the characters themselves seem to be more existentially minded, preventing the thing from turning into a big despair fest. Eva, on the other hand, was all about hope and affirmation at the end. So while Death Note is more depressing at face value, Eva is more uplifting. I value Eva a bit more, but they're both very good.

[GAP]

Also, the only annoying thing about Death Note is how everything is just as planned and how the characters seems to "know" everything that goes on in the show.

[backseatjesus]

And I'm glad Near exists. He's my favorite character.

Nice attempt at trolling.

I'm not trolling. How dare you imply that.