Hot take: Death Note's second half is actually better than the first

I hear everyone saying the show fell off after L died but I honestly enjoyed the second half more. Last month I rewatched the whole series for the third time and paid closer attention to Near and Mello's dynamic. Three years ago I would have agreed with the crowd but now I think the cat and mouse game gets more tense without L around. The back and forth with the fake death notes and the warehouse ending felt way more clever to me. Anyone else think the fandom just overrates the first half because of nostalgia?

2 comments

2 Comments

rivera.henry5d ago

Gotta disagree here. Near and Mello felt like lesser copies of L to me, not a real upgrade. The whole setup with them splitting up worked in theory but in practice Near just sat there with his toys while Mello did all the risky stuff. And the fake death note rules plot point felt like a stretch, Light been doing this for years at that point, no way he falls for that trick that easy.

the_fiona5d ago

Totally agree with every word you said. I had the same experience rewatching it last year and realized I was way too hard on the second half when I first saw it as a teenager. Near and Mello splitting up the investigation made it way more interesting to me because Light had to juggle two enemies instead of just one. The part where they fake the death note rules and Light falls for it completely blew my mind on the second watch, I missed how clever that setup was the first time. Plus the ending actually felt earned, Light getting caught in that warehouse and begging for his life was way more satisfying than another dramatic showdown with L would have been. The whole thing about Mello being reckless and Near being methodical worked so well together, its like they completed each other where L was just one guy.