I love writing. Really, I do. But I almost always do not have enough time to do some writing, not even doing a rough draft or the menial task of outlining or jotting down my thoughts. You see, until recently, I used to be a post-graduate student, and for five years, I was working full-time in order to support my studies. Now that I have already graduated and have been freed from the bondage of academic drudgery, I am trying to enjoy every single second of my spare time. Well, at least the time when I am not tied-down to my work.

Opps…I just realized I said something which utterly contradicts my prior statement that I almost always do not have time to do some writing.. Did I just get myself in a bind? Oh well, I might as well own up to the truth…I love writing, I swear. On the contrary, I am at the same time, the queen of procrastination. I love to write but I hate the actual act of writing. In essence, I love the mental process entailed in writing but I hate the mechanical act of writing. The reason: I am the queen of procrastination.

Perhaps you might say that I love being lazy more than I love writing. Honestly, it is one very logical way of looking at it so I would not argue with you on that aspect. However, from my point of view, this is how I perceive it to be: If there is something that would cause me to write out of my own volition without being duty-bound to do so, that something must be really, really good, if not totally or outrageously amazing.

To clarify my point, I deem it best to give you an example. I created this blog because I love writing. Since I am most interested with animes and recently manga, I feel compelled to write reviews for those anime series that I have already watched. Makes sense, right? However, as I have stated several times already, I am the queen of procrastination. Hence, it takes a long, long time for me to make a review, or to put it more straightforward, it takes me a long, long time before I actually start to write one. Honestly, writing reviews do not take much of my time. It is just that I am the queen of procrastination. Heehee. This is precisely the reason why I have only managed to make three reviews for the past month.

Nevertheless, it is entirely different if something piques my curiosity and interest, so much so that I would feel an incredible and imminent force within the deepest recesses of my mind, heart and soul to write. If that is the case, it would be a feat in itself. This would prove to show how much I find that something to write about magnificently wonderful and highly engrossing or ultimately annoying or drastically depressing.

I am about to fill up a page with my nonsensical rationalization but I have yet to get my point across. Nevertheless, I get the feeling that you might already know what the hell I am writing about, otherwise, my not-so-great efforts would go to waste, assuming that it is not trash in itself. Yes, you might be thinking that I might have found something immensely engaging to warrant my erratic and incoherent sophistry. Indeed, I have encountered something that would make my blood pump enough to drown my self-proclaimed image as the queen of procrastination…

DEATH NOTE ANIME

I have seen at least 100 anime series in the span of seven (7) months but there are but a few that I actually find to be exceedingly astonishing, sensibly hilarious or emotionally or spiritually appealing. Just recently, I came across an open-series anime which literally and completely left me in awe…the highly anticipated and widely-watched Death Note series.

I do not have any preconceived ideas about Death Note. In fact, I did not know anything about it prior to watching it. That alone makes my admiration for this series absolutely candid.

Death Note is more than thought-provoking. It impels its viewers to be immersed in its detailed and elaborate story. Not only is it well-written, well-directed and well-drawn but it also probes into the concise emotional and intellectual understanding of the human mind. It breaks down one’s paradigm of rational justice and challenges the human psyche vis-à-vis one’s moral resolve.

The plot is absolutely intricate but the superb story-telling does not leave its viewers entangled in the most significant parts. From the beginning, it has made clear-cut questions that rouse serious deliberation: What is justice? Who has the right to wield justice? Is justice always just? The profundity of these issues beseeching the main characters of the story leaves the undeniable impression that Death Note is not an ordinary series. In fact, the psychological war between the main characters, Yagami Light and L, is more than enough to satisfy one’s intellectual cravings that could easily lead into an orgasmic, cerebral ecstasy.

The story revolves around a Death Note owned by a Shinigami, or Death God, named Ryuk. Apparently, the Death Note is used by Shinigamis to end the life of humans, more like a tool for their trade. Bored and annoyed by the seemingly mundane existence of the Death Gods, Ryuk deliberately drops his Death Note to the human world which ends up in the hands of high school senior, Light. Quite interestingly, Light shares the same boredom and annoyance that Ryuk has. The only difference is that Light feels these negative emotions toward humans.

The jaded Ryuk orchestrated the Death Note to belong to a human for the sole purpose of entertaining himself. Aware of the consequences of a human owning the Death Note, Ryuk even wrote instructions on how to use it, in English, the universal language, to amplify chances of it being understood by its possessor. The instructions, however, tells a more sordid story as it ultimately concerns on how to use the Death Note in taking the lives of humans.

To take lives using the Death Note, Light must know the name and the face of his target and write it in the Death Note. This is entirely different for Shinigamis because they possess the “eye” which tells them not only the name of a person but also of his or her lifespan.

At first, Ryuk thought that the mere fact of coming into the possession of the Death Note and its actual use, even if for only once, is enough to drive a human to madness, worse, to self-destruction. Light, however, proved him wrong. One of Japan’s most brilliant students, highly popular and gifted with a beautiful appearance, Light has known from the start how he intends to use the Death Note: to purge the world of evil by rendering justice, that is, killing all criminals. He wants to create a new world without evil and rise as a God to rule mankind. One by one, Light started to eliminate the worst criminals in the world. Impelled by his own sense of justice, he begins to use the Death Note to seek retribution for those who suffered in the hands of the vicious criminals. Now, Light assumes a different identity and becomes known to the world as Kira (Killer).

Light’s ways of retributive justice would be mired by one person, the world’s greatest detective known as L. L has begun his hunt for Kira and with his unsurpassed deductive abilities, he was able to pinpoint with accurate precision, not only the nationality of Kira, but also the place where he can be found.

Consequently, as if to enthrall the viewers, the story reveals that Light is the son of the Chief Inspector of the Japanese Police who is directly involved in the Kira investigation which is headed by L himself. As the story progresses, L inches closer and closer to finding Kira and in a series of events, he up with a hunch that Kira might be Light. The probability, however, is very slight. To test his theory, L decides to reveal himself to Light by taking the University examinations together with Light and befriending him. It even comes to the point that L invites Light into the investigation team so he could easily monitor Light’s movements. Of course, Light takes up the chance for the same reason, that is, so he could observe L’s every move.

In a stunning and dramatic way, the story depicts L as the anti-thesis of Kira, at least physically. L is sloppy and weird while Light is composed and handsome. But undeniably, their intelligence and personalities are the same: they both achieved perfect scores in the University examinations, they are both enigmatic and charismatic, and they both hate to lose.

Light has always known that L suspects him. But, as a true genius, he has remained calm even during the times when L wants to catch him off-guard. As the pressure builds up, Light desires to kill L using his Death Note. However, he cannot execute his plans because he does not know the true name of L.

Now, as the plot intensifies the question remains: Who chases who? Given their shrewd but brilliant reasoning, Light and L engage in a mind battle. The first one to crack, the first one to yield to their emotions, the first one to commit even the slightest mistake would lose. Just one slip of the tongue or a single action would cost their lives.

What I have written in nothing in comparison to the painstaking details of the story. Death Note is still being shown (open series) in Japan but the wonders of technology make it possible for non-Japanese anime lovers to enjoy the series. I believe that the 22^nd episode (or 23rd) has just been shown in Japan but the fansubbed version is already available for its fans to enjoy. I strongly recommend this series but be wary because it will definitely leave you wanting more…

For now, I’d rate Death Note with a 9.8 and I’m expecting that it would go up after I have watched the whole series. Several episodes to go (that would mean several weeks) but I just could not held but shiver with anticipation. Really, the suspense is killing me, but to amplify your curiosity to a higher level, I shall leave with this question: “Did you know that Shinigamis only eat apples?”

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 25th, 2007 at 12:31 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.