Death Note is pretty shit.
It's quite possible it's just a troll attempt, but I think it merits a serious response, because you can occasionally hear some unironic Death Note bashing, so let's propose this message towards those.
First of all, Death Note is objectively a good anime, hell, I go as far to even call it a TV series, because the story and characters themselves could stand their ground in a TV adaptation - sadly, it's hard to imagine, since live action movies pretty much ruin any credibility, but hey, some people even enjoyed those, hah!
Now, that being sad, Death Note's biggest flaw is of course,it's popularity. Let's say you are an avid anime and manga follower, watching dozens of anime episodes weekly, finishing off mangas left and right, so basically you are an expert, but some people mocks you, because "watching cartoons is gay". Now, Death Note comes along, you are satisfied, what a great anime, you were already following it when it was just a manga, you discuss it with your weeb friends, and then the unimaginable happens... it takes off casually.
Suddenly even the cool guys know what Death Note is, hell, some of them have the fucking audacity to ask YOU if you've seen it. Oh boy, aren'T you fucking triggered? You knew about Death Note when it was just a fucking drawing, of course you know about it. But too late, everyone is talking about how awesome Death Note is, even the people who laughed at you for watching animes. This eternal turmoil gets the better of you and some of your weeb friends and you turn on it.
Well it's not that good - you say. Hell, it's actually painfully average!! You know at least 30 better animes, like haguchi michi juchi ola misi no wakage, an underground anime with only 4 episodes, and that's the shit, obviously. Mere casuals could not even comprehend it, because all they know is Dragon Ball, Pokémon and Death Note.
To add to that, even if you are not some weeb expert, hating on anything that's popular - and it should not come as a surprise to people on a board discussing music - is a form of being cool and edgy. It's not even a fake thing, you can legit feel disgusted by something just because it's popular. People are desperately try to be unique, in an attempt to avoid an existential crisis, and the easiest way for the brain to solve this is to simply not follow the mold. Breaking Bad? A fucking average TV show. Super Bowl? Who the fuck cares. Star Wars? Oh, the movie about Spock, right? Michael Jackson? Overrated. Death Note? Pretty shit.
I don't think there are many of us who has never ever been polluted by this mindset, even if we refuse to accept it.
Now, how good is Death Note overall? The first season is just beyond great in almost every aspect, especially the first half of it. Good character introductions, smart puzzles, compelling story telling and - to me - most importantly a not so obvious moral battle. Yagami Light has a bunch of very good points people fail to argue with. As cool as hell L is, it's absolutely not black and white in his favor. Then the story gets jingled, and basically the creators absolutely blast off with all of their cannons at once, so you are flabbergasted at every corner, and having a pretty hard time following what the fuck is going on. L is ultimately losing the battle against Yagami and his dirty, relentless moves/tricks, and the first season concludes.
Now, the second season is pretty shitty. Yagami becomes a black and white character, he is just a pure, idiotic madman, it's nigh impossible to sympathize with him, but the forces against him also feel extremely weak and cheap. N is an absolute disgrace, and the only saving grace of that season is Mello and his orthodox way. Season 2 has glaring plot holes, and the creators tried to be way too smart, which eventually came off as ridiculous. When you watch both seasons in one go, it's not that bad, Yagami's fall into brutal insanity (killing off his father, crippling his sister) is downright brutal, but the storytelling fell apart, everything is random.
Still, even if seaosn 2 was a standstill picture of Notorious BIG, it would not have taken away from the glory and impact of season 1. It's not how it works. You can give a 7 or a 6 to it as a whole, saying season 2 was just that bad, but the legacy of Death Note is undeniable.
I don't know about any other non-"fighter" animes which reached such wide-spread success. I know people who never ever touched an anime before, and probably never will, but I could make them watch Death Note, because it was both really good and accessible. It was not an anime for them, it was a drawn thriller story, which they liked, despite all the characteristics of an anime which usually scare casual watchers away, like the hour-long inner monologues. Hell, Death Note actually turned the latter in their favor, as these monologues were usually interesting, and not your usual say nothing in 50 sentences.
I tried peeking into some other adult-themed (dramas excluded now) anime, but honestly, they were extremely tedious. They completely lacked the magic, the balance Death Note could create. Hell,
even on myanimelist, a site where no casual will ever set foot, Death Note is currently at the
42nd place, despite a.) it's below average second season b.) the obvious backlash for its enormous popularity from the hardcore anime fans. Only including TV series Death Note is
29th, while being
2nd by most favorited, and
1st by popularity.
Thus concluded, it is evident that Death Note is among the few animes which are objectively great, and while personal preferences can label it as shit, those remarks are sprung by the law of big numbers.
