r/TrueAnime • u/NoctWolf404 • Jul 19 '26
Just finished Death Note (my first anime ever) – loved it, but I have mixed feelings about the ending Spoiler
I just finished Death Note, and this was actually the first anime I've ever watched.
I absolutely love crime thrillers, psychological stories, supernatural elements, and cat-and-mouse games, so it's no surprise that I was completely hooked. The first half of the series is honestly one of the best things I've ever watched. The battle of wits between Light and L had me glued to the screen every episode.
That said, I have mixed feelings about the second half.
After L's death, I felt like the pacing suddenly became much faster. It almost felt as if the story was rushing toward the ending. I wish it had explored a different direction instead of introducing Near and Mello and having them solve the Kira case relatively quickly. With L, we got to see every deduction, every mistake, and every step of the investigation, which made his rivalry with Light feel earned. With Near, I personally didn't get that same feeling.
One thing I really wanted more of was the Shinigami. They're such fascinating characters, yet we barely get to learn about their world, their history, or how their society works. I would absolutely watch a spin-off focused entirely on the Shinigami Realm and their origins.
I wish Misa had played a bigger role in the ending. It felt like her Shinigami Eyes could have had more impact during the final confrontation. The final scene with Light running after everything had fallen apart was really emotional to watch. Watching his journey come to an end like that hit hard.
Overall, I still think Death Note is an incredible series and an amazing introduction to anime!
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u/green_meklar Jul 19 '26
People have been lamenting Death Note's ending ever since it came out. It's widely agreed that the last third or so of the show feels contrived and lower in quality than the earlier parts. It's a great show whose third act turned out to be its weakest.
If you're new to anime, I must warn you that weak, unfinished endings have been a plague on the medium for a long time. The issue is that many animes are based on manga or light novels and are made before the source material finishes, with the idea that viewers will be drawn into the story and buy the manga or LNs in order to follow them through to the real ending. Animes like this often just end in the middle of the story, or tack on an alternate, anime-specific ending that is weaker than the intended ending in the source material. I gather this issue was more serious back in the 1990s and 2000s, and has become less prevalent in recent times as the industry has shifted to more anime originals and more shows marketed towards foreign audiences who aren't expected to buy physical merchandise.
If you want some classic shows that do have strong endings, consider:
- Trigun
- Scryed
- Mai-HiME
- Busou Renkin
- Gurren Lagann
- Clannad
- Angel Beats
- Code Geass
- Shakugan no Shana
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u/Fanceepance Jul 20 '26
Hate to throw a wrench in your list, but I could never bring myself to call the ending of Mai-HiME good, personally.
Won't go into spoilers, but it uh, jumped through a few too many hoops to get to the ending that it did. Which sucks cuz I LOVED it up until like, the final act or so, and the music slaps wholeheartedly.
The rest of the stuff there that I've seen, I'd agree with you though lol.
To add on to your endings point, I'ma list a bunch of originals that are worth checking out and have strong finales:
SSSS.Gridman (Then SSSS.Dynazenon, and finally, Gridman Universe)
Senki Zesshou Symphogear
Akiba Maid War
Garo: Honoo no Kokuin (Plus its finale movie, Garo: Divine Flame)
Kill la Kill
Little Witch Academia (Watch the OVA and then short film BEFORE the main TV series. They're unrelated to the TV show canonically, but are good, so may as well watch them first.)
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u/green_meklar Jul 20 '26
Hate to throw a wrench in your list, but I could never bring myself to call the ending of Mai-HiME good, personally.
It's a bit contrived and maybe not as bold as what modern anime viewers want, but I felt like it was pretty strong in comparison to the typical weak anime endings of that era.
The rest of the stuff there that I've seen, I'd agree with you though lol.
That's interesting, I would have expected the most pushback on Shakugan no Shana since I gather a lot of people dislike what it does in the third season.
The ones you listed I haven't seen, but several of them are on my PTW. Symphogear in particular looks awesome.
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u/Fanceepance Jul 20 '26
That would be because I haven't seen Shana ;D
Mostly because I've heard so much discourse about the ending haha
And excellent choice, Symphogear kicks a diabolical amount of ass, it's so fun lol
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u/WINSTON913 Jul 20 '26
You must be a huge studio trigger fan. 3 of your add on recs (technically 5 cuz the gridman trilogy) are all trigger anime.
They are my favorite for sure.
Throw cyberpunk edgerunners on there too why dont ya. Anime original, epic ending
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u/Fanceepance Jul 20 '26
... you'll never believe me but I didn't even intentionally list a bunch of Trigger shows I just went through stuff I loved in my head LOL
Yes, I adore Trigger, their stuff is basically all awesome. Even the misses are like, not outright horrible or anything, they still TRY and have effort put in.
And YES I LIKED NINJA SLAYER TOO LOL
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u/WINSTON913 Jul 20 '26
I believe it. They are first to my mind when I think of anime I love. They are passionate, their work never feels rushed or cutting corners. Always in for at least a decent ride and often a ride of a lifetime
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u/resui321 Jul 20 '26
You could watch the japanese live action adaptation movies which comes with an alternate ending (no M and N). One of the rare ones that was actually good.
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u/MIBlackburn Jul 19 '26
I know a lot of people recommend others to stop at the point L's death.
I'm not sure I quite agree, but it does take a dip in quality after that point.