Death Note (TV Series) Sentaku (2007) User Reviews

Why?

[Shmaden · 10/10 · 10 December 2017]

"Sentaku" is the only excellent episodes that I saw after the famous 25th episode. Ever since the death of "L" the show went downhill with a repetitive story whose main plot line was a repeat of episodes 1-18 but with a faster pace and over the top characters like "N" and last but not least a dumber Light.

The only problem I had with this episode is that it gave Mikami a backstory and he is not even the main character in the show. Come to think of it Light never got a backstory like Mikami about his past or about the events that made him to want to kill criminals and bring justice to the world or even why he wants to become the god of the "New World". But the backstory itself is magnificent giving so much depth and motivation for Mikami's actions that almost makes you feel with/for him or understand his motivations. With this the episode made me want more to have an episode like this dedicated to Light... but no, there were better things to do in this show however...

Aside from that this episode is a classic example of Light's cleverness and has some shocking moments that are starting to build this story towards something. I founded as an improvement the fact that "N" was not in this episode at all. I think that if his plot part didn't existed at all... the story with Light and the remaining detectives would have been more interesting because what's happening now is something that I believe would have happened even if there was no "second L".

Excellent episode again, worthy of my 10/10.

A beautiful, subversive episode.

[shaww01 · 10/10 · 29 July 2022]

Although this episode is a slow burn, (unlike nearly every other good Death Note episode) it comes with such a rewarding payoff ending scene.

The last 1/3rd of Death Note was lacking in overall outsmarting moments. Moments where a character would do something insane, genius, and unexpected. Where not only would another character in the show be outsmarted, but also the audience. The only episodes in the last 1/3rd of Death Note that have these sort of moments are episodes 36 and 37. The final two episodes. No other episode from the last 1/3rd properly have dopamine inducing, outsmarting moments. Except for this episode.

The first 9 minutes of this 20 minute long episode (ignoring ending credits) is dedicated specifically to building Mikami up as a character. This goes on for a little too long, but it's alright overall. Mikami only has 3 episodes where he actually does something interesting. These are 32, 36, and 37. This makes these opening 9 minutes feel obnoxious on rewatch, when you feel that his character does very little and is shallow in the grand scheme of things.

Minutes 9 - 14 are dedicated to setting up the ending scene and building up the other detectives turning on Light. Obviously, a grand scene needs a bit of a build up, so it is excused and makes the ending climax better. The detectives-turning-on-Light plot never amounts to any climax at the end of the show, so all scenes with it feel very worthless on rewatch, and they aren't particularly interesting on a first watch either. (Minutes 14 - 17 build up the intense scene even more.)

The final 3 minutes, the ending scene, the finale of the episode. This is the beautiful outsmarting scene, where Light flexes his preparation and knowledge for a grandiose scene. The entire last 1/3rd of Death Note, characters would be built up forever but would never reach an interesting climax. So much exposition and dialogue, for nothing to come out of it. This is the complete opposite in this scene, the 17 minutes of build up pays off perfectly, making the audience go, "Damn, that was actually worth my time." What an incredible subversion of expectations.

The scene itself is incredible. It's very unique to most episodes of Death Note, where Light is playing to the perspective of three different people. Takada, the detectives, and Mikami all have different information on the situation, and they all need to be manipulated to make Light's plan work. When he says a sentence, it needs to make sense to all three, even if they have completely different perspectives on what is going on. "How is Light going to talk to Mikami without being suspicious? That's impossible!" And then he LITERALLY DOES IT. AND IT'S INSANE.

What I really wanted to talk about, my favorite aspect of this scene: is the music. Death Note has incredibly unique music to every other show out there. It's music feels grandiose, epic, and climactic. Loud choirs fill your ears, and impactful echoes of gongs make them feel so lasting in your ears. It's intense, suspenseful, and oddly beautiful. You become accustomed to this music in Death Note, as it plays in every intense scene, which Death Note clearly has a lot of. This subversion of music is insane for this scene:

Instead of the normal intense music, they play classical music. Violins, and violins only, playing beautiful but forceful notes. It completely shatters the expectations of loud and intense music you know Death Note to use for its music. Much like the scene, it is unique, classy, but still intense for thoughts who know what happens behind closed doors. What a masterful scene.

Lights plan coming together makes for a perfect climax with a beautiful outsmarting moment, which I wish the final 12 episodes of Death Note had more of. Despite the quality drop in the final 1/3rd, the writers always knew how to make a hard-hitting scene.

"You're god!"

• Mikami.

Good

[klausvarbr · 10/10 · 6 March 2024]

A revealing episode. It's impressive how all Kira, including Light, are immature and childish. Both have a very broken sense of justice. It's impressive how Light uses the girls and when they are no longer useful, he simply throws them away. It gets to be disgusting. The new Kira was even happy and relieved that his own mother had died, and she hadn't done anything to him. Misa just suffers, now she's horned too. I didn't expect the girl from Light's school to return to the anime. It's impressive how Light uses the girls and when they are no longer useful, he simply throws them away. It gets to be disgusting. Episode thirty-two watched on March 6, 2024.