You said exactly what I've been thinking about it better than I could. Hearing the premise might initially lead one to believe that it's a philosophical story, but really it's more of a thriller about factions using deductive reasoning and manipulation to outsmart and foil each other. Still makes for an interesting story.
the world is so complicated
Making the story a philosophical one would be a waste of interesting characters.
Great review!
I agree, I suppose.
"Oh great! Let's pile up all the useless cats and hope a tree falls on them!"
The story does raise some philosophical questions, especially about right or wrong, but it only does that in the final few chapters where it feels like it has no real place.
And I enjoyed Death Note since it didn't attempt to be philosophical, except at the end. I enjoyed several of the characters, feel others could've been made more of (while Misa is still useful in the manga, she pretty much disappears for the final showdown, which I find sad since she was a good character) and some that I did not enjoy.
And I absolutely agree that Death Note is a battle between L and Light... probably a reason why I dislike the second half so much, after L is no longer in the picture. As corny as it may sound, it's like the manga lost part of its soul and the replacements didn't fill their position properly.
That "didn't fill the position" might be literally the point - L's dead, and his replacements are not on par with him, though they try to grow up to his level and skill.
The thing is, they aren't. Near and Mello are 3 aspects of L, separated into 2 characters. Near has the thinking and the man child aspect. Mello the obsessive eating of sweets. And that's it. Neither of them grows into a competent or interesting character themselves - Mello because, well... he had that one thing with the Mafia, and then later, well, Takada happened. And Near is basically NOT around, making it difficult to get attached to him or to see him develop.
But that's just a huge problem with the second half. Just look at Light. He seems bored. L is dead, so he lost his Worthy Opponent, the world practically worships Kira (and those who don't still do, because if they don't, it's Heart Attack Time) and... Light seems bored. He doesn't even USE the titular item anymore. It's like he gave up or lost the fun in being the God of the new World after L died.
And if the protagonist doesn't seem to give a damn anymore, why should the reader?
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Action, not in-depth emotional discussion, is the name of the game.
Death Note is the story of Light and L, and their battle for the world.
It, in my opinion, wasn't written to dive into the fathoms of morality, the clash of good and evil; the authors repeatedly stated that they left all of these debates up to the reader, and there is little, if any, moralizing.
It wasn't written to explore madness, isolation, genius, moral obligation, or justice; although these form key parts of the characters' personalities and motivations, and one can pick up a good deal of subtext, Death Note just doesn't discuss them.
It wasn't written to explore the intricacies of, say, a codependent's gravitation towards a narcissist; the focus of the story just isn't there, and Light's and Misa's relationship gets but a passing glance.
The audience never sees, for example, Soichiro and Sachiko discussing Light's guilt or innocence. We never see something like Misa witnessing her parents' murders, and the subsequent living nightmare that must have factored heavily into her madness. We never see L face an inner struggle with what is normal and what is not, or what friendship might mean. Clues to deeper issues are woven into the story, but it is left to the reader's imagination to consider them, and a casual reader can easily miss them.
That isn't to say that Death Note isn't an intricate story. It simply leaves large areas of possible commentary blank.
Death Note is here to tell the story of warring factions. The characters, for all of their complications, are more widely sketched than might otherwise be found - the villains, the heroes, the normal guys. The focus of the story isn't really on how they got to those roles.
The focus is on the action.
And there is plenty of action. Tightly plotted, with a labyrinth of twists and turns, Death Note takes the audience through attack and counterattack and counter-counterattack, elaborate planning, decisive execution, and plenty of shocks. Some of it is deliciously over-the-top, dramatic, and stylish. Some of it is poignantly subdued, lingering and sad. The story does mingle themes of good and evil, power and helplessness, victory and defeat, and the message I took away from it was that nothing is ever black and white (besides, you know, "beware of falling notebooks"). It just doesn't discuss these themes at length.
Enjoy it for what it is, then :)