Death Note - anime or manga, which is better?

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

That's a bit disappointing.
So in affect I should only buy the first 6 manga? Or buy them all and just enjoy the first part more?

[uc pseudonym]

All I was trying to say was that, from the perspective of an outsider, Death Note doesn't live up to the hype placed on it. I went in thinking I was going to be reading the most amazing manga ever in existence, when in reality it wasn't anything special at all. Very generic. Ok, so you get to see a manga written with a complex "bad guy?" as a protagonist. So what? I'm sure there are loads of manga like that if that's you thing. Can't say it's mine, but whatever.

All I was saying was that everyone put Death Note on this high level, and I just felt like it didn't even come close to meeting the high expectations placed on it, for my personally. Also, it's annoying. Lol. That's all. <3

I think I'll let it go at that and we can part ways with separate opinions.

So in affect I should only buy the first 6 manga? Or buy them all and just enjoy the first part more?

As tacked-on as the second part might feel, reading only the first would leave things unresolved and probably not be a satisfying ending. If you enjoy the mind games in the first part, you'll find more of the same in the second, so I'd recommend deciding after a longer trial.

[MasterDias]

Yeah, you might as well finish reading it if you have already read half of it. I didn't find the second half bad or anything, but it does begin to feel stretched out.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

I haven't read any of them yet - they're released in Australia in April, but I think I'll get them all anyway.
Thanks for the advice peeps!

[dragonnova]

I'm jumping in here a little late in the game, but I still want to throw in my two cents.

I think Death Note is one of the best Manga I've read in ages (and trust me, that's saying something since I have over 70 titles in my library) It's a deep and truly enthralling series, for once it was something truly unique and makes the reader do some thinking for a change. I almost couldn't put it down for even a minute. Now I'll be the first to admit that I almost stopped reading for 'fangirly' reasons after the first arc. But I quickly found that the new characters pulled me in as well, and I hold them dear. My only complaint with the ENTIRE series is the 'heaven and hell" issue... but that's a discussion for elsewhere.

If I had to choose between the anime and the manga though I would probably lean more towards the Manga (mostly) The anime leaves some things out when Mello and Near enter the scene... I like to know everything that has happened and find that when even little things are left out I get a little irritated. They're both great, the animation is beautifully done in the anime and the Japanese VAs are the best I've heard in a long time. But there's something about the Manga I find more appealing, the art is so beautifully detailed and the storyline just seems more complete in the Manga.

But as I said... fangirly... I am a fangirl (even though I find the strong fandom a little bewildering, normally something so deep wouldn't have such a following.) I'll be the first to admit that I'm nuts for anything and everything with L on it, heh heh... So of course I will say I love both, I'll take both (and the movies) and recommend them all! but I recommend them for the art and the detailed story, not because I love L so much. However, I would suggest reading the manga before you watch the anime. If you do it the other way around you tend to get bored with the manga, or at least I did (I watched and read at the same time).

I hope you get the chance to read them sometime (or watch it) ^_^

[inuyasha89]

I prefer the manga because it is more to the point than the anime, and you get more bang for your buck. Where you could spend $10 for a manga that has 5 episodes worth of stuff it in, you'll spend $20-25 for an anime with 3 episodes. So if you end up buying one or the other go with the manga since it costs $19 a pop where you live you'll end up paying about $240 total. While if you go for the anime if it is 3 episodes per thing and there are at least 60 episodes then you'll end up paying about $600. That and you can read anywhere, you need a dvd player for the anime.

Sorry, I got off track. I prefer the manga because it seems more concise, the anime is very close...but theres too many of them.