Death Note opening

This journal's got spoilers for Death Note. Just to warn ya ;P

Before I start posting loads about actual uni work again, I wanna give an analysis on the second opening to an anime I recently finished watching - Death Note.

I'll give a brief outline of the story, since the opening works off of a lot of the basic ideas. Light Yagami, an intelligent 17 year old student, finds a book called the Death Note, which was dropped in the real world by a Shinigami (Death God). At first he doesn't believe it's real, but tries it out on a criminal who has taken hostages. It works, and he realises that this is an oppertunity to recreate the world that has been infested with so much wrong by killing criminals using the Death Note, and he declares that he will be the new god of this world. However, the police call in a genius with a hidden identity to solve the case, and Light must do whatever it takes not to be caught.

Well, that's the summary out of the way, now onto the analysis. Here's the actual video:



00:00-00:06 The three Shinigami that appear most are shown, with the first one, Ryuk, being the most important one (the owner of the Death Note that Light finds) appearing for the longest. Text flied across the screen, which is assume to be Latin, and the colours for the images are almost inverted to give a feeling of unfamiliarity. This is used quite often in Death Note openings and endings.

00:07-00:09 The screen shatters, almost to imply how everything comes apart and how violent the senario has gotten.






00:10-00:12 Lightning flashes behind the title, giving an increased sense of energy and conflict.





00:13-00:18 Once of the most interesting parts for me. Light laughing maniacally as he thinks he has managed to get away with the murders under the name 'Kira'. I think it's red to symbolise blood and the conflict that he's had to face with his opponents, while keeping suspicion off him. His face is repeated multiple times most likely to show that Kira is everywhere; on the news, the internet and is killing those who he believes deserve true justice.

The next part mainly involves scenery and colours that you wouldn't associate with any of the characters in it. For example, the Shinigami Ryuk running with a green spotted background makes for a strange senario.

00:31-00:35 Another one of the characters is shown here. She's a model, so is dressed up in very elaborate clothes. One thing I noted about this part was the almost toned effect that's been added to her (the dots that appear in a Japanese comic to give an idea of colour/shade). The original idea was produced from a comic, so it could be an odd throw-back to that.

00:36-00:39 The detective, L, who is usually shown in a blue colour, turns red at the end of this part. I think this is because he finally loses to Light and dies. Light's colour is shown as red, so to me it's symbollic of Light winning over L. I also think it shows the city in the background because L was working hard to discover who Kira was so he could put the entire city at ease, almost like a protector.

00:43-00:48 Lighting looking down over the edge of a building. The camera is facing up to him like a mortal looking up to a god-like entity, which is what he wishes to become. The colours are mainly blue, giving a calm effect as opposed to the red glow in his eyes.


00:48-01:05 This is the build up before the final part of the intro song. It chants two lines over and over, gradually building up each time, adding to the tension. As Light walks through different areas, the shots focus on a different person who is nearby, adding a sense of paranoia as everyone is watching him, suspicious that he is really Kira. The shots are mainly at angles, making it look more chaotic.

01:06-01:12 The audio turns to screaming as everything goes haywire, mostly reflecting the insanity that starts showing in Light's mind as people start suspecting him. Strange filters are used to create a clouded effect. All of the inconsistencies in the video add to the chaos that surrounds the entire situation and characters. Also, dramatic poses involving Light and a pen are used to show how it acts like a weapon to kill criminals and those who stand in his way.

01:07 To me, this shot is showing the innermost feelings of Light's mind. They power has sent him into madness and he's afraid for his life, wanting to believe that he won't die if he declares himselg a god. His end, however, is just like any normal human, showing that his intentions were all for nothing in the end.



01:14-01:15 Something finally breaks as it shows Light's facecrack like glass, just like how he was finally found to be Kira in the end. He had worked so long to avoid suspicious, but the tension got too great and his story shattered, leading to his demise.


I'll leave it at that. I was gonna add one more pic, but it'd involve more explaining ^^; I figured it'd be useful to analyse an opening that was this intense, since I want to go into animation and this kind of thing'll need to be considered every time.

(Images capped by me, but original video from here)