Death Note is a surprisingly engaging, exciting show for one that mostly involves long conversations and the most exciting thing that tends to happen is someone writing names down. Getting to watch the cat-and-mouse game between L and Light is what gives Death Note its interest. The two main characters are also fascinating and truly unique, far from the typical shounen hero and villain. Each has things about him that the viewer can admire, and things to dislike. The plot slows down considerably after a plot twist about three-fourths of the way through the story, and becomes substantially less interesting, but picks up again at the end of the series.

Violence: As suggested by the title, there are often multiple deaths within a single episode. Most of these are heart attacks, but some of the deaths are more violent, and include being hit by cars and trains, suicide, and being killed violently with guns or knives. Light justifies killing hundreds of people in this way, but L and the others on the investigation team do not.

Sexual Content: In the first episode, a woman is being verbally harassed, but it doesn't lead anywhere. There are several instances of female characters wearing revealing clothing or looking at pornography (nothing explicit is shown). At one point, a female character is asked to take off all her clothes (not in a sexually suggestive way), but nothing is shown.

Theological Issues: Light considers himself "the god of the new world," with the right to decree who is worthy of living and dying. This is not necessarily put in a good light; though he is the protagonist, there are enough dissenting voices that viewers are meant to make their own conclusions. Shinigami are a reality in this story, with the power to take human lives. The only afterlife we can see is a bleak, hopeless, boring place, and those who use the Death Note are said to simply cease to exist, rather than going to heaven or hell.

Other: There is some language and alcohol/tobacco use, and many criminal acts are performed - sometimes even by the investigation team. They help to paint a realistic picture of the way the world really is.

Violence: Even though there are a lot of deaths, the vast, vast majority of them are heart attacks. There are a few car crashes, though the scenes themselves are not portrayed on camera. You might see a few blood splatters but that is about it. There is an explosion, and there are a couple of shooting scenes, which are probably as graphic as it gets. A character is gunned down, and another one gets shot a few times. There is blood. Also, the death note can manipulate people into suicide, though the act is never shown on screen.

Sex and Nudity: It's pretty mild for the most part. Misa's outfits can be...interesting, particularly towards the end. Some of her dialogue indicates that she has a physical relationship with one of the characters (they aren't married but live together). Of course there is also a chance that she's making some of the stuff up. One female character is asked to strip (more of a search for weapons) but you don't see anything. Light also looks at presumably dirty magazines once to hide his tracks. There really isn't too much going on in this area.

Theological Themes: Light regularly proclaims himself "God of the New World". He believes that he should have the ability to pass judgement on who lives and who dies. People do worship him, and, near the end, it seems he has himself a cult. One character is a literal fanatic and addresses Light as "God" throughout his entire role in the series. The detectives who search for Kira refuse to worship him. Shinigami (gods of death) and a notebook that kills people play a big part in the series.

Problematic Themes: There was very little swearing. Nothing worse than the d-word. Misa also gets drunk once, but that is the only time alcohol is featured.

Overall: I really liked Death Note. The plot was intricate and I enjoyed the mind games. Light's plans do develop over time, as he gains more knowledge and grows up. The Yotsuba arc was my favorite, since it gave off heist vibes. Towards the end, it does lose steam. However, I thought the ending was satisfying, though there was an element that was missing that would have improved the whole thing by a lot.

The characters were engaging. I loved L and Matsuda in particular, as well as the two major Shinigami characters. Light was entertaining as well (up until the timeskip, where I just wanted him gone). I did like Misa, too, though that was probably because I was able to rationalize her actions (that girl has an insane amount of unaddressed trauma). I didn't even have problems with Near and Mello. (Near is a lot more likeable when you think of him as Baby L instead of knock-off L, and I actually really liked Mello.) I hated Ray Penbar and his girlfriend deserved better. (Also do not expect developed female characters who don't worship Light or die. That was another problem I had with the series.)

The art was lovely until the Yotsuba group arc, where things get a little wonky. Serial Killer Light is actually drawn differently than regular Light. Things go back to normal after Yotsuba, fortunately. As for the themes, I liked the first opening's music, and I liked the visuals of the second opening (I don't care for heavy metal, though).

As for the recommended age, I'll say older teens and up. I don't think it's R-rated, though. My age recommendation is mostly based on the themes, and the maturity needed to tackle them. I'd say high school kids could handle it.