Quarantine Control #65: As Crispy As Planned

DC Staff | July 1, 2021 | Animation, Features, Television | No Comments

It’s too easy to be lulled into a false sense of security regarding the pandemic these days. This isn’t over, yes, but it sometimes feels like it is in territories lucky enough to have vaccines available nationwide. The pandemic is no longer the dominant story despite vaccinations not being as high as they should be in the United States by this point, constantly being bumped down by other big news stories these days like the planet literally melting. With the Delta Variant swirling around and the underwhelming number of vaccinated people, no one should be too careful just yet. Times are better, but hardly great.

Geoffrey Barnes

Death Note (2006-2007)
Source: HBO Max (though it’s on several services)
Episodes: 37 (the whole series)

It was tough for me to not hear a lot about Death Note over the last several years, as someone who somewhat keeps track of anime news and happenings. The series was one of the most popular Shonen Jump manga and anime franchises from the decade before last, and among the lucky shows chosen to air on Cartoon Network’s Toonami block close to the height of its Adult Swim popularity. I’m mentioning it here because — surprise, surprise — I didn’t get around to it until now. The series is available on most big streaming service under the sun, and I’ve been on an anime kick since the beginning of the year. It was time to finally watch it, and I’m glad I did.

The series begins in earnest when the often too smart and charismatic high school student Light Yagami happens upon a mysterious notebook known as the Death Note, a book that will kill anyone whose name is written in it. This sounds unsurprisingly nonsensical to him at first, as it would in any kind of grounded anime series. But it doesn’t take long for him to believe it after he tries it out on a few criminals slated to die anyway. This allows for him to see a Shishigami known as Ryuk, who explains further rules about how the Death Note can be used. So begins the tale about an extremely bright young man who develops a god complex regarding who should live and die with the literal stroke of a pen, and the attempt to prevent anyone from discovering his identity as “Kira.”

It didn’t take long for me to see why this series has been held in high regard for years — deservedly so, in fact. The concept was intriguing enough, but the series leaps from one plot thread to another at a good pace and provides solid reasons to care about many of its major characters. That’s despite how bad of an idea it is to get too attached to any character, with the prevalence of a notebook that can kill people. Several of these important characters try to unmask precisely who Kira is, feeling that it’s unjust for one person to have the ability to cast righteous judgment on people he feels have done wrong. It never stops being entertaining to watch Light and Kira’s most loyal followers keep the secret about precisely who Kira is, especially when L, the eccentric detective who’s as bright as Light, is spearheading the investigation.

The series ventures into dark places, and tackles a complex story for a Shonen Jump series, something creators Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata have attested to. It has its moments of welcome zaniness, especially when Misa Amane is involved, but does a good job feeling more like not only a seinen series, but a live-action drama at times. It’s received several live-action adaptations in multiple countries over the years for good reason. I appreciated how the series does a good job of being dark and edgy without crossing the line into try-hard territory. It’s a worthwhile achievement for a series that ran in a manga magazine primarily aimed towards kids and teens.

I couldn’t stop hearing about how Death Note isn’t as good after one of the characters central to the mystery (you know who it is if you’ve seen or read it) is out of the picture. This is true, to an extent. The replacement characters don’t quite live up to them in terms of memorability despite being nearly as smart. But in this case, “not as good” means it’s still great and entertaining. The only part of the series I didn’t like involved small changes from the manga, especially near the end. But it’s a minor blemish on an otherwise well-done series.

It’s a testament to my overbearing cynicism that I didn’t expect Death Note to be quite as good as I’ve heard. But I’m glad I enjoyed it, even after the time where some vocal watchers and readers felt it needed to wrap up quickly despite it not qualifying as a “long” series by any stretch at 37 episodes.

Joseph Daniels

It sure has been a week, hasn’t it? As I write this, the temperature is a much more manageable 30°C, and I don’t feel like I’ll pass out if I don’t have a cold drink in my hand at all times. There’s still an extreme weather alert active here, but it’s no longer hot enough to turn my shampoo into running water, so at the risk of jinxing it, the worst for me is likely over.

You’d think that it’d be too hot to focus on anything, let alone television shows, but I did find something I liked watching even as I was being fried by the heat.

Fresh Fried and Crispy (2021)
Source: Netflix
Episodes: 8

The title of this series can also describe the Pacific Northwest right now.

Professional food critic Daym Drops ate his way across the United States and documented his journey for Netflix. He sought out the best fried food in eight major US cities, and at the end of each episode, decided which food was his favourite. The food featured in each episode is also shown being prepared, making the series one part cooking show, one part food blog.

I do understand that after a week like this, you might not want to watch food cooking, but this is the best I have to offer this week. I had to push my Final Fantasy V Retrospective back another week because of the heat wave, and it’s a miracle I have anything to contribute to Quarantine Control. I really hope the heat wave is over, I’m so eager to share my lengthy retrospective article.

Anyway, feel free to watch this series if you want to see a food critic’s infectious enthusiasm for his favourite kinds of food, but make sure you have the air conditioning on first.

The World Health Organization nicely asked vaccinated people to keep in mind others who are immunocompromised by continuing to wear masks while indoors. It’s a stark contrast to mask mandates being lifted across countries with vaccines available, especially in — of course — the United States, with a clear message being sent saying that masks aren’t necessary anymore despite local health officials still recommending them. The vaccines can prevent deaths from COVID-19, as data shows, but those with weak immune systems can still get sick and potentially die from the disease. Consider the well-being of other people, though the last year showed just how ridiculously hard that can be.

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