Death Note, Chinmoku no Kantai Recommendations
While I was watching "Silent Service" I couldn't help but thinking "damn this is like "Death Note"! Now here me out, I know it sounds odd at first that a submarine War drama set in the cold war, and a Mystery/ Psychological thriller set in modern day Japan would be anything alike, but let me explain.
Both animes have a type of "intellectual" battle going on. They both feture battles of wits. And while "Death Note" pits L verses Light, "Silent Service" puts Captain Shiro Kaieda against the world. In "Silent Service" you watch Kaieda use his wit, and unconventional use of a submarine (a
highly advanced one, in fact the most advanced sub in the world) to outsmart, and outfight the U.S. Navy (it's entire Pacific Fleat) and at times Japan's SDF Navy. In "Death Note" we watch Light outsmart the worlds best police and detectives, and fight a "battle of wits" against L. While in "Death Note" international geopolitics keeps coming up in regards to Kira, it's not a main part of the show and always in the backdrop, however i"Silent Service" is almost entirely about realistic intense international geopolitics , especially the relationship between the U.S. and Japan.
And in both shows you can't walk away, and come back 5 minutes later, or you will be lost. Things happen very fast, and the status quo changes faster then you can blink!
Also in both series one man is out to change the world, and has a weapon of incredible power. In "Silent Service" Shiro Kaieda has the most advanced nuclear submarine in the world, and wants to change the world with it. In "Death Note" Light wants to make the world a better place by use of the supernatual notebook, the Death Note, which is an increble tool, and become the new God of the world. Both of these characters are so alike it's scary. They are both 100% sure of themselves, and outsmart the worlds best multiple times. They think what they are doing is right, and could be considered red the main villian of their anime series by many people (although not all), even though they are both the main characters.
While I find "Death Note" to the the better of the two, do not dismiss "Silent Service" as even for it's lenght and age it still has some great moments, and is a fun watch. "Death Note" is much more suspensful though, and that is where it is the strongest. "Silent Service" focuses more on political intrigue and that is where it is strongest.
If you like one of these, check out the other!
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