Death Note anime series

@SW-User better in terms of intelligence?

@SW-User If we are being serious then yes I agree with this list. Parasyte is easily on par with Death Note. It's not as good as the L part but far better than the stupid Mello and Near part. I'd recommend that one first

@Qwerty14 death note was killed when mello appeared

@SW-User and maturity

@Shell what you think of intelligent might be different for other people. i don't watch anime for that, try watching documentaries

most anime are for adults, specially hentai 😁

@SW-User Monster isn't better than Death Note

@SW-User thanks for the suggestions though

@Shell Death note was awesome at start and then it turned into shit but we all different

@SW-User I not mean maturity as in sex. I mean content. So hentai is out

@SW-User I agree some of the spark left after L died but it was still good

@Shell Serious suggestions he didnt list: The Ancient Magus' Bride, Mushi-Shi, Violet Evergarden. These 3 are a lot slower, wordy, mature options I definitely wouldn't recommend for anyone who needs action in their anime. Quite beautiful and some really good stories in these.

@Qwerty14 thank you much

@SW-User None of these you listed are better than Death Note intellectually

@Qwerty14 Parasyte doesnt even come close to Death Note.
Maturity does not mean blood, gore, or sex

@Shell Parasyte is a complex story about what it means to be human and whether we are worthy of calling ourselves superior to other animals. If you don't see its maturity then I question what exactly you saw in Death Note? Its most intellectual component is whether L can prove Light did it before Light figures out his name. The cat and mouse chase is enthralling but not exactly a mature premise to get your head around.

@Qwerty14 While I agree with you that Parasyte was a good story and enjoyable to watch, it was no where near complex a story. Nor does does it have a compelling plot or deeply realistic characters as Death Note. While Parasyte explores what is to be human, as you mentioned above, Death Note explores what the handling of morality and justice. Its important how one tells a story. The character development and the narrative progression is far superior in Death Note and that helps it to be more mature and realistic. Its a such a gripping and suspenseful tale its plot cannot be compared to Death Note in my opinion.
As for the cat and mouse games between Light and L, which only adds to make a high tier anime, only adds to realistic depth and intelligence given to the characters. Even though admittedly Light's character with all his smarts is indeed immature. Death Note is brillant

@Shell "Realistic" is not a word I'd use to describe Death Note. Like I get the art style is amazing and incredibly realistic. But the characters are all ridiculously fake. People like Light and L don't actually exist. They're Sherlock and Moriarty. Imaginary intellectuals whose sole purpose is to chase one another. That's why the show completely dies when L does. Because without L, Light is just a crazy person without an equal. Mello and Near are meant to fill that gap but neither convinces you that they are on par with L. When Near manages to one-up Light in the end, all you are left with is a feeling of disbelief. That is where Death Note stumbles. I get it probably had to do with the creator's issues they had with Shonen Jump (I feel that's the one thing Bakuman really hammers home) but still it can't be excused.

@Qwerty14 You are completely wrong. And yes Death Note is very realistic compared the majority of animes. First of all its laughable that you consider Parasyte of all animes, a complex story. Are you kidding? You must be.
In many animes there is always a good guy and a bad guy theme. In general in many stories, the good guy is the protagonist and the bad guy is the antagonist. It is the reverse for Death Note. Light although the bad guy is the protaganist. That in itself is unique. In many shows and many animes, the good guy mostly triumphs over the bad guy, in real life that is not the case. As a human being that is part of this world you must know life is unfair. So when L dies it might have taken the steam out of things but that is a very realistic thing to happen, but its different from what usually happens in animes and thats why you cant wrap your brian around it. There are intelligent people in the world that play mind games and are very good at it. I dont know what you think youre on about.

In the end when Near one up on Light you are left with disbelief because you didnt see that twist coming.

All that giddy chicken head regular you expect from the animes you watch arent in Death Note, maybe that is why you dont understand or appreciate it

@Shell Hey now, attacking me instead of the argument isn't gonna get you anywhere. I fully understand the Death Note story and don't consider Near a twist, just a bad storyline. Because Light's death at the end is inevitable, I'd have had it that he beat Near. Once he got away with it he'd have achieved his goal and created the kingdom that he was hoping to rule over. Only then, once he has finally reached his dream, would I have it taken away from him. He'd die and no one would win in the end. That's the best way to write a tragedy story.

Now onto what you said about good Vs evil. This is very cliche in anime, especially Shonen. They actually insist you have this dynamic if you want to hold readers. So obviously Death Note has it too. You pointing out the uniqueness is that the protagonist is evil... Not exactly an original idea. Code Geass, Hellsing, Overlord, Tanya the Evil, Masamune-Kun, any anime that focuses around a group of criminals. Many shows use that idea.

With Parasyte there are no good and bad guys. Because it falls under Seinen and not Shonen they don't need to pander to readers and add a good Vs evil dynamic. There are just people (and in this case parasites) trying to survive. Migi doesn't help Shinichi because he thinks it's morally right, he does so because it's in his best interest. Similarly Shinichi uses Migi as it benefits him too. They're imperfect beings just trying to live with the punches life throws at them. That to me is truly realistic.

@Qwerty14 Hey whatever you want to believe

@Shell Maybe when you've watched as much anime as I have you'll understand too

@Qwerty14 That might be your problem