Death Note is definitely my current anime of choice. It's got a good
idea behind it, a creepy nihilistic world view, a main character with a
god-complex, every episode seems to be full of excitement, it has Ryuk
in it and it's beautifully animated. Thrown in is some over-the-top
dramatisation of what would otherwise be everyday events:
making this a great anime.
I wasn't overly impressed with the first of the two live action movies,
but that was more because of storyline changes than the carrying over
from anime/manga to live action. Ryuk was done brilliantly, although
they did make him too fidgity for my liking. >.>
FYI the first Death Note movie is only a little bit ahead of where the
anime is at the moment, so not too much of a worry with spoilers.
What's the point of a hero with no one to save?
Le sigh