Before I start, I wanna say I have not read death note, but I love Bakuman.
The primary problem with this manga is it is disinteresting and dull.
The protagonist is probably a prime example of this. The has no real interesting motivation or any drive to do so. He just sort of gets dragged into everything. During the first chapter, we get the idea that he is somewhat of a lonely, awkward kid, but all that is brushed off after chapter 3 or so, then he becomes kind of just a dull slate who reacts to things I guess.
This dullness is also reflected in the female lead. again, she also is kind of a blank slate who reacts to things in a way you'd expact a girl to, I guess. We really have no idea who or what she is because she doesn't talk that much anyway, and doesn't really have a significant role in the plot other than the fact that she is a god candidate and needs to be protected by the protag.
A character named Nanato (the only name I remember) is a fairly interesting character. A hell of a lot more than the other two anyway. He has stakes and a clear motivation as to what he is doing. He is also the only one who has any sense of humor at all.
The central concepts of having god candidates is boring too. When a goddess possesses you, you are able to receive either wings or arrows as your power. If the angel is high class enough, you can have both to begin with. If you kill another candidate, you gain their powers. Now, wouldn't it be interesting if all the powers that each candidate had were different? Isn't it an interesting power struggle to see which god candidates have powers to your liking and then attacking them? Maybe smart planning can lead to being pretty much invincible. But no, we just get extra rings on your arms and necks. Great.
Another weird thing about this manga is the edginess. Now, I'm not saying it's inherently bad or anything, but it's just odd to have edginess happen without any real reason. Chapter one shows our main character trying to commit suicide. That doesn't really reflect or add upon who we see him has later as a blank slate at all, so why bother with it? Somewhere around chapter 5 a little girl dies. No real impact on the characters in post or anything really. It's needless edge. It really doesn't to be there.
One more point to rag on about. The concept of god used in this world. Mirai Mikki fucked concept up even worse, but PE doesn't handle it in the most effective way either. These stories are lovecraftian by nature; it deals with the inevitable and unchangable decision of an ascended being. Way to go, ruining it by showing god and heaven. Lovecraftian horror is the horror of constantly being watched over by beings and deities that we have no control over, perhaps we are not even aware of it. Just think of how terrifying it would have been to know that the god in the world of PE is an omnipresent, omnipotent being who can make these horrifying death games happen at the click of his fingers, or, even more scary, just by a single thought. Is it just for his own amusement? Does he even genuinely want god candidates? We will never know, because the thoughts of gods are completely beyond our comprehension.
Goddamn it. You know, I started writing this as a 6 but it went down to a 5 the more I thought about it. Maybe it isn't such a great idea to 'write my feelings down' or whatever.