"Absolute power corrupts absolutely": a quote that Light Yagami would have done well to understand. In Death Note, the question of the value of human life and the solution to crime is presented to Light in the form of the Death Note in question, and the events that ensue are one hell of a ride.

The story of Death Note grips you at every single stage, and never lets you go. Even when the main cast of characters change into slightly less-enjoyable counterparts (cough Near), the excellent story-telling is preserved. The story begins with a young Light finding a mysterious notebook while on his way home from school. Written inside are rules that state 'whoever's name is written in this book will die'. Believing it to be a hoax, Light jokingly tries it out on a criminal that he can see on a nearby TV. To his surprise, the criminal is found dead of a heart attack. This is all it takes for Light to be convinced that he has a higher purpose in life: to become a god of the new world. Soon thereafter, news agencies begin to see a trend developing and realize that there must be murder plot, and so they call in the world's greatest detective, 'L'. He becomes Light's prime enemy in the series, and the intellectual battle between the two geniuses is quite simply one of the greatest stories put to paper. When Light's secondary antagonists come onto the scene, they seem to pale in comparison to 'L', but if you can look past that , they are enjoyable on their own merit. The ending is a source of much contention to many fans; I will not spoil anything but whether or not you are on team Light or team 'L' will drastically change your reaction to the ending. I found it very satisfying, all things considered, and the tension in the final confrontation is again some of the best written in manga.

The art, as always with Takeshi Obata, is absolutely stunning, and it only gets better as you go along. There is so much detail in every panel that you may find yourself getting lost in each and every scene, admiring the way his hair and faces just appear perfectly natural. If you pick up the black edition like I did, you are greeted with some beautiful colour pages at the ends of the volumes.

The characters are a perfect mix of likeable and hate-able, which makes it very hard to choose sides in this manga. Even though Light is a bat-shit crazy serial killer, I can't help but root for him through every step of the way, just like how 'L' is trying to stop my favourite character and arrest him; I still get excited for 'L's' victories, because they are all equally enjoyable. The Shinigami, basically gods of death who grant Death Note's to humans, provide most of the comic relief in the manga, and all three of the main Shinigami are done very well, each with their own distinct personalities. This is also true of the Japanese Task Force, which is present through ought the entirety of the manga and thus you get to know each of the characters and their tropes very well. The only slightly weak characters are the aforementioned second antagonists to Light; they aren't terrible, but they pale in comparison to 'L', so they end up feeling like a useless waste.

I actually watched the anime first. In fact, Death Note was my first anime and remains to be my favourite. This was also the manga that got me into reading and collecting the medium, and I couldn't have picked a better series. With the manga, I got to experience Obata's gorgeous art and Ohba's story in their original form, and it was very interesting to see how the endings differed and the theory that Matsuda presents at the very end totally changed my perception of the ending.

Overall, Death Note has treated me, once again, with a fantastic and thrilling treat. I can safely recommend both the anime and manga to anyone even slightly interested in either, as they are nearly perfect. And hell, I know its great for beginners because it totally converted me. Death Note is one of the few mainstream series that is actually worth the hype, and nearly all snobby anime elitists will even agree with that sentiment. If you want an engaging story that treats you like an adult, then this manga is for you. 10/10