Death Note

This is so far the most awesome manga I have ever read in my life. There is a lot of good mangas that I really enjoy but this one is just epic.

I like almost everything, from the story to the art concept.

There's a lot of things I LOVE from this manga, the most important is that really makes me feel excited! the whole week I went to sleep thinking in "What the hell is going to happen next..." during the day, at my work I continuosly stopped thinking in who to resolve the puzzle... so I think the whole plot is awesome, both writer and artist are great to create such a interesting and umpredictable characters and make me feel like this.

And of course there's some things I hated of this manga:
The complite manga was quite... machist. Well... I'm a girl and I felt insult by most of the female characters. Totally superficial and stupid. Doing everything in the name of 'love'.

If you like action, puzzles, suspense and yaoi (sorry but I have to say this, YAOI lovers will feel delighted with this piece of work) so, go a head and read it right now! and then watch the anime :)

Death Note is a rather interesting piece of work. I had never come across a manga quite like it, or characters like the ones I see in here. It starts off with 17 year old Light Yagami finding the Death Note. A Shinigami's handbook that if you write a person's name in it (and assuming you know their face) they die. Sounds like some sort of a sick joke right? Right? Wrong. The power of this little notebook is very real, and so real Yagami couldn't help but be tempted.


Welcome to the world of Deathnote where deception, and keeping on your toes is everything. That is what really hooked me about this manga is the complexity of most of the cast. Especially our two main men, Light and L. The dynamics between the two of them were intriguing. I was finding myself unable to put the manga down once I bought it! Everything in this manga does not happen without a precise, and clear reason. There are no piddly plot holes, or things that are untouched. To the first time viewer you may have to read it, and maybe one volume, numerous times to catch something you missed. Make sure you read the dialog again, and when you come to the volume after, go back and make connections. It's like your part of the twisted and macabre tale.

As far as the art goes Death Note is superb. The characters all imbue a sense of realism. Painting the realistic portrait here is what makes it so frightening sometimes. Characters are also top notch, and you'll notice many personalities. One character that stuck out the most, aside from the main cast was Touta Matsuda (hence my SN). He just seems like a genuine goofball, a light hearted guy through most of this. To me he was refreshing he was so undeniably human.
So give this manga whirl, I can bet you will not be disappointed.

DISCLAIMER: This is my first review. Don't be to harsh on me ;).
MINOR SPOILER ALERT
Death Note is known as one of the best Manga of the Manga universe. There is a lot of merchandise, there are even theories about death by Death Notes in real life.
Today I want to talk about this over popular manga.

Story: 9/10
The story revolves about the Death Note, a notebook that when you write a name in it, that person will die. It is a very good Idea, if it is done right. Death Note creators Takeshi Obata and Tsugumi Ohba did it right.
They show us how people, who have no specific problems or other, can turn into killing psychopath.
My only problem with the story is how they handle some of the characters. But overall, it was very enjoyable.

Art: 8/10
Very good, but not my favorite. It fit perfect to the stories and characters, and can make you shiver when Light gets a laughing strike.

Characters: 8/10
The characters where all very interesting, L and Matsuda being my favorites from all. My only problem with the characters, is Light.
I can hear the Fan-girls crying already.
Well, let me explain. Light starts out to be a very intelligent young man with the will to change humanity to the better. For the next chapters it stays that way. But at the end, he starts to turn into a psychopath. Don't understand me wrong, I don't really mind when that happens, but not only does he go crazy, his character kinda changes as well.

Enjoyment: 7/10
My enjoyment shifted quite a bit from "This is sooo cool!" to "Are you serious?"
At the beginning, my expectations for this series wasn't high. But then after a few interesting changes in the story , it got more and more interesting. But it dropped down again by killing someone rather important. I quite liked the ending though.

Overall: 8/10
I quite enjoyed it, even if it had a few this and that's, but I would recommend it to anybody who likes the mystery, supernatural and suspense genre.

For recommendations I would point out:
-Bloody Monday, having also a suspense plot line in it and a little mystery.
-Ajin, has also a suspense plot line and you get kinda the same feeling while reading it as when you are reading Death Note.

Thanks for taking your time and reading my review! ;)

This was an incredible manga!! I loved it and i think anyone would love to read this anime. The suspense is incredible! i found myself trying to skip some pages but every page was so important to the story and you will regret it if you skip a volume. there is always something going on. you will love the suspense and thrill it will give you.

The story is awesome you never know whats gonna happen next. the art is outstanding its just so modern yet new the way the characters are drawn. The characters are awesome you just have to love all of them. there all so different with their own personality and their backgrounds are incredible. i just loved this manga it WAS AWESOME!!!

I watched the anime before I read the manga, and I suggest you do the same.

The level of voice acting, along with the outstanding soundtrack just makes this manga SO much better.

Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with the manga. They're equal as far as enjoyment is concerned. But, I feel like if you enjoy reading manga more than watching anime, then you might just enjoy the manga a LOT more if you watch the anime first.

When it comes to the mind battles, you can hear L's or Kira's theme play in the back of your head as you read... It's really an amazing thing. Never experienced it before besides with Attack on Titan.

Now, we'll get onto the story.

The best part of this series is up until chapter 58. Then it starts to die down until the very end, which, (imo) is well worth the wait. The ending is very intense, and very good. But the actions leading up to the end were quite tedious and boring, I must say. (Even though, I do like Near)

I am rating this an 8.5 for in-case you actually read it BEFORE the anime, but if we were taking it into consideration that you watched the anime first, i'd give it a 9. The manga and anime differences are slight, but I do enjoy the manga a little bit more, however without hearing their voices or the music in my head, I would say I enjoyed the anime a bit more. If you understand my confusing analogy lol.

Check it out, it's great.

Glad I finished this on a whim after dropping it roughly half way through. Death Note is a well regarded classic at this point and not without a reason but it's not without flaws.

Art: Realistic, detailed and grounded. Usually this combination leads to good looking but rather bland looking titles, not the case here. Obata is really talented when it comes to design and style, he deserves a lot of credit for making a manga about people talking always looking so cool. There's a lot of care put into the way every character looks, dresses or walks to separate them from each other and complete their personality. Designs for everything paranormal are exceptional, I wish Shinigami played a bigger role if just to see them more often.
Overall the look is very clean, everything looks like it was meticulously drawn with maximum precision which basically means no sketchy lines or visual inconsistencies. Shading is very detailed which helps that realistic look but there's also some nice hard light and shadows for more dramatic scenes.

Characters: while main cast is pretty interesting and varied, it's not the point of the manga. It's about a tense game of playing cat and mouse so it doesn't really matter how deep or developed the characters are. However they are distinct and quirky enough make their interactions fun to read.

Story: Death Note, at its core is a battle of wit between two opponents, trying to stay one step ahead of each other to accomplish their goal and assert their own superiority.
While it can provoke a discussion about justice and morality, as author stated, the point of the manga is just to a fun, thrilling ride which is why won't discuss those themes. At no point they are really explored or even addressed so even if you applied the whole author's death concept there would be little to talk about. However I think Ohba is admirable for managing to create a story where it's still possible to root for the villain even if you disagree with his ideology well at least I do).
In summary there's little variance in plot progression, until the very end it's just a constant back and forth with stakes gradually getting higher, from faith of one individual to entire humanity. It all comes down to whether or not you'll find that enjoyable. There's valid complaint that many events are unrealistic , unlikely, and some other 'un's. However I think if you're gonna read a manga with gods of death and notebook that kills people in any possible way, some suspension of disbelief is in order.
At last, there's one complaint I had and it's that the whole thing can get very drawn out and wordy at times. In particular when Death Note gets in the hands of corporate assholes the manga asks too much when you're supposed to care about page after page of really boring musings about how these people you know nothing about will use the notebook. There are other minor moments when characters explaining their deduction process becomes redundant but it's far less offensive.

Funfactor: Death Note is an entry level title for a good reason. It's well made and easy to get into or recommend. It's probably a good get if you somehow still haven't seen or read it.

death note starts with your average (but smart) student light yagami who sits in class staring out the window, notices something falling and goes to see what it was after class, and low and behold, it was the death note! which is basically a shinigami (death reapers) tool of killing literally anybody. at first light didnt believe it was real and was just a gag or something, as any body would at first. but then he tested it. he gets lots of ideas and decides he wants to start killing more and more, he wants to be basically the justice of the world to make it a better place for all the good people. but as expected, the authorities dont see eye to eye and they try and use all their resources to find light. through the whole series its always "omg omg omg how is this gonna work" and such. light always blows your mind on the things he does, its a rollar coaster ride from start to finish. one of the most popular series of all time and for a good reason.

since this series is written by the same person who wrote Hikaru no go i thought i would give this series a whirl. I was surprised to find a array of compelling characters who who at once enthrall and disgust you. Raiko a boy who meets a shinigami and wields the power to kill just by writing down a name in a notebook, sounds cool but at the same time you have to think about the terrifying power that this boy commands. Though out this series you follow one boys journey to eradicate crime by killing those who commit them with the police hot on his trail. This series really does make you think but at the same time gives you the action you've been craving for. enjoy reading this series. Sorry but i am not to good at writing, my apologies

Not much more needs to be said than that this is the manga that piqued my interest in Japanese animation and stories, as well as clearly reaching a level of appreciation that I felt inclined to review just what an outstanding manga this is.
It is possibly one of the most well-known anime/manga and with good reason, for it is a pleasing read that traps you with an incurable desire to binge-read and follow the downward spiral of a man with his morally-twisted intentions.
Every character is given certain quirks that add to the art of the story, as the reader is brought down a psychological journey of speculation and interpretation of their own thoughts of intensifying storyline.
The manga has a fantastic build-up filled with characters constructed from both great abilities and human flaws, allowing the reader to sympathize with not only the heroes, but also the "villains" of the story. My only complaint is the lack of a strong female character, all of the feminine heroines held at steps below the men, not just in terms of development and personality but also in their actions.
Although the women do play their part in the storyline, the female characters seemed to lack personality, especially when held in comparison to the men.
However this is the only "fault" I found with this manga, and it did little to take away from a story that prods into your mind as you struggle to answer a recurring question through the series; what is moral justice?
Both Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata nail a conclusion that could have easily been botched, as a story with so many intense twists incited high expectations of an exhilarating and solid ending. Flowing with a captivating journey to a final epic ending, Death Note truly demonstrates how mangakas work their magic over readers, soliciting emotion in both art and words, causing one to ponder their own convictions of the world.

This is truly a great series. The story starts off with a teenager who finds a book labeled Death Note. He finds out, after testing it, that writing the full name of someone you've seen before kills that person. Young Light tries to bring justice to the world by using this book but is challenged by the government, telling him that what he's doing is wrong. I absolutely loved the beginning of this series when it was Light vs. L. Towards the end it started to progress a little fast and I was a little bit disappointed with the ending because I felt it wasn't as hype as I was expecting. Overall a great read, it has flaws but for the most part it's death note people. :)

To anyone planning to read this manga (or watch the anime) please take your time with it because it is a handful of things to take in and trust me, you'll probably get confused sometimes, but nonetheless this series is actually one of my favorite manga/anime. First of all, both the concept and the art work for DN are what really drew me to this manga in the first place. Takeshi Obata did an excellent job with the character designs even with the minor characters and the atmosphere that he created with the scenery in the background really made it enjoyable to both read and look at. I couldn't take me eyes off of it! I would sometimes stare and stare at a page for about 5 minutes or more! Takeshi Obata is truly one of manga's most talented artists in my opinion. Ok, so now to Death Note's story/concept. This manga really gets you thinking even with just reading the first chapter. Just think about it, a notebook that can kill just by writing someone's name in it. How cool and twisted is that? And it even comes with your own personal shinigami (or Death God) so why not? But in all seriousness, if you want an manga that really gets you thinking with good artwork and great character designs, then read Death Note. I'm sure that you won't regret it.

Death note or Piano in the bushes?

Sadly,nothing much to say about it:Great Start - Poor Finish.

Good detective sorries must keep you thrill till the end,but DN spoil you all twists and turns just before it happens,especially it disgust me at the end - when it be just be spoiled in vol.11.

There are so many "crutches" in history that you seem to see through it, each character seems to have a script that he read in advance and simply follows him through the whole story without any personal initiative.

Art is great.Hands Down.

I wont reccomend this manga if its your first one.But im sure you have a good time reading this on a road or to waste some time on a job - just like i did.

Hmmm what can I say about Death Note? It's almost indescribable. It's good I can definitely say that. The plot is brilliantly conceived and it excels in the way it evolves, twisting and turning and oh so much thinking.

It has a perfect pace, with events unfolding just right, very calculated. And it also has the comedic relief to lighten the serious tone that this manga so frequently has. The artwork is lovely, the Shinigami are drawn creatively and I like that they differ from preconceptions and no two are the same. I'd love to learn more about them.

The characters are great. I love Near, Mello and L, they are so off the wall and original. Light, wow, he's so calculating and clever it's scary but at the same time he's loveable and I pity him for the curse of the Death Note. The whole idea for a story is so unique and clever and it's been told wonderfully.

Is there a downside to this manga? I don't actually think there is, I can't think of any criticisms. I don't like L and Lights fate but its all in the telling of the story, everything that happened had to. Nope I have to say this manga is all good.

And the best bits are the amount of thinking and calculating and second guessing the characters do. Sometimes I found myself lost in their thoughts and in awe of their plans. I also liked the way we didn't always see the plans being made, we saw the outcomes and then flash backs.

If you like a fast paced action/detective/thriller manga or just fancy a new series give this one a go. Just don't expect it to be a happy go lucky story.

Nanashi Moriko *Possibility of becoming a Death Note fan girl*
22/08/07

This manga came out of left field and blew my mind away. I cannot recommend this manga highly enough- everything about it was amazing! The deep character development and the twists make you feel like your riding the craziest roller coaster from beginning to end! However if your looking for crazy, bloody action sequences you might want to look elsewhere. This particular manga will definitely crack open that mind of yours and really make you think, almost forcing you to put yourself into the shoes of some of the characters, and there is quite an amount of reading to do. But it is well worth it,and the ending will make you yearn for more and more. This is a must read for anyone and everyone!

Death Note is a some what complicated manga, yet it holds an amazing plot that would make 5 yr. olds have night mears about. The drawings are elagent and very detailed. And you can't help but think Light is an amazing giniuse, and not to bad looking. This manga will have you at the endg of your seats, and leave you beagging for more. So what are you doing here reading this memo go out and by all the books, and shear theme whith your friends, your dogs, your cats, and most importatly.....ME!!!!!!!!

The story of Death note is divided into two sagas. The first saga consists of the first seven volumes. Surely this saga is the best. We can see the battle of wits among L. Lawliet and Kira (Light Yagami). It's one plot twist after another.
The second saga is worse than first saga. Some key characters are vanished, and some situations become repetitive.
Takeshi Obata is a great illustrator. I love his dark style.
Very good manga, many plot twists (the ending is incredible), not much action, but much reasoning.
For the most part, the characters are good (Lawliet is the best!).
Maybe not for all. Anyway reccomended.

I really love Light Yagami as a character. It's so refreshing to read about a protagonist that is confident, assured and downright selfish rather than the usual beta MC people pleaser we see these days. Light doesn't do anything for his friends, his family, to save the world or to become a great warrior. He's purely fuelled by his own ego to outsmart his opponents and have the power to kill others when he pleases (that's the real reason he uses the Death Note, the peaceful world is just a pretext.)

Most of the other characters were great too, even if the main antagonists were a bit young to be believable and the mangaka tried too hard to make them eccentrics. The main female MC is probably the worst one, the way she fawns over Light even when it's obvious he is just using her becomes too apparent in some scenes, and other characters never point it out to her even when they have reason to do so. She felt too much like a plot device.

I know a lot of people dislike the second half of Death Note but I personally enjoyed it all the same, it was an interesting change of pace and led to a very satisfying and fitting ending for the series.

Death Note is one of the best psychological thrillers not just in manga but any medium, the plot twists and turns so many times and you have no idea how it's all going to turn out, it's dark and brutal without being edgy, and the lore and concept of Death Notes is interesting and a lot of fun. There's a lot of test in the series as you see the characters interior monologues as they guess and second guess themselves and each other about what to do next so be prepared for a lot of reading. I'd recommend this series to anyone, even those who don't like comics or manga.

*NO SPOILERS*

Death Note is a series that I hold very dear because it illustrated to me that anime/manga can be very smart, clever and at the same time, enjoyable.

When I first read the series, I loved it and considered it a masterpiece; I wouldn't do the same thing now, but it's still a great series.

The series itself is very clever in nature and is very original. It has great use of literary devices such as foreshadowing which can be seen in the first chapter, great character development, and several red herrings peppered throughout the series. The mangaka duo, Ohba and Obata, seem to change Shounen manga series each time they write a series. With Death Note, they delivered a great complex mystery thriller that is a great gateway for people who generally don't like manga or anime.

Story:
I really liked the cat-and-mouse game between L and Light. Each battle was extremely intense, and each genius always was attempting to outclass the other. The subsequent arcs were very methodical in nature and greatly planned out. The whole story basically questioned your morals and whether or not you thought it was right to kill criminals to create a utopia in a extremely hypocritical manner. The second half is much weaker than the first half as an important happens that changes the course of the story; the second includes two very prominent but weak characters who seem to be duplicate L's. That's it; it was as if you took the "logical" side of L and turned that into a character, and his "emotional" side and turned that into a character resulting in two very bland characters: Near and Mello respectively.

Characters:
First we have L. L was an amalgamation of everything odd with humans. He was an extremely paranoid individual who really didn't know how to present himself in society whilst at the same time being so incredibly intelligent that many people considered him to be one of the smartest in the world. He was pretty cool with his weird quirks, BUT he was also pretty bland, almost only there to move the plot forward with his plans against Light. On the other hand, we have Light Yagami. A genius high-school student who goes through a mental rewiring once he basically attained absolute power. Each is essentially the polar opposite of the other, as Light is clean, presentable and neat, while L is a "mad-genius". The cat-and-mouse games between the two geniuses were so cleverly done that in order to outclass the other, you would have to secretly kill people while eating potato chips. Yes, potato chips.

Basically what I got from L and Light was that if wants to be so intelligent, then that person must border on insanity. This was exemplified through the actions of both individuals.

Near and Mello were very poorly handled, and I think it's an unfortunate result of Shueisha insisted on continuing the story of Death Note; Tsugumi Ohba possibly felt that the series was coming to a close after the death of a certain character. Either way, I personally didn't like the characters or the subsequent second halves as much as I did with the first half.

Art:
Obata does an amazing job with his crisp drawings of all of the buildings and character designs. With his great understanding of human proportions, you have great scale drawings of humans and the shinigami.

Overall, Death Note is a great series with amazing art, an amazing first half, an OK cast of main characters, and one hell of ride. The pacing can get sporadic at times during the second half, but the aforementioned cat-and-mouse games and great use of literary techniques and themes makes up for it.

*Congratulations if you got through my incoherent review!

Ah, Death Note. Not your ordinary manga story. I could honestly see something like this happen in real life, minus the shinigami and creepy death notebook.

When I first saw Death Note I was like, "ew." But then my friend told me to read it, and he even brought it to school. I wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to read manga when I saw it, so I read it. I fell in love with the first volume. The first chapter honestly isn't so, "OMG I NEED TO KEEP READING" but it's more like, "Hm, interesting. Turn the page..." few chapters later..." OMG THIS IS AWESOME!!!"

What I really like about Death Note is that it's a real battle. Not a battle that's made with magical weapons and awesome powers, but a battle between who's right and who's wrong. And finally who reigns supreme. The two main characters, Light and L are some seriously badass geniuses. The battle is so tight you always wonder what happens next. What's their next plan? What's their next move? What about now? Keeps me awake all night thinking about it. XD

The reason I gave the character a 9 is because I hate the way Light is portrayed. I understand why, but it's just ew. And also sometimes, you can't tell when a character is good or bad because they're just that vague. But overall, it's an amazing story a definite good read that will NOT disappoint you :)

I loved this Manga! It was a great story that was confusing at parts but it was fun to follow! I love at the end how everything fit together like a gaint puzzle! I had to get my friend to explain most of it to me afterwards.. But after that i got it! But it was amazing! The Characters are great and each of them had they're on personaltiy that i think most people can relate to at least one of them, and if not a whole person then at least bits and parts of the people. I thought that the Design and drawings were amazing and helped make the story easier to follow. The overall enjoyment was amazing! Not once did i get bored of the story and thought to quit reading the books. It kept exciting the whole way through! Overall i loved it all!!!!!!