Death Note

Alright, first review I’ve done on this site, so apologies if it isn’t exactly the best thing. The reason why I decided on Death Note was for the simple reason of…it was because of this site that I got into it, and Death Note opened me up to series where fighting isn’t really relevant, so I felt it would be fitting for my first review on here to be about one of my “Life Changing” manga/anime. Let’s just get into this though. Oh yeah, I’m putting spoilers in this review, nothing major (I think anyway), but you have been warned.

Story: 9/10
What is the whole premise of Death Note? Essentially, it’s about a high school student who found a book that can kill people and decides to play God since he has the power to “judge” people now. This student, Light Yagami, starts off only killing criminals that he deemed were too evil for this world, but eventually decides to kill anyone that is a threat to his ideal world. One of these threats is a detective that goes under the alias of L. The first half of the series mainly dealt with Light’s rise to godhood while having a mind duel with L, the one person Light thought could figure out he was the culprit for killing all these criminals. If I can make an analogy, this battle between L and Light could be compared (albeit on a much serious scale since whoever loses between those two loses everything) to Yugi Muto and Seto Kaiba from the original series. Much like Kaiba, Light is hell-bent on defeating his rival and then rising to the greatest in their series (Dueling world for Kaiba and the world in general for Light). On the reverse side, L and Yugi are more focused on just doing what they do best, and take all challenges, including the challenges of their rivals. I can also say that the battle between L and Light was the greatest part of Death Note, and I can maybe even say one of the greatest in manga period. The plot twists are also so amazing. The most controversial one of them all is still in my Top 5 moments in all of manga, even after all the other series I have read. I’m not saying what it is, but you can probably figure it out if I told you it involves L’s and Light's final confrontation. All in all, I say an amazing plot. The only reason why it’s not a perfect score is because near the end, they were making a lot of characters almost nonexistent (Misa being the prime example).

Art: 8/10
If I can say anything, it’s that the characters are drawn pretty well. With one exception, I don’t think there is one character that looks bad and even then, the one character I think looks bad is probably just me. The scenery looked nice, and when something evil from an “evil” character was about to happen, I could definitely tell that most of these characters were enjoying themselves with their facial expressions (hello Light!). I’m not good at describing art, so I’m keeping this part short.

Characters: 15/10 (10/10)

Oh. My. God. These characters are some of the greatest characters I have ever had the privilege to read about. With one exception, I really love every single character in Death Note. I think every single one of them are written in a beautiful way that makes them extremely interesting and diverse that you can’t possibly mix up any character. I’m going to put it his way for all you video game enthusiasts and especially Portal fans; I would say most of these characters have the same charm and likeability as the ones in Portal and the sequel. I’ll go a little in depth about the two main characters so you can see where I’m coming from.

Light Yagami, the main character of the story and probably the most well written character, isn’t your typical hero where he’s good and he can never do evil. No no no, he’s far from good. If I can give him one title to describe it would be Satan, and that’s why I love him. He is so distant from what I was accustomed to for a main character of a manga, that I was actually upset whenever he was losing against L. I think the biggest reason why I love the guy though is probably because of the way he had fallen from grace. Based on what I said previously, you would assume Light was evil from day one right? He actually started out with good intentions, only killing criminals that he saw doing crimes himself. Eventually though, he started becoming more and more power hungry, and killed anyone he felt didn’t fit in his ideal world. That is actually a believable reason to descend into become the very evil you set out to destroy, not because you felt like being a dick (like most hero-turned villains in media sadly). Other than having the power to kill all, Light is actually a realistic character. Anyone would become corrupt if they had that much power. I could go on with this, but I got one other character to do plus a whole other section, so moving on.

L, the second main character and my second favorite character (you probably wouldn’t ever guess my favorite), is probably one of the strangest characters if he isn’t the strangest character in the series. My first impression of the guy was that he was going o be a guy that looked interesting but would only have one good moment in the entire series, not counting when he beat Light. Boy was I wrong and I was so glad about that too. While Light got the most development as a character, L was the more entertaining of the two in my opinion. He’s a real pleasant surprise since, like Light, is almost nothing like the standard hero of a manga. He isn’t afraid to do cruel and demented things like torture Light and Misa to get answers, and even considers writing people’s name in the Death Note to see if it really does kill people. He’s also not afraid to be out there, with his strange sitting position or how he admits that sleeping would make him stupider. He’s still a genius though, despite his weird habits. Only someone like L could pull off having not one, but three different aliases and not get discovered, all of it with no one but his butler knowing his real name. That is pretty impressive, no matter how high your standards are.

Again, most of these characters are written so well, that I think there is only one character that I think could have been improved on. The characters are definitely the reason why you read the series.

Enjoyment/Overall Rating: 10/10

Overall, Death Note was a blast to read/watch. If you are just getting into manga/anime, go and give this series a read, you’ll probably love manga in general after doing so. If you are already a long time fan of manga, why haven’t you checked this out? You are missing out on an amazing series and should check it out. From the characters to the amazing plot twists, there wasn’t a single dull moment where I just wanted to give up on this series. I’m not afraid to give Death Note a 10/10, as it really deserves it. Thank you for getting me into non manga Light and L, hope you can do the same with other new people to the world of manga.

Probably the best psychological thriller there is. Not many mangakas i'v read put as much thought into their manga as the authors of this have. Work like this is the reason I prefer japenese comics over american comics.That said the Plot is not consistent. The plot becomes somewhat predictable and disappointing after a certain important event (it really is important) but that taken into consideration it still is top on my list of favourites

I don't even know where to begin with this masterpiece... I guess I'll start by proclaiming Death Note as my favorite story ever. Almost everything about Death Note is perfect. The plot is enjoyable, creative, and deep. The characters are well-developed, interesting, and symbolic. The art is fantastic, fitting, and realistic. My enjoyment and fascination aspect for this manga is beyond description. If you haven't read this manga, or watched the anime (which by the way is a great adaptation of the manga) then I suggest you drop whatever you're doing right now, and go read/watch Death Note as soon as possible. I can promise you that you will not regret. But remember, when you read or watch Death Note, turn your thinking caps on and pay attention to the details in art, you'll realize all the symbolism going on, references to the bible, and other religious aspects.

Now, in Death Note, there are lots of philosophical questions about our reality, that the readers must consider before reading, while reading, and after reading. (I'm going to write a whole load of questions, since I thought about so many things while reading Death Note.) Are all human lives equal? What truly is life? What are people's role in life? To what extent can people shape their own destiny, and how much is down to fate? What truly is death, and where do we go after death? Is the world we're living in pure, or rotten? What's making the world pure/rot? What's human nature, and how can people overcome the disgusting side/temptations inside of them? How can we tell apart "right" from "wrong", "good" from "evil"? Human beings created the ambiguous terms, "right, wrong, good, evil" and everyone interprets these terms according to their own philosophies, so there's no "correct" definition; then how can people truly consider themselves more "right" and "good" over others? What makes a crime, a crime? What is justice, and what is "fair" justice? Who should be able to decide the fate of criminals? Is the death penalty truly a humane, and fair punishment method? Is murder always wrong? Religion, which belief is truly correct in reality? Lots of philosophical questions right? That's just scratching the surface of all the psychological concepts the anime delves into.

Death Note is actually (sort of) told from the view point of a Shinigami (Death God), named Ryuk. Ryuk's world, the Shinigami realm is just a rotting world with the repetition of everyday life. Seeking an adventure, a way out of boredom, Ryuk purposely drops his Death Notebook into the human realm, Earth. What is the Death Note? The Death Note is the deadliest mass-murder weapon in human history; any person's name that's written in the notebook (writer has to have the face of the person he/she's writing down) shall die within 40 seconds of their name being written in the Death Note. Our main character, Light Yagami, a genius high school student happens to stumble upon the Death Note one day after school. At first, he didn't believe that the Death Note's power was real, but out of boredom, he tested it out by writing the name of a criminal who was being shown on TV in the Notebook. 40 seconds later, the criminal is announced to have died. Knowing of this ultimate power that he's obtained, Light Yagami vows to use the Notebook for justice. Light Yagami's dream is to kill all the criminals in the world, and create a utopia in which mankind will be able to live in peace and harmony, while Light himself rules as "God" of the new world. But the question of arises, "Is what Light Yagami doing, righteous, or evil?" Certainly Light believes that his dream is righteous, because he's ridding the world of "evil" and making the world a safer place for the "good". In public, people begin to take notice of all these mysterious criminal murders, and they give this unknown murderer the name, "Kira" (this would be Light) derived from the English world, Killer. But the world's greatest detective, L Lawliet doesn't seem to be very fond of Light Yagami's ideals. L Lawliet believes that murdering any other human being (even criminals are people) is an act of evil and that Kira is nothing more than a psychopathic murderer. And so, the entire premise of Death Note is a ingenious cat - and - mouse game between Light Yagami and L Lawliet, with Ryuk spectating our human world. Who will win, "Justice"? Or "Justice"?

Is the plot original? Yup. Is the plot enjoyable? Yup. Yup. Is the plot well-written with little to almost no plot-holes? Yup. Is the plot tragic? Yes. Is there a deeper meaning behind the story, with lots of symbolism? Yup. Is the story ambiguous in order to let the reader decide for themselves what they believe the answers to those philosophical questions are? Yup. Does the end of the manga end in a cliffhanger? Yes and No. Is it honestly all that great? Yup, Greatest manga ever. The plot-holes were kept to a minimum and they never affected the overall plot; I can't really think of any plot-holes actually, everything was important and well-developed/explained. The pacing of the manga was perfect, the attention-grasping beginning, to the subtle deeper theme/developing plot alongside great plot-twists, that eventually help create the ideal climax of the story, and then the very tragic downfall and ending that made me cry. What made the manga so enjoyable was not only the well-written, suspenseful, exciting criminal-detective chasing thriller aspect, but also the addition of lots of genius literature symbols and narrations to help solidify the deeper symbols/meanings of the entire plot.

The biggest question in the anime really is: "Is what Light doing good/righteous/moralistic?"

Often in great literature, the main character is some sort of ambiguous character (hero more often than not), that has an unachievable dream and gets lost along the way of achieving the dream due to multiple problems: harshness of reality, greed, temptation (usually a woman, but can be any thing else: serpent) and ends up becoming a tragic figure that's meant to send the readers a deep message. Such was the case of Death Note's main character, Light Yagami. Light Yagami was a teenage boy who had everything. His family was financially stable, he had a loving family, he had the good-looks, he had the popularity, he had the brains, and he had a bright future ahead of him (#1 student in all of Japan). But there was something missing to Light Yagami's life, and that was a sense of personal happiness and acceptance of reality. Light Yagami viewed our reality as repetitive, rotten, and repulsive. Everyday life of going to school, going home, hanging out with friends on permanent repeat, but not only that, on T.V, the same news on permanent repeat: War tensions between countries, crimes happening all over the place, disgusting people always joking about disgusting things. What does the justice system do? Nothing, there's no stop to these violent, inhumane acts. Light Yagami wanted to change our reality into a better place, and be "justice" itself. But obviously he didn't have the power to do achieve his dreams.. Until he found the Death Note. The Death Note is the forbidden apple, the temptation in Light's case. It's human nature to not be able to overcome temptation/desires, and so Light uses the Death Note to kill the "vermin" (people that he judges to be "evil") from the world. But what makes a person truly evil, isn't that different per everyone's belief? Light taking the bite out of the forbidden apple (use of Death Note) opened Light's eyes, deceiving him into thinking that he could become a God that could determine good apart from evil (Ryuk is the temptation serpent). And just as Ryuk warned, Light would not live a happy live for making that mistake (of giving into temptation), thus, the fall of man due to sin (Book of Genesis). Light's once pure dream of making the world a better place became corrupt along the way due to the overwhelming power of the Death Note, the magnitude of his dreams, and his greed for survival ---> becoming a God. Light Yagami is not merely an ambiguous figure, but he's a religious and even deeper character than most people realize. Light's name is "Light" for a reason. He is that one "light" that Ryuk is waiting for, to die out. Ryuk's body is that of a crow, with crow feathers flying all over the place; this symbolizes what crows to before eating their prey, they wait until the prey dies out. "Light" on Earth becoming corrupt and eventually dying out is one important theme to look out for. Light represents a Godlike-Angel, The Devil, and a mere human being. Light wanted to protect the innocent people, create a utopia and become a father figure for the world (Jesus), but unfortunately in his attempt to achieve his naive dream, he became the Devil (Masqueraded Angel of Light, Father of Lies) and killed innocents, contradicting his original pure goal. But Light in the end, is still a human. "Absolute power corrupts absolutely." This was the very case for Light. It's in human nature to want to seek adventure, to survive, be tempted to try something, be greedy for more, and achieve your dreams no matter what it takes. That's all I'll say about Light. (SO MUCH MORE TO SAY!)
L Lawliet, the other main character has the word, "Law" in his name, because he believes that following the "law" that human beings created is the righteous way to approach criminal acts in the world. But is that truly effective? L and Light are the ultimate foils for each other; while Light had everything he could have wanted in life, L had absolutely nothing. L had no family (therefore obviously a financially unstable, and harsh childhood), L had no good-looks, L had no friends, and L had no trust/love from anyone. L wanted to protect the people of the world by following the laws set by the people, even the people that didn't trust/like L. He came, served, cared, protected and ______ (Jesus). The plot may have been focused upon the cat - mouse chase, but due to some astonishing plot-twists, L and Light end up teaming up together to catch Kira (^o^ confused?). Despite their complete opposite philosophies, and distrust for one another, there's always a sense of growing bondship/friendship/brotherhood between these 2, which really adds a lot to the overall plot.
Ryuk and Misa Amane, are two characters whose importance to the entire manga are often overlooked. Misa Amane in Death Note was quite the interesting character, because unlike almost all, if not all great literature, she (the female) was subject to temptation of love (of Light, the male). Misa Amane lost everything in her life, her happiness and in the end, ____ because of her unrequited love for Light Yagami, who really was also the serpent in a way. Ryuk giving Misa Amane a rotten apple telling Misa that it would grant her a wish (and she taking a bite out of it), was very symbolic. It symbolized the poisonous apple from Sleeping Beauty; the apple does not actually grant any happiness/wishes, it's in reality poison. Ryuk is the crow-like devil waiting for "light" to die out in the human world, and for corruption and darkness to take over.
Melo and Near, L's students receive a lot of hate from readers because of their inability to be as great as L, and because of what they do to Light Yagami. I will not get into detail about these 2, because of what they did to Light Yagami, my hero.

The art in Death Note was nothing short of amazing. The minor details that went into each scene mood-fitting wise, and symbolically were amazing. The portrayal of each character, Light = handsome, seems like a perfect boy, L = irregular, ostracized boy, Misa = Beautiful girl whose dumb enough to give into temptation of Light's Love, Ryuk = a crow-like devil, and Melo-Near = Each have a resemblance to L in both looks and behavior; they both take after their sensei. The hints of religious symbolism with the cross glowing behind him, the heavenly light shining upon him, and the stairs (that usually represent ascent and descent, often times from one to another) that symbolize descent from innocence romanticized dreams to knowing the horrors of reality/realistic dreams, when ____ dies was a marvelous artistic touch that added all sorts of deep concepts/hidden messages to the manga.

The ending of each chapter will definitely have you wanting to write your name in a Death Note for more. The conceptual questions I mentioned in the earlier part of this review are definitely some questions you have to keep in mind and watch for what the writer/creator, Tsugumi Ohba has to say about each. This may be a bit far-fetched, but do you think that Shinigami and Shinigami world really existed? I felt like the Shinigami's boredom, thirst for adventure and change was a reflection of Light Yagami's thoughts (no one that doesn't know Light's thoughts sees Ryuk), and the Shinigami realm was a reflection of the human world; repetition of everyday and slowly rotting away. Ultimately, the nativity of Light's romanticized dreams are not possible in reality, and while showing the concept of romanticized Vs Realistic, the anime delves into Life/Justice/Evil/Right/Wrong/Death/Religious concepts; truly a genius piece of writing that EVERYONE should read. A perfect 10/10, and still this rating doesn't do this manga justice. I also recommend watching the anime adaptation of Death Note, very well-done.

I cannot help but love this manga. I first read it in Shonen Jump magazine a long time ago. I still have it here somewhere. Since that first chapter I went crazy and had to know what happens.

It draws you in fast, because of the many twists and the amazing minds and strategies the two main characters use against each other. Its like a literal battle of the gods or good and evil.

Its also very deep, you get to know these characters and things happen that you wont expect.

I can't say much without spoiling it. But if you enjoyed the anime check out the manga. I enjoyed the manga a lot more then the anime. It just goes deeper story wise.

Some Spoilers Ensue:

Perfect ending to a flawless series. I love the anime and the manga is just as good. The show followed almost exactly, minus the last chapter which was an interesting take on Near's thinking. The theory in the end could even have kept going and I would have loved to hear more. However, I enjoyed it all the same. I thought without L the series would lose steam, but Light's character is so dominant and evil. I enjoyed Mello and Mikami as well. Near was not my favorite, but I like the idea that the two heirs equal one L. The overall satisfaction came from the explanation of not only the ending, but every major twist in this story. I didn't pick any of them which was refreshing and all were interesting and smart. The artwork was beautiful as well. This is in the top 5 anime I've ever seen and now the series is added to my favorite manga as well. 10/10 flawless.

I don't think I'm being original when saying Death Note is one of the few original stories to have ever come out of Japan. However, that I would say this, along with the rest of the world, only goes to prove that the world agrees with this opinion; declaring Death Note to be both brilliant and original. Though what is most curious is Death Note's strong theme of justice that has been portrayed in a way that will make you question yourself and your own sense of justice as your head and heart are torn between the ideals of the severe Kira and the righteous L as it poses the question –

– is murdering criminal’s justice...or murder?

Story [10/10]
The concept of playing god has been toyed with countless times in countless formats though never has it been so well done or to such a high intellectual standard as it has been with Death Note. The story of a teenage prodigy who comes across a great power that allows him to toy with life itself and of those who oppose him as he attempts to cleanse the world of all hate and all its criminals; it seems like a fair enough summary though what you need to hear is not this.
There are two factors that prove the most intriguing in this manga:

First: The intellectual drama is amazing, the thought and thorough planning that goes into every act is indescribably intimidating and can only be compared to a game of chess between two of the greatest minds in the world. However, despite the intellectual drama it does not bore you. The manga doesn't play with intellect in a way that it grows dull and flies straight over the readers head, instead it's the bulk paragraphs of information that keeps you entertained instead, greatly overpowering what would otherwise be mindless slaughter (which I would have still enjoyed), it is the intelligence that gives the usually mindless act of murder a second chance at redemption.

Second: Redemption was the word I used; redemption of a usually condemnably heinous act: murder. But is it really murder if you are taking the lives of those who have committed crimes so much more heinous? Is it really murder if there are people who will suffer throughout their lives if these criminals are not killed? Would it make you just as bad a person if you took the life of someone who had done the same?
This is the crux of Death Note; it takes you out of your comfort zone and forces you to confront your own beliefs. Who will you side with? Will it be Kira or L? To this day I am not completely resigned to just one. It is this that you will remember most of the story, even if you don't realise it.

Art [10/10]
I am feeling rather silly, handing out so many perfect scores though am comforted by the fact that the manga is deserving of such praise.
The art was perfect, syncing with the themes and the story just how you would hope it to. The art was severe and realistic; it steered away from the large haired, big eyed style, opting for a more realistic approach. Why? There is a simple reason for this –
– the more realistic, the easier to imagine it really happening.
The style choice wasn't designed for comic relief or for romantic scenes or even as the Mangaka’s personal style, it was specifically designed to let you see how real and severe the situation truly was, how easily relatable their world and our own are. It was sending a message of "what if".

It was designed to frighten us.

Character (9/10)
Why not a perfect score? Well, I will be a little selfish here so that I might comment on something:
The men in the manga were legends, powerful and nigh invincible creatures that you could only sit in awe as you witnessed their brilliance. Though what of the women? The women in Death Note were portrayed as idiots or weaklings, even the strongest of them where either designed to not be taken seriously or killed mere chapters into the manga if they showed any signs of intelligence. However, I would hardly say that it would take an entire 1/10th off of the score, if I could I would make it a 9.99/10, but I needed an opening to explain the women’s side of things.
Now, women aside, the main characters and even the supporting characters showed remarkable story and character development and their responses were so well thought out and flowed so well in conversation. A personal example is after completing the manga I went back to the beginning and was thoroughly shocked, the Light from the first chapter and the one from the last were completely different and, uncannily, I had barely noticed his transformation at all. This shows how smoothly his development as a character was underwent and how well thought out he had been since the very beginning.

Enjoyment (10/10)
There was never a moment I was bored or even slightly disinterested, I'm actually glad I read this manga after it had completed publishing else I would have been driven mad had I been left to fend for myself for weeks at a time, my suspense and curiosity slowly killing me from the inside. Overall, I don't think it's possible to not enjoy this manga.

Created in 2004 by writer Tsugumi Ohba and illustrator Takeshi Obata, Death Note originated as a manga that received critical acclaim a month after its release. The anime, released in 2006, was given great praise immediately after it‘s TV distribution. Having heard of its fan base and popularity, I decided to purchase a few volumes of the manga and rent a few episodes of the anime, careful to not have big expectations.

What I got was simply a riveting masterpiece that I have no shame in calling this the greatest manga/anime series in the world. Regardless of whether you love or hate comics or animated TV shows, Death Note is a series that should be enjoyed by those who love thought-provoking concepts, endless twists, turns and main characters that are so complex that pages of literature can be based upon them.

The story centers on a teenager named Light Yagami, an intelligent student who finds a notebook simply titled “Death Note.” After discovering that he can kill people by writing their name in the notebook, he decides to use the book to rid the world of criminals, believing them to be the cause of all grief. After killing countless criminals, half of the world embraces Light as a god, while the other half labels him a mass murderer, even giving him the nickname “Kira,” Japanese for killer. Soon, the amount of criminal deaths catches the attention of the International Police Organization, which immediately attains the help of a brilliant private detective, commonly known as “L,” to capture “Kira”. A psychological cat-and-mouse game quickly arises between the two.

What makes Death Note so riveting is just how much detail was given to the story. Every character, event, subplot, etc… seems to be brought to life with the use of superb writing and a beautiful art style. Throughout the series, Light seems to be headed down a self-destructive path, which may lead to his possible downfall as he acknowledges that he is in fact some god meant to pass judgment upon the world. Another factor is the way the story is told: each episode gives a lot of information, but offers just as many questions and mysteries, guaranteeing an addicting experience.

If Death Note gives you the unlikely impression that it’s a kid’s show, think again. Not only is this the most serious anime/manga I have seen, but it also contains vast amounts of adult content. Death Note is the story of an anti-hero, a disturbed individual who tries to play god but ends up losing his humanity and everything that is dear to him in the process. The tragic story is probably not going to attract people below the age of 14 because of its complexity and R rating.

Death Note is not only one of the greatest Japanese products I have ever seen, it also deals with a controversial subject worldwide: capital punishment. It cleverly discusses this issue without alienating the viewer and leaves room for lots of post-episode discussion. Death Note is an enjoyable TV show and comic book, which will entertain those who are interested in a series that offers many captivating concepts, regardless of what your opinion of cartoon shows and comic books might be.

Extremely addictive. Make sure you have all 12 volumes ready for the reading before you start! I literally could not put this down.

A caveat that I saw the live action movies before I read the manga. (I believe the first movie is covered entirely in the first 3 volumes.) The story is quite different in those two mediums. I liked how they did the fiancee thing better in the movie, but there are also a lot of things I liked more in the manga... basically way more elaborate. The thinking behind this manga is just genius. I could just be a nerd, but I get so excited when L and Light reason and talk their way through stuff. It's deep, thoughtful stuff too, but despite it being talky at times, it never weighs down or slows the story (Liar Game has this problem). It's thrilling!!

So with so many great things to say, why a 9 only? If this manga ended in volume 7, it would have literally been an absolutely perfect manga that would be a clear 10/10. Gonna stop before I give anything else away. But even with Vol. 8-12, it's still a very solid read and one I would definitely recommend.

When I began to read Death Note, I was thrilled. The plot and idea pulled me in, it was interesting, and I just loved it. The (occasional) slow pace wasn't that bad then.

At some point, though, the pace of the story started to bug me a little. With both our detectives, L and Near, as well as Light, they kept going over the same things, talking big, planning bigger... I don't know why, but that became the most annoying aspect of the whole story: it began to drag its feet when it could have already moved on.

There was a slight change of pace when the end of L's era came and Near stepped in. I don't know why, but it just seemed different. More elements got involved when Near appeared, as well as Mello, and move moving pieces were added to the mix.

I don't know what to really think of the conclusion of the story. I kept dreading it from half-way through the whole series, because there were really only a couple of options: either Kira would win, or L/Near would. It was a thrilling ride, to the very end, and the characters that in the beginning seemed unimportant (Matsuda, Aizawa, Mogi etc.) stayed with us far longer and much more prominently than could have been expected in the very beginning.

The art of Death Note was fantastic. The details, the beauty, the little things that made it unique... I especially liked the Death Note's "How to use it" parts, because they were written both in English and Japanese (I'm studying Japanese at my leisure, so it was good practice whenever I decided to try and read it). The font was a bit hard to see, too thin against the black surface, but it gave the manga a very special design.

One thing I loved, and which wasn't used nearly enough, was the Shinigami. I totally loved Ryuk, and the others were okay as well. There should have been more of them, definitely. With all the talking and masterminds playing against each other, they were a refreshing break.

It was funny how after 12 volumes, I'm still not sure how close to the characters I really got. Even in the last volume, it didn't feel like I knew them very well.

Altogether, one of my favorite manga series - even though the amount of talking threw me off a little. Looking forward to seeing the anime and the movies.

This was the first manga I ever read fully and it remains my all-time favourite. It deserves all its popularity and hype, and you will not be dissapointed if you read it! Honestly, I decided to start this one day and it was very hard to stop. Very very hard. I think I read this all in a day the first time I read it.

First things first, the story is incredible. The characters work so well together and the story takes a lot of risks but all of them work really well. The time jumps are great and mean the story doesn't sit around doing nothing at any point. Light is a character you can both love and hate, as you can see both that he is wrong in using the Death Note, but the reasons behind it - to start with - are pretty pure. L as well is my favourite character of all time and the two are perfect as both enemies and friends - which remains one of the complex and best relationships I have ever seen.

The characters are almost all enjoyable, though I can't say I liked Misa much - this might be just my opinion - yet the story does take a few turns that will have some people extremely upset. Death Note though is great in that it kept on creating brilliant new characters throughout, who are even better than some of the original characters!

The art is great, and each character is given their own 'look' as well. I liked how Light always wore something that suited his personality, considering how many different outfits he went through, and how this point applied to everyone else. The artwork for L as well made him stand out from every other character, which showed just how different he was from them. The shinigami also have some great artwork too as some are made to look like humans - only twisted - while others are made to look only like monsters.

This manga is well and truly a classic. It's not easy to create characters and a story that focuses so heavily on moralistic values and good and evil. Each plot twist is cleverly crafted and it always is made to feel fresh, especially when new characters are involved. If you have not already read this manga, do so now. If you have already, read it again. It is one of the best out there.

Story: First off, I should say that Death Note is extremely wordy. It honestly would've been better off as a light novel from the start. If the author could plot all that is in Death Note, I don't think he would've had a problem describing character emotions and setting the tone for the atmosphere. That being said, this is definitely not a manga that a young, not-as-knowledgeable person should pick up and read. Not for explicit content, but for fear that their little brains would leak out through their ears after trying to read and guess what will happen next in the plot. Plus, y'know, the whole heavy death theme.

However, that's where the beauty of the story of Death Note comes in. There were many twists and turns that keep the reader hooked and guessing, up to a certain point, the story keeps the reader guessing on when it will end. The first half was very creative. Some of the things that Light thought of and {even more impressively} pulled off, had gained him some respect points in my book. I was always curious to see what he would do next, given the situations he was put in.

After the aforementioned point, not much happened story-wise. More lovable characters were introduced, but I think it was a bad move on Ohba's part to move around some of those characters, so he couldn't put them to their potential use to make the second half of the story more interesting. I understand that some significant things happened in the second half, and I probably would've liked them if those significant things were presented in more of a climatic light.

Even if the second half was kind of boring, I recommend sticking with it. The ending sort of washes away the mundane of most of the second half. It's a beautiful display of human emotion and character development. For the close-minded people who couldn't {or refuse to} see the possible other side of the story and think that Kira is invincible, you might be surprised by this ending. While I sort of saw some aspects coming, the ending surprised me as well. It gets the respect it deserves.



Art: I don't even know what to say about the art. Everything was done beautifully. While it was a manga, the art didn't have that manga feel. It seemed more realistic to me, which was a nice change from oversized eyes, appendages, and hair with enough volume to inflate and cause the character to float away when a breeze rolls in. Most of the character designs were simple, but when it came to the shinigami and {at points} Misa, Obata drew them well. And let's not forget the volume covers and chapter pages. It's those specific art pages that we really get to see the nice proportion that the artist used, and the creative ways he makes the characters look good with a nice mix of clothing creases, shading, expressions and positions.



Characters: The characters in this manga were wonderful. The characters were developed well, every character {even supporting characters} had some special trait about them and a specific personality. I absolutely loved how every character was dynamic -- they changed in some way at the end, even if the plot didn't examine how they had changed. They were absolute; you either liked or disliked certain characters, there was no middle ground. There was even contrast to the characters -- Light is a bit mean and introverted, while Misa is quite extroverted, L never sleeps or goes anywhere and always has his eyes open, while Watari has his eyes closed and is L's runner, etc. The characters in Death Note were characters that you wouldn't really find anywhere else because they were all stock characters with a special twist on each of them.



Overall: The Death Note manga is certainly worth a read. Even though it's only 12 actual volumes, all the stuff that's packed in to those volumes make it seem longer. Plus there's anime, live-action movies, video games, and a later light novel prequel. Death Note raises good moral questions and is a good display of human nature. This isn't for someone who doesn't want to THINK about what they're reading while reading it. This IS for someone who wants to see a battle of brains and wits go down instead of fists and swords. A spin on something supernatural that doesn't involve mindless fighting makes for a good manga. Have fun with it.

Death Note is a must read. I would challenge even those who say they don't like manga to pick up this series- I am convinced that anyone will be hooked by the plot, characters, and overall themes in this manga.

The storyline of Death Note is essentially a murder mystery- however, this mystery is told from the perspective of the murderer, Light Yagami. While this alone is enough to catch the reader's attention, the author continues to provide well thought out characters and plot twists to the very end.

The art, characters, and plot of this series are all very good, and often more complex than your average shounen lineup. However, what really made Death Note special to me was the surprisingly challenging questions on justice that the author managed to raise in this short series. Questions like: Are the laws of justice decided by the fickle majority, by unchanging principles that humans naturally understand, or by some sort of god? Who should enforce justice? Can criminals be forgiven? Is it morally justified to get your hands dirty if it brings about a greater good? These are only some of the many age-old themes that are brought to life again in Death Note.

This series is not only a brilliantly drawn and creatively written manga; in my opinion, it is also a contribution to the ongoing search for the meaning of justice. I highly recommend this series.

It's actually a 9.5/10 for me. The series is masterpiece, no doubt. The series is really unique on its own. It is definitely one of the best and most unique suspense crime thriller with a supernatural twist to it. And then the philosophical concepts in the series made it even better with also slight touches of humor, action, and cheesy romance. At no point I felt that the manga was boring at all. I was hooked to it through out. Has some really memorable characters, each character in the series has been given an appropriate amount of personality, attention and screen time. The art really works well with the story. The series does has some minor flaws but when it comes to the good stuff then I must say that there is 100 times more good stuff than the bad stuff hence, this series is a masterpiece.
My Scores:-
Story: 10
Art: 8.5
Character: 9
Enjoyment: 9.5
Overall: 9.5


My Flaws (Spoiler Alert!):-

1. At very few places I felt that the way L or Near, when they were trying to figure out Light's plans, it felt like they were only able to so because 'the plot requires it'. E.g. : The assumption by L that a second Kira exists could have been written in a way where first he feels like Kira is acting odd and then later on could have made a guess that maybe a second Kira exists but in the manga he firsts says that a second Kira exists and then when he gives the reasoning which feels like it was as because the plot required so. (Please read/reread that part yourself to really understand what I mean :-) )
Otherwise I was very convinced by the ways L and Near used their minds to decipher the Light's plans.

2. There were no cameras in the Yotsuba building in my opinion was stupid. Like which big company does not need security? I would have been more convinced if Wedy (the girl responsible for breaking trough the security/surveillance could have just said that she was able to breakthrough the security systems instead of saying that there was no security/surveillance at all.

3. I felt that there was a need of a chapter after every major arc of the manga which would have shown us the aftermath of the previous arc. Especially after L's death. As he dies, we are straight away given a glimpse of Near which then steals away the feeling that whether now Light will finally be able to rule the world or not. I think they should have shown him after or at the end of the chapter after L's death in which we would been shown the aftermath of L's death and how the situations are. Sure we are shown the time-skip and that how after 3 years of L's death there has been an increase in Kira supporters but then because we were shown Near earlier, it stole the feeling of suspense and also kinda gives us a bore effect that straight away we are back into a big arc. A light story arc is kinda necessary when it comes to series where the plots are very heavy as to give us a smooth transition towards the next arc. This kinda also puts less pressure on the audience while they are watching/reading.

4. Mello's character design was kinda too feminine. It really made me confused while reading the manga. At first glance I was sure that it was a female but then I saw that the characters were referencing Mello as 'he, his , him' , that is when I realized that Mello was a male. I dont find in anyway necessary for Mello to have a feminine look.

5. Light is not shown interacting with his family after his father died, which in my opinion was necessary as his family played a very big role in the first half of the series and even before his father's death. The writer should have shown a little interaction within the family members as to what happens to them after Light's father dies except for that one phone call which was shown around Christmas /new-year (not sure which one of the both was it).

6. After Rem dies, the ownerships of the death notes keeps changing which kinda confuses us. I had to rewind myself with almost the whole story in my mind to finally figure out the ownerships of the Death Notes at certain points in the story. It would have been better in my opinion if they would have atleast given a proper explanation about the ownership and whether how even after losing a certain notebook Light will not lose his memories. This explanation should have been given especially after Light's father's death.

7. Near's character was needed to be more interesting and needed to have more of his own personality. I did not like the fact that he was too much like L, even though he was his heir, in m opinion he still should have had his own unique personality and this is the reason many people don't find the second half of the series as interesting as the first half because first of all, we get a repetition of one vs one stuff and then even that with a less interesting character, it kinda can then give little bore effect. In my opinion both halves were very interesting but it was just that they were slightly different from each other. Like the first half of the series is a little more fast paced than the second half. But slower pacing does not necessary means that the the particular story-line is boring/not-interesting. I think the problem was Near's character. Only if his character was a little more unique and interesting then even after that little slow pacing, people would have equally enjoyed the second half as the first half. I personally enjoyed both halves equally as I was aware as to why some people found it not interesting and so it was easier for me to just forget about the problem with Near's personality and keep enjoying it. Though there were some unique aspects that I loved about Near too but as he was such an important character to the plot and that the writer decided to repeat the one vs one concept, it was necessary for him to be a little more unique and interesting.

I cannot write the good stuff of the series because the series juts has too many good things in it. This series no doubt a must read for all.

Light Yagami is the perfect student, probably the smartest you'll ever see. He picks up a Death Note on his way home from school and his life is changed forever. He goes on a killing spree by ridding the world of all evil (or what he deems evil, rather). A detective named L Lawliet decided that this was too much, and stepped in to end Light's killing spree. They fight a long battle of wits!

The second arc comes along, a wannabe named Near and a chocoholic named Mello become the new protagonists (well actually Mello is more of an anti-hero). Anyway, they challenge Light (who is still trying to kill these evil guys). But Light is very smart, how will they be able to put a stop to reign of evil? The only way to find out is...

Read the manga.

At first I didn't want to read Death Note because people were telling me not to. They said it was boring and all the main character did was kill people by writing their name in his note book. If you know people like this, don't listen to them. I picked up volumes one through three in my school library, read them, decided to keep reading and now I'm a fan of the series.

The story is good, it's not the greatest thing ever. It includes a lot of talk and content that makes you think, if you're not into this then maybe you should pass it up. Anyways, it's basically the same thing back and forth between Light and L but you become intrigued to see what happens next every step of the way. There are a few intense moments during the story but that's about it.

The art style isn't amazing either but it's a lot better than other things out there are the moment. The detail isn't prized so much in the backgrounds but in the detail of the characters. They're given a lot of detail in certain frames and it makes their 'emotions' stand out.

The characters are probably the most interesting part of Death Note. Light and L really steal the show for different reasons. For Light, it's because of his ever changing personality and his quest to rid the world of criminals using the Death Note. He was donned with the nickname "Kira". With L, it's because he's so abnormal to anything I can think of right now... from the way he sits to the way he plays with his food. I'll let you find out for yourself. If you read it from beginning to end, you'll see how much the characters evolve and change.

I actually really enjoyed reading Death Note... up to volume seven. Something big happens in that volume that turns most readers away from reading it but because of the way my brain works, I read it all the way to the end. The second half of Death Note was decent, it didn't have that original fire to it but it was still enough to keep me wondering what will happen next. I found that the final volume was well worth having to go through four mediocre volumes to get to.

Overall I think Death Note is something that you either love or hate. You can't really say until you've tried to read it and then make a fair judgment. I still think that Death Note would have been considered amazing if it ended at volume seven. Even though it went all the way to volume twelve, it could have added some sort of good spice to the mix instead of giving the readers a new annoying character in Mello. Anyways, it was a good read and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading psychological manga.

There are a limited number of manga series that can be considered worldwide hits. Rather surprisingly, considering the amount of dialogue and seriousness of a story that the author had doubted would be accepted as a Shounen (young boy) Jump title even in Japan, Death Note became one of those titles. When a story about someone in our world finding a killing tool Death Gods use (and killing anyone they view as evil with to create a better world) becomes so successful it's a little special - it isn't every day that a story where words and not fists are used as weapons becomes this popular. Death Note has become so popular that there have even been stories on the American news about kids at school getting suspended after notebooks were found on them with details of deaths written inside!

My first encounter with Death Note was with the anime. I saw discussions about it on a forum I used to visit frequently just after the anime started airing in Japan and what I read interested me, a lover of dark and depressing stories, enough to download the first episode. I was blown away by the quality of the story, the mix of real world and fiction blending superbly. Every episode thrilled me more than the last during the first section of the story, never allowing me to remove myself from the edge of my seat. I watched all 37 episodes weekly and was very rarely disappointed.

Fast forwarding to the recent past, I discovered a Death Note manga box set was coming out by chance. Each of the volumes has a different coloured spine, with an image of a different Death God at the top of each of the spines. The covers all have the same theme: a cross, one or two characters shown and faint Death Note rules in the background, with each cover using a different coloured background. The art inside the books is truly wonderful; clearly benefiting from Death Note having had one person work on the story and another on the art. The characters expressions are amazing, with the artist clearly being very good at showing extreme emotions. The only problem with the art I spotted was with the early drawings of the Kira investigation team members being poor, the reason for this being that the artist didn't know during the early stages if they were important characters or not.

After only recently reading volume 1-27 of Naruto and seeing the author of that series use the pages in-between the chapters to reveal lots about himself, what disappointed me about the volumes wasn't the covers - it was the lack of extras. The author of Death Note seems to have used a pen name, meaning he or she didn't want to reveal too much, which seems to be the reason behind the author not adding any information about his/her life in-between the chapters. Sure, there are a few Death Note rules in-between the chapters, but most of the rules aren't very interesting...reading about the experiences of the author would've been much better.

I can now finally get into what matters: the story. Death Note is, as you can doubt work out from the name alone, one that deals with death on a regular basis. It starts with Light Yagami, a genius student who finds life all too easy, finding a notebook that a Death God dropped into the human world out of boredom. Light's initial reaction was to not take the notebook or the rules written inside it seriously, but he soon came to the horrifying realization that the notebook wasn't a joke when, out of curiosity, he wrote down the name of someone who was holding kids hostages in a school - the person died from a heart-attack 40 seconds after the name had been wrote down, just as the Death Note rules stated. Once Light paid attention to the rules, he understood that he could make anyone have a heart attack if, with their face in mind, he wrote down their name, or he could be more creative and specify exactly how they die.

From there, Light quickly overcame his fear and started to think about how he could better the world with this power. He was bored with his life prior to finding the Death Note and was disgusted with a world where criminals escaped punishment time and time again, so the Death Note made him happier than he'd ever been once he got over the fact that he'd actually killed another human. But, as you'd expect, Light wasn't doing this purely out of the goodness of his cold heart: he wants to become the God of the new world he plans to create with the power of the Death Note. As Ryuk (the Death God who dropped the notebook) accurately points out at the start, even if Light manages to accomplish his goal he would have to write his own name in at the end since he would be the last 'evil' person alive.

Much to the frustration of Light and the joy of suspense lovers worldwide, an enemy who could stop him was quick to stand in his way, the enemy being someone called L; the greatest detective in the world. Light's arrogance and temper allowed L to stun Light in their very first encounter, and from that point onwards a psychological battle between the two got underway. Light/Kira (what he comes to be known as by the public) wants to discover the name and face of L in order to kill him, while L wants to find out who Kira is and capture him. Both hide behind masks and, with Light able to kill anyone he knows the name and face of, the battle between the two is not without many twists and turns as the two geniuses try to outwit the other.

Death Note is mostly very well written and thrilling to read. The first 34-36(ish) chapters are all brilliant, the best manga I've read. The quality does then drop during the Yotsuba section for a fair few chapters, with comedy and needless chatter taking away from the seriousness and slowing down the story, but the story returns to being epic before too long and then hits its highest point with the tear-inducing finale to the first half of the story. Then, once the second half of the story gets going, it starts out exciting but the quality quickly deteriorates and the pacing becomes very poor, with far too much needless chatter taking up space. And, after a lengthy period of boring chapters, the story resumes being thrilling near chapter 80 and this time it doesn't stop until the very end - the author seemed to rediscover the magic that made the first section of the story so amazing.

I suppose it's fair to call Death Note a bit of a mixed bag due to how the quality shifts from stunning to average from time to time, but the best parts of the story more than make up for the less interesting parts. I don't even think the areas I've described as average were that bad, they just don't have the wow factor the best sections of the story have.

What makes Death Note stand out in my mind is how well the author depicts our world. The Death Note world is bleak, depressing and full of people who don't deserve to live - just like our world. Whilst reading, I couldn't help but wonder what would happen if a Death Note appeared in our world: would people still say killing is wrong or, as the world changed as more and more criminals died and crime reduced dramatically, would Kira become a God in the eyes of people? It's a question we'll never know the answer to but it's pretty interesting thinking material for a Shonen Jump title to provide readers.

The author has made a lot of surprising comments in interviews, the two most attention grabbing being that he/she supposedly only had up to chapter 3 planned when he/she started and that he/she didn't intend to send out a message with the story. It's fascinating that someone could write such an intelligent story with so little forward planning and create so many in-depth discussions about topics such as good and evil when the author only intended to create an entertaining story. Using myself as an example of someone who reads more into Death Note than the author intended, I've always thought the message Death Note sends out is clear: it's not possible for a human to reach the realm of God, no matter how perfect the person who tries may be.

With the story parts done and dusted, there is one more important area I need to talk about: the characters. Death Note has a cast of characters that start out complete, which is highly unusual. Everything you need to know about Light is revealed in the first chapter (he's intelligent, selfish and has a God complex), L is an eccentric genius with no social skills (no development needed), Misa is a simple woman who is obsessed with Kira due to her past and everything you need to know about the important members of the Kira investigation team is clear from their personalities. It would've been nice if, for example, a few flashbacks to L's past had been included, but it wasn't necessary for either the plot or his character, and the same can be said about the others. I mean, did we need to see a flashback of Light's past that tried to make him into a more sympathetic character? It would've ruined his character; he's supposed to be a character that cares only about himself, not one who started hating others because of a tragic event or something.

There is one fairly big character negative that needs to be mentioned and, due to the risk of spoilers, I'm going to have to be vague. A character who enters the story in the second half starts out by doing everything he can in order to be the best, even going as far as using and killing others to reach his goal. But, near the end, he does something illogical that goes against his character, and that illogical action resulted in the story ending how it does. So, at the expense of the character, the author used him in order to reach the conclusion he/she she wanted. Even though I love the ending, it's bad writing for a character to do something out of character for the sake of the story.

...Anyway, since this review has gone on for far longer than I intended already, I'm going to attempt to end this after I touch on one more issue: The anime. In my eyes, the anime is the best manga adaptation in existence - it's near enough perfect in my eyes. Madhouse (the studio behind the anime) made the experience far better with the perfect choice of colour, great 'camera angles', small additions that made certain scenes far more dramatic (such as a certain evil grin in episode 25) and a FAR better second half of the story. Madhouse did the best thing they could've done when they removed all the boring chatter out of the second half of the story - they turned what was slow-paced and boring into something fast-paced and exciting. The ONLY thing they did wrong was changing the ending slightly. Also, I have to mention that Death Note has the best soundtrack I've ever heard (I still listen to it even now) and the best Japanese voice acting performance I've heard.

To sum it all up, Death Note is brilliant and no-one should miss out on reading/seeing it. If you're the sort of person who likes to see a review end with a rating, 8/10 is the rating I give it. I think it's fair that the (in my opinion) inferior manga receives a slightly lower rating than the anime. Although I want to go into more detail, the review has gone on for longer than I intended already and time is getting on, so I'm going to stop here. I hope whoever reads this finds it at least a little bit helpful!

Alright, first let me say that, the manga is infinitely better than the anime. INFINITELY. But, with that being said, I believe the manga should have ended at chapter 58/59. After that, it's just a crapload of "yeah-right" and "ooookay" and "bullshit". Seriously, I hated the second half of the story. However, the first half was so ridiculously good, that I just couldn't give the manga a bad score.

With that being said, on to the details.

Story
Brilliant. I can't think of anything else that has even come close to something like this. Entertaining, smart, and keeps you on the edge of your seat. You'll want to read the chapter after chapter to find out what happens next.

Art
Looks good to me. Figures are drawn well and the females were good looking.

Character
By far, the best part of this show. The characters were...alive. You felt like you really "knew" the people. Almost like reading a book there was so much detail. There aren't any that follow a typical "stupid" or "cliche" trademark either. Thank god.

Enjoyment
Well, as I said, I didn't enjoy the second half of the story. After the first half, my enjoyment level plummeted. Read the second half, if only just to say you have.

Overall
Do yourself a favor and stop after chapter 57-59. You'll enjoy the manga a lot more and probably be happy with a well thought out ending (as opposed to the chapter 108 thrown together ending).

Death note is a perfect manga of suspence and thriller. The story line is rich and tasteful and characters really standout from other manga and anime by the fact that they are so different. while reading Death note it will make you think and guess until the end. This manga is has dark themes because the main character basically goes on a killing spree for 6 years to create the perfect world and outsmart this foes.

About the story. The main character is Light Yagami who is a bored Highschool student, he soon finds a Death note which has the power to kill people by writing there name in, he soon finds out about this power and a Death god call Ryku comes to Light. He decides to make the perfect world in which he is God. He starts killing criminals with the death note and soon becomes famous and known as Kira. We then see how the story unfolds and the intelligence of the main characters.

Just something I should point out, you will never guess what happens at the end.

I'm glad I waited until this series was finished before I started. Considering I finished all 108 chapters in less than twenty-four hours, I'm not sure how I would have survived if I'd started earlier.

STORY - Morals and ethics are serious business, and it isn't often that they're addressed so directly in a series. The lines that people draw vary greatly from individual to individual, and the last thing any writer wants is to severely offend any portion of its potential readership. I found it incredibly impressive then, that Death Note could so effectively address such a controversial issue -- capital punishment -- without alienating anyone in the audience. Wrapped up and packaged with some rather generic supernatural elements, Death Note may not seem like anything particularly special at first glance, but the eerie realism in the rest of the world begs the question, "What would you have done?" And I find that connection one of this story's greatest strengths.

Despite the flexibility of his manga though, Ohba's personal morals and overall message is clear. All the same, if his primary intention was for readers to think and contemplate the issue, then he certainly succeeds, regardless of whether individuals agree with his views or not. He doesn't offend them with his opinions, and that's good enough. Death Note's story progresses rapidly and quickly spirals into a very involved suspense; it's a tension-filled chess game that the protagonist and antagonist carefully play (which character is the protagonist depends entirely on your point of view). Yes, there are many more words than actions, and yes, it can be frustrating, and even comical at times, how long the chains of "I knew that you knew that I knew that you knew" become. But these words and lengthy passages of expository serve their purpose and keep you on the edge of your seat, and it's obvious from the beginning that this ain't no shounen title.

Sadly, I've found that a lot of readers stopped halfway through the series, citing that the tension ramped off severely after the major spoiler. While I understand their position, I would disagree and honestly applaud Ohba for breaking through everyone's expectations with said spoiler. If anything, the uncertainty that's left behind and the vague impression that there's already a winner in the battle for justice makes the latter half of the series that much more interesting, even if the absence of certain things may be a blow. The stakes are higher. It's the last stretch of the race. Up until the very end, Ohba is able to keep the ultimate victor a secret. Those last forty seconds waiting for the last few names written into the Death Note to die? Killer. You'll breeze through the pages, but your heart will still be pounding afterwards. And it's all worth it in the end.

CHARACTERS - Death Note had a fantastic cast of characters, and you really find yourself emotionally evolved. You feel for them. You love them. You hate them. You hate them. I find it to be a sign of incredible character writing and development when you can come to hate a characters as much as I hated Light Yagami. Mediocre characters just don't invite that much attention. So I didn't hate Light because he was a bad character; I hated him because of his personality, his morals, his reasons and logic, and the way he used his intellect. It didn't start off that way though. Light progresses a lot during the course of the series; his arrogance heightens, and his character warps. In a way, it was incredibly realistic and fascinating to watch as his personality and growing neuroticism turned him into a sociopath (not to mention frustrating, when certain things about him are revealed). It was also kind of scary. Seriously though, there's no denying that Light is a well thought-out character, and as much as I love to hate him, I can't help but think he's the most well-written character in the series.

L, as the antagonist/protagonist, is just about everything that Light is not, but that isn't as clear-cut as it may seem. As noted by several of the series' other characters, L's tactics can be rather questionable, and so even though his ultimate goal is to defeat Kira/Light, even his morals are not spotless. This adds another degree of realism to the story and provides for a very interesting foil. Additionally, L's personality quirks are some of the most interesting and endearing ones I've ever seen, though this may serve to cancel out the previous realism points for some people. As much of his past remains mysterious for the duration of the series, L's personality does not seem to progress or change as much as Light's. Still, the way he adapts and reacts to each of Light's changes definitely keeps things interesting.

The rest of the cast seems to be scattered across the moral spectrum, providing readers with many choices as to who to sympathize with or to relate to. Detective Soichiro Yagami is likely the most moralistic of the lot, though not unrealistically so. His relationship with his son is fun to follow throughout the series, considering their vast differences. Most of the other detectives are also clustered on the "ideal" end of the spectrum, though there's enough variation and personality quirk that they manage to establish meaningfully different personas (ie, they're all definitely different characters, even though their roles are fairly interchangeable). Misa's morals are more difficult to assess as they seem incredibly flexible; rather than morals, her character is defined by her utter infatuation with Light. I find this interesting mainly because it started off as an infatuation with Kira, but once she learned of Kira's identity, her affections were transferred to Light as Light rather than Light as Kira. Because of her lack of a moral standing and the one-dimensional nature of her "love" though, it's incredibly easy to lose interest in Misa, despite her importance as a tool in the grand scheme of things (this is also true for Takada and to some extent, Mikami). The lack of development in her "love" is also what made Rem not-as-interesting to me.

Now, Mello and Near. I kind of feel like Ohba tried too hard to mirror the quirkiness of L's character, what with Mello's apparent obsession with chocolate and Near's with toys. Still, both of them grew on me, and I was satisfied enough with the way they played their parts. And finally, there's Ryuk. What's there to say? As probably the only character with no real ultimate goal, he serves as kind of an objective bystander throughout the course of the series. He doesn't care one way or another as long as things are "interesting." Because of his attachment to the Note given to Light, he does end up helping Kira now and again, but I don't think that hurts his objectivity all that much in the end. In a series rife with moral and ethics, it was ironic to have the character that started it all so removed from all the conflict.

There were no useless characters in Death Note. All of them contributed in one way or another to the series as a whole, either by offering a variation in moral standing or by acting as a tool for another character to use. Sure, there were a few generic archetypes (the butler, the love-stricken slave, the vengeful widow), but I suppose there just wasn't enough depth to go around when the two main characters take up so much of the spotlight. God, I ramble a lot.

ART - Obata draws beautiful stuff, no question about that. From his wonderfully detailed backgrounds to the wide variety of character expressions (including Light's five hundred different creepy smirks), this artist's incredible prowess is evident throughout all twelve volumes of the series. Angles and perspective are expertly rendered and the meticulous attention he pays to each character definitely makes up for the fact that there are a lot of talking heads in Death Note. The human world is wonderfully realistic while the shinigami world offers everything you might expect from the supernatural. Character designs vary from being very simple -- Light and L -- to being very complex -- Misa and the shinigamis -- but all are well done. It's an incredible treat to go through this manga as the artwork is definitely up to par with the sophistication of the story.

OTHER - I've yet had a chance to read Viz's translation of this, so I can't really say much about its English adaptation unfortunately. :< I've heard pretty decent things about it though. Other than that, I really wish I could review the first two live action movies on this site because they were incredibly impressive and are two of the few book-to-film adaptations that satisfied my rampant purist ways, despite significant changes.

OVERALL - Death Note has probably impressed me more than any other manga I've read (which isn't any incredible number, but still). Its degree of sophistication in all categories, story, characters, and artwork, is incredible. The story is significant; the characters are engaging; the artwork is beautiful. It's like hitting the jackpot, and I really feel like this is one of those titles that almost anyone can enjoy; better yet, I feel like this is one of those titles that can act as a gateway for the not-yet-a-manga-fan, encouraging them to explore the media further. Yeah, there's a lot of hype around Death Note, and they're definitely milking it for what it's worth (an anime, three live action movies, video games, and several spin-offs, all in the course of what, two or three years?), but for once, I think this series deserves every bit of attention it gets. Don't take the numbers on this review too lightly. I don't give 10's that often.