Death Note Manga Review

The Death Note

When I first heard of Death Note I was not very interested. I did not think that the premise of the story was worth my time. Well eventually I had the urge to read the manga. The character 'L' really struck me as an interesting character. Needless to say, I was extremely glad I read the manga. It was not at all what I anticipated Death Note to be about and went past my expectations.

The Plot of Death Note

L

Light Yagami is your average Japanese high school student. He is bored in life though. Luckily, Ryuk, a Shinigami, is also bored in life. He drops his Death Note on Earth in hopes to spice up his life a little. Light just happens to pick it up and discovers if he writes a name down in the notebook, that person will die. Of course there are certain rules to killing a human being.

The Rules

Light soon realizes he can use this notebook to rid the world of evil. He starts to kill off criminals by giving them heart attacks. He eventually becomes known as the god Kira to the public. The world justice system is also alerted to a murderer named Kira. L is the best detective in the world and sets out to find out who Kira is in real life. It just so happens that L is working with Light's father in the Japanese Police Department.

Light is able to know all of L's moves due to his father's connection. Eventually L suspects that it could be a member of the police force working with him or their family member. During this time Light has to figure out a way to keep killing without being seen by L.

During this time another Shinigami, Rem, sees what Ryuk has done and also gives his notebook to a human being. Her name is Misa Amane, which ironically Kira killed the criminal which recently killed her parents. She worships Kira and begins to kill in his ways. She reaches him through Sakura TV station. Not much longer after they meet, L catches on to Misa and captures her. Light thinks of an elaborate plan to get her back and no longer end up as a suspect. He and Misa both give up ownership to the notebooks and do time to prove their innocent.

Since they gave up rights to the notebooks, they no longer remember what happened, so they act truly innocent. L still suspects Light as Kira so he handcuffs himself to Light. By now Rem has given a notebook to someone with the instructions to carry out Kira's wishes. Due to a lot of spoiler issues, Light and Misa eventually get the notebook back.

At this point, L has died. He left two successors, but never told which one would be the new L. So to claim the name, both Near or 'N', and Mello have made it a goal to catch Kira separately. I really do not want to spoil the story, but it pretty much comes down to Light and Near coming face to face in an empty warehouse in Japan. The plot is a simple cat and mouse game, but elaborately done.

The Characters of Death Note

Characters of Death Note

Light Yagami is the main character of the story. He starts out as a quite high school student. He eventually becomes a killing machine. He becomes more aggressive and violent. The Death Note really changes his characteristics.

Misa Amane is in love with Light because he is Kira. Her parents were murdered not that long ago and Kira eventually ends up killing their murderer. She adores him because of this and really wants to become his wife.

L is a really a funny guy. He touches everything as if it was dirty and eats constantly. I hated that his character died. L really knew that Kira was Light.

Near and Mello also grew up in the orphanage that L grew up in. They were trained like him to become better than him. It was only to late that they both realized that together they were better than L, but apart they were not. Near acts as if he is a child and constantly plays wit action figures while he is telling his plans and theories. Mello is more take charge kind of guy, but addicted to the chocolate.

Each Shinigami (Ryuk, Rem, and Sidoh) are only there because of Ryuk's curiosity. Rem is a female Shinigami, thus takes to Misa and dies for her. Sidoh is only briefly on Earth because Ryuk gave Sidoh's Death Note to a human. Ryuk is only on Earth to be entertained by Light's plan.

The Art and Ambiance of Death Note

Light and the Shinigami

The art and ambiance of Death Note is what really set up the story. The art is more on the realistic side of manga's. It gives the reader a feeling of reality. They are able to relate to the characters better since there are normal settings and normal characters. Death Note also gives the dark feeling. It touches on the reality of death and the Shinigami worlds. It gives a cold and fearful feeling while reading these sections.

Like I said, I did not anticipate how awesome this manga could have been. I am so glad that I gave it a chance and read Death Note. I was hooked after the first page. It is so enchanting. Death Note is not a manga you want to pass up on. You definitely need to go read it right now!

Overall grade: 10/10