Helpful Score: 4
What do you get when you combine an over-achieving high school student and a magic notebook that lets you kill someone by doing little more than writing the target's name? You get Death Note. This is a tightly plotted mystery that will pull you right along. If you can take the fact that the "hero" progresses fairly quickly from having good intentions to mass murder to delusions of world domination (over the course of the first three volumes). Still, once the main antagonist--with his almost equally stark views on right, wrong, good, and evil--is brought in, the cat-and-mouse game gets very, very interesting.
Helpful Score: 2
Suppose you found a book that allowed you to kill anyone you wanted, just by writing that person's name in the book.
That's the essential conceit behind the manga comic book "Death Note." In it, an honors student named Light Yagami finds a book dropped by a shinigami, a Japanese death god. Rather than being petty and using it to off people he finds annoying, or sensibly recognizing the dangers of the book and attempting to destroy it, Yagami decides to put it to the practical use of making the world a better place.
One after another, he begins to write the names of criminals in the book, and one by one, they die.
It's an intriguing idea for a story, and it just gets more interesting when Interpol notices that high-level criminals are dying at prodigious rates. That's the point at which Light begins to explore the capabilities and limits of the Death Note, and where the reader gets caught up in the potential battle of intellects between Light and the mysterious L who is spearheading the investigation. And because it's a comic book, L is able to determine fairly quickly that Kira -- as the mysterious killer has been dubbed in the mass media -- is a student outside Tokyo.
I picked up a copy of the book on the recommendation of a friend, who likened Light-as-Kira to God in the Hebrew Scriptures. A better comparison might be with Raskolnikov, the would-be übermensch in Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment" who believes that he has the right to murder a useless and spiteful old woman, since her death will benefit others. (And like Light, Raskolnikov kills again to cover up his first crime.)
Dostoevsky's protagonist was also a bright student who thought that he possessed the moral clarity and vision to make the world a better place, and to whom common morals did not apply, though in the end he discovered that he was not beyond the reach of a conscience after all.
It doesn't look like "Death Note" is going to explore those themes in later volumes, although it touches lightly upon them. The appeal of "Death Note" lies instead in the cat-and-mouse game between Light and L, as the two try to discover one another's identity, with their respective lives at stake.
The themes won't be as deep as Dostoevsky's, and this comic won't leave you thinking for hours afterward, but the story will move along at a faster pace, and it's a comic you can read again and again.
That's the essential conceit behind the manga comic book "Death Note." In it, an honors student named Light Yagami finds a book dropped by a shinigami, a Japanese death god. Rather than being petty and using it to off people he finds annoying, or sensibly recognizing the dangers of the book and attempting to destroy it, Yagami decides to put it to the practical use of making the world a better place.
One after another, he begins to write the names of criminals in the book, and one by one, they die.
It's an intriguing idea for a story, and it just gets more interesting when Interpol notices that high-level criminals are dying at prodigious rates. That's the point at which Light begins to explore the capabilities and limits of the Death Note, and where the reader gets caught up in the potential battle of intellects between Light and the mysterious L who is spearheading the investigation. And because it's a comic book, L is able to determine fairly quickly that Kira -- as the mysterious killer has been dubbed in the mass media -- is a student outside Tokyo.
I picked up a copy of the book on the recommendation of a friend, who likened Light-as-Kira to God in the Hebrew Scriptures. A better comparison might be with Raskolnikov, the would-be übermensch in Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment" who believes that he has the right to murder a useless and spiteful old woman, since her death will benefit others. (And like Light, Raskolnikov kills again to cover up his first crime.)
Dostoevsky's protagonist was also a bright student who thought that he possessed the moral clarity and vision to make the world a better place, and to whom common morals did not apply, though in the end he discovered that he was not beyond the reach of a conscience after all.
It doesn't look like "Death Note" is going to explore those themes in later volumes, although it touches lightly upon them. The appeal of "Death Note" lies instead in the cat-and-mouse game between Light and L, as the two try to discover one another's identity, with their respective lives at stake.
The themes won't be as deep as Dostoevsky's, and this comic won't leave you thinking for hours afterward, but the story will move along at a faster pace, and it's a comic you can read again and again.
Helpful Score: 1
I was skeptical that this was not going to live up to its reputation as a very popular series, but when I read this first book I was entranced -- I wanted to read more! It is surprisingly good, in spite of its popularity (Yes, I say in spite of -- many manga that are popular are not very good).
An ace student finds a notebook with the power to kill anyone whose name is written in it. That is the basic premise of the story here; however, the plot is so, so much more than that. I fully expected this to be somewhat of a "morality play", and the story does touch on aspects of morality and ethics, but it's much more a story about the (as other reviewers have put it) "cat and mouse" game between Light (the boy who found the notebook) and L (the mysterious "detective" hot on his trail).
The story is so engaging and intelligent, it is comparable to the intellectual duels between Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty. The artwork is very good (and mature... no chibi stuff here) and melds perfectly with the story.
Ryuk the shinigami is absolutely brilliant. So far, he seems to be a secondary character, but the comic relief he provides is top-notch! (Ryuk is my favorite character.) I've only recently started reading manga, but this is definitely my favorite so far. Can't wait to read the rest of the series!
The story is so engaging and intelligent, it is comparable to the intellectual duels between Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty. The artwork is very good (and mature... no chibi stuff here) and melds perfectly with the story.
Ryuk the shinigami is absolutely brilliant. So far, he seems to be a secondary character, but the comic relief he provides is top-notch! (Ryuk is my favorite character.) I've only recently started reading manga, but this is definitely my favorite so far. Can't wait to read the rest of the series!
I absolutely loved this book. It was full of twists and turns that leave you completely shocked. I also really liked the plotline. It`s a really original concept, about a journal called a deathnote that you can use to cause (almost) anyone`s death and the boy who ends up finding the book. I love how L and Light are both so similar, and very creative with everything they do. It`s a constant contest between the two that will keep you on your toes the entire book. My only complaint is to how suddenly it ended, so definitely have the second book ready for when you finish the first.
Death Note is an amazing manga and anime. I had no idea that it was possible for a manga to be a deep intellectual thriller. It has the depth of a novel with the bonus of great art. The characters are very well developed. Light is an incredibly intelligent person and means well at the beginning of the story. L is a strange person, but he's so lovable! It's hard to decide whether to cheer for Light or L. Their odd relationship only complicates it further. It will keep you on the edge of your seat for all 108 chapters. I guarantee you will become addicted. Volume 1 only includes the first 7 chapters.
Pretty awesome manga. if you haven't read it, read it. seriously.
Ryuk is a bored shinigami; Light Yagami is a bored student. To liven up his eternity, Ryuk drops his Death Note(book) where any human can pick it up. Light does -- and quickly discovers and tests its sinister power: A human whose name is written in the Death Note dies. This series follows Light, son of a high ranking police detective, as he uses the Death Note to punish criminals and murder to protect himself against discovery.
very engaging manga with an intriguing morbid twist on the traditional cat and mouse. the shinigami Ryuk is my favorite part.
Masterfully crafted supernatural murder mystery story. Themes of morality regarding crime and punishment are explored. Light an outstanding high school student finds a grim reaper's journal. With the power to kill anonymously he sets out to purge the world of violent criminals. Society takes notice and sees this as a threat, sending in the current generation's greatest genius detective, "L" and so the cat and mouse game begins. If you do enjoy the suspense in this first volume, you'll want to pick up the rest. There are 12 in all.
my kids loved this creepy book and read it in a day each. They want more
The first volume of the Death Note manga. Vary good place to start reading, as its the begining. lol. This manga is what the anime was based off, so of course the stories are nearly identical, its alot of fun to compare the two things.
