Great review! ^^ I'm a big Death Note fan. It's definitely different than any other manga I've read. It makes you really think and keeps you in suspence on every page. I think that's why it's so unique.
Death Note tv Review
Story by Ooba Tsugumi; art by Obata Takeshi (The mangaka of Hikaru no Go).
The human world is rotting. The gods of death are bored.
Death Note begins when the shinigami Ryuk 'accidentally' drops his death note in the human world. It is discovered by 17-year-old academic genius Light Yagami, who decides that he wishes to create a world free of evil. To what extremes will he go, only needing a name and a face to kill? Or rather...how will he be stopped?
Story & Characters
Deathnote is remarkable. Easily the best suspense/thriller manga I've ever read, I'd go to say its the best manga I've ever read. I picked up Viz's volume 1 last week and it was better than I could have hoped for. It's been a very long time since I've seen a plot this filled out in the first volume, and its obvious lots of time and energy was put into the actions of the characters.
The back and forth trickery between L and Light is better than any spy movie I've ever seen. The philosophy and ethics are very provoking. Light reminds me of how I thought about the world when I was in High School. The idealism that only a teenager has the guts to carry through with. Everything about his character fits together perfectly, but still is interesting to read about, you'll never know what Light will suprise you with yet.
There was only one translation issue that bothered me. Light says that his media name, "Kira" was a deviation of "Killer". The L-R switch got the better of Viz here, especially since in the art in a later scene there is a note with "Killa" written in English - which is what the translation probably should have been.
The book is rated 16+, but for once its not for violence or bosoms - its for good ol' thought provoking morality and judgment. If you are worried about your kids reading this, I wouldn't worry too much. If your kid is mature, I'd almost require them to read it.
Entertainment at its best. A rare 10 out of 10.
Rating:
Art
More great art. Totally different than Hiakru no Go, but totally appropriate for the story. The people look realistic, and he's got a great variety of different faces and shapes for the people - something that doesn't happen all the time in manga. The emotions of fear come through well too. Backgrounds are fleshed out and Ryuk is awesome.
The settings don't change much, since most of the action is in Light's room or the police HQ, but he does a good job of not letting these places get repeditive. I hope he keeps that up through the entire series.
The one thing I don't like is how Light goes into a happy face sometimes, with those innocent anime eyes. It seems very out of place in Deathnote.
Rating:
Sound
No sound effects or music to review - it is a Manga after all!!!
As far as dialogue goes, its good. There's a lot of explination, but its split up between all the different characters, and the rules of the Death Note sum up the new info you got in every chapter nicely.
No lines stick out in my mind as being particularly memorable, except when Light says he's going to "pass righteous judgment on the world". Ryuk's word bubbles give me the impression he has a deep, gravelly voice. Which would make his sometimes whimiscal or happy comments sound delightful sinsister.
Rating:
Presentation
I think Viz did a great job with Deathnote. The quality of the book is great, as it usually is with Viz. There wasn't any bonus material (except for Ryuk's begging for a GBA SP - a little behind the times for their USA debut. He should get a DS so he can play himself in Jump Superstars), so that's something we can hope for more of in Volume 2. I'd love to see inside the minds of the designers, or some of their original sketches.
The cover is catching, you can see a bit of it in my avatar. It defiently shows off the art and makes you wonder what's with the kid in a suit with a scythe. It could make someone think its a blood and gore manga, but reading the back would quickly debunk that idea.
As I said in the story, its a very enjoyable book that will make you want to sit outside the bookstore waiting for volume 2. I'm not sure how long you can keep this kind of story suspensful, but this team will make you believe that they can do it for a long time.
Everyone involved has my praise, and this book gets my recommendation for anyone looking for a deep story.
Rating:
Final Verdict
8.5000 (very good)
Reviewed by DanVoltsgalph, Oct 12, 2005
Comments
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Aisu-Kitsune Oct 12, 2005
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Kiako Oct 12, 2005
yes this is one of may fav mangas, the best one i've read for now, Deathnote realy is remarkable^^
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almina Oct 13, 2005
That's a nice review. I don't think that the art is really different from Hikago (I mean the last books of Hikago, it just seem that Obata has just continued to draw).
I did like a lot DeathNote at the beginning, so I'd put it on my list of mangas to buy (and there's not even 10 titles on it even if I've read more than 200 different titles).
The psychology/philosophy was really intriguing, it has reminded me of the invisible ring of... errr... Plato, Socrate ?
We have got here an unusual hero... isn't he the bad guy ?
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royaldarkness Oct 13, 2005
that's a great review! death note is one of my favourite mangas, the storyline is just simply awesome :)
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PhoenixNox Oct 13, 2005
i agree with every word you said (typed, whatever)
death note is my new obsession, even replacing squid. yes i said squid.anyway awesome review and check out my death note doujins: http://gallery.minitokyo.net/view/184236/
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daos Oct 14, 2005
This sounds like a nice manga, I hope you get a chance to see the anime so you can review that too! The manga itself sounds good though, and I'm not a big fan of that. If I ever see it i bookstores I'l lbe sure to read it!
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fallenfate Oct 19, 2005
great review!
death note was one of the first mangas that i started to read...
got me hooked from the start. not a normal storyline...
i mean...i was...am still....rooting for Kira/Raito/Light....whatever name he wants to use!
currently reading chapter 70 something...
the suspense still there! dwindled a bit before, but now picked up again...
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chronos8816 Oct 27, 2005
I really enjoyed death note and how its got me rooting for light and L at the same time. Makes me wonder who really is the evil character and i hope to read it to the end.
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Aeris24 Nov 02, 2005
I totally agree with you, Death Note is an awesome manga! I'm in volume 7 and I still want more and more! Both main characters are so cool *_*! I love it! :p Also, I hope the anime they are doing now will be as good as the manga!
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Angeling Nov 14, 2005
Death Note is one of the most captivating reads... though abit lenghty with the explanations, it serves to explain how there are so many gray areas between right and wrong that it is up to each individual to make a decision on whether Light's actions are for the better or worse... i like the conflicting thoughts and the complex plotlines which keeps producing twists when you least expect it... hope an anime will be produced~! :)
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firemiste Mar 08, 2006
Yep...Death note's a great read. It's easily the most captivating and suspenseful manga I've ever seen. The live action is coming out this summer, I think...hope it's as good as the manga.
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Sanisa Sep 21, 2009
Cool review
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Warpten29 Oct 13, 2009
this anime is great!
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rukasu44 Oct 13, 2010
The anime is great, of course, L is there ;P
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angelxxuan Banned Member May 22, 2012
now this is a review I can relate with. well done, well structured and I like how you opened it. this is one of those anime that you can watch any version of it and still enjoy it.
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YHE Jan 21, 2014
This anime is really great, and its my favorite, I agreed that Ryuk is awesome (and also L) :D
And since you make this review for its manga (2005), I'll just say that sound effects, background musics are awesome (in the anime series) it really put you up to the scene. Anyway nice review.
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