Death Note (Desu Nōto) manga series first serialized in the weekly 'Shonen Jump' magazine in December 2003. It ran until May 2006, with 108 chapters in total.
Written by Tsugumi Ohba, with illustrations by Takeshi Obata, the series is incredibly popular, and its 108 chapters have been ... Read review
Light Yagami is an ace student with great prospects - and he's bored out of his mind. But ... more
all that changes when he finds the Death Note a notebook dropped by a rogue Shinigami death god. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies and now Li...
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Advantages: interesting a complex, great character depth, nice illustration Disadvantages: complicated if not used to right-left reading.
Death Note (Desu Nōto) manga series first serialized in the weekly 'Shonen Jump' magazine in December 2003. It ran until May 2006, with 108 chapters in total.
Written by Tsugumi Ohba, with illustrations by Takeshi Obata, the series is incredibly popular, and its 108 chapters have been published in their entirety in 12 volumes in Japan. There have also two part live-action films released, an anime series, and last year a novelized ... ...is about volume 1 of Death Note, which contains the first 7 chapters of the story:
Death note centres on Raito Yagami (Light) a brilliant but bored high school student, ... more
Death Note (Desu Nōto) manga series first serialized in the weekly 'Shonen Jump' magazine in December 2003. It ran until May 2006, with 108 chapters in total.
Written by Tsugumi Ohba, with illustrations by Takeshi Obata, the series is incredibly popular, and its 108 chapters have been published in their entirety in 12 volumes in Japan. There have also two part live-action films released, an anime series, and last year a novelized version, written by Nisio Isin, was released.
This review is about volume 1 of Death Note, which contains the first 7 chapters of the story:
Death note centres on Raito Yagami (Light) a brilliant but bored high school student, who stumbles across a strange notebook, where he reads the line "He whose name is written in this book will die", which he naturally dismisses as a joke. However, when he gets home, he can't stop thinking about it, and decides to experiment with it. But, he's also worried that killing someone (if the book does work) would make him a killer, so he decides to look around for a target, someone who won't be missed. He hits inspiration while watching the news, and writes in the name of a killer who is currently holding several people hostage. He's then shocked by a newsflash announcing that the killer had died of a sudden fatal heart attack.
Armed with this information, Light sets out to become the god of the new world, writing down names of criminal as fast as they are convicted, helped (and sometimes hindered) by a Shinigami named Ryuk, the god of death who out of boredom dropped the notebook to the human world in the first place.
However, although Kira (the name the population give to the heart attack curse sweeping the prisons) is popular with some, the police aren't too keen, and enlist the help of a mysterious person known only as "L" to help catch the murderer. But how do you catch someone who can kill without touching – without ever meeting or speaking to his victims.
Rules of Death Note **********************
In order to understand the plot of this easily, its important to understand the basic rules Ryuk wrote down in English (believing it to be the most spoken language in the world) These are not the only rules – more of them are revealed throughout reading (and in later Death Note volumes, some of them are a lot of fun!) The rules written by Ryuk are the following: • The human whose name is written in this note shall die. • This note will not take effect unless the writer has the subject's face in their mind when writing his/her name. Therefore, people sharing the same name will not be affected. • If the cause of death is written within 40 seconds of writing the subject's name, it will happen. • If the cause of death is not specified, the subject will simply die of a heart attack. • After writing the cause of death, the details of the death should be written in the next 6 minutes and 40 seconds.
The Main Characters *********************** Light ****** Lights an unusually gifted high school student – in fact, he considers himself a genius. After finding the death note and proving its effectiveness, he also considers himself the ‘god of the new world’ and makes it his goal to eliminate all criminal activity from the face of the planet. You see a few flashes of his genius in this volume, such as the inventive measures he takes to hide the notebook, and the cryptic clues he leaves to test L’s abilities. He can seem quite heartless, but he seems to seriously believe he is doing a good thing. That said, he does seem rather petty, and doesn’t like anyone getting the better of him.
Ryuk ****** Ryuk is the mysterious, mischievous Shinigami (death god) who dropped the notebook to earth out of boredom. Despite gruesome looks, he’s not frightening, and I don’t think he’s intended to be. Nor is he evil – he’s just livening up a dull job. He makes it clear from the start that he doesn’t take sides, and seems to delight in being vague, finding great amusement in the many ways that Light tests the books powers, and often expressing his admiration for Lights courage compared to other humans he’s played this trick on. He’s also very clever- usually Shinigami notebooks if lost would cause death to a Shinigami, but he managed to trick his way into getting a spare.
L ** L is Lights nemesis – a mysterious detective who solves cases through a computer screen. He has immense brains, and is able to successfully trick light into slipping up a few times. He regards the L VS Kira as a bit of a challenge (Kira being the name the population have given to Lights mysterious killings) and is determined to win, at any expense, even if it means sacrificing another victim, and his anonymity prevents him from being a target.
Soichiro Yagami ****************** Soichiro is Lights father, and is the leader of the police investigation into the Kira Killings a fact which Light uses to gain information on the case and stay one step ahead. Soichiro shows no suspicion of Light, and seems to be a good policeman, hardworking and diligent.
Plot Depth ************ Death note gives you the basic plot outline in the first few pages, and then takes you into a plot thick with twists, turns, and mystery. You really get into the characters, and there are some pretty funny moments. It’s really very well written – and is interesting the whole way through where some manga volumes can be a little slow to get off the ground. It’s quite dark in places, cheerful in others, but certainly easy to get into.
Drawing style *************** I liked the style of illustration very much – clean lines, plenty of detail, and a LOT of character on the faces. It’s very easy to tell one character visually from another (which has been a challenge with other manga I’ve experienced, and the illustrations fit perfectly with the storyline and speech, with consistent good quality through the whole 200 pages. I also very much like the cover illustration, which you can see in the small product thumbnail.
Conclusion ************* I personally enjoyed it a great deal (the fact that I have all the comic volumes, the entire anime series and 2 movies should testify to this) however, I don’t think everyone will. Firstly, if you are not used to reading Japanese manga, the fact that the pages read from right to left, rather than the other way around may confuse you slightly, but is easy enough to follow if you are prepared. Secondly, the plot may be a bit dark for some – there is some violence, and a lot of death. It’s also very complex, so if you prefer light, easy reading, it may not be for you. For me though, the complex mind games between Light and L as they each seek to better each other are amazing in this volume, and continue getting better as the series progresses.
If the book does sound a little complex for you, perhaps look into watching some of the anime episodes. You can do this online for free, and I’ve put a link at the bottom of the review.
Madonna is apparently a fan of Death Note and has read the manga. Her favourite character is Mello, (introduced in later volumes) and this character was the basis for her look on her ‘jump’ video.
Price and where to buy. ************************** This book costs 4.04 from Amazon.co.uk, with cheaper copies available through the independent sellers.
Relevant Links **************** www.amazon.co.uk to order
http://www.animeviewer.net/category/anime-episodes/death-note/ - to watch anime episodes.
http://www.funtrivia.com/playquiz/quiz2462551c31d10.html Already a fan? Complete this quiz and prove it!
Advantages: Amazing depictions of the situations, wonderful storyline Disadvantages: Like the rest of the future series, not for the little ones.
...of what could happen.
Death Note, you can tell by the name itself, is an incredibly dark concept. Light Yagami is one of the highest-minded Japanese high school students of his generation. However, he is bored with having to tend to these repetitious chores of work that are so easy to do. It goes on, day in and day out, with him studying and studying. No real social life at all.
Ryuk is a shinigami, or Death God, who lives in the Death God world. ... ...Death Notes are what let shinigami kill humans who are meant to die or just kill them anytime and anywhere, by writing the soon-to-be-deceased's name in the notebook. However, Ryuk is bored in the living world, tired of all silence and bad apples in their world. So, he drops his Death Note in the Human realm intentionally, hoping for some random human to try it out.
Well, it just so happens that it drops right in front of Light Yagami's eyes, who ...
BTlover 09.12.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Death Note (vol 1) - Tsugumi Ohba
Advantages: A great horro manga Disadvantages: Not for everyone
...poularity is justified. Also expect death note to really take off in a few months time. There is a live action movie that is going to come to britain soon!
Anyway lets get down to it. Death note isnt your standard story. First of all the main character - Light yagami - is not a hero. We meet him and find he is very intelligent and popular. Unfortunately for him his world is about to be turned upside down because of a notebook! This of corse is the ... ...used by death gods to kill people. If the name of someone is wrote in it they will die. The writer has the option to expand on the deatils of their death but if not they die of a heart attack. When light finds this with the rules of use inside he naturally thinks its a practical joke. The mang invites you to answer questions of what you would do. Would you try it and see? what if it works? Who would you wirte in it. The story progresses and light ...
rob1001 06.05.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Death Note (vol 1) - Tsugumi Ohba
Advantages: Brilliant plot, characters, and drawings. Disadvantages: None
...it. Time and cause of death can be specified, but the default death is from cardiac arrest, ie a heart attack.
What Light proceeds to do is to make a start on eliminating cruelty from the world by killing all criminals. After having had the Deathnote for 5 days however, he is visited by Ryuk, the Death God that the book belonged to. Ryuk is not intereted in getting the book back though; he just wants to watch as events develop on the human world.
... ...dying. The police are flummoxed until they call in the help of super detective "L", who communicates only through distorted voice messages, but who is the only one intelligent enough to find the killer, or "KIRA", as Light has become known in the media.
'''Analysis & Conclusion''': This is an excellent book for anyone you would like to introduce to manga. It is not stereotypical manga, and has a gripping plot and characters. The drawings are mostly ...
iToast 02.01.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Death Note (vol 1) - Tsugumi Ohba
Advantages: Great graphics, interesting plot, interesting characters. Disadvantages: Plot can get complicated and it gets hard to understand the underlying reason for things.
Death Note, a manga by Tsugumi Ohba, is about an intelligent 17 year old high school boy named Light Yagami. Light, bored with life, seems to live the ordinary life of any high school boy. He has a stay-at-home mother, a little sister, and a cop for a father. His normal life changed when he noticed a black notebook outside when he was in class. On the cover of the notebook was written _Death Note_. He took it home with him and met the owner of the ... ...and dropped his Death Note in the world of the humans for some fun. Light found out that any persons name written in the Death Note dies and he decided to use it as a way to rid the world of evil. _Death Note_ is about Light pursuing his goal, but he has to do it in secret or else he could lose his life. I was engrossed into the manga when I had started reading it. Death Note has an interesting plot that sucks you in and won't let you out till your ...
myway2421 20.07.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Death Note (vol 1) - Tsugumi Ohba
Advantages: very intelligent comic Disadvantages: not alot of action
...got a book - a death book from a Death. He has an ideal to make his dream comes true. He can use the book of Death to kill all the crime just by seeing their faces and know their name. Of course the police have to find out who killed all the crime. And the fight began between the boy and a detective. This comic doesnt have alot of action, but the reader would palpitate about what is going to happen. It is kind of voilent. but I am sure you're gonna ...
the7thwind 04.08.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Death Note (vol 1) - Tsugumi Ohba
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