Manga Death Note

[Dagger]

[b]Death Note[/b] is the most inventive and interesting manga I've read in a very long time. Unlicensed but currently running in the Japanese edition of Shounen Jump, it's the latest offering from the manga-ka of [b]Hikaru no Go[/b].

The main character is a seemingly harmless young sociopath named Right (or Raito, depending on which fan-translation you're reading). Toward the beginning of the manga, he stumbles upon a notebook labelled "Death Note," which contains a set of instructions explaining that its owner can kill any person in the world he desires simply by writing down his or her name. Right is skeptical, but soon realizes that the notebook actually works. It's the misplaced property of a shinigami (god of death) who hopes that Right's antics will provide him with some much-needed entertainment.

Right begins methodically killing every single criminal who he sees making an appearance on television or in newspapers. While he's clearly borderline insane, he explains his thinking in such a way that he remains a sympathetic and fascinating character.

Death Note's artwork is very clean and appealing. The story moves along quickly, and the dialogue is for the most part quite well-written. I'd recommend this manga to anyone looking for something new and different.

~Dagger~

[Okita]

I actually got the first snip from toriyama a while back but never gave the manga a try, the animation for the shinigami threw me off.

But your brief synopsis has intrgued me and I gave it a cursary glance, there really isn't much plot progression yet for me to give a decent comment but it feels similiar to Anne Freak so i'm feeling fairly positive towards it...

Though I still would have prefer the shinigami to be a bit 'manga-fied' the one in the manga looks like a reject from a low budget b-grade horror film...

[Dagger]

[quote name='Okita']Though I still would have prefer the shinigami to be a bit 'manga-fied' the one in the manga looks like a reject from a low budget b-grade horror film...[/quote]

I felt the same way at first, but the shinigami's appearance actually paves the way for some really amusing dark humor. There are chapters wherein he acts almost like a giant shoujo mascot, albeit one that's unusually freakish-looking and wholeheartedly approves of mass murder.

Death Note feels refreshing because its protagonist is also the series' main villain, while his arch-enemy plays the hero. L, a mysterious figure who basically controls Interpol as well as numerous other intelligence agencies around the world, is Right's only true opponent. Both L and Right are stunningly brilliant, and I love seeing how these two genuises indirectly thwart and frustrate one another. Once L reveals his face for the first time (I think this occurs somewhere in chapter 11), the manga completes its transformation into the portrayal of an increasingly convoluted mind game.

Among Death Note's most powerful themes is duality, as embodied by Right and L's rivalry. They act completely different--Right is conventionally handsome, with a very disciplined, organized and driven personality, while L dresses sloppily, has a number of bizarre quirks and looks like some kind of reformed Goth. However, each of them firmly believes that he is on the side of justice, and they use similar logic to justify their actions.

Orange Tangerine has now translated up to chapter 29. I can't wait to see what happens next. ^_^

~Dagger~

[Okita]

OMG!!! I am totally hooked! This series is the most addictive manga I've seen for ages! I've just gotten my hand on the latest Orange Tangerine translation and was so desperate for more that I downloaded the raw up to page 33 and am now going through it slowly with the help of a dictionary and a Japanese speaking friend! This series' protagonist is possibly my favourite male character ever in a manga, his quality and flaw both humanize and diefy him, his presence is awes inspiring and his capability and intellect simply astounding.

I have never fealt myself cheering for a protagonist as I've done with this series, every chapter is like a powerful hammer blow that reveal so much yet leaves so much more in need of further revelation. I find myself really REALLY wishing that Raito succeeds, because while his method might be horrific, I find his idealism, his surreal yet cynical concept of reality and application of justice simply mind blowing.

Like Anne Freak, I can't help but cheer the main character despite him being a villain and can't help but like his desposition despite the immorality behind it. Any fans of mystery and thriller should given this series i shot! It's nothing short of stupendous.

[Camlaren]

I've had the first 20 or so chapters of this manga sitting on the computer and I haven't got around to READING them -__- I hear it's a great manga series all over the place, so I really MUST read it soon, plus, I didn't know it was by the manga-ka of Hikaru no Go, that's sold me to go read it later tonight :D

[Dagger]

First Raito, then Right... now apparently his name is supposed to be Light. I give up! Raito sounds best anyway.

Chapter 31 gave me a huge headache, haha. [spoiler]It would be easy to take L's assertion at face value--it would make sense for him to genuinely like and value Raito as a true friend. After all, L doesn't exactly try to seek out human companionship. The fact that Raito is probably the first person he's ever met who can keep up with him intellectually adds credence to L's claim. However, I can't help thinking that L is, in his usual candid way, still striving to catch Raito off-balance. Raito [i]was[/i] unusually startled when L said, "Raito-kun shouldn't be Kira... but if he were, I would be in turmoil... because Raito-kun is the first friend I've ever had!"[/spoiler] Ooh, maybe that was foreshadowing of some kind.

I laughed for about ten minutes when I got to the part where Raito said he wanted to punch Misa. ^_^;;

~Dagger~

[Zero Tolerance]

I've heard of it, but never really got the chance to read any of it. But it's on my anime to do list.

[Guest Raito-Kun]

[FONT=Franklin Gothic Medium][COLOR=Indigo]..... if you're a shounen-ai fan like me, i advise you to not continue reading this series. it will only cause pain and sorrow -tear-

for raito-kun .... -sniff- [spoiler]he kills L somewhere between chapters 60 and 70

thank you for your time. -goes into a corner and mourns for L-[/spoiler]

:animecry: :animecry: :animecry: [/COLOR] [/FONT]

[Dagger]

(It's interesting to read over this thread, haha; the last time I posted here was even before the Light/Raito issue had been settled. Wow.)

In the future, [b]please use spoiler tags[/b]. That's one of the most shocking plot twists in the entire manga, and as Death Note relies on creating a sense of suspense, it's extremely inconsiderate to go around leaving unmarked spoilers all over the place. If you have any questions about how to implement spoiler tags, just read [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=46199][u]this[/u][/url] thread.

By the way, the event to which you referred actually occurs in chapter 58.

I'm not sure why BL fans would be any more devastated by chapter 58 than regular fans. Any BL you might see in Death Note is purely imagined--there's not even any fanservice (well, at least not of that particular variety). Since Death Note BL is just a fan-created thing and bears absolutely no relationship to canon, there's nothing stopping you from going about your business (whatever that may entail--fanfiction, fanart, etc.) as if [spoiler]L were still alive.[/spoiler]

Anyway. I'm currently up to chapter 69. I have some interesting mixed feelings about the new arc... [spoiler]I love Near and Mello (especially Mello--it seems like he can really give Light a run for his money in the psychopath department). The new Shinigami are pretty fascinating as well.[/spoiler] I guess my main problem is that I want to see Light go down; it's easiest to root for him when he's the underdog, but [spoiler]that hasn't been the case since his early "battles" with L. Much as I adore the new characters, I wish they would get their respective acts together and knock Light off his high horse.[/spoiler]

Light is becoming over-confident, and that detracts enormously from what used to make him appealing. I'm not one of those people who thinks that everything has gone downhill since [spoiler]L was killed.[/spoiler] However, the current arc could use a little kick in the pants, and I'm looking forward to seeing how [spoiler]Mello and Near[/spoiler] come into their own.

~Dagger~

[Kato_Ama]

Haha, Deathnote is a great series! I was up to current with it about 2 weeks after being introduced with it (about 50ish chapters). While I feel the current story line is lacking some of the spunk the first one had, the most recent chapter (69) might be the start of some interesting stuff.

[spoiler]As for Ryuuzaki, I was completely convinced he wasn't L until that countdown timer on the computer hit zero. At first I was thinking that L wouldn't make the mistake of showing himself to anyone. Latter on I was thinking that it seemed Ryuuzaki wasn't particularly used to the lifestyle he was "leading" with all that money he seemed to have and that, although he *was* pretty damn smart, about 50% of thes tuff he "came up with" was actually from the real L, still behind the scenes. Another thing that made me think Ryuuzaki wasn't L was that in the first chapters with scenes of L, he looks similar, but also very different with hair color/style and the way he moved too. When Ryuuzaki died and it showed the countdown thing, I was thinking that the real L had gone into hiding or something (just in case) and that the comp was counting down until it released a message to the world revealing Raito as Kira. [/spoiler]
Oh, and Misa is so cute! Her style is great too. Though, in the beggining with her, I was thinking she was like, just 13 or something.

[Dagger]

[quote name='Kato_Ama][spoiler']Another thing that made me think Ryuuzaki wasn't L was that in the first chapters with scenes of L, he looks similar, but also very different with hair color/style and the way he moved too.[/spoiler][/quote]
Yeah, I've seen a lot of speculation like that. I think there are three possible conclusions we can draw from the discrepancy (which is really too noticeable to be discarded as mere chance)--either [spoiler]1) the artist simply hadn't finalized L's character design, 2) it was meant to increase the reader's shock when the bizarre and deliberately uncool L/Ryuuzaki was fully revealed, or 3) L's quasi-autistic behavior was in fact a clever act meant to throw Light (and anyone else he might encounter, for that matter) off-guard.[/spoiler] Personally I prefer to think the latter option is true, for the simple reason that I'm an L fan, and I believe he'd be perfectly capable of doing something along those lines.

I bought volumes 5 through 7 of the manga a little while ago; volume 7, the most recent to be released, goes up to the chapter in which Light & company learn that [spoiler]Sayu has been kidnapped.[/spoiler] The cover features a really awesome upside-down image of L curled in the fetal position, biting his thumb. Great stuff. :animesmil

~Dagger~

[Kato_Ama]

I pretty much went with the artist not deciding on the design yet.

[Dagger]

Thoughts on Chapter 70:

I love the color artwork--it features what is probably my favorite picture of Light thus far (he looks serious rather than overly psychotic, which makes for a nice change of pace). Near doesn't come off quite so well, haha, but Mello looks great. I do have to wonder where he got his taste in clothes, not to mention whether or not [spoiler]the gun is just for show.[/spoiler]

On a different note, [spoiler]poor Misa. Right after Light proposes to her, he considers killing her. I think she's sharper than she seems, but I'm not sure if she has any idea how cold-hearted he really is. She appears to be the kind of person who would rather stay happily deluded than face the truth.[/spoiler]

And Chapter 71:

More great color artwork! Including Misa in her bustier. :animeblus

[spoiler]With Light's plotting, this chapter started to feel more like the early part of the series, at least to me. I simply love the plan he concocted for Matsuda and Misa. I also admired how Misa carried it out--she definitely is much more intelligent than she normally acts. The twist at the end (with Light's dad deciding to get the eyes, instead of Matsuda) was well-set up. Things are moving faster now, and I'm raising my expectations for the rest of the arc accordingly.[/spoiler]

Lastly, Chapter 72:

[spoiler]Over the course of the manga, it's been shown time and again that Light's father (and the rest of his family as well, I suppose) is pretty much the only person he even comes close to genuinely caring about. It was always a given that he'd just use Misa, but there's been a long build-up to him starting to actually use his own dad in such a blatant way. I think this represents another big slide downward for Light.[/spoiler]

What a big cliffhanger at the end, too. I'm dying to know what happens next.

~Dagger~

[Nekova]

I'm stuck buying the licensed manga, unlike most of you it seems. I just finished the 6th book. I was reading it at work (thankfully it was slow) and was trying so hard not to laugh out loud! I can't believe how much I'm in love with this series. Towards the end, when [spoiler]Higuchi is being followed around town while he looks for a way to kill Matsuda[/spoiler], I was literally on the edge of my seat. I can't believe I have to wait 2 months for the next installment (Unlike anime, I don't download scanlations. I like the whole experience of reading books better)!!

[Chillie]

Death Note is amazing. The story is great,and I can't stop reading it. The characters are quite different too. L is just great and amazing. I love the way he holds the phone, ect. it's so adorable. :D
and I love the reason why Ryuk dropped his second notebook into the human world, just because he was bored. I would probably do something like that if I was bored.. =P

[Sojiro47]

I read DeathNote casually at first. But I'm hooked to it now. I'm an L fan, really! One reason is that he's just so smart. Man, if I were that smart...*sigh* DeathNote isn't the most intense Manga I've read, but it is addictive!

[Shinmaru]

I bought the first four volumes of Death Note at Anime Expo a couple of weeks ago and I finished them recently... I have to thank Dagger again for recommending the series so enthusiastically lol. If it weren't for her, then I might not have given the series a try (mostly because I don't really keep up with new manga, haha).

What I really like about Death Note is the amount of thought put into everything... the pace is rather deliberate sometimes, but it's worth it because the twists and whatnot pay off so well. I think that where Death Note [i]really[/i] grabbed me is when [spoiler]Light is being tailed by Raye Penber and he goes through that intricate plot to not only find out who's investigating him but to kill them all.[/spoiler] The story as a whole is gripping as hell, and there hasn't been a moment where I haven't been looking forward to the next page to see what happens next. :)

I like the art style as well. Most of the characters are fairly realistic and simply designed which makes it much easier for them to be more emotive - especially Light, haha. Most of my favorite visual bits in Death Note come when Light is angry ([spoiler]most notably when L confronts Light at To-Oh University and tells Light that he is L, whereupon Light throws a huge fit when he gets home lol[/spoiler]) or when Light is cackling madly. You wouldn't think that Light would be so expressive considering how serious he is, but he's got a nice range of facial expressions lol.

You know, I find it interesting that anyone could actually support Light (though he is a very fascinating character). He's somewhat sympathetic, and his vision of a world without crime is something that I think everyone would support, but his method is completely immoral, not to mention that he's seeking a nice payoff for all of this via the position of dictator of his new world. And no matter how much he denies it, Light's rule would basically be rule-by-fear: Everyone would be in line for fear of being judged by Kira. It's insanity lol.

[chou kuro]

Deathnote is my alltime favorite! (tied with loveless). I love it so much! I was just wondering if anyone has read Hikaru no Go. The artist (forgot the name) is the same as in Deathnote. Anyway, I've only just read up to book six, and accidentally stumbled upon the [spoiler] L's death spoiler [/spoiler] by accident when I was reading posts! :animecry: :animecry: :animecry: So sad! but I will continue to read even after that part. I've decided that if I had a hundred dollars, I would buy all of the deathnote manga two times over (I already own them all, so I would have three copies) because I love it that much! Go Shonen Jump and its awesome manga previews. That's the same way I found the Bleach manga, and have read all of that as well. GO DEATHNOTE!!!:animesmil :animesmil :animesmil

[Fyxe]

[size=1][color=slategray]I just picked up the first two volumes of [B]Death Note[/B] last weekend at AnimeIowa after reading so many fantastic reviews. I have to say, it's rather interesting. So far I don't have a firm opinion on it, but it's certainly got me hooked. Too bad I ran out of money, haha.

I enjoy the artwork, and I have to admit, L is a very sexy man. And the Shinigami... wow. What a comical look, seriously. He looks so awkward and out of place, sometimes when I turn the page and see him there... I just have to laugh.

Oh, by the way. How did the name "Right" (or Raito) get translated into Light? Jeez.
- And if that was already discussed, sorry, it's five in the morning and I am rather loopy...[/color][/size]

[Kei]

[color=darkblue][size=1]Probably because of the way katakana works.

Since there's no "L" in the Japanese language, they have to use the next closest thing, that being "R." As far as the translation goes, if there's a mistake, that's usually the fault of the editor, but from what I've heard of the process, they usually check to make sure they at least have the names right.[/color][/size]

[bellpickle]

[SIZE=1]Also, from what I've heard, Ohba originally intended for his name to be "Light." It's just read as "Raito" in katakana.[/SIZE]

[dark desires]

[COLOR=DarkRed]Hmmmm, DeathNote [I]is[/I] a good manga. It can also be slightly confusing to most people like me for instance when i finnished reading the frist one i finnaly understood what was happening. :animestun I love how theirs actually suspense in this also their arn't very many manga's that let you know who the killer is and let you expericance what he/she is experiancing also. THATS what i love the most about this manga. [/COLOR] :catgirl:

[2010DigitalBoy]

I picked up vol. 1 the other day and I was amazed. This manga is great, intelligent, and fast paced and I like that. Many manga spend too much time explaining things, complicating things, and generally taking a long road to a short destination. this one kept me on the edge of my seat, wanting to know what happens next. Light is a great character, albeit slightly insane, but then again when your bored WTF else are you gunna do? I admire his aspirations. Also, i love Ryuk, he cracks me up XD

I wish vol. 2 wasn't out-of-stock at the local Waldenbooks!!!

[Andy]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkRed]I really loved Death Note when I first read it. Unfortunately I had forgotten about this great manga until just recently. So I guess i'll have to get on that, and go out and buy me some Death Note volumes^^ Anyways, Death Note is awesome, I love the way the creator portrays the shinigami. This manga has some great art work, and a great storyline. And the one thing that I liked the most was the suspense. It's like I couldnt wait to read the next chapter. So I think it's a great manga overall. Now...to Books A Million to get me some Death Note^^[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[Monkey_Orange]

[COLOR=DarkOrange]I just bought and read volume 7 last night. And although I [I]knew[/I] what major event was going to happen...I'm still in a phase of utter shock. :animedepr

Previously I wasn't able to relate to those of you who said you were scarred by [I]this[/I] event, by now I know how you feel. :animedepr

I think I'm gonna need some time to reflect upon these development before I can move onward with this series. The next release date is schedule for November...so a few months sounds good for recovery time :animeswea

Other than that...I have no words available to express my feelings concerning volume 7, chapter 58.[/COLOR]