Post by jess on Jan 19, 2006 14:41:28 GMT
Death Note is a manga currently running in Shonen Jump, and it's by Tsugumi Ohba (story) and Takeshi Obata (art).
Official Synopsis: 'Yagami Light is an ace student with great prospects - and he's bored out of his mind. But 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 Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. But when criminals begin dropping dead, the authorities send the legendary detective L to track down the killer. With L hot on his heels, will Light lose sight of his noble goal... or his life?'
I have to confess, what first drew me to Death Note is the artwork - the actual black and white manga artwork is really lovely - hands, hair and facial expressions are especially well done. I've only read the first volume so far (though I've ordered the next two!) so this review is based on that.
Death Note is very different to the usual series you get running in Shonen Jump - as it's not exactly an action manga, and there's no fighting either. The battles are of more of an intellectual kind, as Light and L try and outwit each other.
One of the things that struck me most about Death Note (and one of the reasons I like it so much) is that the main character, Light, is clearly an antagonist, not a protagonist as is usual.
It soon becomes apparent that Light... is disturbed. He's an obvious sociopath with delusions of godhood - he honestly believes that it's his place to cast judgement on those people he doesn't deem worthy to live. This is more blatant when Light explains how he doesn't just want to punish criminals - he also wants to kill those "immoral" people. And, he believes that he's the one to do that.
Clearly, Light has a major superiority complex, which is something that seems to amuse the shinigami who follows him around (who goes by the name of Ryuk, and who dropped the Death Note because he was bored, and wanted to see what would happen =p)
The other main character seems to be 'L' - the mysterious detective no one ever sees or really knows how to contact. He starts tracking down Light, and (I believe) most of the manga is about the two trying to outsmart each other.
It's a very dark manga, and in some ways quite disturbing (in fact, it's been banned in many places in China) - mostly because, yes, it is essentially about a mass-murdering schoolboy who believes he's doing the world a favour. But despite that, it is... very good. ;D I really love the artwork, and the plot seems very intriguing and well constructed at the moment. Light's a fascinating character, but at times you're not entirely sure how to react to him;
"...they'll realise they'll die if they don't change their ways... I'll make this a world inhabited only by people I decide are good! [...] I'm a serious, straight-A student...a model teenager. And I... will reign over a new world!"
He believes he's passing "righteous judgement" on people - Light's clearly not quite right in the head, but that's what makes him so interesting; he simply doesn't see why what he's doing is wrong.
I can really see Light getting twisted further by the Death Note, and entirely forgetting his noble ideals and why he tried to use the DN in the first place... but I guess we'll have to wait and see in later volumes.
Death Note isn't (yet?) an anime, but apparently there are plans for a live-action movie. The first 3 volumes of manga are out by Viz.
ETA: Okay, having now read the first 3 volumes, just got a couple of things to add.
1) You do indeed get to meet L as a proper character, and he is awesome ;D
2) The plot thickens! Lots of twists and turns... and lots of suspense.
3) ...Light is crazy. XD
... and I'm now going to go and search out the scanlations, because a month is a long time to wait to find out what happens next. =p
Official Synopsis: 'Yagami Light is an ace student with great prospects - and he's bored out of his mind. But 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 Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. But when criminals begin dropping dead, the authorities send the legendary detective L to track down the killer. With L hot on his heels, will Light lose sight of his noble goal... or his life?'
I have to confess, what first drew me to Death Note is the artwork - the actual black and white manga artwork is really lovely - hands, hair and facial expressions are especially well done. I've only read the first volume so far (though I've ordered the next two!) so this review is based on that.
Death Note is very different to the usual series you get running in Shonen Jump - as it's not exactly an action manga, and there's no fighting either. The battles are of more of an intellectual kind, as Light and L try and outwit each other.
One of the things that struck me most about Death Note (and one of the reasons I like it so much) is that the main character, Light, is clearly an antagonist, not a protagonist as is usual.
It soon becomes apparent that Light... is disturbed. He's an obvious sociopath with delusions of godhood - he honestly believes that it's his place to cast judgement on those people he doesn't deem worthy to live. This is more blatant when Light explains how he doesn't just want to punish criminals - he also wants to kill those "immoral" people. And, he believes that he's the one to do that.
Clearly, Light has a major superiority complex, which is something that seems to amuse the shinigami who follows him around (who goes by the name of Ryuk, and who dropped the Death Note because he was bored, and wanted to see what would happen =p)
The other main character seems to be 'L' - the mysterious detective no one ever sees or really knows how to contact. He starts tracking down Light, and (I believe) most of the manga is about the two trying to outsmart each other.
It's a very dark manga, and in some ways quite disturbing (in fact, it's been banned in many places in China) - mostly because, yes, it is essentially about a mass-murdering schoolboy who believes he's doing the world a favour. But despite that, it is... very good. ;D I really love the artwork, and the plot seems very intriguing and well constructed at the moment. Light's a fascinating character, but at times you're not entirely sure how to react to him;
"...they'll realise they'll die if they don't change their ways... I'll make this a world inhabited only by people I decide are good! [...] I'm a serious, straight-A student...a model teenager. And I... will reign over a new world!"
He believes he's passing "righteous judgement" on people - Light's clearly not quite right in the head, but that's what makes him so interesting; he simply doesn't see why what he's doing is wrong.
I can really see Light getting twisted further by the Death Note, and entirely forgetting his noble ideals and why he tried to use the DN in the first place... but I guess we'll have to wait and see in later volumes.
Death Note isn't (yet?) an anime, but apparently there are plans for a live-action movie. The first 3 volumes of manga are out by Viz.
ETA: Okay, having now read the first 3 volumes, just got a couple of things to add.
1) You do indeed get to meet L as a proper character, and he is awesome ;D
2) The plot thickens! Lots of twists and turns... and lots of suspense.
3) ...Light is crazy. XD
... and I'm now going to go and search out the scanlations, because a month is a long time to wait to find out what happens next. =p
