[MANGA] Manga review: Death Note

January 18, 2008 by Dennis Amith

Daily Yomiuri’s Saori Kan recently reviewed “Death Note”.

Kan wrote, “If you were given the power to decide who lives and who dies, would you use it? If yes, how?”

“For the young and intelligent Light Yagami, the main character of the manga series Death Note, the choice is clear: Eradicate the world of crime and corruption. Using an unholy notebook that allows the owner to kill somebody by merely scrawling their name in it, Light–who goes by the name “Kira,” the Japanized pronunciation of “killer”–hopes to cleanse the world and become its god.”

“Despite being filled with its own types of horror, it is not a horror story, but much more akin to a mystery novel. Readers are privy to the serial killer’s identity from the very beginning, but the inventive story, which focuses on the psychological and intellectual warfare between Light and the world’s top detective, simply known as L, and his successor, Near, will keep readers on the edge of their seats. Much like L, Light himself works with the police, first as an advisor to investigators, then later as a National Police Agency official.”

“The story was first carried in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump from 2003 to 2006, during which time it was compiled into 12 volumes in Japanese and translated into English, as well as made into both a two-part live-action film–starring Tatsuya Fujiwara and Kenichi Matsuyama–and an animated series.”