Review of 'Death Note (All-In-One Edition)' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Essentially did not finish. Had a friend from a social group I attended and mentored for who recommended Death Note while I was in high school. Initially wasn't up for it then partly because of the covers, but also since I thought that the idea of a notebook that can kill by inscription was kind of a cop-out.
Binge-watching the anime on Netflix proved me wrong on the latter and more or less got me to buy the omnibus in the first place. I can understand the appeal of the story at large, especially the cat-and-mouse game between Light and L in the first half. I liked L, who was like Dirk Gently in the way he believed in the interconnectedness of events that helped him to find Kira, and the manga gave him some internal monologues which was nice.
Light, whom I suspect, and to extent read in other …
Essentially did not finish. Had a friend from a social group I attended and mentored for who recommended Death Note while I was in high school. Initially wasn't up for it then partly because of the covers, but also since I thought that the idea of a notebook that can kill by inscription was kind of a cop-out.
Binge-watching the anime on Netflix proved me wrong on the latter and more or less got me to buy the omnibus in the first place. I can understand the appeal of the story at large, especially the cat-and-mouse game between Light and L in the first half. I liked L, who was like Dirk Gently in the way he believed in the interconnectedness of events that helped him to find Kira, and the manga gave him some internal monologues which was nice.
Light, whom I suspect, and to extent read in other reviews, has a lot in common with Macbeth as a semi-personification of Law from a Shin Megami Sensei game. Or put simply, righteousness self-defined by literally sentencing already convicted criminals to death regardless of the conviction as a means to create a society without crime. While I did not finish the manga proper, I did read from a point that I recently watched in the anime adaptation and loved how it ended. Won't spoil it, but Light's own paranoia at getting caught by L or anyone else who suspects him foreshadows an inevitability that will ultimately bite him back.
The Death Note also has some supernatural origins as products from the Realm of the Shinigami. However, there were only a few points in the book where I thought the rules and the Shinigami actually brought something to the plot. Not a bad thing, just a personal observation.
From a genre standpoint, I can also see why people were drawn to Death Note. Most Shonen manga I've read—Gintama, Fullmetal Alchemist, Hunter x Hunter, and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure among others—is mostly action in its most literal form while emphasizing the JUMP philosophy, "Friendship, Diligence, Victory". Death Note's is mostly cerebral in nature with mental battles over physical ones and any friendships are far and fleeting. As for the graphic novel scene at large, I can't say since I'm not an avid comic reader. The monologuing from every character does get tedious though.
In fairness, I will give Death Note four stars. I didn't finish it fully, but the anime closely adapts the manga with some tweaks here and there. It goes without saying, much like Akira the Don's 12 Rules for Life album, I would not have been to watch it were it not for the success of the original manga. If you have a craving for a good manga, I would give Death Note at least one chance.
*As in Shonen Jump, or Weekly Shonen Jump in Japan. Should note that Fullmetal Alchemist is not a Shonen Jump title, but does follow the genre closely.
