Manga: Death Note: Volume 1

Death Note: Volume 1
Rating: 7.9/10


Here is my first manga review which will hopefully set the tone for the rest of the reviews.

"Death Note" seems to be a huge hit in both manga and anime considering all of the merchandise, its run on Adult Swim and the live action films that came out of Japan. So I decided to start this series to see what all of the fuss was about. Overall it took a little while for me to get into but I ended up becoming pretty invested by the series by the time I had finished the volume. There are 13 volumes in total which is a perfect amount and has definitely made me want to continue the series to see where it goes. The issues it presents in the questioning of whether or not Light is doing something admirable is one that gives Death Note a unique quality. Its hard to identify whether or not we are meant to root for Light. I am conflicted because while I do not like Light personally I would probably be doing what he does with the notebook. Although in a flumbling way. In the meantime I love L. and want Light to be caught. Light seems to be too arrogant and power hungry in his quest to rid the world of evil. Ryuk is a character whose design really sticks with you. His predicament leads to a fascinating element in the story which is that he is on neither side and since boredom was his motivation for dropping the note in the first place who is to say that he will not withhold information or mess things up in some other way just to further eliminate his boredom?

Something else I really liked and its probably my favorite aspect of the start of the series is the way in which L and Light try to catch and out maneuver each other. Its done in a very smart way which led to some surprises which I really appreciated. The way L. narrows his search down and the way Light tries to stay ahead of the game has a cat and mouse way about it that I loved watching unfold.

Things I did not like:

-There were times that I felt there was too much going on in the background drawings that were a bit off putting and distracted me at times.
-The other thing I am a little weary about is how they can keep this going for 12 more volumes. It seems impossible.
-I also hope that maybe the toll that all of this murder that Light engages in is explored a bit. He has already stated that if his family finds out about the notebook that he is willing to kill them. Which is insane. And he has no been able to sleep and lost some weight. However that all happened earlier in the volume and has not been brought up again. I just hope that he has not already become desensitized by it and that they continue to bring up what happens to a person's psyche who has the death note.
-I was hoping for a bit of an introduction to Light's character before he found the death note but he literally finds it in like the second panel he is introduced in. I was a little dissapointed by that.