Review: Death Note, Vol. 3 by Tsugumi Ohba

Death Note: Hard Run (Death Note, #3)

by Tsugumi Ohba; Takeshi Obata (Illustrator)

Genre: Urban Fantasy (Japanese Manga)

Reading Grade: Young Adult

Publication Date: January 3, 2006

Source: Amazon.com

Age Rating: 14+

| Amazon | 

Light is chafing under L's extreme surveillance, but even 64 microphones and cameras hidden in his room aren't enough to stop Light. He steps up the game, but before the battle of wits can really begin, a family emergency distracts him. But even though Light isn't using the Death Note right now, someone else is! Who's the new 'Kira' in town?

My Review

This review contains spoilers for the first two volumes of Death Note, plus the third one, of which I'm reviewing here. Don't read this review unless you want to know what happens before you read it.

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

This is the best volume so far! If Death Note had been moving along at a sort of slow pace up until now, that's all changed. So many exciting things happened, I was laughing my head off in some parts and freaking out during others. It goes to show you that it really is a high drama—very much a thriller.

It starts off with Light having Ryuuk, his shinigami death god, search for all the hidden cameras in his bedroom, so that he'll be able to feed him apples. That's Ryuuk's addiction, like humans and tobacco. Once all sixty-four cameras (OMG!) are discovered, Light configures how he'll sit at his desk, so as to block the view of the camera while he watches a mini TV hidden in a bag of chips. This way, he looks like he's just snacking while doing his homework, but he's really seeing criminals' names and faces, and writing them in the Notebook.

But, seeing this supposed normalcy really doesn't help L feel better about Light not being Kira. Then, Light enters college, and L is at the commencement ceremony, giving a speech right along with him. L looks so adorably creepy, with his huge bug eyes and the way he won't blink, nor look away from Light. How he manages to be cute and creepy I'll never know. But, L decides to tell Light that he is L. Totally shocked, Light doesn't know what to believe, thinking the real L would never reveal himself to anyone. But, it ties Light's hands behind his back, so that if L were to die suddenly after meeting Light, Light would be under immediate suspicion. Well played, L.

Then, they have a heated tennis match so L can get an idea of just how competitive Light really is. It's pretty intense, and afterward, L gives Light a series of questions meant to trap Light, and they very nearly work. L wants Light to work with his team on the investigation of Kira because, if Light is Kira, then he won't be able to make any moves on the police task force without giving himself away.

Suddenly, it looks as though Light is taking some seriously reckless measures by having Kira hold an entire TV news station hostage with video tapes meant to be broadcast to everyone in the region. Here, Kira proclaims he will create a new utopia where all evil people will be killed, or frightened into submission, and he wants the police to cooperate with him. Only thing is, L does not believe that these are the actions of Kira, but rather a stupider imposter Kira who can kill people without even needing to know their names.

Things are getting SO exciting! It's been a long time since I first got into Death Note, and I don't have the best memory, so this reread is almost as thrilling for me as it was when I first got into this series. This manga series is not to be missed….

My score: 5 out of 5 stars. (I loved it!)

Manga Review: Death Note, Vol. 2 by Tsugumi Ohba

Death Note: Confluence (Death Note, #2)

by Tsugumi Ohba; Takeshi Obata (Illustrator)

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Reading Grade: Young Adult (Japanese manga)

Publishing Type: traditional

Publication Date: November 1, 2005

Source: Amazon store

Age Rating: 14+

| Amazon |

Light Yagami 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. 
 

Light thinks he's put an end to his troubles with the FBI—by using the Death Note to kill off the FBI agents working the case in Japan! But one of the agents has a fiancee who used to work in the Bureau, and now she's uncovered information that could lead to Light's capture. To make matters worse, L has emerged from the shadows to work directly with the task force headed by Light's father. With people pursuing him from every direction, will Light get caught in the conflux?

My Review

Because this is a serialized story, it's hard not to write some spoilers of what already happened in the previous volume. If you haven't read Volume1, I'd suggest you NOT read this review. You don't want to get spoiled if you plan on enjoying it.

*WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD*

Light has taken down the FBI agents with the Death Note because, at this point, he's starting to learn how to manipulate the people whose names he's written in the notebook before they die. Their actions can be controlled if he writes what they will do leading up to their deaths, so long as it's not humanly impossible. Light is so painstakingly careful about his actions, and thinks of just about every possibility in order to keep himself free of suspicion, it's like he's got OCD.

But, he encounters women's intuition in the form of Raye Penber's fiancee. Naomi Misora figures out Kira's involvement in Raye's death. She used to work for the American FBI, and had previously worked with L, so when she tells Light all this, it only makes him determined to eliminate her, since she poses his biggest threat to being caught, yet.

Meanwhile, L finally decides to show his face to the few Japanese police who are willing to risk their lives to catch Kira. L is a very socially awkward and eccentric fella, but you love him because he's so cute. Creepy for sure, but adorable, nonetheless. He's beginning to catch on to Kira killing Raye and the FBI agents, although, slower than Naomi. He decides Kira has to be one of the people Raye investigated before the bus-jacking incident, and that narrows it down to two families. One of them is Light's family.

Light, being the ridiculously perceptive kid that he is, notices right away that someone entered his bedroom while at school one day. The volume ends with him concocting a scheme to find all the surveillance cameras around his bedroom. So, we are left wondering how he's going to kill criminals in his home knowing he's being watched by the police, and not be able to do anything about it. It'll be interesting, indeed…

If you still haven't caught on to Death Note, do yourself a favor and get this manga right away. It is probably the BEST manga in existence.

My score: 5 stars out of 5.

Read My Guest Post on Manga

Some of may already know, or figured out, that I am an avid fan of Japanese manga. I really wasn't planning on reviewing any manga on my blog when I started out because I figured that was the job of the actual manga bloggers out there. But, I started to see a few other book bloggers reviewing manga titles and realized, if they can do it, I HAVE to do it, too, or it'd be a crime against humanity!

So, if you head on over to the AMAZING Dark Side of the Covers blog hosted by BJ, then you'll see the guest post I did for her on manga. I mention a few titles that are sure to please and are good places to start when you know nothing about it, and want an easy way to transition... 

Manga Review: Death Note, Vol. 1 by Tsugumi Ohba

Death Note: Boredom (Death Note, #1)

by Tsugumi Ohba, 

Takeshi Obata (Illustrator)

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Reading Grade: Young Adult (Japanese manga)

Publishing Type: traditional

Publication Date: October 10, 2005

Source: Amazon store

Age Rating: 14+

Amazon

Light Yagami 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?

My Review

Death Note has to be one of the most brilliant stories ever conceived in human history. It's one of those that makes you wonder, 'why didn't I think of that?' I have already had the pleasure of reading this entire manga series, and I've seen the anime adaptation a few times—it just NEVER gets old. I'll read this manga till I'm old and gray (which is already happening!). And, yes, it is a comic book, but it could have so easily been a novel series. It is also being adapted into a Hollywood film.

This journey takes you to places you'll never expect to go. In the first volume, the story is very easy to follow, as the pieces need to be set on the board. But, once this thing gets going, it's the mental chess match of a lifetime. As for urban fantasy, you can't get much better than a magical notebook that kills the people whose names are written in it, no matter where they are in the world, and, all happening in modern Tokyo, Japan. Lots of police and detectives and criminals galore.

 Kinda evil lookin', ain't he?

Light Yagami is a serial killer-in-the-making, and this does take a long time develop throughout the story. He really is the only human being who could run from the greatest detective in the world, L, and not get caught immediately. This story is the battle of the big minds, and it's just getting started. Still, it is riveting, to say the least, even in volume 1. L will do something to ensnare Light, who is dubbed 'Kira,' and then Light will counter with something brilliant of his own. It is cat-and-mouse, Tom and Jerry, but between two geniuses who don't drop anvils on each others heads. 

The dynamic between these foes, as I already know, continues to grow in size and scope to proportions you cannot anticipate. Just know this story is a major thrill ride and you won't want to stop it anytime soon. I've already read it before and I can't put it down! It is addictive, so be sure you have easy access to the rest of the volumes because you will not be able to stop after finishing only Volume 1.

Recommended for everyone who loves psychological thrillers, mostly realistic urban fantasy, and cat-and-mouse chases. Even if you don't love any of these things, you still might like Death Note. It is THAT good.

My score: 5 out of 5 stars.

* This goes toward my 2011 Spooktacular October Paranormal Reading Challenge!