[Categories: Manga Reviews]
Death Note Chapters 1-34: Boredom, Confluence, Hard Run and Love
Unknown to humans there is a separate world in which the shinigami, the death gods, live. They decide how and when people die by writing the names in Death Notes, notebooks that give the shinigami their powers to take life. One shinigami by the name of Ryuk is bored so drops his death note into the human world, just to see what will happen. It is picked up by a high school student named Light Yagami who is also bored and, initially skeptical of this mysterious notebook and its strange owner, decides to use the Death Note to kill off notorious known criminals and make the world a better place. Not surprisingly the authorities get a bit worried about murderers and rapists dropping down dead left, right and centre without their intervention so enlist the help of reclusive master detective known only as ‘L’. Soon a deadly game of cat-and-mouse begins between L and Light, whose faceless vigilante persona becomes known as ‘Kira’.
Right from the outset Death Note is a real departure from the usual Shounen Jump fare: it is relatively devoid of action but has suspense and intelligence by the bucketload. Light is doing what he perceives as ‘the right thing’, but the possibility that is he playing God is not lost on the author and as the story progresses we see him lose sight of his noble goals as the battle of wits between himself and L escalates. With every volume more twists and turns are added as more of the Death Note’s powers are revealed and numerous characters become caught in the crossfire.
Tsugumi Ohba proves himself to be capable of weaving a delightfully complex story but Takeshi Obata’s artwork also contributes greatly to the manga’s appeal. The art is detailed and realistic with both the backgrounds and characters being full of life and emotion. His past experience with Hikaru No Go undoubtedly helped with portraying Death Note’s blend of real life and the supernatural and the collaboration between he and Ohba is a winning combination.
Overall Death Note is a fast-paced, cleverly written and visually superb supernatural thriller that combines the fantasy and detective story elements effortlessly. A word of warning though: you will not be able to put this down, and the wait for volume 5 in May will be a painful one!
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