Death Note (Volume 9 & 10).
January 31st 2008 22:49
Category: Graphic Novels/Comics
“The human whose name is written in this note shall die”
Publisher: 2003 Shueisha/2007 VIZ Media LLC.
Story by: Tsugumi Ohba.
Art by: Takeshi Obata.
Translation & Adaptation by: Tetsuichiro Miyaki.
Touch up art & Lettering: Gia Cam Luc.
Design: Sean Lee.
Cost: $US 7.99/ $AU 12.95 (Vol 9) & 13.95 (Vol 10).
Billed as a cult comic that has sold over fifteen million copies worldwide as well as being banned in China by the authorities in Beijing Death Note has become something of a phenomenon, no longer restricted to just a manga format it has also become an anime series as well as two live action movies that are available on DVD. My first encounter with this phenomenon was initially when I saw a trailer for both the anime series and then the live action movies that was on a magazine cover disc. Curious about what this whole Death Note thing was all about I decided to see what I could track down, the first place I looked was the local library and its index, sure enough their was something there, two volumes of the manga. With swift resolve I pounced upon these two volumes and borrowed them post haste to peruse them at my leisure. Fortunately for me this occurred on a Tuesday so once they were in my hands I was able to do the perusing at my local, a refreshing glass of cold amber fluid to hand along with a bag of Spicy Moroccan chicken flavoured chips to munch on.
So what is all the fuss about? Well the big premise behind Death Note is one of morality and power specifically along the lines of if you had the ability to significantly change the world would you? And if you did what is to say that your particular version of a better world is actually better for anyone not you? Let’s face it tyrants, religious zealots, bigots and flim flam merchants having been doing this kind of thing for centuries if not millennia and look at all the grief that is caused as a result to the great mass of the people at large. It never actually happens to those who bring about such grief, they’re often isolated from the carnage and chaos that they cause. After all the road to hell is paved with good intentions…
Light Yagami, a grade A student at a prestigious high school, discovers something that can bring about great and significant change to the world, as we know it. He finds a black notebook that has been dropped into the world of mortals by a Death God, a Shinigami as they often call themselves, called Ryuk. Inscribed in this book are the rules on how to effectively use its powers, conveniently written in Japanese so that it can be easily understood. Light once he has the book tests it out, all of a sudden people start dropping like flies. He puts the note aside for a while and then begins to think things through, suddenly he has a god complex and every villain and thug around the world from street level hoodlums to the President of the United States is dying. As Kira, an enigmatic force for justice Light is literally bringing a new light (bad pun intended) to the world by weeding out the evil and wicked from the world in order to create a better and just society, the Death Note is his tool for achieving this. Naturally the world’s governments and police forces aren’t going to sit back and let this mysterious Kira kill off anyone he likes without making an attempt to bring him to justice. So far the efforts of two national task forces, one from Japan and another from the US, have done little to achieve this end.
The only person who managed to actually come close to bringing Kira to justice was L, a mysterious detective with an unusual methodology to solving unsolved crimes and cold cases, unfortunately Kira eventually proved too good for L and the great detective lost his life in the struggle. Still his mantle is taken up by Light in order for the Japanese task force’s investigation to continue and hopefully bring to justice their nemesis. By the time of Volume 9 though things are proving a little bit too much for the task force as it seems that Kira is somehow still managing to kill of ‘evildoers’ whilst at the same time he is managing to gain significant influence amongst the people at large that eventually the government of the US agrees to stop its investigation and accept Kira as a significant force in the world. Other nations begin to follow suit, especially as Kira worship becomes fairly open and accepted as a part of everyday life. As one member of the Japanese task force succinctly puts it, if they don’t capture Kira soon then it’ll become a crime for them to attempt what they’re currently doing.
This is a fairly complex manga as far as story goes, it took me two reads to get my head around precisely what was going on in the way of actual plot development. Much of the drama has the feel of an actual chess game, though one where there are three and possibly four players (at least) all seeking to bring about their goal, whether it be the ascension of Kira as the true authority in the world or his capture. The other interesting facet of this story is the fact that Light comes across more as an antagonist rather than a protagonist, whilst his so called adversaries; Mello and Near seem more like the protagonists of the story. The latter two characters are heirs to L and idolised the enigmatic detective so much that nothing would please them more than to bring his killer to justice, though the methods they employ are as worlds apart as the individuals involved. Mello comes across as something of a real bad ass whilst his rival Near is more akin to their eccentric and enigmatic idol, adopting an unorthodox methodology yet choosing to operate within the boundaries of legal authority.
And of course amongst all this there is the Shinigami Ryuk to consider. One wonders what his precise motivation was for conveniently ‘dropping’ his note into the mortal world. He is depicted as aiding Light in his forging of a new world order with Kira at the helm but there are moments when you sense that he is not completely under the thumb of the boy genius. Who is playing whom in this alliance? Is Light in charge or is that what the Shinigami wants him to believe? For atmosphere every so often at various stages in the manga there are pages in which the various rules of the Death Noter are written, in English and Japanese, scribed on a black page in white ink with a grinning skull at the top of each page and roman numerals denoting to number of the particular rule. Suspicion and betrayal ooze from every page as Light embarks on his agenda and the various other characters pursue theirs, even when he is suspected of being Kira by his own fellow Japanese taskforce member’s still he is able to weave his way towards his end goal through manipulation, deception and forward planning. Still it has to be said that he is gradually getting less and less room to manoeuvre through the action of his two primary opponents; Near and Mello.
In fact along with the issues of power and morality it could be said that the story is not only focused on these two concepts but it is also as much about the decline of an individual, the fall of someone of high ideals into the morass of despotism and megalomania. After reading these two volumes I was impressed, certainly Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata have crafted a manga cult classic with Death Note and after reading these two volumes I’m definitely keen to get my hands on some more, as well as get a hold of the live action movies and the anime.
Publisher: 2003 Shueisha/2007 VIZ Media LLC.
Story by: Tsugumi Ohba.
Art by: Takeshi Obata.
Translation & Adaptation by: Tetsuichiro Miyaki.
Touch up art & Lettering: Gia Cam Luc.
Design: Sean Lee.
Cost: $US 7.99/ $AU 12.95 (Vol 9) & 13.95 (Vol 10).
Billed as a cult comic that has sold over fifteen million copies worldwide as well as being banned in China by the authorities in Beijing Death Note has become something of a phenomenon, no longer restricted to just a manga format it has also become an anime series as well as two live action movies that are available on DVD. My first encounter with this phenomenon was initially when I saw a trailer for both the anime series and then the live action movies that was on a magazine cover disc. Curious about what this whole Death Note thing was all about I decided to see what I could track down, the first place I looked was the local library and its index, sure enough their was something there, two volumes of the manga. With swift resolve I pounced upon these two volumes and borrowed them post haste to peruse them at my leisure. Fortunately for me this occurred on a Tuesday so once they were in my hands I was able to do the perusing at my local, a refreshing glass of cold amber fluid to hand along with a bag of Spicy Moroccan chicken flavoured chips to munch on.
The only person who managed to actually come close to bringing Kira to justice was L, a mysterious detective with an unusual methodology to solving unsolved crimes and cold cases, unfortunately Kira eventually proved too good for L and the great detective lost his life in the struggle. Still his mantle is taken up by Light in order for the Japanese task force’s investigation to continue and hopefully bring to justice their nemesis. By the time of Volume 9 though things are proving a little bit too much for the task force as it seems that Kira is somehow still managing to kill of ‘evildoers’ whilst at the same time he is managing to gain significant influence amongst the people at large that eventually the government of the US agrees to stop its investigation and accept Kira as a significant force in the world. Other nations begin to follow suit, especially as Kira worship becomes fairly open and accepted as a part of everyday life. As one member of the Japanese task force succinctly puts it, if they don’t capture Kira soon then it’ll become a crime for them to attempt what they’re currently doing.
This is a fairly complex manga as far as story goes, it took me two reads to get my head around precisely what was going on in the way of actual plot development. Much of the drama has the feel of an actual chess game, though one where there are three and possibly four players (at least) all seeking to bring about their goal, whether it be the ascension of Kira as the true authority in the world or his capture. The other interesting facet of this story is the fact that Light comes across more as an antagonist rather than a protagonist, whilst his so called adversaries; Mello and Near seem more like the protagonists of the story. The latter two characters are heirs to L and idolised the enigmatic detective so much that nothing would please them more than to bring his killer to justice, though the methods they employ are as worlds apart as the individuals involved. Mello comes across as something of a real bad ass whilst his rival Near is more akin to their eccentric and enigmatic idol, adopting an unorthodox methodology yet choosing to operate within the boundaries of legal authority.
And of course amongst all this there is the Shinigami Ryuk to consider. One wonders what his precise motivation was for conveniently ‘dropping’ his note into the mortal world. He is depicted as aiding Light in his forging of a new world order with Kira at the helm but there are moments when you sense that he is not completely under the thumb of the boy genius. Who is playing whom in this alliance? Is Light in charge or is that what the Shinigami wants him to believe? For atmosphere every so often at various stages in the manga there are pages in which the various rules of the Death Noter are written, in English and Japanese, scribed on a black page in white ink with a grinning skull at the top of each page and roman numerals denoting to number of the particular rule. Suspicion and betrayal ooze from every page as Light embarks on his agenda and the various other characters pursue theirs, even when he is suspected of being Kira by his own fellow Japanese taskforce member’s still he is able to weave his way towards his end goal through manipulation, deception and forward planning. Still it has to be said that he is gradually getting less and less room to manoeuvre through the action of his two primary opponents; Near and Mello.
In fact along with the issues of power and morality it could be said that the story is not only focused on these two concepts but it is also as much about the decline of an individual, the fall of someone of high ideals into the morass of despotism and megalomania. After reading these two volumes I was impressed, certainly Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata have crafted a manga cult classic with Death Note and after reading these two volumes I’m definitely keen to get my hands on some more, as well as get a hold of the live action movies and the anime.
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