Review: "Death Note"

“Death Note” is a serialized manga that ran in Japan’s “Weekly Shonen Jump” magazine from December 2003 to May 2006. It was first released in the U.S in October of 2005. Written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata, it follows the fall of a young man and his misguided attempt to change the world by passing supernatural judgment on criminals. The series is a cerebral, psychological thriller that examines ideas of crime, justice, and the fine line between genius and madness.

I chose to read Death Note on the recommendations of several friends who also enjoy manga. I also tend to enjoy psychological, cerebral stories. Despite it being published in a magazine that is mainly aimed at 13-16 year old boys, Death Note is a very mature story.

Synopsis:

Light Yagami is a genius, the best student in Japan in his age group. While attending high school in Tokyo, he coincidentally finds a notebook called a Death Note, which is revealed to have been dropped by a shinigami, or death god, named Ryuk. Ryuk was bored himself; the shinigami seemed to serve no purpose other than to occasionally kill humans with their Death Notes, which extends their lifespans. So Ryuk dropped the notebook, hoping whoever picked up and used it would be entertaining. The Death Note has the power to kill anyone whose name is written into it, and whether through boredom or arrogance, Light decides to use the notebook to kill criminals; he intends to create a new world over which he will reign like a god. The story revolves around Light’s task and the struggle to avoid capture by the police, in particular the world’s greatest detective, known only as L. One of the main plot mechanics is Light’s quest to find L’s true name and eliminate him (nicknames and aliases don’t work with the Death Note).

Art Style:

The art is excellent; using a dark and realistic style, Obata adds to the atmosphere of the story. One aspect of the art that is particularly well done is the subtle change that Light’s face undergoes throughout the series. As he strays further and further from morality and his ideals, his eyes lose their childlike sparkle and the lines in his face become darker and heavier. The series is drawn in black and white, but a lot of tones are used to give a more realistic feel. Manga is known for its highly expressive eyes and faces, and in this regard Death Note is a treat. While the suspenseful plot carries the series, the art is detailed and complements the mood well.

Death Note employs many conventions of the manga style: the sound effects are very minimal, just small black text, but are enough to convey the mostly subdued sounds in the story. The panels aren’t always set; sometimes an image may not be contained within a panel at all, which adds an intriguing sense of fluidity to the rather text heavy story. Flashbacks are conveyed by turning the gutters black as opposed to white for most pages.

Story:

Death Note thrives due to both strong characters and plot. While exploring the rather controversial themes of the story, Ohba’s restraint is praiseworthy; he avoids preaching to the audience, focusing on the character battles and allowing the readers to ponder the morality of the characters on their own. In this way he also causes the readers to ‘tell’ part of the story themselves, something few stories effectively achieve.

Though the overall story is rather tense and dark, the bits of humor keep the series from taking itself too seriously. Ryuk’s antics and the eccentricity of Misa Amane, Light’s girlfriend and another Death Note user, stand in stark contrast to the rest of the series and add a refreshing balance. One minor concern is that in the later volumes (8-12), the setting and cast expand extremely quickly, perhaps too quickly. This may be due to the fact that the series was originally intended to only run for about 6-7 volumes worth of chapters (which ends with the conclusion of Light and L’s battle). They were encouraged to continue by the magazine and the fans, and thus had to work out a way to continue a story that could have been wrapped up neatly within a few chapters.

Main character:

Light Yagami: The main character of the series, though it’s a matter of opinion whether he is a protagonist or not. Light’s boredom and disgust with the current state of the world mold his grand scheme of killing the world’s criminals to create a new world where people fear doing evil deeds. His descent into madness is fascinating; at first he seems to have some principles and sticking to his ideals, but by the end of the series it appears he is merely trying to “win” (aka kill his enemies). In addition, he is also an incredibly manipulative individual, conning the police, his family, and several girlfriends to advance his plans. Light’s motivations seem to be equal parts boredom, a strong sense of justice, and hubris, which makes him rather more complex and layered than many shonen manga protagonists. His desire to do good for the world is tainted by his methods and his desire to rule.

Conclusion:

I would highly recommend Death Note to anyone interested in manga, or perhaps even to those who believe that manga cannot be serious. I have already begun reading Ohba and Obata’s current serialization, “Bakuman”, and while it has a much more upbeat tone it is still an excellent read. This is one story I could consider “life-changing” in the sense that it is highly thought provoking and very re-readable.