Post by Richard El Britannia on Sept 9, 2008 21:00:57 GMT
Death Note
Volumes: 12
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Suggested Age: 16+
Story:
Death Note is unique manga series created by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata following the life of an incredibly intelligent student, Light Yagami, who finds a notebook which upon writing the name of an individual, would kill them. Light is sceptical of the rules written in the cover of the book which speak of what the book does and simply tests out what he sees using criminals condemned to death. When he finds out it is in fact real, he meets with the previous owner of the Death Note, a shinigami (or Death God) named Ryuk and decides to use the Death Note for justice, killing criminals and those he deems evil. With this, he aims to become 'God of a new world' with no evil.
As the deaths of criminals become obvious, Light has to evade capture from the governments, police and a mysterous detective named 'L' in order to see his plan come to fruition.
As the story further progresses, Light becomes famous as a fighter for justice, hidden from the world and only known by his alias as Kira. L and the police force still see this man as a killer and aim to capture him.
Kira eventually sees that L is his rival and the person he must defeat in order to be able to be safe.
The story, in basic, is all about how Kira battles against L and the police to survive. At times, you'll be astounded at the amount of detail gone into the plot. It's very well thought out and really showcases a different kind of battle in manga. Instead of people clashing with swords or fist, it's a battle of minds as Kira evades L.
Honestly, I find it quite difficult to explain how brilliantly thought out the whole thing is. You'll find it hard to put down a book just because of the suspense and intrigue built up.
There can be some problems with Death Note at times, however. The story is very complex at times and some people may have trouble understanding what exactly is going on.
Artwork:
Simply fantastic. Splitting up the work with Tsugumi doing art and Takeshi writing the story must've done the trick very well 'cause much like the story, the artwork is top notch too. There's a very distinct style here and it's instantly recognisable as Tsugumi's art. The characters look quite realistic, but still have very distinct looks without having crazy, spiked red hair or a crazy amount of scars or something.
There's a nice amount of detail that goes into everything else too, which isn't very common in manga. It seems to be that in American comic books, there's a lot more detail in the settings, rather than the characters and vice-versa for manga, but there seems to be a nice balance in this series.
Characters:
The characters and the way they develop in this manga are very well done. You see the gradual change in Light's behaviour as he goes from living for justice into simply killing anyone who gets in his way as he mentally breaks down which is simply done so well. It had a somewhat Romeo and Juliet feel to it in that way; you just knew how Light would become as the story progresses.
The rest of the characters are all very human, too and all play good roles.
Let me just say this now, too. L is one of the greatest characters in anything ever. I know he's ridiculously hyped and loved by all, but if you read this, you'd understand why.
Final Words:
This is one of the best times I've had reading manga. It is one of the most detailed things I've read in terms of plot. Thing is, though, this is a very dark manga. Not necessarily adult, but I couldn't see children enjoying this one bit. They'd probably break down and cry from how serious it all is. That being said, there are the odd comedic moments but in all honesty if you aren't into dark, serious manga you will not like this one bit. However, if you want a hugely detailed story with loads of twists, suspense and awesome characters, read this manga.
Volumes: 12
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Suggested Age: 16+
Story:
Death Note is unique manga series created by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata following the life of an incredibly intelligent student, Light Yagami, who finds a notebook which upon writing the name of an individual, would kill them. Light is sceptical of the rules written in the cover of the book which speak of what the book does and simply tests out what he sees using criminals condemned to death. When he finds out it is in fact real, he meets with the previous owner of the Death Note, a shinigami (or Death God) named Ryuk and decides to use the Death Note for justice, killing criminals and those he deems evil. With this, he aims to become 'God of a new world' with no evil.
As the deaths of criminals become obvious, Light has to evade capture from the governments, police and a mysterous detective named 'L' in order to see his plan come to fruition.
As the story further progresses, Light becomes famous as a fighter for justice, hidden from the world and only known by his alias as Kira. L and the police force still see this man as a killer and aim to capture him.
Kira eventually sees that L is his rival and the person he must defeat in order to be able to be safe.
The story, in basic, is all about how Kira battles against L and the police to survive. At times, you'll be astounded at the amount of detail gone into the plot. It's very well thought out and really showcases a different kind of battle in manga. Instead of people clashing with swords or fist, it's a battle of minds as Kira evades L.
Honestly, I find it quite difficult to explain how brilliantly thought out the whole thing is. You'll find it hard to put down a book just because of the suspense and intrigue built up.
There can be some problems with Death Note at times, however. The story is very complex at times and some people may have trouble understanding what exactly is going on.
Artwork:
Simply fantastic. Splitting up the work with Tsugumi doing art and Takeshi writing the story must've done the trick very well 'cause much like the story, the artwork is top notch too. There's a very distinct style here and it's instantly recognisable as Tsugumi's art. The characters look quite realistic, but still have very distinct looks without having crazy, spiked red hair or a crazy amount of scars or something.
There's a nice amount of detail that goes into everything else too, which isn't very common in manga. It seems to be that in American comic books, there's a lot more detail in the settings, rather than the characters and vice-versa for manga, but there seems to be a nice balance in this series.
Characters:
The characters and the way they develop in this manga are very well done. You see the gradual change in Light's behaviour as he goes from living for justice into simply killing anyone who gets in his way as he mentally breaks down which is simply done so well. It had a somewhat Romeo and Juliet feel to it in that way; you just knew how Light would become as the story progresses.
The rest of the characters are all very human, too and all play good roles.
Let me just say this now, too. L is one of the greatest characters in anything ever. I know he's ridiculously hyped and loved by all, but if you read this, you'd understand why.
Final Words:
This is one of the best times I've had reading manga. It is one of the most detailed things I've read in terms of plot. Thing is, though, this is a very dark manga. Not necessarily adult, but I couldn't see children enjoying this one bit. They'd probably break down and cry from how serious it all is. That being said, there are the odd comedic moments but in all honesty if you aren't into dark, serious manga you will not like this one bit. However, if you want a hugely detailed story with loads of twists, suspense and awesome characters, read this manga.
