Death Note, Vol. 1: Boredom (Death Note, #1)

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Death Note, Vol. 1: Boredom (Death Note #1)

by Tsugumi Ohba, Takeshi Obata (Illustrator)

4.34 of 5 stars 4.34 · rating details · 48,204 ratings · 1,002 reviews

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 auth...more

Paperback, 195 pages

Published October 10th 2005 by VIZ Media LLC (first published April 2nd 2004)

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Community Reviews

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Nov 04, 2012 Palice Pottle rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: very-interesting, i-was-entertained, hate-most-characters, hate-a-male-character, hate-a-female-character, dissappointed, could-ve-been-better

Death Note as a series, I would probably rate at 2.5.

I have a very long review somewhere on my computer, but I'll have to shorten it or cut it down into different parts for all the volumes. I'll figure it out soon... and I think I might have to go through the manga again.

Edit: My computer crashed. And I'll have to rewatch the anime to write a review for this now because I don't remember everything.

One thing I do remember: Sexist. Sexist. SEXIST OKAY.

51 likes · like · see review

Nov 01, 2007 Seth Hahne rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: pretty much anyone

Shelves: comics

Over the past three weeks I've been burning through one of the most exciting reads I've come across in a while. Death Note is a seat-edged battle of wits that left me exhausted by the end. Heck, I was exhausted by the halfway mark.

Let me start over. Death Note is a Japanese comic that tells it's story over the course of twelve volumes (on display now at your local Borders). If what I'm about to say sounds good but you don't feel like spending the eight dollars per volume, head to your local libr...more Over the past three weeks I've been burning through one of the most exciting reads I've come across in a while. Death Note is a seat-edged battle of wits that left me exhausted by the end. Heck, I was exhausted by the halfway mark.

Let me start over. Death Note is a Japanese comic that tells it's story over the course of twelve volumes (on display now at your local Borders). If what I'm about to say sounds good but you don't feel like spending the eight dollars per volume, head to your local library - they almost certainly carry the books in the Young Adults section. In any case, it's worth your time. Here's why.

The story begins when Ryuk, a death god (known in the story's mythology as shinigami), drops a death note into the human world in order to alleviate the boredom that oppresses his everlasting life. A death note is a special notebook possessed by shinigami that allow them to take the lives of humans whose names they write into the notebook. Ryuk's dropped notebook "happens" to fall into the path of Japan's top high school student, son of the chief of police, and all around genius, Light Yagami.

After a couple tests of the book's authenticity and the boundaries of some of its rules (e.g., one must visualize the face of the person whose name he is writing for that person to die), Light decides that he will forge a new world, a utopia in which all criminals (those would would take advantage of the weakness of others) simply die. Rather quickly, the police around the world begin taking notice of the staggering number of criminals who have suddenly dropped dead of heart attacks. Suspecting foul play, they want to find the perpetrator because law-and-order and vigilantism have never been the best bed-fellows. And it doesn't help that Light has gained a popular following amongst the masses who dub him Kira (which sounds remarkably similar to the Japanese pronunciation of the English word, "killer"). So the authorities enlist the assistance of the world's greatest detective (an anonymous man known only as L) and he quickly narrows the range of suspects dramatically, instigating a pulse-pounding game of of cat-and-mouse between the figures - L vs. Kira.

Initially, as exciting as the first couple volumes were, I had a hard time seeing how the story could sustain itself across twelve volumes. The key to Death Note's happy success is the absence of anything really resembling a status quo. The story and its elements are continually in flux. If things remained simple, I could see the book resolving in four or five volumes but everything is constantly moving, constantly changing. It was a fantastic read.

And smart. The fact that you're reading about these very intelligent characters who think things through to incredible lengths only adds to the excitement. There were moments of revelation and counter-revelation that simply blew my mind. And then there are moments when you think the jig is up for one or more of the characters and then a flashback will reveal the would-be victims plan from the start and you get to see tables turn and over turn as these characters fight for their lives.

And even after that, the moral question that is explored by the book's author and artist really goes to lengths to get the reader thinking about means and ends and it's not at all clear who one should root for. It helps that Light, despite having an ego that won't quit, is entirely unselfish in his motivation. Death Note is almost a distillation of an important moral question.

In short, I highly recommend this series to just about anyone.(less)

40 likes · like · see review

Sep 04, 2011 Kira rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: bitchin' peeps

Recommended to Kira by: my bitchin' peeps

Shelves: manga, favorites, books-that-changed-my-life, dystopian

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. There is no effing way I am spending six hundred hours reviewing every single volume, so I'll be brief: Death Note is awesome.

Honestly, I absolutely loved it. Okay, it got so much shittier after Near showed up holding up a big sign shaped like an arrow that read "DEUS EX MACHINA" in sparkly gold lettering, but even then the art was still great, the protagonist/antagonist (which is Light? It's pretty subjective) still had me on moral tenterhooks, and the plot still had me guessing.

Oh, and it als...more

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May 21, 2013 Merary rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: manga, mystery-and-or-murder, graphic-novels, i-loved-it, paranormal, death, fantastic-fantasy, ya, interesting-characters, inside-sick-minds, originally-japanese, series-that-i-love, has-a-movie-adaptation, i-saw-the-movie-as-well

Once upon a time, there was a young, intelligent man who had it all: Excellent grades (in fact, he was number one in all of Japan), a loving family, popularity, friends, good looks (really good looks! That boy is just too pretty!), a great body, and girls wanting to fu—um, I mean—date him.
But, there was only one teensy, tiny problem:
He was so fucking bored, y’all!

But, everything changed when a mysterious notebook dropped from the sky (Whoosh!) and landed outside his school. The young man notice...more

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Nov 21, 2011 Joyzi rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fans of Shonen

Recommended to Joyzi by: Crunchyroll

Shelves: manga, author-japanese, mystery, nook, anime

I read it in my nook. Isn't that sweet? I really like the manga but I like the anime better simply because the english translation sucks and there's a lot of similarities between the anime and the manga so I pretty much know what'll happen.

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This is my most favorite anime of all time. It even beat up Ouran High School Host Club, Code Geass, Ghost Hunt, RomeoxJuliet etc. This anime change my life...seriously. I even remember being...more

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Jun 09, 2008 Sheila Ruth rated it 5 of 5 stars

Death Note was my first manga, and I enjoyed it rather more than I thought I would. Although the premise sounds quite macabre, this isn't a book about "killing people," as would seem from the description. The pleasure in reading Death Note comes from watching the battle of wits between two brilliant minds, Light and L, as each tries to find out the identity of the other. The book also raises interesting philosophical questions, such as, is it wrong to kill criminals who have committed horrible c...more

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Dec 23, 2007 Fuzzy rated it 2 of 5 stars

I've been hearing a lot about this manga (which is also an anime and a live action movie, now) so I took the opportunity at Erica's cousins' to read Volume 1. So, yes, I can understand the appeal to high school misfits -- Japanese high schooler Light Yagami finds a "Death Note" dropped by a Shinigami ("death god") and decides to use the powers of the note to cleanse the earth of evil doers. Half the book reads like a late night 'philosophical' discussion as Light tests the increasingly detailed...more

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Jul 20, 2008 Caroline rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2008, manga

There's a lot of hype surrounding the Death Note series, especially since Adult Swim started airing the anime adaptation of it. I'm always a bit reluctant to join in on the crazes like this, but figured I'd give it a shot when my husband was really enjoying the twists and turns of the anime.

I was really happy with how well-done the story is so far! It really sucked me right in and the protagonist, Light Yagami is pretty interesting to watch. Definitely enjoying this series.

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Noran Miss Pumkin My copy just arrive and is awaiting me this week sometime. I picked this and Emma for the summer to trial for now, with Fruits Basket and my other cou...more
Jul 20, 2008 10:14pm

Caroline I get a lot of the graphic novel titles from my library system--we have a really amazing county library that will ship items between branches for you,...more
Jul 21, 2008 03:26pm

May 27, 2013 Saniya(Will Herondale is mine) rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Great people who want to be mind fucked.

Shelves: favorites

This is mind fucking, but still.

I, I just love Death Note. So, so much.

I must be cray cray, but I love Light Yagami more than L, even though I know L is correct and there should be justice. But I feel for Light. Even though he would kill and use me too in an instance. (Gosh, I am crazy.) But I believe that Light was a good guy and if he haven't gotten that Death Note in the first place, he would have been the most kick-ass Detective ever. :'(
I loved the anime. And the Manga didn't disappoint me...more

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Sep 25, 2009 Jonathan rated it 5 of 5 stars

The power of Death in your hands? What would you do with it? Would just ignore it or would you use it to rid the world of evil?
In this manga, Light Yagami is a regular high school student who stumbles upon a notebook. Not just any plain notebook but the Death Note. He then uses the Death Note to rid the world of all evil.
The story is one of the best I ever read. When you hold this manga and start reading it, you will start shaking in the suspense it has.
The characters in Death Note are very int...more

6 likes · like · see review

Dec 31, 2008 Emily marked it as to-read

Light Yagami is an all around "good kid" he helps his little sister with her homework (more like does it for her but whatever) and is a serious A+ student. Besides all this he feels stuck in the same routine and feels bored he wants at least something interesting to happen so when he spots a notebook wearing the title "Death note" it seems like the perfect chance to stir things up.
At first he thinks it's a prank when he reads the directions inside the note book. Supposedly if you write a perso...more

1 like · like · see review

Dec 06, 2008 Judy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Animé and graphic novel fans

Recommended to Judy by: A friend

Shelves: graphic-novel

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Deathnote (Vol. 1: Boredom) was as disturbing as it was intriguing. The story revolves around a Japanese teenager named Light. He finds a notebook that allows him to destroy people from a remote distance if he has certain information about them. It's kind of like the Internet, except that Light’s victims always die. The notebook belongs to a shingami (a demon or 'death god' unique to this story), who dropped it to the Earth out of boredom. Light’s initial hesitance to use the item he calls “evil...more

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May 13, 2008 Nancy rated it 3 of 5 stars

I heard about this from NPR and thought the premise sounded interesting. I don't normally read comics or graphic novels - I find it really hard to pay attention to pictures. I liked this book much more than I thought I would. The story is cool, and I was sorry not to have Book 2 when I finished the first one. But the writing is disappointing. It services the plot in the most minimal way possible. I guess that's the tradition of comics, though. Still, the characters could have had more distinct v...more

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Aug 12, 2011 Iva rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: action, mystery

One of THE best mangas EVER. Read it all, and deeply regret that there's no more of it. But there's a very similar also a mystery manga called Bloody Monday, only there the main theme is hacking

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Oct 25, 2011 El Templo de las Mil Puertas added it · review of another edition

Shelves: 01-eltemplo, la-comicteca

"Finaliza por fin en España la publicación de Death Note, uno de los mangas que más ha dado de que hablar en los últimos años; se trata de un thriller sobrenatural que toca temas tan profundos como la naturaleza del bien y del mal, la corrupción del poder… o la gran pregunta de esta historia: ¿es lícito que la gente se tome la justicia por su mano? ¿Se viviría mejor en un mundo donde todos los criminales fuesen automáticamente exterminados? ¿Convertiría a su verdugo en otro criminal más, o quien...more

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Feb 26, 2009 Mochacocafan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: recommended

Few mangas are this complicated, philosophical or ruthlessly harsh. Light Yagami (Yagami Raito, GO [Generation Otaku:] freaks here :P) a high school valedictorian, finds a notebook dropped to the earth. He reads the instructions, all in English, and discovers he can kill anyone in the world just by knowing their name and face. What does he do now?

Instead of going into detail of the plot, let me just examine Light before the series begins. In the first manga page, he is sitting, hand folded unde...more

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Mar 25, 2013 Anouk rated it 4 of 5 stars

A very interesting start to a series.

There is not much humour in it, which is a deviation from most manga's I've read, but this doesn't bother me much since the suspence keeps you interested from first to last page.
The story, as complicated as it gets after a few volumes (I've read up to V.5 before this), is presented clear but not boring.

The art is good and solid, and never distracts from the story, only serves it.

I have a soft spot for murder mysteries, so this cat-and-mouse chase is right up...more

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Mar 22, 2013 Ferdy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: brilliant-concept, manga, psycho-hero, douchery-afoot, fucked-up-hero, great, good-world-building, interesting, unlikeable-characters

4.5 stars - Spoilers

This is the first manga I've ever read. I was reluctant to start Death Note because for some reason I didn't think it would entertain me. Thankfully, it was extremely enjoyable, it's probably one of the best things I've read in months. There are twelve volumes in total and I'm definitely going to try and get my hands on each of them.

I adored the concept, I've not read anything quite like it before. It begins when a Shinigami (a Japanese death god) called Ryuk drops his Death...more 4.5 stars - Spoilers

This is the first manga I've ever read. I was reluctant to start Death Note because for some reason I didn't think it would entertain me. Thankfully, it was extremely enjoyable, it's probably one of the best things I've read in months. There are twelve volumes in total and I'm definitely going to try and get my hands on each of them.

I adored the concept, I've not read anything quite like it before. It begins when a Shinigami (a Japanese death god) called Ryuk drops his Death Note (a book that allows a person to kill a human simply by writing their name in it) into the human world. Why? Because he's bored and he thinks that a human getting their hands on the Death Note will cure his boredom. I loved that Ryuk started all the mayhem that occurs in Death Note just because he wanted some excitement.

Genius student, Light Yagami, who's also bored finds the Death Note and naturally, chaos ensues. It was great how Light used the Death Note to dispense justice - he targeted killers, rapists and all kinds of bad people. I found it intriguing that Light wanted to create a Utopian society by killing off criminals and thus making people think twice before committing a crime. I initially thought Light had the right idea but then I wasn't so sure because I felt that Light's vision was somewhat skewed and it was less about justice and more about the power. Even when the police were closing in on him, Light didn't stop using the Death Note, if anything he saw it as a challenge and tried his best to cover his tracks. He was definitely letting all that power go to his head. I suspect his arrogance will eventually get him into serious trouble. Light was quite a fascinating character - he was ruthless, greedy and quite vile but he still managed to be engaging and compelling.

I honestly don't know why the police and government were getting so scared by a bunch criminals dying. I thought their reaction was over the top, I didn't expect them to be happy about what was going on but they seemed overly angry. But that's just me.

I was impressed with the Death Note having a bunch of different rules and limits - it would have been boring if the Death Note could have been used in any old way. Light was pretty clever in trying to figure exactly what he could and couldn't do.

My favourite character was L. He was smart, logical and cool. Even though L and Light never met, they had an entertaining antagonistic relationship.

What I did find disappointing was that there was no strong female characters - Light's sister was annoying, Light's mum came across like a brainless housewife and Light's girlfriend was weepy and clingy.

The artwork was amazing - everything was depicted beautifully. The story was gripping, the concept was interesting and the characters were engaging. I'm really looking forward to the next volume.
I'd recommend this to everyone. Anyone who hasn't read manga before, this is a great series to start with.

**Review copy provided by Edelweiss and VIZ Media.
(less)

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Mar 08, 2013 Ethan D. rated it 5 of 5 stars

The first volume in a 13-part series hooks you from the first few chapters, and engages you in Ohba/Obata's world of shinigami, genius detectives and a little black book that changes the world. At the top of his high school class, Light Yagami is looking forward to a bright future with a knack for crime investigation and puzzling cases, something that would lead him to follow in his fathers footsteps as Chief of Police. Up in the heavens above (or below), the world of Shinigami, similar to the G...more

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Dec 01, 2012 Syifa Adiba rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: manga, fantasy, horror, mystery, young-adult, anime

Hyaaa... Ini adalah salah satu komik cowok yang gue suka. Kenapa gue bilang komik cowok yang gue suka? Karena gak semua komik cowok itu enak dibaca di mata anak perempuan. Yeah.. Selain karena minim adegan romantis, komik ini genre-nya agak sedikit melenceng dari jiwa perempuan. Ya eyalah. Namanya juga komik cowok.

Kayaknya gue ga perlu panjang lebar buat ngejelasin komik ini tentang apa karena komiknya udah tamat dalam versi Indonesia (kalo gak salah 12 tamat) dan sudah ada versi anime beserta f...more

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Nov 25, 2012 Alison (AlisonCanRead) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: manga

Starting a new manga series is always a treacherous endeavor. Each series has its own feel, own drawing style, own cast of characters, etc. I often find that the plots are confusing for the first several volumes and it takes me awhile to get invested in the story.

The first volume of Death Note is not particularly confusing, but I'm curious to see how it can get more than a few volumes out of the plot. Light - the main character - is a teenager who becomes a renegade hitman when he finds a Death...more

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Sep 24, 2012 Christiana rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novels-n-manga, teen-fic, middle-school, high-school

3.5 stars for me. I actually really like the philosophy and questions this manga raises (for example, is it ok to play God if you have good intentions? Is all that keeps us from killing people how we look in front of others? If we had the ability to kill people secretly, would we? Is it ok to kill people if they deserve it? SO MANY THINGS).

However, I never fully connected with our main character, Light. He doesn't actually seem like a real high school teen and his thinking is so different from...more

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May 14, 2012 Ezlo rated it 2 of 5 stars

This is pretty much my opinion of the series as a whole:
It started out pretty interesting. The story idea was kind of cool, the art is great, and Light seemed like an interesting character...at first. He is top in his class just like every other classy anime male lead and his many schemes are pretty smart. The problem is, although he has brains, he has absolutely no heart and no personality. I know, he's supposed to be evil, and in most respects an antagonist as the main character would be inte...more

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Apr 21, 2012 Jack rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favourites

Wow! Such an epic and intriguing read which I really enjoyed! So glad I finally got around to this first volume - I'll have to read the second very soon!!

Characters - 5/5 - Absolutely amazing and I really emoted with them throughout. I felt like you developed great connections with them and you felt involved with Light, who was the main character. The way the characters were created was just incredible - such unique and different characters. I love how Light is such an intelligent main character...more Wow! Such an epic and intriguing read which I really enjoyed! So glad I finally got around to this first volume - I'll have to read the second very soon!!

Characters - 5/5 - Absolutely amazing and I really emoted with them throughout. I felt like you developed great connections with them and you felt involved with Light, who was the main character. The way the characters were created was just incredible - such unique and different characters. I love how Light is such an intelligent main character who succeeds and does very well in school. I just love how he's presented in that way and I found him very realistic, too. And the other characters are all great, too! Can't wait to find out what happens to them all in the next volume!

Plot - 4.5/5 - Such an enjoyable plot that carried great intrigue. There were themes and moments in there that really got me thinking so much. I also loved how at the end of each chapter they had a little thing called "Death Note: How to use it" and that got me thinking and predicting what could possibly happen next, as well as giving more information to the reader. I won't give it a 5 for some picky reasons like it always is between 4.5's and 5's, but I really adored the plot in this!

Drawing - 4.5/5 - I really liked the style. I think I'm probably right in saying that it may be a more realistic manga style compared to some other mangas? I find some things quite in-depth and there's definitely more writing in there too compared to a few other mangas I've read. This definitely helps with the intrigue and general enjoyment the reader gets. And I also loved the look of everything, the characters and the surroundings, so it's hard to complain!

Enjoyment - 4.5/5 - Such an enjoyable read! I really enjoyed it and was instantly hooked from the first page. We were instantly thrown into the situation and just had to keep reading and reading. I love books like that; books that don't hang around and just get on with it straight away! It's quite simply so enjoyable for the reader!

Overall - 4.6/5 - Same score as I gave to "Bleach" by Tite Kubo and I really loved that. I think this is as good and possibly in some little ways slightly better. So great things from this book and I can't wait to read more of the series!!(less)

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Apr 09, 2012 Dave rated it 4 of 5 stars

A death-demon leaves a magical journal to be discovered by a mortal. The journal's most basic magic property is that its owner can kill anyone by transcribing their name into it. From this simple, eerie premise, Tsugumi Ohba weaves a complex morality play that's got me itching to read further volumes.

In particular I'm drawn to the protagonist - an ingenious but morally detached high school student - and the "rules" of the Death Note Journal, which make for great, twisted drama. The realistic art...more

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Mar 20, 2012 Lisbeth Avery {Assorted Insanity} rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favourite, manga, five-stars, library, scary-ya, such-memories, male-pov, made-me-smile, reviewed

Death Note is one of the first mangas I have read in a long time. My library stinks when it comes to mangas. So do all the ones around me, so I have to read them online, or make do with what I have.

Thank Talos that my libraries had this one! I bet if I looked hard enough, I could find an online version of this, but c’mon, reading physical manga is fun! I really am disappointed that I couldn’t read Hetalia physically, because it is so fun to read but that’s another review.

Light is sort of the ant...more

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Jan 20, 2012 Amanda rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: manga

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Death Note is the first of many tries I have had with manga. I usually read a few and then simmer off, but this series is really interesting. It begins with a shinigami named Ryuk who drops the death note. The death note is basically a notebook in which, when anyone writes a name down or specific directions to someone's death, it will happen. If there is no specific death written, the person will die of a heart attack. It's a very simple idea, but one that is questionable. If someone had the pow...more Death Note is the first of many tries I have had with manga. I usually read a few and then simmer off, but this series is really interesting. It begins with a shinigami named Ryuk who drops the death note. The death note is basically a notebook in which, when anyone writes a name down or specific directions to someone's death, it will happen. If there is no specific death written, the person will die of a heart attack. It's a very simple idea, but one that is questionable. If someone had the power to jusst kill anyone in a matter of seconds, who would they kill? well the boy who picks up the death note is Light Yagami. After he discovers how to use the notebook and what it entails, he decides to in his mind, use it for the better of the world. He wants to get rid of all the evil, and all the murderers, the corruption. In a mere thought, he's doing what millions of people think would be good. To not kill the innocent, but kill those who make the world a terrible place, because it is one. The rest of volume 1, is all about Light trying to hide his identity as the one who is behind the mysterious deaths. People are starting to refer to him as Kira, which is basically god. Light does refer to himself as a 'god' over and over, thinking that he could somehow recreate a better world, all because of the notebook. He's an intelligent character, but his ideas seem too safe. Safe the entire world, by killing off those who do not deserve to be on it? Something wrong will have to happen, possibly a choice.

I think that illustrator, Takeshi Obata has a wonderful technique. I think that a lot of manga looks very similar in the characteristics of each person, but I think that Ryuk has a uncanny look to him. The entire reason that the death note is in the human realm, is because of his boredom with his life. In chapter 5 he says, "To the current shinigami, feelings like 'I hate this Human.' or "let's make the human world a better place,' or even 'Let's mess around with the uman world' don't exist anymore. in other words, the human world is of no matter to the shinigami. They take the lives of people simply because of the desire to live. To be honest, the shinigami world is rotting. Nobody's life has purpose. Nobody's life has meaning..." he exactly points out the problem in his life. I found this to be my favorite quote from the first volume, it explains a sort of realistic view of how some see the actual world. Do we actually have a purpose? Even if life is not as eccentric as we wish it was, should we keep living? And if we were given the choice to make a more pure world, what would we do? It seems unfair for one young boy, to have the power of what we see as some 'god' should have. But suffering is the mentality of us all, it should happen.

I've truly only look at a few books of manga, and just from reading the first volume, I already truly enjoy Death Note. Either it's the way the characters are or it's the illustrations, both are just very out there and this is a real question. A real thought we can all think, a perfect world. I don't think it's possible, the world needs corruption and evil and everything we hate. It just wouldn't be possible without it, everything happens for a reason. (less)

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Dec 04, 2011 Πέτρος rated it 4 of 5 stars

ART SECTION: 10/10
Top notch, realistic, with amazing camera angles, and shadowing effects. There is variety in faces, so nobody looks the same and most characters change cloths all the time, so don’t expect the “Naruto effect”. Excellent, as long as you like dark palette colors.

STORY SECTION: 7/10
The God Of The New World!

The Death Gods in the series are really bored with their existence and from time to time play tricks with mortals, just to kill the boredom with a little laugh. An ingenious...more

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Oct 11, 2011 Karilyne rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is my opinion of the story & character of the whole series. So there may be spoilers ;D

This series is true genius. Even now the anime is one of the most need-to-watch-of-all-time! Both were extremely captivating ;D The author is an expert at creating personalities for characters, giving them each their own set of logic that makes complete sense! In there own unique way ofcourse.

ＣＨＡＲＡＣＴＥＲ１
ＬＩＧＨＴＹＡＧＡＭＩ

He is a typical straight A student but unlike others he's BORED. BORED by his effortles...more This is my opinion of the story & character of the whole series. So there may be spoilers ;D

This series is true genius. Even now the anime is one of the most need-to-watch-of-all-time! Both were extremely captivating ;D The author is an expert at creating personalities for characters, giving them each their own set of logic that makes complete sense! In there own unique way ofcourse.

ＣＨＡＲＡＣＴＥＲ　１
ＬＩＧＨＴＹＡＧＡＭＩ

He is a typical straight A student but unlike others he's BORED. BORED by his effortless good marks and the infinite evil residing in the world. Light is supposedly the protagonist in his point of view but to us.... He's a murdering psycho that goes insane from power and uses his good looks to get people to do his dirty work but still for some reason is truly beloved. O.o

ＣＨＡＲＡＣＴＥＲ　２
ＭＩＳＡ　ＡＭＡＮＥ

I don't know if I got the last name right but Misa (wtf is keeps auto correcting into misapplied) really an innocent soul. Like if you reincarnated her and not let her parents die off then you wouldn't have any problems with a clueless worshipper. Misa is rich, famous, gothic (kinda), pretty, and stupid. Well in some ways. She has killed so many too but you just cant classify her as evil!! Misa totally adores the psycho Light while he uses her to do shit and take the blame off her.

ＣＨＡＲＡＣＴＥＲ３
Ｌ

God. L is just my fav guy ever. He's a damn genius at deduction and I still don't know his name!! L is a hunch-back and looks like he hasn't slept in ages. He eats sugary foods non-stop (supposedly brain power burns calories) and goes into fetal position to think (or else IQ goes down by 50%) WHY DID HE HAVE TO FUCKING DIE. THAT DAMN UNIMPORTANT SHINIGAMI KILLED HIM TOO. T_____T

This ends my review. Its full a repetition I bet ==. Hope ya read the manga and love it with all of your undying soul
4.5 Stars.
( - 0.5 because some tiny circumstances of the plot does not bode well with me. Not that it's bad of course. Just personal opinions ^^)(less)

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Sep 27, 2011 Enrique rated it 4 of 5 stars

What if a Shinigami droped his Death Note to earth? What if a human picked it up? We are introduced to Yagami Light, a top ace student in Japan who is tired of a crime poluted world. With a note book that let's you kill anyone with a name and face, what is Light to do?

Okay, Light is like a regular teenaged kid. Besides the fact that he's freakishly intellegent and probably qualifies for Harvard. But besides the point, Light wants to change the world. And Shinigami Ryuk drops his Death Note which...more What if a Shinigami droped his Death Note to earth? What if a human picked it up? We are introduced to Yagami Light, a top ace student in Japan who is tired of a crime poluted world. With a note book that let's you kill anyone with a name and face, what is Light to do?

Okay, Light is like a regular teenaged kid. Besides the fact that he's freakishly intellegent and probably qualifies for Harvard. But besides the point, Light wants to change the world. And Shinigami Ryuk drops his Death Note which can kill anyone with name and face. However Light has plans to kill criminals and become 'god' of a new world, which I find ridiculous.

Light's goal doesn't come with consequences as his death toll is picked up by Interpol and the worlds greatist detective known by 'L'. Now here we see Light take L's bait and giving the great detective the clue that the murderer now known as 'Kira' is in Japan and his home location. Thus the game of cat and mouse begins for Light and L.

You definately see the clash between the two major characters L and Light who both think they are fighting for justice. Who you think is right and wrong are up to you to figure out. L though really represents justice through law and will do anything to stop Light from killing more. Personally I can agree with L who strives to maintain peace.

I actually really dislike Light. He is just very arrogant declaring he'll become god by doing what he finds 'just'. When I read this I found Light to be similar to insane criminals that you see in prisons. Out of all mannga protagonist, Light is the one I dislike the most. But if you like the smart type, then you as a reader might enjoy his twisted mind games.

If you like detective drama mixed in with some paranormal stuff, then this might suit you. By the way, those who said manga is for little kids will be proven wrong with Death Note. In fact I only recomend older teens and adults read this due to content. But it has you in suspense as you watch L and Light's mind games collide like a chess match. You even might want to stick around to see the end.(less)

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About Tsugumi Ohba

Tsugumi Ohba (大場つぐみ Ōba Tsugumi?, born in Tokyo, Japan) is a writer best known for the manga Death Note. His real identity is a closely guarded secret. As stated by the profile placed at the beginning of each Death Note manga, Ohba collects teacups and develops manga plots while holding his knees on a chair, similar to a habit of L, one of the main characters of the series.

There is speculation th...more

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Books by Tsugumi Ohba

Death Note, Vol. 2: Confluence (Death Note, #2)

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

Death Note, Vol. 4: Love (Death Note, #4)

Death Note, Vol. 8: Target (Death Note, #8)

Death Note, Vol. 5: Whiteout (Death Note, #5)

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“Start looking around you... and all you see are people the world would be better off without.” — 106 people liked it

“The name of the human who is written in this note shall die.” — 78 people liked it

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Death Note, Vol. 1: Boredom (Death Note #1)

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