Death Note: Black Edition, Vol. 4

Death Note: Black Edition #4

by Tsugumi Ohba, Takeshi Obata (Illustrator)

Reads R to L (Japanese Style), for audience T+. Contains Volumes 7 and 8 of Death Note! 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. Will Light's noble goal succeed, or will the Death Note turn him into the very thing he fights against? Contains Volumes 7 and 8 of Death Note! 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. Will Light's noble goal succeed, or will the Death Note turn him into the very thing he fights against?

Genres: Manga, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Comics, Fiction, Horror, Thriller

416 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Tsugumi Ōba (Profile in Japanese: 大場 つぐみ), born in Tokyo, Japan, is a writer best known for the manga Death Note. His/her real identity is a closely guarded secret. As stated by the profile placed at the beginning of each Death Note manga, Ōba 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 that Tsugumi Ōba is a pen name and that he is really Hiroshi Gamō. Pointing out that in Bakuman the main character's uncle was a one-hit wonder manga artist who worked on a gag super hero manga, very similar to Gamō and Tottemo! Luckyman in all aspects. Also that the storyboards drawn by Ōba greatly resemble Tottemo! Luckyman in style.

Reviews

[zuza_zaksiazkowane]

No niestety. To jest już tak zakręcone, że chyba sam autor się gubi. Ja na pewno

[Caz (littlebookowl) · Rating 5 out of 5]

OOOOOH AAAAAH

[Bella · Rating 5 out of 5]

okay wow

[Amelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not my favourite in the series but still enjoyable

[Elena Rodríguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reseña en el tomo final.

[Brett C · Rating 3 out of 5]

This again was OK and not my favorite arc of the series. The story is starting to take off in a different direction than I would have expected. I'm going to continue through to the end. Thanks!

[Sima ✨ · Rating 2 out of 5]

even though I already saw spoilers for this volume, they treated L so unfairly I was expecting much more, L knew who Kira is in the beginning and then they took him down like a piece of useless equipment, maybe it is just a "favorite character curse" I guess.
I hate light so much I never liked him though, I'm so bored with all his drama and all, I want to see him lose so bad if that is ever gonna happen!
I already like Near and Mello, so they better end that Kira thing for good, and I don't want them to get killed too please <3

[Yukino · Rating 3 out of 5]

SERIE DEATH NOTE VOL 4

Lettura di gruppo E&L

Dopo un inzio scoppiettante, da metà in poi noia, assurdità e troppe pippe mentali.
Nonostante questo la storia risulta essere interessante, e la curiosità di vedere come va a finire è tanta. Per cui si prosegue. ^^

[Dane Cobain · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am still enjoying this series, but it’s starting to get samey by this point – and dare I say it, predictable? I don’t know, it’s just starting to feel a little bit as though the authors are trying to make it more complex at the expense of the actual story. Plus there was a character death that kind of bummed me out, although I kind of knew it was coming. I also wouldn’t be surprised if they turn out to not be dead.

I’ve compared Death Note to Prison Break in previous reviews, partly because each of these Black Edition bind-ups feels like a season of a TV show and partly because each individual issue ends up on a cliff hanger. It works, at least for a while, but at this point of the series the formula is starting to feel a little thin and I was kind of hoping for some extra innovation.

Still, I’m still enjoying reading through each of the different books in the series, it’s just that they went good, great, pretty good and then okay. That doesn’t fill me with much hope for the last two books in the series, but hey ho. I’m invested enough at this point that I want to see it through, and I also have a feeling that I’ve predicted a few of the twists and turns that the story is going to take.

I think another of the reasons why I gave this a 3.5/5 instead of a 4/5 or even a 4.5/5 is the fact that it’s getting hard to track who each of the death notes has belonged to. That then had the knock-on effect of making it difficult to theorise about what might happen next because there were too many different threads going on. But at the same time, I can see why that might appeal to some people.

All in all though, the series is pretty good and even though this isn’t the best installment, it’s worth reading and continuing on. There are only two more Black Editions to go now, and I will admit that I’m curious to see how it will end. I just think that at this rate, when I look back at it, it’ll be the first couple of editions that I think of. So yeah.

[Manisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm really enjoying this reread. It reminds me of how much I love this series.

And I'm still not okay with what happens in this edition.

[»-daly (leaving)→ · Rating 5 out of 5]

༊*·˚ 🖤 Thoughts 🖤 ༉‧₊˚.

I’m honestly obsessed with this series. I keep try to get my friend to finish it, but she gives me lame excuses. But, besides that, I loved this so much and I love how dark and in-depth it’s getting >:3

✎____________________________________________

⇢ ˗ˏˋ 🍎 Characters 🍎 ࿐ྂ

╰┈➤ Light: I still love Light, although I kinda hate the way he treats Misa. He’s so smart though and I’ve loved seeing him slowing turn evil.

╰┈➤ Misa: She’s a lot more tolerable. I think I just kind of misunderstood her. She’s really in love with Light, so it makes me sad to see the way he treats her :(

╰┈➤ Near: He reminds me a lot of L, which makes sense, but I feel like he was kind of just recycled? Don’t hate him or anything, he’s just kinda meh :/

╰┈➤ Mello: Okay what kind of name is that, but also he licks his chocolate bars so… All joking aside, I love his character design

✎____________________________________________

≡;- ꒰ °📓 The plot 📓 ꒱:-

I’ve loved seeing the plot of this series continue to develop: it’s getting so in depth and there’s so many rules to the Death Note and loopholes… the plot is three stars in itself.

[Sasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm just in love with that manga...

[connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

THIS IS GOING TO BE A SPOILER REVIEW. I AM VERY ANNOYED WITH SEVERAL THINGS, SO I WILL RANT. I DID REALLY ENJOY THE BOOK THOUGH. OKAY.

1) Ryuzaki's death pissed me off. I've talked to a few of my friends about it, and they've said that him dying like he did was more realistic than, say, Light Yagami, the bad guy of the book, killing him. No. Instead a God of Death killed him. I do sort of like that he died knowing that it was Light's fault (staring in to eachother's eyes, his last breath spent knowing Light Yagami is a smooth bastard who can manipulate even the amazing L, to an extent). But there's just something about how simple the heart attack was. I didn't like it.

2) Hidden Gay Subtext. This is going to be brief, but, like how I mentioned when describing Ryuzaki's death, them two had a lot more than just a no-trust/hate relationship. There was definitely a little bit of loving mixed in there, and I know ya'll could feel it too.

3) MISA AMANE. I. Love. Misa. My friend told me that nobody likes her except for me(I'm 99% sure that's not true), and the reason behind the dislike is because Misa is 'desperate'. I mean, I don't think I'll ever fall in love with a full on serial killer, but it's cruel saying Misa deserves the pain Light puts her through just because she's 'desperate'. He leads her on, manipulating her feelings (hence why I previously called him a smooth bastard), and that's not her fault: she's just too blind to realise Light doesn't love her. And I find that cruel.

All I hope is that Misa realises what a douche canoe Light is, but I've been told that that doesn't happen. Bummer. Still, they've only watched the anime, so the manga might end differently. Right? RIGHT?!

4) Ryuk and Rem. I really do like Ryuk: he makes all of those sassy comments, most of the time inwardly, seeing as how Misa can hear him, and and it's so clear how much enjoyment he gets out of watching the whole series of events roles out (especially when explaining to the other Shinigami where his Death Note is, which was another funny moment when you realise how little he cares for the rules). I really liked Rem as well, and I was a tad bit annoyed when she died, but she killed Ryuzaki, so I was over her death pretty quickly.

5) I like how Ryuzaki was always eating, and how Near and Mello picked up traits from him. Mello eats chocolate constantly (I thought he was a girl at first, although now I'm picturing him as Dan Howell wearing his leather shirt), and how Near is skilled when it comes to puzzles and being an overall cutie patootie (did you see him playing with those transformer toys?! TOO CUTE!!!!)

The art is amazing, the plot is getting thick and I am really looking forward to the next volume, which I'll hopefully be able to pick up from comic-con in May. A long way to go, but I might end up being able to pick it up cheap elsewhere instead.

4.5/5 for this volume.

[☠tsukino☠ · Rating 3 out of 5]

GdL con Edicola & Libreria: le nostre passioni...
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Dopo il passo lento dello scorso volume, gli eventi sono precipitati Elle e Watari sono morti, Ryuk è ritornato e subito si fionda sulle mele XD

Nella seconda parte ho avuto anche l'impressione che sia diventato tutto un po' troppo esagerato,
hanno usato un missile? davvero???
In più i due successori di Elle non hanno il suo stesso carisma (Mello è proprio odioso, e Near è la brutta copia di Elle).
Che Light si faccia infinocchiare così facilmente, quando con Elle era una continua partita a scacchi, è poco credibile (ma se si inserisci nella storia un missile ... -_- diventa tutto facile).
Se non altro alla fine sembra tornato ad essere il vecchio Kira senza scrupoli.
Per fortuna che ci sono gli Shinigami che mi fanno ... morire :P)

[Nerdish Mum · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I've already watched the anime, the big shocker that happened wasn't a big shocker to me. However it still annoyed me enough to dock a star as I feel that if this was going to happen (and believe me I wanted this to happen) it needed to be the end of the story instead of carrying it all on with a different name. However I am still thoroughly enjoying the absurdity of the logic and the creepiness of Light as we go along. I enjoyed the kidnapping story arc as I thought it brought something new to the table and made everything more interesting. The artwork I feel always needs a mention as it is on point. Can't wait to pick up the final two volumes to complete my collection and y read through.

[Saturn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Questo quarto volume è meno lento del precedente soprattutto per i doppi e tripli intrighi di spionaggio. C'è da dire però che diventa anche sempre più complicato da seguire, con regole su regole che si aggiungono e che sono difficili da ricordare in toto. I nuovi personaggi sono meno brillanti dei precedenti ed è un peccato perché il confronto fra Elle e Light è sempre stato uno degli aspetti più interessanti del fumetto. I poveri dei della morte sono oramai relegati a fare da sfondo e anche questo mi dispiace. Inoltre i poliziotti giapponesi sono troppo tonti a questo punto... Potrebbero pure farsi qualche domanda! La tensione rimane comunque viva e anche la curiosità di vedere la fine della storia.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Let's just say my head is swimming right now with all of the twists and turns Ohba introduced. Honestly, I don't know how he keeps track of what's happening *clutches head*

This fourth instalment really cranks up the action and whilst reading this I felt pretty tense throughout. The artwork is stunning...although I am shocked and deeply saddened by the absence of one character in particular!!!

I don't think my poor heart will ever mend :'(

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Out of all the volumes, I think I enjoyed this volume the least, mostly because of what happens to one of the very interesting main characters. It's an interesting development, but it also took me out of the story a bit. I do however love Light as a character, especially now that he's growing darker and darker with each volume. One of my biggest 'problems' with this series is that there are no female characters at all, except for Misa and she is portrayed as being pretty stupid and helpless.

[Laura Laufman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The audacity.

[gabe · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars*

[alittlelifeofmel · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5. There was a certain event I didn't think I could get past but I adored this one. It's getting better than 3 was!

[Niyura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Que vicio!!

[Caprice Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

[Arybo ✨ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ma che è ‘sta palla?

[Toni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aaand that is another one down... As predicted, I am breezing through this series!
This one was action packed and fast paced, collecting volumes 7 & 8. I knew certain deaths were coming, BUT that did not prepare me for the feels, I will never be over it...
We had the introduction of both Near and Mello, which has definitely has added more twists.
Time to smash the penultimate volume...

[Ashli Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

*3.75*


I didn’t enjoy this as much as the others BUT the plot has taken a v interesting turn and I’m excited to see where it all ends up going.

light is a sociopath but an impressive genius one, I can’t help but think that things are going to eventually stop going his way.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't expecting ANYTHING that went down. The twists were insane. My only regret is Light becoming what he has become. After what happened to L, my feeling for Light turned sour.


Book #35 of 2023.

[Joseph Hare · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume of Death Note is awesome. I remember when I finished reading the first volume I was pretty sure I knew what the whole series would consist of, I imagined it would all be just the same battle between Kira and L, and every time one side would come closer to winning something would stop it and everything would balance out again for a new load of chapters. I was wrong, totally wrong. This manga has more twists and turns in one volume than your regular epic fantasy book.
The Death Note itself is only capable of so much, right? There are rules to it. So I keep thinking that there's only so many ways things can play out, but the writing is genius. The characters that wield the Death Note (and even the ones who don't) have to be so meticulous when plotting against each other.
The introduction of two new main characters has been great, they felt like they were an essential part of the manga as soon as they showed up, and I love them both.

[Sandra Miksa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm loving the addition of characters like L - Mello and Near. It makes the readers think that all hope is not lost, which is great. The story still draws me in but it's not the same without the dynamic with L for this one; I am hoping that things will pick up in the next manga bind up.

[Illy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will say the series picked up again. I was not expecting L to die till the very end and have that kinda “they go out together” feel. But hey. It’s gotta a whole like more compliments with all these new people and shinigami.