Manga Review: Death Note: Volumes One - Three - Page 2

As the number of known criminals perishing under suspicious circumstances grows, our hero attracts the attention of Interpol and a mysterious criminal investigator named "L." Soon Light, calling himself "Kira," is using the Death Note against his police pursuers as well as those criminals he deems worthy of his judgment. Before the first volume is over, our protagonist is in a battle of wits with the equally formidable L.

As our story center, Kira/Light isn't a particularly likeable figure, nor is he meant to be. From the very start, his arrogant pronouncements about using the notebook to build a better world aren't quite convincing (at least as translated), while it doesn't take long for him to become as monstrous as the criminals he's destroying. In the first volume, he thinks nothing of using the Death Note on a person he thinks is L, while in the second, he systematically mows down a group of American F.B.I. agents investigating the Kira killings.

This sweeping mercilessness is enough to scare off most of the Japanese police, though not the detective heading the small task force, Soichiro Yagami, who also (but, of course!) turns out to be Light's father. By volume three, however, Kira/Light is already considering the possibility that he may have to do away with Dad and the rest of his family.

Grim stuff, in other words, though scripter Ohba somehow manages to slip elements of alternately mordant and lighthearted comedy (much of the latter coming from the grinningly amoral Ryuk) in his criminal mastermind horror tale. L — or at least the one agent of "L" that we're shown — turns out to be close to Light in age, and though the two match each other in looks, smarts and athletic ability, the detective proves slouchily inelegant stacked next to his rival. (The book has mild comic fun with the contrast.) Quickly deducing that Kira is someone who has connections to the Japanese police, L cozies up to his most likely suspect, asking for his help in catching Kira even as he openly admits that he's looking to Light as a prime suspect.

Article Author: Bill Sherman

Bill Sherman is the Comics & Graphic Novels review editor for Blogcritics. With his lovely wife Rebecca Fox, he has recently co-authored a sudsy size acceptance novel entitled Measure By Measure.

Visit Bill Sherman's author page — Bill Sherman's Blog