Death Note Vols I and II The Black Edition
Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

Viz Media (Distributed in the UK by Simon and Schuster)
20 January 2011/ ISBN9781421539645
Fantasy/Manga / Teenage and Adult
Amazon US || UK

Reviewed by Rachel A Hyde

Seventeen-year-old Light Yagami is a straight A student who seems to have a glittering future ahead of him. Trouble is, he is bored. One day he finds a notebook in the street with a message inside that all the finder has to do is write a person’s name into it and they die. At first he thinks it is some sort of sick joke, but when he sees Ryuk the Shinigami he realises that he has something unique and useful. Ryuk is bored too, and finds the human realm enthralling, especially his new best friend, Light. Having the Death Note surely means that Light can do great good in the world, causing evil criminals to expire neatly and quietly. But having this power to rid the world of evil is going to turn Light first into a secret executioner, and then into somebody who has to cover his tracks.

First published in 2003 this has become a great manga classic, and it is not hard to see why. As well as being entertaining it gives the reader food for thought; if we had this power would it corrupt us, and where would we stop? Light belongs to a law-abiding family and his father is a chief of police, but when he uses the Death Note he has the ability to choose who lives and who dies without getting his hands dirty. Suddenly everybody is on his tail trying to find out who is responsible for all the prisoner deaths, and he finds himself pitted against a mysterious adversary known only as L.

Somewhat akin to a modern version of Faust this essentially moral but thrilling tale has wide appeal, dealing as it does with a perennial dilemma. As this is a manga novel there is the added dimension of graphics and these are of a deliberately naturalistic style, contrasting with the bold, demonic figure of Ryuk. Their simple edginess suits a contemporary tale like this with a serious theme. I look forward to what transpires next; a must for every manga library.

Reviewer's Note: