<Death Note> Manga Discussion

[_Sin_]

I did a search and found no existing threads about this topic so I hope you don't mind if I create one.

I already posted a summary of the plot somewhere in the Manga Subforum and since I feel lazy I'll just copy and paste:


I don't know the Forums stance on Fansubs or Scanslation so I'll just ask: Would be linking to English unlicensed anime fansubs and manga scanslations against the rules? [Noone has replied to that still]

Death Note is about a guy called Light who is pretty popular and intelligent; one day he finds a note book (you guessed it, it's the Death Note). This Note Book was intentionally dropped by a Shinigami (a Death God or also known as a Reaper). Light realizes that he can kill people with it by writing their names into the book and imagining their faces. That's where it gets interesting: He decides to make the world a better place and starts off killing criminals so that the people realize that being good equals life and being bad equals death.

Some time later, Light (who's being called Kira by the people now) is being followed by a pretty smart detective called L whose real name is unknown to Kira, thus he cannot kill him with the Note. From hereon there is a nicely and intelligently done cat-and-mouse game between both of them in which Kira tries to figure out L's real name and L tries to figure out who Kira is. Interestingly enough.

This manga has some action and will make you want to read more and more since it's sooo good and thrilling

And now the obligatory Christian value:
Light plays god so that might be a big turn-off for those of you who cannot differentiate between fiction and reality but I find this twist pretty interesting myself. What would a human do with a god-like power? Would he use it for good or for evil? Is Kira an evil person by killing criminals only?
On the contrary there is his father who values every life and desperately tries to stop Kira which is a pretty interesting constellation considering that I want to know how his father will react if he finds out that his son is the person who he hates the most: Kira. Or from another perspective, would Kira go as far as wiping his family out if necessary?

I'd really like to hear your opinion on this because I think it's a pretty intriguing manga.

PS: If scanslation links are allowed and you are interested, I'll post them here.

[uc pseudonym]

To answer your question: we obviously forbid scanlations of any liscenced manga. Those that have never been brought to America fall into a grey area. While we may not condemn this practice from a Christian perspective, for the purposes of legality we do not allow links to be posted on these boards.

That having been said, I have enjoyed what I have read of the manga. There isn't a lot of action, but there is a lot of thinking, which I find very interesting. I've been one step ahead of Light (I prefered Raito) and L most of the manga, but in their shoes I could never keep up that type of intellectual battle. In the beginning (I'll be vague to avoid spoilers) I was rooting for L the entire time; he is probably my favorite character.

[chibi_chan]

I love death note. The arts buetiful and the story and characters are so intriging! X3 I've only read up to chapter 52 and I can't wait to read more.

[_Sin_]

I love death note. The arts buetiful and the story and characters are so intriging! X3 I've only read up to chapter 52 and I can't wait to read more.

Chapter 53 is already out. It's such a turning point in the manga. And another cliffhanger, ack!

[chibi_chan]

Really? *goes off to search* X3

[_Sin_]

yeah, this is a rather hard to discuss manga without giving away spoilers...
it's very interesting and cliff-hanger-y, but almost too psychologically heavy for me.

as a side note, Death Note is done by the same person who did (the art for?) Hikaru no Go...

The spoiler tags are there for a reason, aren't they?

[Mave]

I had no idea the mangaka was the same fellow who did Hikaru no Go! What a drastic change in the artstyle! 0.o;;;

I'll probably check this one, the story sounds very interesting....say, who's the ugly-looking one?

[uc pseudonym]

That would likely be Ryuuku, the Shinigami/Reaper that drops the first Death Note and causes the entire problem. Unless you think that Raito/Light is really ugly, that is.

[MasterDias]

[quote="Mave"]I had no idea the mangaka was the same fellow who did Hikaru no Go! What a drastic change in the artstyle! 0.o]
I wouldn't say that it's that drastic of a change. Some of his human characters do look similar to designs in HnG. At least, they did to me.

At any rate, I've read four chapters of it and found it interesting so I will continue reading it.

[Kaori]

I hadn't heard of the manga before this, but now that I've read some of it I find it fascinating. This is by far the most intellectual manga I have read.

[Jasdero]

*o* This sounds interesting...... *O*/ I must find it!!!! >X3

[Mr. SmartyPants]

wow, this sounds really interesting. I should check this out

[uc pseudonym]

Regarding the most recent chapter in English as of this post...

[spoiler]Hm... interesting development; I can't say that I expected it (though I don't know how long the series will go).

If L is not dead: The position could logically be held with all facts accounted for, but I can't be certain. In any case, it will probably be over soon unless an entirely new element is brought into play.

If L is dead: The easier position to take (though not the only). I'd be disappointed, but commend the author on actually killing off a major character. Still, I think the manga would die without him; the tension between L and Kira has been what's fueled it this far.

Did anyone notice that Light made an oversight? If his plan worked that's irrelevant, but if not, it is a mistake: he didn't check the last name in Rem's notebook. At least I would have done so immediately, anyway.[/spoiler]

[Kaori]

Oh, so I'm not the only one still following Death Note. That's good to know.

About this question:

[spoiler]Did anyone notice that Light made an oversight? If his plan worked that's irrelevant, but if not, it is a mistake: he didn't check the last name in Rem's notebook. At least I would have done so immediately, anyway.[/spoiler]

I hadn't noticed, but that is a good observation.

Although the events of the most recent chapters were not entirely unexpected for me, I did not expect things to progress so rapidly. The story has been moving very quickly.

There is a rumor that the series will end at chapter 60, but I find this highly doubtful considering the events of chapter 59, which I have seen raw. I have also heard that chapter 60 will not be released for another seven weeks, which if true will be highly frustrating.

[uc pseudonym]

Oh, so I'm not the only one still following Death Note. That's good to know.

I feel similarly.

Although the events of the most recent chapters were not entirely unexpected for me, I did not expect things to progress so rapidly. The story has been moving very quickly.

There is a rumor that the series will end at chapter 60, but I find this highly doubtful considering the events of chapter 59, which I have seen raw. I have also heard that chapter 60 will not be released for another seven weeks, which if true will be highly frustrating.

I have not seen the raw version of the chapter, but I would also be surprised if it ended at 60. However, if the manga is ending soon, that would explain why the primary conflict in the series seems to be coming to a close.

[Kawaiikneko]

I just found Death Note yesterday and I read it until 1:30 last night ^^;; I finished it up to chapter 59 then this morning, so I'm eagerly awaiting the next chapter.... which I desperately hope isn't too far off now ;;_;;

[spoiler="click here"]I it wasn't for L's computer transmission and the thing with the kids at the end, I wouldn't have a hard time believing it would end at 60. However, many times Raito/Light mentions that the second battle is beginning, so I don't think 60 will be the end.[/spoiler]

[AngelSakura]

Hmm...this sounds interesting, and the art is very nice. ^^ Somebody wanna PM me a link?

[uc pseudonym]

If the series does continue for another battle, I will be disappointed (though I'll keep reading). I must wonder if this lengthy break is being used by the manga-ka for reassessment of the project.

I recall (though my memory could be inaccurate) that near the beginning of Death Note the first Note's coming into the world was hailed as something that would "cause a conlict between two geniuses." It seems to me that if the series continues after L, it is either going beyond its original scope, or the second of the geniuses referred to is someone else.

[Kaori]

I'm eagerly awaiting the next chapter.... which I desperately hope isn't too far off now ]
I believe it has been about a month since chapter 59 was released, so we should still have approximately three weeks left to wait.

...so I don't think 60 will be the end.

Yes, it seems extremely improbable now that it will end at chapter 60.

It seems to me that if the series continues after L, it is either going beyond its original scope, or the second of the geniuses referred to is someone else.

I am inclined to guess that it is the former of these possibilities. It has occurred to me more than once that given the sharply defined conflict in Death Note the plot would be best served by a single, relatively concise story arc. I can't help but think that introducing new plot twists in order to lengthen the manga (if that is what the author is doing) will only weaken the story, so I hope that it does not become interminably long.

[AngelSakura]

Wow. I'm on the third chapter and I'm totally hooked.

[uc pseudonym]

I am inclined to guess that it is the former of these possibilities. It has occurred to me more than once that given the sharply defined conflict in Death Note the plot would be best served by a single, relatively concise story arc. I can't help but think that introducing new plot twists in order to lengthen the manga (if that is what the author is doing) will only weaken the story, so I hope that it does not become interminably long.

That describes my feelings quite well. Also, the new characters place the series back at its original point (neither party knows of the other), and I fear such conflict will become redundant as opposed to intellectual.

Or, there is always the outside possibility that chapter 60 will end with Raito getting hit by a truck.

[Kaori]

The idea that the conflict may become redundant has occurred to me as well. My impression is that the writer is trying to heighten the level of conflict in a manner similar to the "powering up" that occurs in other shonen manga. Raito's new position has greatly increased his influence, and L has powered up by multiplying by two.

Or, there is always the outside possibility that chapter 60 will end with Raito getting hit by a truck.

That would be rather amusing.

[Kawaiikneko]

>.> I'm just reading it for fun.. and whatever the artist decides to do is dandy for me <.<

YES! You will definately be hooked Angel... much more in the later chapters. I think my favorite chapter so far is 53. I LOVE Light's expression at the end *squeeeeeaaall* I was all giddy but it was like 1:30 at night so I made myself stop reading and go to bed... although I didn't fall asleep until like 2:30 because I was so excited ^^;

[Joshua Christopher]

I've just started reading this, and am finding it quite interesting.
Also, there is a pilot version that I have read. PM me for the link.

[Kaori]

Meanwhile, chapter 60 has finally been released but hasn't been translated yet. I saw a raw scan, but due to the densitiy of the dialogue and lack of physical action, it was not very enlightening.

[Kawaiikneko]

*screams* YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!!! *can'twaitcan'twaitcan'twait*

[kazekami]

I reallly like this series. Can't wait for chapter 60. I think its intresting. I think the series goes back to the saying "absolute power corupts absolutely." and "The road to hell was paved with good intentions." However, the story is awsome. [spoiler]And I really liked L.[/spoiler]

[Kawaiikneko]

er... you may want to spoilerize that last line XD

I just glanced over a raw scan of ch 60 *desperately wishes I could read japanese*

[kazekami]

er... you may want to spoilerize that last line XD

I just glanced over a raw scan of ch 60 *desperately wishes I could read japanese*

How do I do that. I'm not familliar with the code. =)

[uc pseudonym]

The line has been spoilerized.

Meanwhile, it is good to hear that this chapter has been created, even if it has not yet been translated. I will not read the raw version, because I do not feel such is very helpful, but I am glad to hear of this.