The human whose name is written in this note shall die.

November 12, 2007 7:55 PM

The manga series "Death Note." The first volume. The adapted anime series, newly arrived on Adult Swim. The Japanese movie trailer. Spoilers: Possible origins. The early press. Interviews with writer Tsugumi Ohba and illustrator Takeshi Obata. The controversy. The collectibles. The online Death Note. The last volume, finally released in the US and reviewed.
posted by Soup (13 comments total)

I like Death Note a lot, at least for the first few volumes. I haven't gotten past the midpoint, though.
posted by graventy at 8:07 PM on November 12, 2007

So, death by slam book?
posted by FunkyHelix at 8:28 PM on November 12, 2007

I love Death Note! My Japanese flatmate turned me on to this series, buying one a month and letting me borrow them. She went back to Japan with the last two issues unbought :_( so I'm not going anywhere near these possible spoilers.
posted by tellurian at 8:29 PM on November 12, 2007

I really got into the manga series. The anime follows very closely to the manga.

The actual films are DREADFUL. They look like they were shot on home video. The actor they cast as Light couldn't act his way out of a paper bag. L is well played but it's not worth sitting through the rest of the tripe. I think all the budget was spent on the CG for the Death Gods.
posted by gomichild at 8:45 PM on November 12, 2007

Crap did I just out myself as an otaku?
posted by gomichild at 8:46 PM on November 12, 2007 [1 favorite]

I can finally link to those freaky pictures of Ryuk I found a while ago.
posted by puke & cry at 8:53 PM on November 12, 2007

I loved the manga series, but haven't paid much attention to the anime or films, for fear they'll spoil my impression of the books. (Especially after I saw a film trailer with the Red Hot Chili Peppers in the background, which didn't jibe at all with the manga's mod, tense atmosphere.)

This was the first manga I got into, and I was sucked in very quickly (even reading right to left). If you're curious about the form but fear that most manga is too juvenile or supernatural/violent, this is a great alternate starting point. (Though there certainly are supernatural elements and a whole, whole lot of deaths, but nothing too gory.) It's much more of an intense psychological, personality-driven thriller, with cute scruffy teenagers and other great characters.

If that at all appeals to you, get the first volume of the manga without reading too much else. There are spoilers all over the internet.
posted by lisa g at 9:33 PM on November 12, 2007

The manga was pretty griping until the midpoint where it feels like they're stetching the story to make as much volumes as possible.
posted by SageLeVoid at 10:38 PM on November 12, 2007

Agreed, the manga (and anime, which follows it fairly closely) go sharply downhill after Light's imprisonment; everything interesting, innovative and intelligent is replaced by dull, derivative and dumb and though it recovers a little later on it never regains the excitement of the first section.

So, er, watch up to episode 17 or so of the anime, then watch the ending from the second film, which is a much more suitably clever conclusion IMO.
posted by BobInce at 1:57 AM on November 13, 2007

I loved the anime and couldn't get enough of it, so I read the manga too.

After I got done with the manga I was disgusted enough to stop watching the anime altogether. The start of the series was interesting, but then it starts going downhill, and the ending sucks badly...

Maybe the anime will redeem itself and make it good, but I doubt it. I would say once L "loses" it should just end.
posted by splice at 3:38 AM on November 13, 2007

L is Lovely!
posted by No-sword at 6:36 AM on November 13, 2007

I adore the anime, and I'm past the 'turning point' now. And it really, really pisses me off that [spoiler!]


Raito in the end loses. As if Near and Mellow could outwit Raito when L didn't. Fucking A.



[endspoiler] But overall I think it's got an absoluting intriguing concept. Even if FMA was better *cough*
posted by Phire at 9:31 AM on November 13, 2007

This is the first time I've heard of Death Note, and I'm not usually much for manga, but this is pretty good.
posted by brownpau at 12:47 PM on November 14, 2007