Death Note, Vol. 9

Death Note is getting more and more exciting. In this volume, Near ups the ante on Light and makes it apparent that he believes that Light is Kira. Light is determined to win and struggles with the fact he must maintain his cool and appear innocent while plotting the demise of Near and Mellow.

Light Yagami has the whole world in his hands at this point, except for two thorns in his side, Mellow and Near, the replacements of the original L. Actually Mello is a bit of a vigilante and wants to prove that he was the rightful successor to L's legacy even though he was rejected. Light has contacted the Japanese NPA in the guise of Kira and has even handed over his Death Note in an extremely complicated plot to keep his identity safe and kill Mello. He's already set the stage by writing all of his minions into the Death Note and with the addition of Light's father being granted the Shinigami's eyes, all his dad has to do is see Mello to find out his real name. The NPA plans a daring raid on Mello's hideout but will Light be able to outsmart him or not? I love Death Note but the convolutions of its plot sometimes leave its credibility lacking. You could probably fill a law library with all the rules pertaining to the Death Note. For example, you only lose your memory of the Death Note by passing on ownership of it, or by abandoning it, but only if someone is killed with the Death Note. Or the fact that only 6 Death Notes can be in the human world at once. That's only two out of the gazillion that have been mentioned before. I mean, who is making up these rules? God? They just seem so arbitrary and designed to convolute an already overly complicated story. In the end the Shinigami seem like moronic bureaucrats at best. Light's plans are a little hard to take because no human can predict another human's behavior as well as he does. Why does he need to be Kira if he can already predict and control every situation he finds himself in? He hardly ever breaks out in a sweat. Even the most intelligent people make mistakes, but the main characters in Death Note hardly ever do. Given all these complaints, I still really like the series, simply because of its big issues, such as the right to grant life and death and the aspiration of a man to become a god. It's great to see that even puny weirdo adolescents such as Mello and Near have the resources to take on probably one of the smartest men ever to walk the earth. While the story sometimes lacks logic, or contains too MUCH logic, Obata's art always shines and is finely detailed and realistic. A good read.

I've never loved anything like I love Death Note~ Best manga I've ever bought. 5 stars? try a million.

Death Note continues to get better with this installment. I am unsure why other reviewers' believe that Death Note is becoming predictable. In addition, I hope that more people exist who think that someone other than L is the best character. Just because characters die doesn't mean the author has become bored with them. It means their purpose in the story has been fulfilled. Oh well...on with the actual review. The story is growing in complexity and I assure you will reach an amazing climax. As the back of the volume states, Light's maneuvers bring him closer to ultimate victory, but also bring Near and Mello closer to catching him. The ending is a bit of a cliff-hanger and for readers who side with my favorite character, you'll certainly have a plethora a great scenarios to consider until volume 10 is released. After reading this volume I couldn't wait to know how it ended so I labored through a friend's Japanese copies. Don't stop reading now! The plans of Light, man become God, will certainly keep you on the edge of your seat again (and for 3 more volumes).