... Last updated on October 21st, 2010, 11:19am

This story is one of the best out there, no joke. It has a great mystery with a plot that will make you stay up all night wondering what will happen next.

This manga started out really well on a great premise. I love how it's a mind game between two smart people. L's scheme to locate the killer in Japan was brilliant. However, as the story progressed, L became less logical and more irrational by trusting his instincts. Sure his instincts were right, but it's kind of cheap and not exciting for readers when he just knows the answer without having to work for it.

After the time skip, the story went downhill a bit. I liked the contrast between the world before and after the skip, but the story introduced too many new characters. They weren't developed enough and it wasn't as interesting or exciting to see their struggle because they felt like strangers.

... Last updated on July 31st, 2008, 4:51pm

i really love the anime!!!the manga is quite good too.love the artwork,the plot and the characters.my fav must be yagami light and L...
it's really unique that the main character is quite evil..a definite twist to the usual manga's that i've read.
-_-

ART: The art is amazing. It has a realistic feel to it, and the details of everything (hair, clothes, backgrounds) are just amazing. However, sometimes Obata tries to make a scene funny by going into a more chibi-like style, which ends up looking strange and out-of-place in the manga's serious tones.

CHARACTERS: The main characters are VERY fleshed out, and their thoughts are documented so well that you can be stuck between siding with L or Light about who is in the right. The problems with characterisation only pops up with the minor characters: they have little, if any, personality traits to make them very unique. Sure, you can get a few ideas, but when compared to the strong, over-shadowing personalities of the main characters, they fall a little flat. This unbalance sometimes hinders the ability to identify with the situation, but it's a bit understandable when you remember that these characters are BACKGROUND characters.

PLOT: The plot is simply jaw-dropping. It is full of suspense and psychological evaluation, making the manga a page-turner if I've ever seen one. The undertones of morality and the meaning of justice further draw the reader in, especially when the cat-and-mouse (well, it's more of a cat-and-cat) game begins between Light and L. Unfortunately, however, the plot begins to die around the seventh volume. While the suspense remains, it loses the spark it had in the beginning, and even the most suspenseful volume (the last, of course) lacks the realism portrayed in the manga's beginning. If the plot hadn't dropped out in the middle, I am sure that I would've given this series a full 10/10.

This series had amazing potential, but little inconsistencies and issues slowly destroyed its chance at perfection. Even so, it is a rare find in the world of manga, and I highly suggest anyone to read it.

... Last updated on May 6th, 2007, 3:31pm

From the starts that i read it is part of horror and psychological, i've been having bad views toward this manga. After seeing how many people giving positive opinions, i starts downloading it and read it. I must say the arts are something i would want to say first, who can't fall in love with L or Light? The plot is too evil, but after-all it IS horror right? The ending doesn't flow nicely with the manga, and compares to Hikaru No Go, i would say this lost to the manga by a point. But Hikaru No Go wasn't made from this author anyway, so i'll say this work is the best from Obata ^__^

Yes, I'm going to be one of those people who say "it was really good until [edit by mod,please do not spoil...], and then it goes downhill." Well, actually, the second half wasnt that bad. I was just discouraged to continue reading after the event. But the beginning; wow. It's so different... The main character's an anti-hero, and you have the "good guys" (L and the police) after him. Certainitly gets points for originality. At least try the first part of the manga.

I like Death Note, it's so interesting and exciting.And for me L is the best, despite all, Light is the true loser who lost his mind with power... Well, i recommend!

Well... This was the first Anime I ever watched putting aside Pokemon and I found it amazingly intense you see millions of people doing Cosplay of this and also I have seen people on the news getting suspended because they pretended to have a Death Note and thinking it can kill. People talk to themselves thinking they have a Shingami. But to be honest this universe is so huge so there might be different beings that live in this universe so it might be true that Shinigami exist but its logically its impossible. You saw L's reaction right? So many people feel so strongly about Death Note. I do. I really was impressed. Kira AKA Yagami Light was moved by this power to kill just by using ink from a pen but inside this game is childish and he said himself he was bored. I believe in what Kira was doing but in ways I did not. After it didn't show that he was getting nervous when the Police came after him and the FBI was probing the NPA but he was really nervous so he just killed off 'innocent' people who wanted to stop Kira and people who were really trying to help him. I found that the Police will never stop wanting to catch Kira he was a mass murderer so there isn't a halt to any fo it but then he could stop. Light could stop at any moment but he wont because he feels as if a god even if people oppose of him he will try and kill them that shows how childish he is. But Light had some good intentions but he pointed those intentions in the wrong way. He could still stop evil he was going to become a Police Officer anyway. I found some scenes he was actually himself which made me and probably other readers think. I guess the Death Note really does just bring misfortune but for Light it was different but as the books and the Episodes went on you started to notice his unhappiness and misfortune. It all went under in the end. The plot twist were thought through very well.