... Last updated on July 24th, 2012, 4:35am

this is the first manga i read. It made me a manga freak .
Wats the best part in this manga is not its story or plot or art (which r really good) but is characters... Onli the cave man wouldnt know abt them- LIGHT / KIRA and L ...
The faceoff between them how they first challenge each other till the very end will keep u on the edge. How they try to out wit each other tryin to know ther real identity.
This is no good vs bad. Wher light is a real badass jerk who wants to clean up all the trash in the society with his new found power and wants to be god of the new world, wher as L , the best detective in the world , trying to catch the sociopath killer ' kira' not bcoz of justice but for the thrill of it ..its all game to them, the first one to catch another wins ...

Just when u think light is goin to win , L out wits him n just when u think L is goin to win, light outwits him.. Deadly cat and mouse chase no one can predict.

The onli reason i give it 9 is bcoz after the 2 part of the manga (near and mello vs light) doesnt keep u that much interestested as the battle light vs l ... Nevertheless light is my fav character
Enjoy readin the dark part of human when he gets the power of death god

I think I can honestly say this is one of the best manga I have ever read. It's incredibly intelligent (up to a point where your brain hurts trying to decipher it all), really gripping, and not to mention...super cool. Light is the most incredible character I have ever come across and I don't care what anyone says....I like him. He's slightly obsessive, but so what? I wouldn't mind having him as the ruler of a new world
Read this. You won't regret it! (Though your head might...XD)

I'm glad I began reading manga with Death Note. It encouraged me to seek out other good mangas out there. The beginning was great though I agree with other critics that the second part lost the manga's riveting quality. Artwork in the first volumes was well-drawn, too. I especially liked the cat and mouse chase between L and Raito Yagami. I think the story got too stretched out though and I especially dislike teh ending. It was evident by the second part that the plot development would lead to Raito's downfall. It seemed uncharacteristic of Raito in the first place to depend on so many Kiras. Near and Mello aren't that endearing bastions of justice, neither was L but at least he was an interesting basket case. The whiny Amane Misa was also quiet an irritant at first but somehow I think her character should have been used more than just dumping her out of the scene completely. I mean it just made the ending some kind of big joke with her leading Kira's followers and all.

The ending disappointed me but it's still one of the best mangas I've ever read. Great artwork, good plot development at the start, interesting characters and the psychological thrill gives this manga an overall rating of an outstanding 8 in my list!

i watched the live action movie before i read the manga.. and i didn't really get the movie very much because it seems like it was rushed.. so i read the manga.. and i see that the manga was way better.. but there was also some parts where i see took a long time to get to the point.. yea.. but other than that.. i think the manga and the storyline is amazing..

woot.. voter no 300 XD

just like many people say.. if you read this, prepare for the downfall in the middle of the story.. and even towards the end.. it's kind of sad considering it had a huge potential to be my fav manga of all time.. but some people also like the second part of the story though.. so you might wanna give urself a chance and see whether you like it or not..

but i would still recommend people to read.. it's a brilliant manga in a sense..

... Last updated on July 17th, 2007, 5:19pm

The first half of the series was superb. The second half wasn't as interesting. Reading along one expected a lot more from the second half than it delivered. Especially how the author choose to end it was bad.

The art and characters were always good, the plot was what made it work though...

The writing and planning that went into the plot twists are simply superb. While story peaked at the middle and was never really able to rise back to the same level of excitement, it's still among the best series out there.

im usually into reading typical shoujo romance manga which is why i am sooo suprised that i ended up loving this manga. it is an absolute page turner and the plot is sooo good it seems so realistic and everything.

i would recommend this to everyone even if its not your genre death note is absolutely FAB!!

also the anime is JUST AS good! love the soundtrack

... Last updated on November 18th, 2008, 12:09pm

Edit by mod: SPOILER WARNING


The first 7 volumes are a prime example of some of the best suspense you can find in manga. The battle between L and Light is really the ultimate cat & mouse game where the roles constantly switch. And Obata's artwork is really impressive in this. The only thing I have to say is that, ever since the second arc started; the entire drive was gone. Near & Mello just dont hold a candle to the L we all loved. Characters that feel rushed more than anything else. Like the pressure of writing an alternative series in Shonen Jump got to Tsugumi Ohba and now together with Death Note seems to be burned out. Too bad really, this could have been an all-time favourite. Dont get me wrong its still a great manga; but dont expect it to keep an obscenely high level like it showed in volumes 1-7.