[edit by mod, Warning: Possible spoiler]
I watched the anime at first... the description did sound kind of weird, but when I first saw it I was hooked! Soon, I bought every volume! But most of the fans agree the second part isn't as good as the first, but both parts are a must read! It ended pretty well actually... but I still don't like how they killed off L.

I considered this series one of the best I had read until I had the "misfortune" of read the last chapters. Seriously, the ending was so full of flaws, errors and inconsistencies that completely ruined the whole manga for me. And I still haven't mentioned one of the biggest issues in all this: the ultimate destiny of the protagonist at the end of the story. I don’t know why, but even though I didn’t liked that character very much I totally and absolutely disliked the way the authors portrayed him at the end. Still, I'd give it an eight out of ten since even though it had such a horrible, inferior, deficient, defective and pathetic ending it’s still a good series.

first part awesome but second part?
worst ending ever
i cant give 10 cos second part sucks.

I am a shoujo manga reader and I hate shounen/seinen mangas. However as soon as I read the first page of Death Note, I completely and totally love it. It's the best manga and ranks number one to me (compared to all the mangas that I have read in the past 15 years).

The art is nicely drawn, just superb (well done mangaka Obata). And the context is just too extraordinary (=>too amazing/great for words) (well done story writer Asami). Never thought of any mangas that can actually be created in this way. Once I started reading the first page, I was 'forced' (in a positive way)into reading it until the end. Every chapter is full of thoughts/strategies of L and Raito.



In summary I love this manga but I dislike the ending.

Cheerz to the mangaka. Good work!!!

... Last updated on June 21st, 2007, 6:25am

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...

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

Very good story, takes alot of pateince reading through and analyzing all those lines tho, your constantly thinking about wat the charcter thinks the other character is thinking. Very nice art and a very good mystery type manga. I think I liked the "L" saga and after that i sort of lost intrest. But definetly a must read for mystery fanatics.

what a nice little series. Yagami Light truly is a sadistic child, isn't he? I couldn't really find myself to like many of the characters... I found that I only really liked L... Light and Mello were just really creepy, Misa was annoying and Near was just a copy of L, and not as cool...
Death Note started to terrify me because I found it kinda scary
Concept of plot and art were very nice though
Not sure if I would judge it against Fruits basket though... because Fruits basket is shoujo

... Last updated on April 26th, 2007, 10:08am

This is an awesome manga!! Byfar, written in my history of #1's. Right there along side of Hikaru no Go, Real Bout High School, Azumanga Dioh, and Furuba (Fruits Basket). If you haven't given this a shot, you REALLY should. You've got no idea what you're missin'!! X3

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 ^__^