Review: Death Note Volume 1

A phenomenon in Japan for the last few years, following the success of Tsugumi Ohba’s acclaimed manga, the first four episodes are finally about to hit North American shores in “Death Note Volume 1.”

With eleven of the twelve manga volumes now available in North America, thanks to Viz Media, and following two live-action films and even a novelization, many have clamored for the anime to be brought stateside. With the announcement of Death Note to be aired on Canada’s YTV (which was later rescheduled) and Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, on October 20, 2007, North American fans of the manga were finally able to feast their eyes on the first episode. In addition to the first episodes being aired stateside, episodes have already been available for download off IGN’s Direct2Drive for several weeks.

Yagami Light is a simple A student, living a simple life with his simple family. His mother and sister sit around, cooking, studying and watching t.v., while Light works hard at school, and his father works tediously on a new case that has surfaced regarding a mass-murderer named Kira.

After discovering a simple, black notebook outside his school, Light brings it home and opens up the cover. For obvious reasons, he is unsure of the notebook, believing it to be some sort of prank, after reading the inside cover, stating that the book is capable of taking the life of any person, so long as he knows their name and what they look like. Guidelines are also listed, including the manner in which victims should die, and how long the writer has to describe the deaths before the “default” setting takes effect and the victim dies of a heart attack.

After “testing” the book, something comes over Light and he soon loses the “simple, innocent” personality we are introduced to in the beginning. He decides to use the notebook to make the world a better place, by eliminating criminals, by killing anyone who causes others harm. However, as perfect as he believes his plan seems, it obviously goes to his head as he starts imagining himself as the “God” of a new world, a world he plans to bring to realization.

Shortly after, he meets Ryuk, the true owner of the notebook; Death God. Light is barely phased by meeting Ryuk when the Death God suddenly appears in his room, explaining how he dropped the notebook on purpose to see who might pick it up and hopefully cure the Death God of his boredom. Light quickly learns everything is just a game to this Death God, and that he has, in fact, found a way to entertain the boring life of the Death God.

From there on out, the plot intensifies, as even Light’s own father is brought into the investigation to unearth the root of the murders. The dialogue and plot stay faithful to the original manga, and the central characters, even within the first four episodes are amazingly well fleshed out. You find yourself rooting for numerous different characters at once, and at the same time, unsure of whom the protagonists and antagonists are. In essence, that’s yours to decide; it simply depends on which viewpoint you sympathize with more, which is a fascinating twist. You, as the viewer, are allowed to decide for yourself who the antagonist is, instead of being forced to cheer for someone else.

Art direction is excellent as well, depicting some of the moodiest work I’ve seen in an animated program in some time. It’s not that the art is well done in it’s own right (though it is) but that the direction taken really does set the mood, with darker-looking environments and characters. For example, Light’s room is always dark, and when you’re sitting there watching Light’s face glowing with the light from the t.v. or computer and you see Ryuk’s dark, menacing figure framed in the background against an even darker wall, you’ll feel as though you’re right there, as though you understand exactly what Light’s feeling.

It’s intense, and it’s wonderfully done. And although Death Note is no longer a “new” series in any kind of way, it certainly has an original plot, and intelligent, interesting characters, half of which work together to defeat the others. And through it all, nobody is ever sure that the other is actually their ally or their enemy, even though you, as the viewer usually know exactly who everyone is, which allows you to understand exactly the decisions that each character makes, in order to attempt to outsmart everyone else.

Yagami Light, Ryuk and all the characters introduced in the first four episodes of the anime are as well fleshed out as they are in the manga, and seeing them in motion, finally, is a real treat for longtime fans. In addition, Death Note Volume 1 comes unedited, with a collectible figurine, and of course, is bilingual with optional English and Japanese subtitles.

After seeing the first four episodes, and getting myself all riled up and ready to continue on, and see what’s available in the next volume, I can already tell that Death Note is going somewhere, and I’ve only just experienced a few mere episodes.

Death Note Volume 1 is now available on DVD from Viz Media.

Rating:
Plot: 5/5
Art Direction: 5/5
Sound: 5/5
Overall: 5/5