Death Note, Vol. #5
Another Death Note holder? Impossible! Follow L As He Uncovers The Truth
Death Note, Vol. #5
February 6th, 2008 - Most manga readers know without a shadow of a doubt that Shonen Jump is Japans manga power house. Arguably comparable to the Bill Gates of the manga industry, Shonen Jump bears its publishing logo on many major manga hits. One of Shonen Jump’s popular ongoing manga and series, which airs on Cartoon Network here in the states, is DEATH NOTE. If you haven’t heard of this hit manga, well it’s ok, “living under rocks syndrome” is a serious matter that, I think, social groups exist for.
Light Yagami isn’t your typical high school student; he is actually a well civilized genius with a profound sense of justice and boredom with the mediocre world in which he is submerged in. Oddly enough a strange being known as a Shinigami intentionally drops a book before him dubbed, appropriately, as the Death Note. It isn’t long before Light learns that by writing someone’s full name in the Death Note they will die instantly, unless written otherwise. With such an unique ability and matched with is strong sense of justice Light quickly uses the power of the Death Note to murder convicted criminals in hopes of eventually creating a utopia of peace and righteous people. Of course when criminals begin to drop dead constantly along with anyone who comes close to discovering the truth, the government orders for a very unique detective to solve the case. Known only by the codename “L”, this detective has cunning deductive skills unmatched by anyone on earth. What soon follows is the world’s most dynamic game of cat and mouse ever created.
In issue #5 of Death Note things have gotten extremely intense. For those of you who have not been following recent events I’ll try to get you up to speed. After Light, a.k.a. Kira, finally meets up with the alleged second Kira, a.k.a the famous model Misa Misa, Light realizes just how dangerous his situation really is. Even more so, Light quickly learns that Misa’s Shinigami has an emotional attachment to her which is completely opposite of Light and his Shinigami Ryuk. Realizing that he will die if any harm comes to Misa and even more so, if Misa makes any mistakes L may very well capture both of them. Despite Lights efforts L quickly suspects Misa as the second Kira and has her captured to Light’s surprise. What results is one of many shocking moments in the series. While being heavily cuffed and watched nonstop by the ever vigilant L, Misa finally makes a strong sacrifice and in an effort to protect her unreturned love interest Light Yagami, she denounces her claims of her Death Note and with it comes something extremely surprising, the loss of all memories related to the Death Note. With an abrupt and uncanny change in personality due to her memory loss, L is temporarily thrown off track. Still holding reservations as to whether Light is Kira or not, it boggles things even more when Light agrees to go into L’s custody in order to prove his innocence. Of course we all know Light is far too prideful to maintain such a humble charade and after a very diligent act Light decides to also denounce his Death Note and of course all memories related to it. Now, believe it or not, Light is actually diligently helping L try to capture Kira who is of course himself. As if that isn’t amazing enough, more killings mysteriously being occurring, but how? If both Misa and Light are in custody and constantly by L’s side, who can this new Kira be? What’s worse is that this new Kira doesn’t seem to kill for justice but for profit, which is of course against Light/Kira’s plan for world order.
Death Note seems to only get better and just when you think you understand it all something drastically different throws you off the trail. The story is intricate, the characters all have depth, and at times the suspense is just too much to bear. Keep checking back here for more detailed briefs on Shoenen Jumps Death Note. I’ll gladly keep you posted.