By: Tsugumi Ohba Publisher: VIZ Media LLC Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: VIZ Media LLC Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 208 Publication Date: November 07, 2006
Light--working as Kira, the newest member of the NPA intelligence bureau, and L--has nearly succeeded in creating his ideal world. But the years of uncontested victory have made him complacent, and he is unprepared for a new attack close to home. With his younger sister Sayu kidnapped and the NPA's Death Note demanded as ransom, Light must travel across the world and confront two new adversaries, each with a very different agenda. Will Light's quick wits be a match for this new challenge, or will he be forced to choose between Kira's ambitions and his own family's lives?
A review of Death Note, vol. 8 Ho hum! More Death Note - after awhile, these volumes start to blur together. Either I'm reading them too fast and too close together or they're reiterating the plotting and twists and turns of disguising themselves and their motives. Spoilers again for people who haven't read this far...
So here we are in a world dominated by Kira and his growing numbers of supporters. We ended the last volume with Mello (one of L's heirs) and his gang kidnapping Sayu (Light's sister - remember her?) and holding her ransom for a Death Note. With much hemming and hawing, they do indeed make the trade with the task force (specifically Soichiro). Meanwhile, we learn that Ryuk has not been terribly forthcoming with information. Over the years, he's never once mentioned that he stole one of his Death Notes from another shinigami, Sidoh. Sidoh realizes that he needs to write another human's name in the Death Note if he wants to extend his life, and goes on a search to find the owner. Light must contend with this shinigami interfering with his plans while also trying to outmanuever Mello and Near.
Unlike vol. 7, we're back to the slow-paced opening, overly elaborate plans, and eventual rise in action half-way through. I'm really liking Mello, perhaps because his weakness is that he's overly emotional, unpredictable, and competitive. He contrasts Light, who seems to have grown comfortable in his position as Kira and L. If you feel for anyone in this series, it's for Soichiro and Misa - Misa has been neglected by Light since she first met him and she still sticks by his side. This isn't one of the best volumes out there, but you do get to learn more about Mello and Near, which is a welcome break from Light. I miss L!!!
Oh, and have a chocolate bar handy while you're reading. You'll want so much chocolate!
good I'm a fan of the series and although I liked this book I did not enjoy is as much as the books involving L. The plot is good but somewhat predictable as you get used to how"amazingly" smart all of the charaters are.
Graphic SF Reader Light has things back where he wants them, but Near makes contact, calling himself N, and Mello has set up an organised crime power base, and even the president of the USA gets involved.
The not so bright Shinigami that lost the second Death Note needs to get it back, so something else again to complicate things for everyone.
The show must go on. Tsugumi Ohba, Death Note: Target (ViZ, 2003)
Light and the team, though they don't know it yet, find themselves unwitting participants in the middle of a battle between the two teens who hope to be named L's successor, Near and Mello, both of whom are out to get the currently-unowned Death Note for their own ends. After the big shakeup in Zero, Ohba is still bringing the noise, though the feeling I got back around volumes 4-5 that he's grasping for ideas to extend various plotlines is starting to surface again. Still, a solid entry in the series. ****
DOES LIGHT STILL CARE? Light's sister, Sayu, has been kidnapped by the rogue L wanna-be Mello and he's asking for the Death Note the Japanese Police have in exchange for her life. In addition, Light's dad is the one that's going to make the exchange. Light's having a hard time reconciling what is best for Kira and what is good for his family. It's been a long time since we've had to see him wrestle with such issues. He's never had to think about killing his own blood yet. Tsugumi Ohba does a good job of making us wonder whether he's making certain decisions because it seems logical or is he making them based on his love for his father and sister. Light is also having to juggle with the charade of being L to most of the world, but Mello and Near, the leader of the SPK taskforce formed by the US president both know the real L is long dead. And what's going to happen when another Shinigami arrives on the scene looking for his stolen death note?
Deathnote is strangely addictive even though at times it cries foul on its logic. It's come a long way in 8 volumes. I remember when Light was thinking small and just killing off smalltime criminals with a tv in his potato chip bag. Now he's getting miffed because someone is messing with his new world order, a world where Kira lurks in every face, killing those that would abuse the innocent. The dilemma with his sister and father serves to not only showcases how low he has sunk in terms of reverse morality but also shows just the sliver of humanity that he still has left. The characters of Mello and Near are even more intriguing than L because they seem to be willing to go much further than L ever did to catch Kira. In Mello's case, even killing people just to test the validity of the Death Note. This is a series that just gets better and better.
If you like this series I would recommend the Boogiepop novels, manga, movie, and anime.
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