Death Note is about a creature from the shinigami realm, Ryuk, who drops his Death Note in the human world where it is found by Light Yagami, a brilliant high school student. Light finds that, as the note's instructions indicate, when the Death Note's owner has a person's face in mind and writes that person's name in it, that person will die. Light decides to use the Death Note to rid the world of criminals. This sets off a cat-and-mouse game between Light and L, an equally brilliant young man who is capable of solving crimes that leave everyone else mystified.
I first became aware of Death Note when the three live-action films were released on DVD. (You can read my review of the Death Note II: The Last Name movie here.) However I really wasn't familiar with the original manga with story by Tsugumi Ohba and art by Takeshi Obata.
Recently I noticed a post by VIZ on Facebook that RightStuf.com was having a 50% off sale on the Death Note Graphic Novel Box Set. It contains all twelve volumes of the original manga, a special thirteenth volume entitled Death Note: How to Read, and a slim volume entitled Death Note: How to Use It that contains all the rules for using a Death Note.
I'm not a manga maniac, but I have enjoyed reading quite a few. I liked the Death Note films very much and found the 50% off price of $49.99 a deal I couldn't resist. I'm now on volume 10 and am really pleased with my purchase. The artwork is gorgeous, very detailed, and the story is quite engrossing, as I'd expected it would be. Interestingly, the story line in the manga is quite different from the films in some important ways. It seems that the films were to a considerable degree based on the novel Death Note: L, change the WorLd. This alternate story of the face-off between Light and L is by M (yes, just the single letter), with artwork again by Obata.
I highly recommend the Death Note Graphic Novel Box Set, especially at the 50% off sale price. But if you're interested in taking advantage of that offer, I suggest that you to act fast. The sale may end within the next few days. If interested, check out the offer by clicking here.
The Death Note Graphic Novel Box Set is published by VIZ books.
