Title: Death Note

Genre: Fantasy/Suspense

Creators: Tsugumi Ohra and Takahashi Obata

Company: Viz

Publisher Info: 8+ vols, Authentic

Summary: Bored high-school student Light Yagami finds the Death Note, a notebook that once belonged to a Shinigami (death god), which grants him the ability to choose how anyone whose name he writes in it will die. Although he's only killing criminals, he eventually finds himself hunted by a detective known only as L.

The Good: The series shows us a thought-provoking side of human nature: That we ahve a tendency to think if we ran the world, it'd be better. We like to think if we could just get rid of the "bad people", we'd have utopia. But who has the right? It's also so cool how Light covers his tracks. The story does a great job of keeping the suspense going, and the artwork is great.

The Bad: You need an open mind because of its anti-Christian themes.

Offensive Material: Light quickly develops a "God complex." The series borrows heavily from Japanese folklore and religion. Also, some mild violence and language.

My Review: 4.0 Category: C

Comment: There's a live-action movie based on the manga and an anime based on the manga is currently airing in Japan. The movie has the Red Hot Chilli Peppers' "Dani California" for its opening theme). Obata also created Hikaru No Go, also published by Viz.