Title: Death Note
Issue: Volume 3
Publisher: Viz Media
Date: November, 2006
Writer: Tsugumi Ohba
Artist: Takeshi Obata
I read the first two volumes of this series quite a while ago, and I remember enjoying them, but not quite seeing what the hype was about. The premise is intentionally ridiculous: A death god lets a human (teenager Light Yagami) take possession of a notebook with the power to kill anyone whose name is written in it. There is a whole series of complex and arbitrary rules that go along with the notebook, and Light's plan to rid the world of criminals puts him up against the mysterious L, a young genius detective.
This volume is where the two main characters meet, and it's also where I began to buy into the hype. The intricate game of second-guessing, third-guessing, and beyond plays out like an elaborate version of Who's the Werewolf/Mafia, with increasing levels of duplicity.
Then a series of events at the end of this volume introduce a massive additional plot twist, further complicating an already-tangled story. This was loaded with tension. It does require a bit of suspension of disbelief to accept the premise of the story, but the author then takes that premise to all sorts of logical extremes, adding layer upon layer of intrigue. I wasn't sure I'd be interested in reading more Death Note after the first two, but this one hooked my right back in.
Rating: 8.5/10
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