Ok, so i'm getting to the point that I'm probably going to read this all through the night, keep going all the way until I get to the last page of volume 18 in one sitting. Maybe. This is some exciting stuff. Not only are we getting some real face time with Jahan, but we're seeing well crafted characters I like to like get bumped off like they were written by GRRM. So much love for the darlings.

I'm also going to go ahead and say this is better than Death Note. I know, it might be sacrilegious to say such things, but I'll pay the consequences. ( )

I love this volume. It reveals that everything Johan has done during the past four years is related. Actually, everything, period, is related – the PI's therapist (or whatever) is a colleague of the criminal psychologist from earlier in the series, and the PI used to be one of the cops investigating the murders Johan committed. Everything was leading up to cutting as many of Schuwald's emotional ties as possible. I'm still wondering about the “why” of everything, but I'm sure Urasawa has something up his sleeve.

Although he wasn't around for long, it was still sad thatRichard died in a way that made it look like he'd gone back to drinking, after he'd just started to mend his relationship with his daughter.I'm also bummed that Tenma has begun shedding the people in his life, like Dieter, who might prevent him from killing Johan in the end. Since Tenma's first instinct is to save others, it's hard to believe that he'll actually be able to go through with his plans.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) ( )