Death Note, Volume 6: Give-and-Take

If you haven't read the previous volumes of Death Note, I'd really recommend that you do. Spoilers ahead!

A third Kira has appeared, complicating an already impossible case. L's main suspects, Light and Misa, have already been subjected to confinement and the killings have gone on without them. Light has given up the Death Note, lost his memories of his actions as Kira, and is now on the task force to find Kira, even though he's spending every minute handcuffed to L. As the task force closes in on the Yotsuba group and begins to eliminate suspects, Misa plays a vital roll in the investigation - one which leads to her learning about the Death Note, Rem, and the third Kira's identity!

So the action slowed down considerably in the last show more volume. If you thought there was a lot of talking and speculation in previous Death Notes, you ain't seen nothing yet! L is working overtime as he tries to discover the third Kira's identity while also questioning Light and Misa and using their relationship to his advantage. Adding to this is Misa's general silliness - even trapped in L's headquarters, she's only focused on dating Light.

In fact, the start of this volume is much more light-hearted (forgive the pun?) than previous ones. The drawing style, the dialogue, and the interactions between characters are brighter and somewhat tongue-in-cheek. Perhaps that's because we don't have to see Light grimacing and sneering all the time? Come to think of it, this really does show you a Light that's uncorrupted and unaffected by the Death Note. He will occasionally acknowledge that he makes the most sense as a suspect, and it makes him nervous and angry that he could be capable of such actions. Even when he's missing his memories of being Kira, I don't really like Light, but this gives us a chance to see the sort of personality the Death Note can draw out.

So after all that complaining about how slow this volume is, I will say that the action picks up drastically about 3/4ths of the way through. You'll definitely want to have the next volume on hand when you finish this one! show less

It seems that I've been putting off reading Give-and-Take, the sixth book in the Death Note manga series, and I'm not entirely sure why since I've really liked the books. Granted, I didn't enjoy the last book I read, Whiteout, quite as much as the ones previous. So, despite having picked up Give-and-Take soon after finishing Whiteout, it took me a while to actually get around to reading and reviewing it. But, I'm glad that I did and I still have plans to read the entire series--not that that has ever been in doubt for me.

Give-and-Take follows directly after Whiteout. Light is still chained to L and Misa is still under strict surveillance. Even though they are both considered suspects for being one of the first two Kiras, they are doing show more all that they can to assist the investigative team in tracking down and capturing the third Kira. So far, the investigation has been able to determine that this Kira is connected to a small group of people at the Yotsuba Corporation, but narrowing down it down even further is going to be tricky without showing their hand. It doesn't help that the team has split into two groups over a disagreement in how to proceed. But the closer they get to Kira, the more dangerous it becomes for all involved and the team members must decide how far they are willing to go and how much, and who, they are willing to risk to capture Kira.

Takeshi Obata's artwork is as great as ever and continues to be consistent. Light's personality changes come across very well, but I will admit that I miss the intensity of the old Light. I also miss Ryuk; the apple-loving Shinigami is nowhere to be found in Give-and-Take. However, the other god of death, Rem, does show up and has a fairly important role at this point in the story. It does feel like a personality shift may have happened with this character as well--and I'm not sure I completely buy it yet. I know that Light's charismatic, but he seems to have an awful lot of control over others. Given that, it should be interesting to see how his plan to regain a Death Note works out, especially as he is currently unaware of what that plan is since he has no memories of being Kira, though he is becoming more and more convinced of that possibility. L doesn't seem nearly as strange to me as he used to. I'm not sure if it's just that I've gotten used to him, or if he simply isn't acting as outrageously as he once was. He still has some rather odd, and amusing, moments though.

While I didn't enjoy Give-and-Take as much as some of the earlier books, the series is making a strong comeback. The book did start out slow, but then I was never that interested in the "evil corporation" as Kira. Fortunately, Give-and-Take explores the individuals that make up the Yotsuba group, revealing just how freaked out they are about the whole situation--sure, they're willing to go along while it's advantageous for them, but they also realize how dangerous it is and they're frightened for they're lives. This more personal approach is what gets the series back on track. And once the third Kira has been identified, the pacing is put back into full speed and the tension skyrockets as the chase begins. Of course, it all manages to end in a cliff-hanger, so I suppose that it would do to pick up the seventh book, Zero, sooner rather than later. I'm looking forward to starting the last half of the series.

Experiments in Reading show less

Je n'ai pas vraiment compris l'intérêt de ce nouvel arc narratif avec l'entreprise. Pour moi, on aurait dû rester concentré sur le duel entre L et Light avec la très bonne introduction de Misa dans les tomes précédents. J'espère que mon intérêt sera relevé avec les tomes suivants et qu'on continuera plus sur l'aspect psychologique que sur l'introduction des personnages sans grand intérêt. Et surtout où est Ryuk ???

Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com

I've enjoyed all books in the series, but this one was a bit slow, although you can already feel it is still somehow building the momentum towards something big. Also, Matsuda shined in his own way in this book. This is one of the series where you end up rooting for the side characters more than the main characters!

So Light and L know that the newest Kira is part of the Yotsuba company, but they still don't know which of the 7 left in the group it is. They get Misa Amane to help out and go undercover at the company by being honest about being suspected of being Kira and possibly knowing who L is.

Rem was Misa's Shinigami when she had a Death Note and was the second Kira and she is worried that Misa is putting herself in danger with this new plan. She shows herself to Misa and tells her the real backstory about herself and Light (who has still forgotten). All Misa wants is to be with Light and as she loves Kira being with the two at once makes her very happy naturally. What will this mean for L and the rest of the task force moving forwards.

After a show more disappointing volume 5 this sees the action and the story back on form. The twists and turns are making more sense and I engaged in the plot again yay! Looking forward to seeing what happens now that they have surrounded the new Kira. show less

2014 Review:

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.com by express permission of this reviewer Synopsis A second Kira appears, and it seems they have greater powers than Light. And Light starts a long term plan that creates a Third Kira while clearing him and his new girlfriend, Misa, of having anything to do with the original or 2nd Kira. My Thoughts A second Kira appears and appears that Kira2 wants to hook up with Kira. So Light maneuvers things, while trying to avoid L, to meet Kira2. And once Light and Misa show more [who is Kira2] are together, Light must come up with a plan to fool L, kill him and then get rid of Misa. Meanwhile, L is still convinced that Light is Kira, no matter the evidence. And puts Light, Light's father and Misa all in confinement for almost 2 months to try to get some more info to prove Light is Kira.
And finally, Light gives his notebook to another person to throw L off the scent. And loses his memory in the process and goes back to good old Light who wants to catch Kira. Yep, folks, these 3 volumes have more twisty, turny, unnecessary, silly, awesome and totally over the top moments than you can shake a stick at. There is also a lot of text. In most manga, as much of the story is told through the art as through the text. Here, that simply isn't possible. "Thinking" specific thoughts can't be really drawn, you know? On the down side of things, L's gut instinct that Light is Kira is getting annoying. He's right, but it has nothing to do with Logic or evidence. And Light is turning really scary. He's willing to kill off innocents, planning on it in fact, to further his aims. I'm still liking this, but the second impression isn't nearly as faultless as the first. Rating: 4 of 5 Stars Author: Tsugumi Ohba Artist:Takeshi Obata


2007 Review:

the 3rd Kira is uncovered and Light's plan seems to be unrolling. Just don't have a clue what it is. Misa is dumb, period. Ends with the 3rd Kira being cornered. " show less

A great series, but this volume was a little lower in plot and character. I don't like how they have made Misa into a partial idiot. Is this just a reflection of a male chauvinistic culture in Japan?