THIS ONE WAS SO GOOD! ( )

The 5-year jump in the story definitely gives this volume a different vibe, and the story feels a bit less focused than it has been, but Death Note remains one of the most suspenseful comics I've ever read. ( )

I've kinda lost interest with the Death Note series what with this novel (with the untimely death of L in book 7). Mello is insufferable, Near is a little bitch in every scene he's in (why is he always playing with toys), and I don't really understand why they had to go to America other than to display how Ohba just produces garbled nonsense whenever he has to name a foreign character. And I knew all this from the anime.

(I got all the books for ¥1 apiece, including shipping. I will be the only person ever to make a profit at Book-Off if I take them in to sell. I have to keep a hold of that! I just don't know if I can make myself read the 4 remaining books) ( )

Like always, Panini Comics Mexico has done an excellent job with the translation and release of their manga. Curiously enough there is one minor spelling blooper in one text box of this comic, but otherwise the Spanish translation is fluid.

As for the manga, the series is starting to go downhill after what happened to L. The author should have prolonged the inevitable and perhaps have L and Light as the final showdown of the story. Instead, he went in a different direction and has two rival detectives named Near and Mello in an outright competition to obtain the death note that the Japanese police have.

Whereas Near wants to cooperate with the FBI, Mello decided to join a gang and pulled a gutsy kidnapping of Sayu Yagami. The actual rescue of Light's little sister is awesome and the highlight of this volume.

However, things start to get really confusing with the addition of a third shinigami named Shidoh. The scene where Mello now knows a lot about the death note thanks to Shidoh seems sort of convulted and the story is getting even more confusing instead of brilliant.

Misa parades around in sexy lingerie without being able to impress Light and Souichiro just sort of went back to Japan like it was no big deal. The artwork is exquisite like in every volume, but Mello and Near aren't even remotely as charming as L and it seems like the author doesn't know what to do with the story anymore. I liked it more when it was just a mindgame between Light and L. ( )

READ IN ENGLISH

I guess eating chocolate will never completely be the same.

As if there weren't already a lot of different plot lines and loopholes there are even more now! With Mello and Near each fighting Kira and each other. Brilliant move?!

I still miss L. The original one, that is... ( )