Death Note, Volume 2: Confluence

If I messed up even one time... If I left even one clue to my identity, I'm finished. Just one clue...

Mass murder has rarely been so much fun. (This set of episodes really drives home the fact that Light really is a stone hearted killer.) The contest between Light and L is fantastic. Who am I cheering on? Do I even know? (Is it too much to put my hat in the ring for Naomi? Come on, Naomi!) Light's interactions with his family are exquisite, and his father's agony really makes this whole volume shine. And still no more information on our resident god of death... Curioser and curioser. On to volume 3, and further down this delightful rabbit hole I go.

When I first read this volume several years ago, I was literally biting my nails from the exictement of changing each page to discover what happened next. Perhaps some of the excitement with this reread is abated, but this particular chapter is still fabulous.

Gettin to grips that Light has attracted the interest of the world's best detective only known as "L", he must take advantage of hacking into his father's detective police reports of the Kira case to remain one step ahead to evade capture, while also learning how to bend the rules of the Death Note to kill criminals at any given hour of the day to deter suspicions about his identity as a highschool student.

Things get trickier when the FBi brings some agents and Raye Penber is show more keeping a close eye on Light. He will have to pull the cleverest stunt in the whole story to defeat this well-meaning but gullible cop before L corners him to a wall.

The first volumes are definitely the best of the series, and well worth your time. show less

Confluence is the second American collection of the wildly popular Death Note manga series, bringing together chapters eight through sixteen. It immediately follows Boredom and is just as good if not better than that first volume. By writing the name of a person in the Death Note while visualizing their face they may be killed. The specific circumstances of their death may also be indicated, otherwise they will die of a heart attack. Of course there are some rules and limitations to the Death Note's power which must be discovered through its use.

Light initially had good intentions when using the Death Note, focusing on convicted criminals for his victims. He is determined to eradicate evil from the world. But as the investigation into show more the murders intensifies, he resorts to less honorable killings to keep his identity a secret. Fearing for their lives and safety, most of the investigative force has dropped off the assignment. In the meantime, the mysterious and reclusive master detective known as "L" has been forced to reveal himself to what is left of the team.

Death Note is a very clever series and I'm really enjoying watching Light and L try to outwit each other. Sometimes its hard to tell exactly who has the upper hand. It's still early enough in the story that I could imagine either of them winning out in the end. At the moment, I find Light to be the more sympathetic character, although I'm sure his descent into corruption is far from over. L I just find kind of creepy. Ryuk, a death god and the original owner of the Death Note, is still hanging around to see the show, although he is finding himself being manipulated into actions he probably wouldn't otherwise take.

As the plot grows in complexity it is also increasing in depth. The character development, especially that of Light, is fantastic. The artwork has improved over the last volume, particularly in its consistency. I didn't notice as many translation problems as there were in Boredom, but Confluence still had some translation issues in addition to a few cultural reference that some readers (myself included) might not entirely understand. These for the most part were rather minor and were not critical to the enjoyment of the book.

I can tell that Death Note is a popular series from the simple fact that the books are rarely found on my library branch's shelves as they are usually checked out (or in some instances have gone completely missing). Almost the only way to get a hold of a copy is to join the waiting list. Even though I've only read the first two volumes of the series, I'm already impressed and understand the manga's popularity. Confluence is a great follow up to Boredom, and I'm definitely looking forward to finding out what happens next in Hard Run.

Experiments in Reading show less

In volume 2, Kira and L seem to be getting closer to finding each other as the hunt for the mass murderer continues. The tension grows as each one waits for the other to make a fatal mistake...

I'm really enjoying this manga. I'm always impressed with an author who can make me both dislike a character but also feel compelled to root for him at the same time.

Not quite as good as volume 1. Light shifts pretty easily from killing criminals to make the world a better place to killing a dozen FBI agents to avoid a very small chance of being caught. You also start to feel like he is sinking deeper into a Faustian bargain with his minor death god, but as yet he hasn’t felt the trap. I think that tension is interesting and could last for several more volumes. I find the police dram and the mysterious L less interesting. The inhumanly detached detective is an old trope and when used here it cranks up the mysterious outsider aspect to a ridiculous degree.

In the second volume of Death Note, we get to see Light Yagami further experiment with the powers and capabilities of the Death Note. Raye Penber, the FBI agent assigned to investigate him, and his fiance, a former-FBI agent herself, become inextricably wrapped up in the Kira mystery. L, an enigmatic recluse pursuing Kira, reveals himself to the task force and begins closing in on Light as a suspect.

Things progress nicely in the second volume of Death Note. We spend a bit more time with L, learning about his thought process, habits, and his theories about the Kira case. We also begin to see the lengths to which Light will go to follow his dream of a utopia, even if that means killing innocents. You still get that Encyclopedia show more Brown-vibe with L and Light (they figure things out with so little to go on and then have to explain to you, at length, how they did it). But Light is also able to play the charismatic teen who only wants to help, and it's disturbing how he can go from this to serial killer within a matter of seconds.

This is a great manga... I can't wait to keep reading! show less

This, the second volume of the manga Death Note series starts off pretty much where volume one left off. Light is still experimenting with the Death Note, finding out new and varied ways to kill people and making it harder for the police to trace him.

The police are also finding it hard to find people willing to work on the case, especially when "Kira" (as Light is known) kills off all the FBI agents who have flown to Japan to help the local police with their investigation. Luckily the rather odd L is still on hand to help them out.

I think the moral of this rather black series (so far) is: Shinigami demons should not just drop their Death Notes to earth, no matter how boring life is and how much this will spice things up. (Or if they do, show more maybe someone less clever and amoral than Light should pick it up.) show less