Death note vol 2 by Tsugumi Ohba

Illustrated by Takeshi Obata

Light gets into the prestigious To-Oh university and is number one in his class, but there’s another student who tied his score, and they both deliver the freshman class address. Afterwards, the classmate reveals himself to Light as L, and tells Light he is mildly suspicious of him being Kira. This is after several days of surveillance on Light’s room, where Ryuk found all the cameras and Light behaved without suspicion. L tells Light that he wants his help in figuring out the Kira case, but he also doesn’t fully trust Light. The two tentatively form a friendship and work on pieces of the case. Then, a series of tapes are sent to a TV station, and it’s clear to the two boy geniuses that there’s another Kira out there.

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This story is very cerebral, so don't come looking for lots of action or to see people be killed. In fact, almost all of the killings thus far have been off-page. Rather, this story has panels full of inner monologue, and now that Light and L are in the same room for some of it, we get to witness their mental game of chess and read about every scenario they can imagine before they act. There is hardly a moment of down-time throughout the story - just when you think Light is going to get a little bit of a breather from L, another Kira shows up and throws everything into full gear yet again. But, because of all the internal monologue, the main storyline moves a little bit slower than some readers might be accustomed to. This is definitely for readers who enjoy intense stories that are methodical.

This edition is the Black Edition, and it is a 2-in-1 omnibus.

Sara's Rating: 8/10
Suitability Level: Grades 10-12

Reviews of previous volumes in this series: vol 1

Publisher: VIZ Media
Publication Date: March 1, 2011
ISBN:  9781421539652(Paperback)

​Tags: Rating: 8/10, Suitability: High School, Manga, Demons, Supernatural, VIZ Media