Book Report 12: Death Note

This is a bit of a different type of book report. A friend of mine recommended I read the Manga for Death Note, and it was quite long (13 volumes).

I have to admit, the story started off a bit slow, but it picked up very well. You have a main character who is extremely brilliant, with high social status, etc. He randomly finds a notebook on the ground, this notebook is called the 'Death Note,' and in it, lies numerous rules. For this book, if someone's name is written in it, that person will die. Some of the rules: if no cause of death is listed, the person will die of a heart attack. If the cause is written, and the cause is possible, then the person will die of the cause.

The story has numerous twists and turns, and the main character decides to use the Death Note to get rid of violent criminals he believes do not deserve to live. The main character is later given the nickname "Kira," which in Japanese is a play off the word "Killer." Kira begins to write numerous criminal names down in the Death Note, and subsequently, begins a worldwide investigation by the world's best detective, who's only known as "L." L decides to do all he can to capture Kira, and this becomes a battle of the minds.

After some time, the general society is scared to commit crimes, as they fear they will be killed by Kira. Which leads to numerous debates: since Kira is making the world, by some definition, 'safer,' is he really in the wrong? Less crimes are being committed, and shouldn't that be a good thing?

L disagrees, and says that Kira is simply a murderer, because it is not up to him to judge who dies and who does, and that Kira is not G-d. In addition, L mentions that peace derived from fear is no peace at all.

The story never tells you who is right or who is wrong, and this is because the author wants the reader(s) to determine for themselves who is right and who is wrong.

During the story, numerous characters are introduced who play various roles. Some of the characters Kira kills off are not criminals, which then twists the story and makes the reader really doubt 'is Kira truly justice? If he's simply killing those who are after him, who are not criminals, then how can he justify the killings?"

but then the opposite appears as well: "Those who try to stop justice are they themselves evil, and thus, since Kira is removing evil from the world, those who try to stop Kira must die."

Presenting these contracting and contrasting views is something the story does well, as it allows the reader to really think deep within his/her thoughts and determine what s/he feels is indeed justice, indeed 'right.'

I do recommend reading the Manga, and then, deciding for yourself: Would you ever use the Death Note? Why or Why not? Was Kira's use of it to rid the world of whom he determined to be evil just? Why or Why not?