Death Note (Part 2)

Zach Goodier

It’s been quite a while since I did part 1… and it’s long overdue that I return to the series to finish it out.  In part 2 (SPOILERS), we quickly move the story along, as Light has to tangle with L, which comes to a conclusion fairly quickly, and then has to deal with the aftermath.  After the end of his first worthy opposition, Light finds himself once again being trailed by detectives, L’s disciples, of sorts.  Things quickly repeat themselves, and Light once again finds himself trying to outsmart the detectives pursuing him.  However, will he be able to elude capture again, and exact his “justice” as Kira?

Our favorite partners in crime are still at it.

Well for starters, things do downhill in this part fairly quickly after (SPOILERS) L’s unfortunate demise.  While I understood the desire to move things along, the loss of such a compelling character really set the series back.  His replacements, Near and Mellow, aren’t quite as compelling as their predecessor.  While there is room to say that indirectly L still is influencing the story, most would agree that doesn’t make the second part nearly as good as the first. 

This pretty much sums up everyone of major importance in part 2.

The characters are all the same, aside from Near and Mello, who are introduced part-way through the volume.  Overall, one does somewhat capture the “L” feel, even if he is more or less a copycat, and the other is more erratic and hot-tempered.  This does add a little more excitement, and keeps everyone on their toes.  However, this does start to feel a little tiring after a brief span.  Fighting with L was taxing enough, both on Light and the audience, and trying to work in these new faces just felt a little forced, just for the sake of dragging out the story a little while longer.

Mello likes chocolate.  Just saiyan.

The ending is very well done, and definitely presents one of the strongest points in the story since the conclusion of the initial conflict with L.  However, even the ending felt a little forced, and while I don’t disagree with the ending itself, I did feel like some parts just felt a little too conveniently brought together for certain characters. 

Sometimes I wish more was done with Misa.  She was interesting, but sometimes I felt like more should have been invested in her to make her a bit more memorable aside from being alluring in her outfits.

The main interesting element is seeing Light’s descent from his noble beginnings.  There is a lot to discuss here, such as whether or not he would have followed the same path if he was never suspected by L, or at what point he lost sight of his original cause.  It’s interesting because in part 2, we see Light stray further and further from his original cause.  This isn’t due to him being deranged (at least not initially), it mainly stems from having to defend himself to continue his view of justice.  This is the part of the story that I latched onto, and you can tell it’s an important theme in the story.  In having to repeatedly cross those fine lines to protect himself, and his sense of justice, you gradually see Light turn more and more into the monster he originally sought to fight, and it makes for some interesting philosophical discussion after you finish watching.

In case you need to brush up on how the Death Note works.

Overall, part 2 is definitely the weaker one, in my book; however, it really does a good job of bringing Light’s story home, even if the new cast members didn’t quite make it as good as part 1 to watch.  The themes are solid, and the ending is well done, as well (even if it leans on some luck and coincidence).  Overall, I’d say this is mediocre in its own right, but you obviously have to watch it if you want to finish the story from part 1, so give it a watch.

Good:

-Excellent themes.

-Light brings this story to life, and Misa makes for a great human connection, even as Light loses touch with his humanity.

-End to an excellent story.

Bad:

-Weaker characters introduced to replace L.

-Ending relied on a lot of stretches in logic, and sheer luck to tie things together.

Scully Rating: 7.0 out of 10