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

In the News: 12 Minutes of Dying Light Gameplay

 IGN has some gameplay from the upcoming survival-horror title, Dying Light.  The game mixes free-running with zombie-survival.  The mix allows for some interesting mechanics when it comes to survival, because like in a real zombie outbreak, you won't want to go fighting head-on, especially against such overwhelming numbers.  The game gets even more tense at night, however, as the zombies mutate and become much more dangerous, forcing you to resort to stealth and/or avoidance tactics in order to stay alive.  It appears that player choices will also have bearing on the game world, with the player having the option to go in search of survivors along the way, but the price of your generosity can make the mission at hand even more difficult, making you stay conscious of whether or not you can afford to be noble in this dangerous world.

Death Note (Part One)

(Editor's Note) Hey guys, Zach here.  Murphy and I had a tough time rating this show overall.  As I'm sure many of you fans out there can attest; there is a general break around halfway through the show where our impressions of it ultimately shifted.  We obviously don't want to get into spoilers, but the decision was to break up Death Note into a two-part review so we don't give the show unfair judgement when there is a clear division.

Buy part one of "Death Note" at Amazon

By: Robert Murphy

We start this story with Light Yagami, an intelligent student, who has an extremely bright future ahead of him, along with this, Light has strong feelings on what is right and wrong in this world; and how all the evil and crime in this world needs to be stomped out. One day, his life undergoes a drastic change as he witnesses a notebook fall from nowhere, this notebook was dropped by a Shinigami (God of Death) named Ryuk who is extremely bored in the realm of the afterlife and drops his “Death Note” into the human world for a bit of fun.  Light proceeds to later go after the notebook and reads the directions inside. The notebook states that who should ever write the name of the person you want dead in the “Death Note”--with their image in your mind--and they will die in the manner you have specified in this supernatural journal, otherwise, if the circumstance is not specified in writing, the victim will, within minutes, suffer a fatal heart attack. Thinking it a stupid prank initially, Light puts it to the test when saving an innocent woman from being assaulted and finds that the notebook actually works. From here Light proceeds to self righteously divulge himself into doling out what he believes is justice, writing criminal after criminal's name in the notebook; creating a new world.

(Above: Light and Ryuk)

Light, who at the start seems like he would be the last person that you would ever think to start dealing out death left and right, but like any human being he is subject to the basic human faults that plagues all who gain power: it corrupts. At first, his intentions do seem quite noble as he dishes out justice to criminals, rapists, child molesters, and the like; but despite  everything power of a “God” like that  in the hands of a mortal, you’ll begin to get quite a complex about yourself. Alongside Light, we also have Ryuk, the snarky original owner of the notebook, who really is only around for a good time, he finds human beings interesting, especially Light as he is the first human to have done so much with the notebook without worrying too much about the consequences. And while the two make things quite interesting, much of the show gets appeal from those who wish to stop Light from ridding the world of “evil”. Yes, fans of the show, I am referring to L, the mysterious, eccentric (I use that term as a tentative way to describe him), and genius detective who is brought in to solve all the deaths Light has piled up. L is the only one who has a mind that can match the schemes of Light and the two lock in a cat and mouse game through much of the show on par with a Sherlock Holmes stile affair. Then there is the beautiful, yet tragic, Misa Amane, who also has a death note and who is incredibly infatuated with Light in a Justine Beiber style affair. She does everything and anything to please Light but at the same time she threatens to reveal who he is to the task force that is after him if he doesn’t keep her happy.

(Above: L munching on some sweets, what else is new)

And this all happens within the first few episodes; the show offers a smooth dialogue that is easy to follow and moves along at a good pace as well as offering up well-developed characters on both sides of the spectrum of what you would call good and evil. The show, while easy to follow, is very in-depth and clever for those of you who are looking for something that you can get into and enjoy again and again. Also there is a moral question that is put to the test for those of you who watch the show and that is, "what would you do if you had a real Death Note? And what side of the line do you fall on, do you feel what Light is doing is right and the world is better without these criminals or are you on the side of L and think that despite killing these “bad” people it’s still wrong?"

In closing, Death Note (Part One) is an amazing show that offers well-developed characters that work well against each other; especially in the instance of Light and L, who even when they aren’t fighting to beat the other have much in common, and go back and forth with one another in the best way. For those of you who have heard the hype about the show, it is every bit the hype its built up to be, the show is all around intellectually stimulating with a degree of humor. This is a series that will make you think. It's more than just passive entertainment, though it is just what you make of it and therein lies the beauty of “Death Note”.

  

Good:

-Great and equally developed characters

-Incredible story that tests your morals

-A show that makes you think and is easy to watch

Bad:

-A dark tone that isn’t for everyone

Scully Rating: 9.5 out of 10