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R2 DVD Reviews
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Written by maehara
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Monday, 28 July 2008 16:00 |
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Page 1 of 3  After a lacklustre first volume - there's only so much of Light's smugness that a man can take - Death Note hits its stride with a second volume that covers all the right bases. Light may have an amazing mind, but circumstance, and someone else with a Death Note, are about to cause him some major problems and L's net closes in on him...
Check pages 2-3 of this review for episode summaries and screenshots. Plenty happening in this volume, so let's get started.
The volume starts with a drastic change of tack from L - being almost certain in his own mind that Light is Kira (despite there only being a 5% probability of this, by his calculation, and there being no evidence in support of the idea), L decides that the old adage of keeping your friends close but your enemies closer is the path he should be following. As a result, he leaves himself wide open for Light to kill him by introducing himself, inviting Light to join the Kira taskforce, and giving him his real name - everything that Light needs to kill him, handed to him on a plate. L has of course taken precautions that mean that it's not that simple, but it's still a huge risk, and both men are left waiting for the other to slip up so that they can make their move. As ever, the logic surrounding all this is a little dodgy - at least to my mind - but it's easy enough to follow what L's trying to do and the method adds a lot of drama to the situation.
The premise is turned on its head, though, by the appearance of a second Kira. Unlike Light, this Kira has no problem making public statement, or with killing innocents to make sure that others give her what she wants - and what she wants is Light. It's episode 13 before the new protagonist is revealed, and while Misa is as cute as a button, she's also very dangerous, with a stalker mentality towards Light and a recklessness that threatens to see them both caught. As ever, the story around the two of them finally meeting is a ballet dance of opposing tactics, and as neither L nor Light spend too much time bragging about their techniques this time out, it's all very enjoyable to watch.
There are some surprises too, mostly on the second disc of the set, that raise this release far above the standard of the first - mostly involving Misa, but dealing with subject areas that the series hasn't yet bothered to explore, with love (and not just the human variety) coming into the mix, along with the matter of just how far L is prepared to go outside the law to see justice done. True to the show's apparent principle of trying to turn right and wrong around, L gets progressively creepier as these episodes go on, while Light and Misa in places begin to get your sympathy - although they never quite reach the point where you're positively rooting for them.
Overall, then, I'm far more impressed with this release than I was with the first. With the battle of wits bewteen L and Light being handled more in action than in words this time out, it's far easier to watch than before and there are a number of top-class scenes as they try to get the better of each other. The addition of Misa and her own Death Note also throws an unknown into the mix for both men to deal with, and the way her story progresses is really the highlight of the volume. Go get it now.
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