Death Note: How to Read

by Tsugumi Ohba

Book Overview

A Death Note Encyclopedia

An encyclopedic guide to the Death Note manga series, including character bios, storyline summaries, interviews with creators Tsugumi Oba and Takeshi Obata, production notes and commentaries, and bonus manga pages.

The Ultimate Death Note Encyclopedia

Here, in one authoritative volume: everything you need to know about Death Note, the best-selling manga...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1421518880
• ISBN13: 9781421518886
• Release Date: February 2008
• Publisher: Viz Media
• Length: 280 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.1" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Beyond "Death Note"

Top reviewer here "Mister Myst" explains it all very well on how great this book is, but suffice it to say this is really THE companion book to own. If you want the others, sure, they're good, but I found this one to be incredible in a 'walkthrough' sort of way to the 9 disc series. It gives such detail on, not only what "L" likes to eat and WHAT he ate, but dates, times and place in the Death Note universe, not to mention character data and profiles on every single person or Shinigami to show their face in the series. Beyond that, I found DN to be so psychologically engaging and twisted that I found myself lost at times. This book helped keep me on track of fake Death Notes, Real Death Notes, Death Note owners, tricks used, secrets, revelations, Shinigami eyes, etc. and even less needed info as height, weight, likes and dislikes, and dossiers of characters. I'm telling you, it has everything. Perhaps the only slight improvement could have been an even more detailed psych profile on significant core characters: Light, L, Near, Mello, Mikami, Matsuda and even Misa. Regardless of that minor flux, this is a well put together book/manual. If you're in the middle of the series read with caution as spoilers can pop out when you're not expecting it. It does follow the order of the series, but creator interviews reveal what happened to characters and you might not want to know.

Interesting Read for Death Note Fans

A lot of different books, movies, etc. come out with the after-the-series books, they always seem like rip-offs that are boring, stupid and a waste of time and money. This is SO not the case for Volume 13! Every page was packed with little tidbits of information that were never given in the series! I especially enjoyed reading Ohba's and Obata's interviews, especially when they were talking to each other! I don't want to give away anything important, but if you area big fan of Death Note, you will not be disappointed by volume 13!

A Must for Those Who Like Bonus Material

This special volume of the series is filled with all the super secret information behind the manga and anime series of Death Note. They writer and author explain the ideas behind each character, quizzes, and a special look through the thoughts of our favorite shinigami. Also don't forget the funny little comics at the end. This is a must if you want to really complete your manga series.

Amazing and Informative

I only recently bought this book and read it in a whole day. It's really informative - it tells me pretty much everything I ever wanted to know about the series and the characters! I particularly enjoyed "Ryuk's Human Observation Journal" - it was so funny that I had one of the most cheerful moods I've ever had all throughout the day! :D I was surprised to see the original pilot to the series in this book; even though it's very different than the series, it's nonetheless entertaining. There are quite a few differences in the two stories... If your a huge Death Note fan, I definatly recommend that you get your hands on this book as soon as possible!

The Official Death Note Companion Would Have Been a More Obvious Title

Officially, this is considered the final book in the Death Note series. However, it's really more of a companion book than anything else. Not that that's a bad thing at all. In fact, it's nothing short of awesome. Within these 200-odd pages, you'll be treated to all kinds of goodies. For starters, all the unresolved plotlines (especially the fate of Misa) are addressed. You also get every single piece of Death Note trivia that you would possibly want to know. So not only do we finally learn L's real name, we learn everything he ever ate during the course of the seires (Oh boundless joy!). Also, perhaps to give us a break from how serious the series has been, many of the characters pop up occasionally and break the fourth wall by providing some amusing commentary of their own. At least one even comments on their own in-series death. However, as good as all this is, there are two places where this book really shines. First, a lot of this book goes behind the scenes as Ohba and Obata give us a satisfying peak at their creative processes. My favorite part was where Ohba talks about where he got the idea for EACH chapter title. Man, this guy gives a whole new meaning to the term "detail-oriented". Second, this volume wraps up with the series' pilot chapter, aka the FIRST Death Note manga ever written. It has the same basic concept as the series (a deadly notebook), but takes it in a more "Stephen King-ish" direction. Also, other than Ryuuk, it stars a completely different cast of characters. That said, one of these "newbies" bears a striking physical resemblance to a certain, insane prosecutor-turned-Kira-worshipper. If you're a fan of the seires, you probably know who I mean. Like the series, the pilot was a great read. In fact, I think it would make a great movie (much easier to adapt than the series, I'd think). The only negative thing about this book was that, on 1 or 2 pages toward the end, Misa was even more exposed than usual. I wasn't quite expecting this and it made me feel somewhat uncomfortable. However, this really isn't enough to cost it a star. It's just a few pages; easy to skip over. This is highly recommended for Death Note fans who know when to stop taking things too seriously. Also somewhat recommended for Stephen King fans or Horror fans in general (due to the aforementioned pilot chapter).