Death Note (2006)

[デスノート]

Volume 9

Author: Tsugumi Ohba
Artist: Takeshi Obata
Publisher: Jump Comics

Synopsis:
The Tokyo investigative team is offered a deal by Kira himself to bring down Mello.

Story/Characters:
We start this volume with a wheelchair-bound Sayu. This rubbed me the wrong way because as far as we could tell, the kidnappers never actually did that much to her and she seemed to be keeping it together through her captivity. Are you telling me her mind just broke afterward? I guess that's one way to write her out of the story. No more ship teasing with Matsuda, I guess...

Light gets creative in his effort to move on Mello. The raid on Mello's hideout is far more satisfying than the one from the previous volume. No Sidoh to screw it up. The aftermath shakes things up enough to make things a little more interesting. I'm still not a huge fan of the direction the story's taken post-L, but there are some good developments. As much as I hate Mello, the dynamic that forms between him and Halle is interesting. Also, we close on a pretty good cliffhanger.

Art:
There's some satisfying dynamism to the raid. Halle provides some fanservice in case Misa isn't quite enough for you and Near makes some good troll faces as he presses Light.

Conclusion:
While this volume is definitely an improvement, I still can't quite call it a must-have. If your enthusiasm has been waning, this might help buoy you along. Give it a read at least.

Rating:
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