088 - Death Note vol. 1

088 - Death Note vol. 1

Author: We Appreciate Manga™ October 23, 2022 Duration: 37:26

For the Halloween holidays all 3 dudes, James, Will and Steven talk about one of the most successful manga of all time, and that is Death Note! Wherein a bored schoolboy picks up the grim reaper's notebook. It reads "The Human whose name is written in this note shall die" Skip synopsis @ 7:07

Email: WeAppreciateManga@Gmail.com

88:  Death Note vol. 1 ~ Boredom

Story by Tsugumi Ohba

Art by Takeshi Obata

Translation by Pookie Rolf

Lettering by Gia Cam Luc

"The Human whose name is written in this note shall die" is the first rule written in a mysterious notebook. One that the ace student Light Yagami finds. Light is popular with the ladies of his class and has great prospects yet he is bored. Five days later he is met with the original owner of the titular notebook, The Death-God, Ryuk who tells him more about its rules. Specifically, that the face of the name must be in the writer's mind when written, that the cause of death must be written in under 40 seconds or else it will default to a heart attack, and that details of the death can be written in under 6 minutes and 40 seconds, to name just a few. Also, only those who have touched the death­-note can witness the original owner that is the phantom like Ryuk.

Light shows Ryuk that he has been using the death­-note towards a campaign for his own brand of justice, believing he is making the world a better place, Light has been killing a vast multitude of criminals with the default heart attack adding to his Modus Operandi. Soon Light's action no longer resembles coincidence and people catch on and claim Light's actions as divine intervention, dubbing Light as the mysterious god "Kira" (the Japanese mispronunciation for Killer). Interpol finds the deaths suspicious and hire the mysterious sleuth known only as "L" to determine who is Kira and arrest him for murder if it is at all possible.

L confronts Kira/Light from a regional TV broadcast, a fake L and death-row inmate called Lind L.Taylor stands in as bait so to goad Light into committing another murder. Light kills Lind L.Taylor confirming to L that Kira is Japanese and is able to kill someone without direct contact.

A change in Light's killing patterns leads L to suspect that Kira has links to the NPA. Light is confident that this will only cause in-fighting between the NPA and L and hopes that he can use the NPA to uncover L's identity for him. Ryuk, who notices that Light is being spied upon tells him of a deal, if Light trades half of his lifespan he will be able to get "Shinigami eyes", eyes that show the name of any individual he sees as well as their lifespan. Light refuses the offer, claiming that the legacy of Kira must last as long as possible so to make an impact on the world.

Light then decides to bait the spy that is shadowing him, he does this by influencing the last moments of a wanted criminal's life. He makes himself a hostage for a bus hijacker by going on a date, he writes a note to his date saying he will confront the hijacker knowing that his shadow will see this. The shadow begs him not to do so, Light demands proof that the man is not an accomplice to the hijacker, so the man reveals himself as the FBI agent Raye Penber. The Hijacker dies, running off the bus and into a car after seeing a phantom as detailed in the death­-note. All Light did during this time was drop a scrap of the death­-note, which lead to the hijacker picking it up and seeing Ryuk. And everything goes according to plan for Light.

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

Official Website

 

Email


There's a particular kind of magic that happens when a friend hands you a book they love, especially when that book is a manga. We Appreciate Manga captures that exact feeling, beginning each conversation with a personal recommendation before letting the discussion wander into deeper territory. Hosted by the team at We Appreciate Manga™, this series is less a formal review and more like eavesdropping on a thoughtful, sometimes rambling, chat between enthusiasts. You’ll hear them explore how specific stories resonate, why certain artistic choices matter, and the very real comfort these illustrated narratives can provide during difficult periods. It’s a celebration of the medium that goes beyond plot summaries to appreciate manga as a unique and powerful form of visual storytelling. Think of it as your audio companion to a vibrant, anime-adjacent book club where the panels come to life through conversation. New episodes of this podcast have been available since August 2022, offering a consistent space to connect with the art and heart of these stories.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 136

We Appreciate Manga
Podcast Episodes
136 - Petshop of Horrors: Flowers and Detective [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:54
Is this the final episode of 'We Appreciate Manga'? I guess we will have to see… Either way James has an announcement to make but first we give a quick review of Godzilla minus one and talk about side chapters of Petshop…
135 - Petshop of Horrors vol. 10 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:51
Author Matsuri closes out the final chapters and leaves no stone unturned, Chris speaks, Q-Chan shows off their human form and a climatic meeting with D's father finally happens. In a clever way, Matsuri switches from an…
134 - Petshop of Horrors vol. 9 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:05
Listen with discretion and care since on today's episode we speak about intergenerational trauma, modern slavery, and human trafficking. Pretty intense stuff for a fantasy manga but Akino Matsuri is an expert anthologist…
133 - Petshop of Horrors vol. 8 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:30
Come join our book club and listen as we read Akino Matsuri's horror stories, one that is about a mermaid. Another about a family that move into a house that has a dark history. And a woman who seems to have looks, fame…
132 - Petshop of Horror vol. 7 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:42
Today we talk about the importance of character-based story telling superseding social and political commentary, be it human trafficking, weight loss and police brutality. Albeit a fantasy story, there is an argument tha…
131 - Petshop of Horrors vol. 6 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:33
Continuing with their book club podcast, Will and James talk about volume 6 of the surreal fantasy horror josei manga, Petshop of Horrors! Today's stories are very much a reflection on the chaos of childhood and the pres…
130 - Petshop of Horrors vol. 5 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:36
A poignant volume that introduces a new character to the lore and explores feelings around death and childhood. And it may come as no surprise that even a horror Shoujo manga somehow has to reference ballet, we all seen…
129 - Petshop of Horrors vol. 4 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:13
Does anyone remember Tamagotchi? Or maybe you had a Giga-Pet growing up? Whatever the case a virtual pet goes by many brand names and today we read one story that is both inspired by the virtual pet craze of the 90's and…
128 - Petshop of Horrors vol. 3 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:17
Dog lovers will love this one yet we are now seeing author Akino experiment with the characters. She also explores some social commentary and posing morally difficult questions. It goes without saying, today is a heavy e…
127 - Petshop of Horrors vol. 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:15
Cat lovers will enjoy the continuation of our spooky season read along, as James and Will experience multiple stories from the Petshop of Horror. There's one about a dangerous mermaid that resembles someone's dead wife,…