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I actually apologize because it took me almost four years to finish the book. Problem is, I don't usually get into reading a book that goes into such detail about a book I've just read, so I had some troubles to focus at the time and let it slide for a long time.

Now I was back at it, and it had been a while, so it all made more sense, since I was looking for some real Death Note after seeing the thing Netflix recently brought out. This 13th collection contains a lot of information, though not necessarily new information. Character files, an explanation for all the chapter titles in the series, all the rules from the Death Note. And L's real name.

Also, there are interviews with the creators and a pilot chapter, which was actually a lot of fun to read, even though if it had stayed on that path, it had been a completely different kind of series. However, I would only recommend this to the real fans of the series that can't get enough of it. For the rest of us, I think it might be a bit too detailed. ( )

this is pretty much an encyclopedia of everything in the Deathnote series. Character bios, explanations of who did what and why, etc, etc. Even had the original Deathnote" pilot chapter that Ohba wrote. A bit of a hard read, since there was just SO much info. Not really a manga, in the traditional sense. Definitely including this in my "number of books I read this year" as a "real" book :-)"

For a series as complex as Death Note, Ohba-san and Obata-san here clarify it all with the help from eager editors.

From detailed descriptions of the plot to minutiae such as breaking down the titles for all 108 chapters, this book reveals all but does not philosophise on the choices the characters make.

Open-hearted interviews with the creators reveal how they were affected by each-other’s art and how Death Note unravelled, especially as the series quickly became a million-selling weekly series, and later a massive franchise with merchandise, anime and films to follow.

The comedic four-panel specials that aren’t found in the collected volumes are here, as is the pilot chapter.

I disliked the seemingly haphazardly thrown-together character profiles, which just show very shallow info that nearly anybody could guess. I loved the interviews with the creators and their analyses, not to mention the editorial humor strewn across the latter part of the book, and the extra art.

One of the best retrospective books of a phenomenon that I have read. Strongly recommendable if you’ve read the series. ( )