Spoilers may abound here.

[telophase]

This is your OMG END OF Death Note spoilery discussion post. (through Chapter 107 - I hear tell there's a Chapter 108 that's an epilogue, but I havne't read it so don't spoil me if it's true. :D)



Well, my primary feeling at reading 106 and 107 is "It's about damn time." And a sense of relief - I'd been getting various bits and peices of people's reactions for the past few days and there was a lot of "OH GOD no, not that!" type stuff and I was deathly afraid she'd brought L back somehow, which would have been about the biggest cop-out imaginable.

Comments

[cerusee.livejournal.com]

My reaction is an overwhelming "meh," but I haven't really cared about where Death Note was headed for chapters upon chapters. If I hadn't known it was going to end soon, I would have dropped it entirely.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Ooba'd pretty much written herself into a corner back when L kicked it, and dug a little way out of it with the timeshift forward, but ended up thoroughly in the corner - there was no way that anything other than the end of story, one way or the other, could happen. And I guess they couldn't go the interesting route and have Evil triumph over Good, so Light had to die.

[obviouslyanon.livejournal.com]

Well, the reason there was so many bad reactions is the scary Kira fans. Trainwreck syndrome is why I browse TOWNL forums at all, really.

I easily react to anything, so of course I was shocked to at the end when I first read it. I missed the memo that it was going to be one of the final chapters and honestly thought it would drag on much more. No oh-so-clever plot to get Light out of that situation using Misa or some other pawn. But I like how it ended the way Ryuk said it was going to end. Especially since if Ryuk did comply, what would happen next? It wouldn't be nearly as entertaining. :)

[telophase.livejournal.com]

:D I'd known it was ending for 3 or so weeks now, since I heard the rumors, so I wasn't shocked, just curious as to how it was going to happen. :D

I liked the reminder that Ryuk wasn't a pawn or servant, he was there for his personal amusement, although I think it would have been better for a couple more reminders earlier in the story, because it felt a wee bit deus ex machina to me.

Huh. Both arcs ended with a Reaper getting fed up and taking someone out. Interesting. Well, we know who's ultimately in chare of human destiny, then. :D

[keelieinblack.livejournal.com]

Yeah, my reaction was a big "Thank god it's over"; I bailed out around chapter eighty-something. It was a crazy-mad series and I'll always have a squishy love for the mind games of the first arc, but--yes. Time to end instead of dragging it out. (Plus, good lord, can you imagine what a third arc would have been like?) Still jazzed about the movie and anime, though.

Re: the actual ending--I did find this post (http://elwing-alcyone.livejournal.com/38357.html) on Death-Note-as-tragedy interesting. I don't know that I agree with it, but it's certainly food for thought.

[apintrix.livejournal.com]

Interesting post-- don't think it's catharsis, because for that, I would have to be pitying Light, and I just don't see that we're supposed to do that. But I was pleased that it ended, both because it was going nowhere, and because he had it comin'. I love that he flipped out and lost it. It was a great demise. He went out like a classic egotistical villain, and revealed his true colors.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

It makes a lot of sense and I think it's a valid interpretation.

Third arc ... gah. There was nowhere to go - she made her villain super-powerful and once you do that, it just gets ridiculous. The first arc worked so well because Light wasn't yet super-powerful because he was blocked by L at every turn, but L blocked him so well that she had to have him either unmask Light or die. I'm glad she actually killed off a main character, because that sort of thing is what I read manga for - you don't have the assurance that the good guys are going to win.

If there was a third arc, she'd have to kill Light off anyway, I think, and give the Death Note to a new person and essentially start over.

[homasse.livejournal.com]

Well, having read the end, after having gotten bored and crapped out after L died, it does seem like this was really the only way it *could* end.

Still, it was rather "meh." Light proved himself to be rather pathetic in the end, which was something of a shame.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

I liked the second arc entirely for Near and Mello, and then Mello kicked it and Near got dull, and I kept reading for Obata's art because I would crawl through broken glass for the chance to look at a doodle if he'd drawn it. Well, metaphorically.

And now this means ... there gets to be some new series with Obata's art appearing within a year if he doesn't take too much time off, and I'm hoping like mad that whatever it is gets scanlated. :)

[mscongeniality.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm kind of glad to see it end. The first arc, while not perfect, was good fun and a good read, but the second suffered. If she'd thought ahead a little more and tightened the story up a bit, the second could have been almost as good as the first. Instead it got bogged down and readers noticed.

I understand that, really, the series has to end on a note of 'good over evil', but Light did kind of go out like a whiny bitch and that annoyed me. I liked that he was brought down by his 'abject follower' not acting as he expected, and I liked that it was Matsuda who took action against him, what I didn't like was the ranting. Yeah, the megalomania was entirely in character, but it got on my nerves.

As for Ryuk--that was just perfect.

Anyway, I hope that an anime can take care of that 'tightening up' and simplifying of the second story arc. Once that happens, it should entirely kick ass.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

*has urge to write a reinterpretation of DN in that it's entirely about Matsuda and Matsuda's personal journey and the Death Note and Kira is all backdrop*

*ignores urge*

I have high hopes for the anime, although I am quite prepared for them to be dashed to itty bitty pieces against the rocks of reality

[mscongeniality.livejournal.com]

*And yet, it would be wonderful.*

As for the anime, I think it will depend on who is doing it. In the hands of a competent director/screenplay writer it could be excellent. I'll reserve further comment until we can see who is attached to the project.

[herchuckness.livejournal.com]

So does this make it the shortest WJ title ever, or what?

I can't wait to see what Obata does next.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Heh, dunno - did SJ run Sandland? Although that was conceived as a short-run manga from start to finish, not a long-term serial.

[oneiroelpida.livejournal.com]

My resolve on Death Note was basically this: If Light Died, I was willing to buy the series. If Light didn't die, I was going to pretend I never really read the series except for the fact that I was strangely familiar with all the characters when I see them cosplayed. My brain just refused to process the idea of Light WINNING, even though I found him an interesting enough character. My basic reaction to Light's death was my running out into the living room and yelling "YES" and, sadly enough, all my roommates knew exactly why without me having to tell them. Overall, the second arc was definitely less impressive than the first, but Near and Mello made it worthwhile. Once Mello died, I knew the series was going to end soon (or at least hoped) because I really didn't feel like there was much else left to be done.

[m00nface.livejournal.com]

rI'm not sure about some of views that Light = pathetic based on his last few minutes of life. I didn't realise quite how much he was teetering on the edge of his composure all this time, I thought he was more the cold psychotic than the hysterical maniac, but I did end up pitying him, which I think is the ultimate fate Light deserved: to fall from being worshipped as a god to being pitied by his intended victims and screaming for his life... I think that's a fitting end for a megalomaniacal murderer. Although, frankly, I'd pity anyone who had forty seconds left to live and knew it.

My genuine heartfelt sympathy? No. That belongs firmly with Matsuda, who will actually be wracked with guilt for the rest of his life. His beliefs were shaken to the core in a matter of minutes, and he took impulsive action in that time that ended in the death of someone he had considered a friend and a leader. Never mind that Light truly deserved it, Matsuda will be questioning his actions forever, and I really feel for him.

I shed no tears for the end of Death Note though. Let's face it, it was over with L. The rest has been like one giant epilogue.