Completely bored with his everyday life. Straight A high school student Light Yagumi is about to experience excitement he has never dreamed of. After class, Light comes upon a black book lying on the ground titled Death Note. The user instructions describe if a persons name is written in the book, then that person would die from a heart attack in a certain amount of time.
After testing the book on an armed man during a hostage situation. Light learns that the book is far from a hoax. Now with the new power that was given to him. Light embarks on his one man quest to change the world. His plan is to rid society of all criminals, and make himself the God of the new world.
Previous Volumes:
Death Note Volume 1: Boredom
Death Note Volume 2: Confluence
Death Note Volume 3: Hard Run
Death Note Volume 4: Love
Death Note Volume 5: Whiteout
Death Note Volume 6: Give and Take
Death Note Volume 7: Zero
Death Note Volume 8: Target
Death Note Volume 9: Contact
Death Note Volume 10: Deletion
Death Note Volume 11: Kindred Spirits -
Having the full confidence of being 99.9999% positive that Light Yagumi is Kira. Near is planning his move to finally dispose of the would be god of the new world. But, there is one thing Near is lacking... Proof. He doesn't have the evidence to make his accusations stick. Completely aware of this, Light also enacts his plan, which is to finally kill Near and everyone who has the slightest bit of knowledge about the killer notebook. The real battle between the two geniuses begins. -summary
This volume before the climax contains the build up leading to the final confrontation. Near makes it absolutely no secret to Light that he believes him to be Kira. Near is so sure of it, and so sure of his possible victory. That he's actually filling in all of the gaps, and is revealing his plan to Light directly. Light shows very little signs of caution simply because Near lacks proof. This volume mainly revolves around Near setting a plan to catch Light red handed using the killer notebook.
The development is somewhat slow in this volume, but this is what works in its favor. When conducting a plan that could result in the loss of life. It's very important to take as many safety measures as possible. Only fools rush in and the outcome can be disastrous. The writing by Tsugumi Ohba is splendid portraying this on the part of Near. He continues to evaluate the case and all present evidence before taking action. Near understands exactly how dangerous Light can be, and he also realizes that one mistake will not only cost him his life, but everyone involved in the case. He even makes it known to one of the officers, that the entire Japanese Task Force are still alive only because of him. Therefore, he takes an ample amount of time to craft together the so-called perfect plan. Which also puts his entire task force in the immediate line of fire.
Long before this point, the reader should already understand the danger of both combatants situations. Therefore, the slow story development can actually be excused. The character development still continues to evolve, especially on the part of Near. I think Near has done a great job filling the role as Kira's main nemesis. He has clearly proven to be a very big threat to Light, in which, Light does mention how important Near's death is to him.
The plot doesn't really drag to me, and a random comedic moment is tossed in to remove some of the gloom. Quite possibly for the first time in the entire series. Misa Amane doesn't drag the plot down. Her interaction while boozing with another woman doesn't come off poorly timed at all. On the contrary, the timing couldn't have been better. To some people, this segment seems useless but it does serve a purpose. I actually laughed during the segment.
The story telling in this volume is also more coherent than its anime counterpart, and doesn't require one to raise an eyebrow. In the anime, one scene that stood out to be more blind speculation and coincidence than educated guesswork. Definitely had to be when Near uncovered the identity of the fourth Kira. The anime was incredibly forced with this development, while the manga provided the necessary clues that lead to the individual.
The final chapters leading into the next volume re-focuses the attention to Light and Near's interactions, which ends the volume on a pretty strong note. Plus, another character makes his return to raise the stakes. The artwork again remains consistent. There are only a small amount of changes that takes place during the comedic moments. Therefore, the artwork is intentionally made goofy in light of the situation.
At this point, there would be no reason to stop now. The final volume is next. The ultimate battle of wits will finally come to an end, and the good part about it is, some readers may still be undecided on which side to choose. This is one of the best attributes of the series. Volume 11 is 209 pages spread across 10 chapters.
Chapter 89:Kindred Spirits
Chapter 90:Preview
Chapter 91:Standstill
Chapter 92:Night
Chapter 93:Decision
Chapter 94:Outside
Chapter 95:Convinced
Chapter 96:Meanwhile
Chapter 97:Miscellaneous
Chapter 98:Everybody
Pros:
-Very good use of characters, good story build up
Cons:
-Some story elements can be slightly confusing, slow development that could bother some
