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
Mello has proven to be a very formidable enemy for everyone. The crafty genius has successfully taken the killer notebook from the Japanese Task Force, foiled their first attempt to get it back, and destroyed most of the SPK with little to no effort. Also, to make matters worst for everyone, he now has a Shinigami on his side that is willing to fully cooperate. Light must organize the task force for another attempt to reclaim the notebook, and just when things couldn't be anymore complicated. Near is beginning to suspect Light as Kira. -summary
The gears are turning once again and Death Note is very close to being completely back on track. The character interactions and plot has regained some of its strength. The new characters such as Near, Mello, and the Shinigami Sidoh have proven their worth. Writer Tsugumi Ohba has taken most of the focus off the somewhat useless characters, and is focusing on the more interesting ones. This is a great move and I can't give him enough credit. Especially, in regards to the annoying character of Misa Amane, who receives very little to no face time.
This volume pretty much sets up the new main storyline. The story has always been the capture of Kira, plus Light's plan to kill L and change the world. However, the storyline went through a small change and the battle has simply shifted. The retrieval of the killer notebook is quickly overshadowed by Near's suspicion of Light. Near attempts to cause disarray amongst the task force in hopes of drawing Kira out, by proving some of the rules of the killer notebook to be false. Rules that Light used in his and Misa's favor to clear their names as Kira, in order to drop suspicion against them and trick L.
The educated guesswork which was worked so well between Light and L really isn't as strong as it was, because points that are made happens to be supported more by speculation than anything else. But, the interactions are still entertaining anyway, and Near's answer should he be wrong for his speculation is funny by itself. The themes working here such as "could Kira really be evil?", is something that's beat on once again. But, this is simply the characters thinking like real people, which is always a plus, and Kira has already influenced the minds of the public. He is now being accepted as true justice with the police, TV networks, and civilians backing him up in full force. At this point, Kira is on his way to ruling the world.
I also can't forget to mention the artwork. The character designs have been very consistent up to this point, and are still well drawn in great detail. There are even a few action panels in this volume, which consists of a brutal shootout. The volume ends on a very strong note with the last two chapters being the most gripping, and the story does become much better later on, in which it's packed with more suspense, twist, and better character interactions. This volume is 191 pages over 9 more chapters:
Chapter 71:Contact
Chapter 72:Verification
Chapter 73:Cornered
Chapter 74:A Fine Performance
Chapter 75:Acknowledgement
Chapter 76:Greetings
Chapter 77:Use
Chapter 78:Prediction
Chapter 79:Lies
Pros:
-Great interactions and use of new characters, gripping as usual, action
Cons:
-Educated guesswork isn't very strong
