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azzurri's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Excellent book, an absolute page turner. I never wanted to put it down. It carrie’s forward in the true tradition of death note. A story sure to bring up emotions and philosophical thoughts on humanity and what it means to be human.
selenas_white_friend's review against another edition
started reading on a family casino trip and then forgot
kolyanpo's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
kiki6k's review against another edition
5.0
This book explores a "what-if" scenario with a unique take on L's character. New Wammy's kids add charm, and L's interactions with a young girl are a delightful surprise. Set in a post-Kira world, the story creates a captivatingly strange atmosphere. The ending ties everything together beautifully, referencing Near, the Yagami family, and the Task Force. A must-read for Death Note fans!
a_tunafish's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
thepurplepeep's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
asche's review against another edition
1.0
Just awful, a complete waste of time. I don't think it's merely the awkward translation, the plot and tropes were weak and lazy. A miniskirt lady who licks stiletto knives and flashes her panties? Puh-leaze. Now the original Death Note series is my favorite manga, and I've read Another Note twice, but this one takes the cake. Here's an example of just how lazy the writing is: My favorite lines in Another Note were about how L's back was bent from the burdens he had to carry and his mouth craved sweets to wash away the bitterness he had to taste. Guess which lines were repeated almost verbatim?
All the characters were flat and boring, unlovable, their motivations completely unbelievable, cartoonish villains... even L felt melodramatic and strange. I could go on forever. At least Another Note had Naomi and BB was a real creepy twist. This gets one star for the gorgeous cover and dust jacket. This is the kind of book you use as an attractive paperweight.
All the characters were flat and boring, unlovable, their motivations completely unbelievable, cartoonish villains... even L felt melodramatic and strange. I could go on forever. At least Another Note had Naomi and BB was a real creepy twist. This gets one star for the gorgeous cover and dust jacket. This is the kind of book you use as an attractive paperweight.
moony1981's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
chamomiledaydreams's review against another edition
3.0
It's been a few years since I last read a light novel, and usually, I don't like them very much. I think it's because I've read clunky fan translations in the past; this is the first time I've ever checked one out from a proper library, and it seems to have been edited well (aside from a couple of missing quotation marks).
The quality of writing in "L, Change the WorLd" is pretty good, in my opinion, although it's also a little too fast-paced. The story covers a lot of ground very quickly, and I would honestly prefer for most of the scenes to be longer, especially when they involve profound character interactions. As for the characters themselves, I enjoyed them quite a bit, in large part because of the many cameos to the original series and its pilot. The themes about justice, morality, and rehabilitation are also interesting and tie into the main story very well, and I love that these fresh perspectives mostly come from a ten-year-old girl, who is so blunt and opinionated that she constantly throws the other characters for a loop.
The fact that there are so many branches of Death Note canon at this point helps me suspend my disbelief when the characters act unexpectedly or the lore disagrees with me. (I'm looking at the meaning of L's and Near's names, specifically. Explain Matt, Mello, and Linda to me then! And what about Beyond Birthday? I admire the dedication to finding meaning in the source material, but I cannot accept that the symbolism runs so deep...) I essentially view this story as fanfiction, just one possible interpretation of the characters.
One especially notable distinction for me is that L is more wholesome in this novel than in the other Death Note stories I've read or watched. He seems to be more virtuous and morally upright than his constant human rights violations in the main series imply. In this book, whenever it seems as if he's done something sick and twisted (like use the Death Note), it's eventually revoked and shown to be a fake-out, just another part of L's clever scheming. This makes sense for his character, and it's easy to recognize L as himself from the way his mannerisms and character interactions are written. But I do like leaning towards other aspects of his personality and would consider this installation slightly less canon than most others because of that.
Still, coming from the two live-action movies, I understand that this adjustment of L's character is consistent with the story's predecessors, and I don't mind it too much. It's mostly interesting to analyze and notice the implications of these subtle changes. And I did enjoy this novel overall and would confidently recommend it to other fans of the original series. Just make sure that you've seen the two live-action movies first, so you can understand how this story diverges from the anime/manga. It's a very fun ride!
The quality of writing in "L, Change the WorLd" is pretty good, in my opinion, although it's also a little too fast-paced. The story covers a lot of ground very quickly, and I would honestly prefer for most of the scenes to be longer, especially when they involve profound character interactions. As for the characters themselves, I enjoyed them quite a bit, in large part because of the many cameos to the original series and its pilot. The themes about justice, morality, and rehabilitation are also interesting and tie into the main story very well, and I love that these fresh perspectives mostly come from a ten-year-old girl, who is so blunt and opinionated that she constantly throws the other characters for a loop.
The fact that there are so many branches of Death Note canon at this point helps me suspend my disbelief when the characters act unexpectedly or the lore disagrees with me. (I'm looking at the meaning of L's and Near's names, specifically. Explain Matt, Mello, and Linda to me then! And what about Beyond Birthday? I admire the dedication to finding meaning in the source material, but I cannot accept that the symbolism runs so deep...) I essentially view this story as fanfiction, just one possible interpretation of the characters.
One especially notable distinction for me is that L is more wholesome in this novel than in the other Death Note stories I've read or watched. He seems to be more virtuous and morally upright than his constant human rights violations in the main series imply. In this book, whenever it seems as if he's done something sick and twisted (like use the Death Note), it's eventually revoked and shown to be a fake-out, just another part of L's clever scheming. This makes sense for his character, and it's easy to recognize L as himself from the way his mannerisms and character interactions are written. But I do like leaning towards other aspects of his personality and would consider this installation slightly less canon than most others because of that.
Still, coming from the two live-action movies, I understand that this adjustment of L's character is consistent with the story's predecessors, and I don't mind it too much. It's mostly interesting to analyze and notice the implications of these subtle changes. And I did enjoy this novel overall and would confidently recommend it to other fans of the original series. Just make sure that you've seen the two live-action movies first, so you can understand how this story diverges from the anime/manga. It's a very fun ride!
fozery's review against another edition
3.0
It’s an interesting addition to the series. Although, i did think that the book had some problems with the pacing and the way it introduces ideas (mainly at the start), i still enjoyed it. Maybe, i will reread the book in the future and change my opinion, but for now I’m keeping it this way