Reviews

Death Note: L Change the World by M

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charly_freedom's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

sheilacastellanos's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

rinku's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

L: Change the WorLd takes place in an alternative universe/timeline of the Death Note universe which is an interesting idea for a light novel. This story follows mainly L who’s trying to solve a mystery around a deadly virus, working together with the ten-year old Maki and an FBI agent.

I can’t help it but compare this light novel to the first one, Another Note. Change the WorLd dealt with so many more interesting topics, like biological weapons or the relationship between humans and nature, and didn’t try to be edgy just for the sake of it. Yes, there were dark and dramatic moments, but they served a purpose in the story. Other moments of the story were of course predictable, like

Kujo being a traitor

, but some moments surprised me, like

the fact that she was once at Wammy’s house

. As we know it from the main series, L has clever plans, and it was so interesting to see how he resolved specific situations. I additionally really liked the bittersweet ending with

Maki being safe but L dying

But this is Death Note and there’s of course quite a lot of sexism and misogyny. For example, all women in the story are objectified which was just annoying and became tedious. What became tedious for me as well was the humour that was just a bit over the top. At the same time though, the story creates a great tense atmosphere through the time pressure coming from the fact that

L – for some reasons – wrote his own name in a death note, and Maki being infected with the virus

I also liked the characters so much more than in Another Note. It’s so cute how L cares for Maki and he is just likable here. A reason for this is his great character development and he’s not the only one that has one; the development of Kujo was great as well. Furthermore, we get some short appearances of my favorite Death Note characters, namely

Matsuda and Misa

L: Change the WorLd is honestly the only additional material of the Death Note series that I like. Reasons for this are the likable characters and the interesting story. Still, my love for the series has faded and thus I can’t give more than three stars.

Content Warnings

gen_wolfhailstorm's review against another edition

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4.0

After having to constantly reminding myself that this was an 'alternative' ending to the Death Note saga and thinking back on things, I must say I did enjoy this light novel. You'd think you would be able to get through this quickly enough, but, for me at least, there was a lot of detail that took me a while to absorb, so I took a few weeks to complete this.
The off-putting points I will say is I feel that L was a little too personally involved, as in showing his face to everyone and such and some of the events felt rushed. I also was very confused in the first few chapters because I didn't know what character I was supposed to be following at specific parts, which I think is bad when you haven't even come to grips with the characters yet anyway.
But overall, a good book to add to the collection, with a beautiful cover and dust jacket and an interesting and detailed alternative story line to the Death Note franchise.
Pick it up, give it a go and enjoy!
Gén >(^_^)<

youphoriaot7's review against another edition

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5.0

Wow. Wow wow wow.
This book is second only to the B.B. Murder Cases for me, and even then, I have a feeling that I may eventually flip that. Dude, it was really good.
I enjoyed everything about this book. The complexity of the case. The new Wammy's. The *humor.* The tie-ins of Light, Soichiro/Sachiko/Sayu, Matsuda, Near...
The thing I think I loved the most though? We got to see a different side of L. The thing that makes this book is the time limit. L knows he only has 23 days to solve the case, and therefore is willing to do more because of it. I love how it really showed the bond between L and Maki. I love how it showed he's a genuinely kind person, in his talks with K near (heh--NEAR) the end of the book. I love the entire last four days an unexplainable amount. I love how quotable the characters are--and like good quotes too. Not like "I will be taking your cake" (an excellent quote, without a doubt), but like "if there is even one person who continues to have hope in justice, I will continue to believe in justice under the law and protect it. For as long as I am L." I also really, really loved the style the book was written. Something about it was just very personable and, gah, lovely.
I'll say this again, I don't normally cry at books. But I was crying like a baby at the end of this one. I just...wow.
M has written a story that will touch the hearts of Death Note fans for years to come, or even people that are not yet Death Note fans. And yes, I realize this was based off the movie, but...I think it's safe to call it its own spin-off.

biingo's review against another edition

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1.0

Acho que posso culpar minha decepção (ha! "decepção" é pouco) com esse livro pela forma com que ele se prendeu ao filme (que, convenhamos, já não era bom). Talvez eu esteja só sendo muito obtusa, mas não engulo de que jeito essa trama se encaixa cronologicamente (ou só logicamente) à história original. Quem sabe, se o autor tivesse levado a premissa do filme e criado um roteiro original com base nos mangás (e não nos filmes! por favor), esse livro tivesse se tornado excelente. Mas, óbvio, não foi assim que aconteceu.

E eu até diria que o autor, "M", não tem culpa... afinal, ele foi aparentemente contratado para transcrever o filme. Mas a narração foi tão, tão ruim, que eu sinceramente não tenho como defendê-lo.

That said, as capas são lindas (dã) e eu particularmente ADORO as ilustrações iniciais, com o Light em papel translúcido.