penguinna's reviews
274 reviews

Death Note, Vol. 12: Finis by Takeshi Obata, Tsugumi Ohba

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

The Japanese manga, Death Note, centers on Light Yagami, an ace student who finds a notebook dropped by a god of death. This notebook grants him the power to kill anyone simply by writing their name in it. Light decides to use the notebook to create a perfect world without criminals. However, a brilliant detective known only as L aims to track down the vigilante.

12 parts, 2,236 pages. I devoured the first 7 parts in less than a week! Numerous plot twists and the battle of wits really made it impossible for me to go a minute without knowing what would happen next! This manga absorbed me! I was admiring the gorgeous multidimensional portrayal of the villain and adored the constant feeling of being on pins and needles.

But then…

It became crap. Too many new characters appeared out of the blue, and overly complicated plot twists made it impossible to keep track of what was going on. I think during the first 7 parts, Death Note became so popular that it was decided to take the most profit out of it and keep it going no matter what. I had to force myself to continue the manga, and I was happy when I turned the last page.

All in all, Death Note is a brilliant idea that explores themes of justice, morality, and the consequences of wielding absolute power. However, it should have been shorter. In the end I completely lost interest, was sick of the characters, and did not care about the ending (which is also better in the anime in my opinion).

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The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson

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funny informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

2.5

I am very skeptical when it comes to self-help books. This exact one has been literally EVERYWHERE in recent years, so I decided to give it a go. The result? I am now even more skeptical about self-help books!

It must already be clear what The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck is about. It teaches you how to focus on only important and “enjoyable” problems, choose your life values, and stop worrying about insignificant issues.

Or at least, that's what it's supposed to be about. To me, it felt more like an autobiography of the author, focusing on his problems, and his acquired philosophy. The language is supposed to be engaging and fun, but suited more for a teenager who just learned the f-word. Sometimes, too much is just too much: he literally puts swear words everywhere, which gets really tiring. The main ideas of this book could be summarized in 50 pages; everything else is background noise.

To cut it short, it's Buddhism explained through Manson’s biographical stories, plus a bunch of unnecessary swear words. And a pinch of sexism.

This book has some interesting points, but I have already learned 90% of them through my own life experience. It might be worth reading this book at age 18, but I felt like I was wasting my time repeating things I already knew.

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Death Note, Vol. 11: Kindred Spirits by Takeshi Obata, Tsugumi Ohba

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dark medium-paced