Death Note (All-in-One Edition)

This is a purchase I honestly don't regret. A lot of people were skeptical of this because of how many pages the book has, and the poor spine, but let me tell you this: if you honestly want to have a compact, all in one, "I just want to read the story" book, get this. There are many pros and little cons. PROS: 1. All-in-one feature (Cost-efficient) The main feature of this book is it has all the volumes in one. Compared to the boxset and the black book editions, you are paying for less. The boxset ranges from 50-70 dollars (depending on if you buy it used or new), while the black book editions are 10-15 dollars per book (there's six in total.) These are just based on the prices on Amazon. If you wanted to, you could literally take this book on a flight and binge-read Death Note. 2. Page quality Because this is such a big book, there's going to be a difference in page quality. The pages are actually like a magazine, glossy and nice to touch. The 1st manga volume of Death Note I have has a rough and dry paper feel. These, however, allow your fingers to glide smoothly. I actually enjoy this paper a lot more, and the pages are thinner. 3. Box cover The book comes with a box cover to hold your book. It is a great display piece, but also, it gives protection to this big book. The art on the front and the back is beautiful and aesthetically pleasing. The grey, black, white, and red color scheme is fantastic. 4. Includes Near epilogue Towards the end of the book, you are able to read a Near epilogue which takes place 3 years after the story. This has been translated from Japanese to English. From my understanding, this is the first time it was officially published in English. 5. Collector's piece Come on, this is so cool to have. Sure, it's a bit on the top, but you got to admit, it's a real conversation piece. CONS: 1. Uncomfortable reading positions You definitely have to be creative when reading this. I find the best way to read this is to read it at a desk. I wouldn't advise to read it laying down... because if it falls.... well... 2. Being careful The spine is definitely strong, but if you're a perfectionist, you should do all you can to prevent creasing the spine. So far, my spine is in tip-top shape, but it's because I don't force it beyond its capacity nor force it to be wide open. This is how I've always preferred to hold books anyways, but this can be a con for some. 3. It can get heavy If you're holding this for a while, your arms might hurt. Again, it really depends on how you hold it. Overall, I am extremely happy with this purchase! The cons themselves do not bother me nor have I run into them. These are just what I have considered for those who might want to purchase the book. This is a fun gift for a friend, for a first-time reader, or for a longtime fan who just loves the story. All in all, I am content with the packaging, feel, and book. The story is truly a masterpiece!

A few months ago, some friends introduced me to the Death Note anime, and I immediately fell in love. Remembering the adage that the book is almost always better than the movie/TV show, I bought this all-in-one edition, and it did not disappoint! I won't reiterate the plot summaries provided by other reviewers, but suffice it to say that Death Note's fascinating premise, numerous plot twists, and intriguing characters will have you hooked from the first panel. This edition is definitely the way to go if you want the entire series in a compact paperback form at a reasonable price. If I remember correctly, I only paid about $28 when I bought this from a seller on Amazon, which was much more cost-effective than buying a boxed set or purchasing each of the twelve books separately. Though this book is thick and heavy, it still takes up appreciably less space than the individual volumes would have. Although the text and illustrations are a bit small at times, everything is generally legible. Due to my ignorance of Japanese, I can't attest to the accuracy of the translation, though the dialogue seems to flow normally. I did spot a couple of minor editorial errors (for instance, "Ide" became "Ida" on one page, and Rem was sometimes incorrectly referred to as "he"), but these did not significantly detract from the quality of Ohba's brilliant story. In addition to the twelve books included in the original series, there is also a "bonus chapter" that picks up three years after Light's death and concerns the appearance of a new Kira. Though this snippet was relatively brief, I enjoyed having a chance to catch up with Aizawa, Matsuda, Near, the surviving SPK members, and other characters involved in the epic battle against Kira. Given the excellent content, convenient format, and accessible prize, the all-in-one edition of Death Note is indisputably worthy of a five-star rating!

I just got this for my son for Christmas. He loves it. It’s oddly heavy. Worth the money!

My wife loves reading. She has been like manga a lot lately. This box set is really good deal. She loves it.

I love death note the cardboard box had corner damage but I assume from shipping I love the design and I got it for a steal, it came a few hours later

This is the version to buy if you're on a budget and want to own the whole series. Does not include Volume 13 "How To Read". I also got this on sale for $23.99 right here directly from Amazon, so if the price has changed, I might wait until it returns to that price. Physical Item Review The book and slipcase itself are decently put together. The slipcase is basically just cardboard, but it gets the job done and looks nice enough. It's easy to slide the book in and out of, which is a pleasant surprise given how large and unwieldy the book is. The book itself is full of compromises, but ones that make sense and justify the reduced price of $24. The cover and spine of the book are sturdy, but the pages are extremely thin and you'll need to be careful turning the page so that you don't accidentally tear a page. You'll often be able to see through the page you're reading to what's on the other side of the page, but it's not too distracting. I'm relatively sure this choice was made to cut down on the overall weight of the book, because remember, this is 2400 pages in one hefty tome. Speaking of which, this book is still heavy. I can't imagine most people will be able to hold this for long without their arms getting tired, so you'll need something soft to lean this on. The ink on the pages is nice and thick, yet doesn't seem to smear easily, which is great (I've had ink smearing problems with other manga and novels in the past). Nothing feels cheaply printed and everything is easy to read and distinguish on the page. There are even some editors notes from the original Japanese version that are translated into this English version that I found very nice additions. One last minor complaint I have is that the pages are not numbered in any way that makes sense. Some pages have numbers, most do not. This makes jumping around from chapter to chapter on re-reads especially difficult, since it's hard to tell what page you're on most of the time. Just hope that it gets wrapped in bubble wrap when it gets shipped to you, because mine wasn't and one corner of the book and slipcase were noticeably dented. That's on Amazon. Story Review This is one of the best manga stories I've ever read. I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll try to be vague. This is an intellectual duel between two very well-defined characters that are similar in some ways, and polar opposites in others. It's a cat-and-mouse game with the future of the world at stake, and it all feels well thought out and reminds me of the essence of the ideological battle between Batman and The Joker. Death Note does not rely on action to tell its story because it doesn't need it. If you're looking for explosions and guns and punching, this isn't the series for you. If you want incredibly well-written drama and intelligent characters, this might be a new favorite for you. If you've watched the anime already, you'll definitely love the original manga, because the anime is practically a 1-to-1 adaptation of the manga. Art Review I'm not much of an art critic, but I wanted to make special note of how well drawn everything is in this series. It feels like every panel tells you exactly what you need to know, whether it be visually and without dialogue or with only a character's face and some dialogue, and doesn't clutter the panels with unnecessary filler. Facial expressions are of utmost importance in this series, and they're done extremely well and they almost never feel over the top (except when appropriate, and it's rare). Overall, this is well worth the $24 I paid for it, and am glad I bought it. It's not perfect, but it does a lot for how little it cost and I recommend it to anyone looking to buy this series on a budget. If money is no object to you, however, I would probably recommend buying the original 12 volumes in its box set (plus the bonus features Volume 13 How To Read), or the 6 volumes of the Black Edition instead (two volumes per Black Edition for the full 12), because those would be easier to take with you if you plan on reading away from home.

The shipping could've been better got a little damage in the box to the corners. but happy with product!

Son loved this set. I purchased it for Xmas. Came in great condition.