Death Note Another Note: Los Angeles BB Renzoku Satsujin JikenDeath Note Another Note: The Los Angeles BB Murder Cases Edit What would you like to edit? SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsTypeExternal Links   113l4i

Being the Death Note fan that I am, I searched tirelessly for more Death Note after the anime ended. That included the live action movies, Death Note special and one shot. So you can imagine that I was pretty excited when I found out there was more Death Note out there in the form of ‘Another Note: LABB Murder Cases’. I was practically squealing (grunting if that makes me sound more manly) at the thought and immediately placed this on my plan to read list. Of course, no one told me this was a novel and not a manga so you can say that I ... was quite surprised when I saw this at my local bookstore.

Story:

The title, Death Note Another Note: The Los Angeles BB Murder Cases was a bit misleading. The entire story itself is in fact, a bit misleading. I immediately dreamt of some kind of back-story in which another human had taken hold of a Death Note prior to the events of the actual story and that it would be some kind of buried, post-Kira incident. It was no such thing. Instead, LABB Murder Cases is in fact more of a detective novel that focuses on nothing more than a not-so-ordinary serial killer who has managed to peak L’s interest. Soon, Naomi Misora is offered to work alongside L in order to solve the case.

The murder cases themselves are quite typical. Naomi Misora and L working together in order to apprehend the murderer is quite typical. All in all, if that was all the story amounted to, this novel would be too typical to carry the name ‘Death Note’ in it. While the first few pages of the novel will interest you, you can expect to be lulled into a bit of a slow investigation at first, only interesting because you are given more of a glimpse at the way Misora thinks and how she meets L for the first time. It does however, soon become interesting as familiar psychological warfare begins. Saying another would spoil it, but be assured that the novel does carry the same psychological manipulation / investigative deductions that Death Note the series carried. The ending the novel sets up is surprising. The way you are misled throughout the novel is done brilliantly. It loses points however, due to some unbelievable aspects of the story and while it is a good story, it lacks the depth and special something a 10/10 would have. 9/10

Characters:

While L of course plays an important role in the novel, he is not in fact, the main character. Instead, the novel gives us a closer look at Naomi Misora prior to the actual story and her relationship with L which is actually quite interesting. Misora who is given such a crucial, albeit short role, in the Death Note series was an interestingly strong character who some might say deserved more. This novel does just that and gives us an excellent look at the Misora’s deductive abilities in addition to her personality which is hidden during the course of the actual series. While in the series we only see Misora as the cool, serious, ex-FBI agent bent on tracking Kira, the novel allows us to see past her serious attire and focus on some of her more human traits.

Furthermore, readers are given a glimpse at Mello as well for he is in fact, the teller, the ‘writer’ and narrator of this story. Not only does this again, give us more insight into a character who meets an end quite quickly, but also gives us a look into the Wammy House, L’s origin, and the way he and the others perceived a future as L’s replacement. 9/10

Overall: I didn’t take much of a look at art because this was a novel. Overall it was an interesting read. It doesn’t have a Death Note in it and there is no Kira seeking to build a utopia, but the psychological / mystery aspects of Death Note are still there. Characters we know from the show are expanded and given a chance to show their true colors in this novel. Finally, the novel builds itself a great climax to end it off and to the casual readers like me who prefer having the answers laid out for them instead of trying to solve them as most mystery fans would do, be ready for a surprise. Death Note Another Note did not need another Death Note to make it a hit. It is a unique experience for Death Note fans, although I would say that only a Death Note fan could understand and enjoy the novel to the extent that I have. My only complaint is that some portions of the story is quite unbelievable and almost ridiculous. 9/10

No, this has nothing to do with the Death Note universe, except for the reminiscence of the already known characters L, Misora Naomi-san and, the storyteller, Mello. So, to all the Kira enthusiasts out there, make no mistake - your hero, your god is not here!

But, error not, nonetheless this is a great story. Written by Nisio Isin (Monogatari series, Medaka Box) and illustrated by Obata Takeshi, the artist behind Death Note (though little there is to be appreciated, solely some cool, shady portraits, now and then), BB Renzoku Satsujin Jiken is a dazzling tale holding a secret thirsting to be revealed. It is an ... astonishing and dark police roller-coaster. Set in prosaic L.A. (as the title implies), graphical dormant, a wave of maddeningly homicides began to diffuse with a peculiar insignia: a series of mysterious and cunning clues are being left behind at every crime scene. The gloomy shadows of a killer on the loose triggers the beginning of the novel, which is simply delicious - from the very moment that Misora-san enters the stage you’re already in too deep. (From the Death Note story we already knew that this Japanese investigator had worked under L’s leadership, and this is her narrative.) As the storyline proceeds, not too slow and not too swift, i’d say at an appropriate and sober pace, you’ll get to know this bizarre, strange persona next to Misora-san and their interaction – fantastic! Such is a sweet gust, grotesque sometimes, amidst the dire sophism you suddenly got caught into. It gets highly addictive, and you’ll never get tedious. You get to know, little by little, the phrenology etched upon our protagonists, deciphering the charade towards the next murder, and more and more of our heroine’s serene pensive and breakthroughs, which later on, in the Death Note manga, posed an acute problem to Yagami Light.

Sailing through the chain of cadavers and psychotic riddles, she attains, somehow, this aura that makes the reader reciprocates with her heart, it’s quite amazing. Though Misora Naomi’s ethos and wit are circled, veiled by one’s dark brilliance, which, consequently, is veiled by another’s empyrean intellect, far superior, her natural propensity for this whodunit is simply perfect. A superb battle of wits!
It is very well thought, and at some point you’ll may even look over your shoulder – who’s there in the shallow shadow? This road across the darkness is a memorable one, one i greatly recommend for any lover of the mystery, thriller and psychological genre. The final pages are everything they should be, not a word wasted, culminating in an extraordinary zenith that’ll blow you away. Profound and potent, a must read where, at one point or another, you will get sucked and become a complicit in this odyssey.

Before starting the review of the novel... Spoiler Warning for those who haven't read the novel.

Hmmm where do I start? There are so many things to talk about.

First of all... Let's talk about Mello being the narrator. Unfortunately, him being the narrator did not make any sense nor made the narrating any different.

The story told in Another Note takes place in 2002, L dies in 2004. Mello was 15 when L died, and he was still in Wammy's House. So, when did L see Mello and tell him the story about Beyond Birthday and 2 others? It does not make sense.

In the book, Mello ... speaks as if the battle between L and Kira was over. Of course, he might be referring to L being dead. But he made it sound like he was writing all this after everything was over and everyone knew who Kira was. But he did not actually see Kira die. He died 2 days before Kira did. So, when actually did Mello write Another Note?

The novel introduces Rue Ryuzaki as a side character. Ryuzaki presents himself as a private detective. Naomi is a bit suspicious of him at first, because he has strange manners (sitting around hugging his legs, eating sweets all the time and crawling around on the floor), but L tells her to work together with him, so she does.

The thing is, the reader (as the he is meant to be) immediately assumes that Ryuzaki is L. This makes sense, because not only does L present himself as "Ryuzaki" in Death Note, but the way he acts is also strikingly similar.

Of course, the author wants the reader to think that Ryuzaki is L, but Ryuzaki is actually Beyond Birthday, the killer. That would have been a great twist, had it only been logical. But it wasn't. Another Note clearly states that B.B. doesn't know L personnaly. Which means he doesn't know anything about his habits or about what he looks like. So how come he guessed all of it? - doesn't make sense.

Also throughout the book Misora and Ryuzaki (I mean B) work together to solve the three crimes B has commited. Most of the time, Misora was led by Ryuzaki to find the answers. Even the smallest stuff, she needed Ryuzaki's help. I was frustrated because that's not the image she represented in the manga. She was originally portrayed as a very clever woman. Her needing Ryuzaki's help in every step she took did not make sense. (I must add that I actually liked the setup of the crimes. I only did not like the way they were solved.)

This book could have been good if only the author had at least tried to be logical. I usually overlook that kind of thing, but in this novel, I simply couldn't. Death Note: Another Note was starts promising but end with failure.