After my disappointment with Volume 5 http://stevesofgrass.blogspot.com/2017/05/review-of-death-note-volumes-2-5-by.html, it was with some reluctance that I picked up Volume 6. The 6th volume turned out to be such a page-turner that I rapidly finished it and the remaining volumes in the series. Books 11 and 12 kept me particularly on the edge of my seat, hugging my knees.
It is difficult to review this series without spoilers, so I will confine my comments to the major philosophical questions posed by it. The first and most obvious is: Is Kira a ruthless mass murderer or a righteous savior? The majority of the people in the fictional world of Tsugumi Ohba believe the latter. After all, crime drops by 70%, violent crime drops by an even greater percentage, and war is completely nonexistent. People are kinder and more considerate--whether it be out of fear or genuine goodness is another question--but the change in general human behavior is clear. It is as though God Himself has personally, intimately, and, most importantly, unmistakably intervened in human affairs. World peace and utopian living are only a few years away.
I might have gone along with the belief of the fictional masses had not Kira used Machiavellian tactics to achieve his aims. Almost from the beginning, Kira justified not only killing violent criminals but also killing anyone who actually or could possibly stand in his way. This included slaying FBI agents, policemen, and their families. He was not beyond killing members of his own immediate family, nor was he beyond employing his natural good looks and charm to use and discard innocent women in the most thoughtless manner.
To his credit, Kira did not feel that it was justified to kill ex-cons who had already paid their debts to society, nor did he feel it justified to kill people whose only shortcoming was laziness or not living up to their full potentials. Kira also did not use his power for personal wealth or gain, other than world domination. He was content to remain in the shadows until he was acknowledged and accepted by the entire world--meaning all of those who did not accept him were dead or in hiding.
In the absence of Kira, how fast would the world go back to being full of fear, violence, injustice, and war? The book poses and answers this question--again, I will not reveal how lest I spoil. Would the world continue on the path of lovingkindness that Kira showed was possible, or would the world revert or even regress further than before Kira existed? If the latter, would it be justified to allow a mass murderer to continue to impose his vision upon the world for the supposed greater good?
The series asks and answers these questions. I agree with the answers, but whether or not a reader agrees or disagrees, it is most enjoyable to wrestle with the questions. Few books provide that kind of pleasure.
