Customer Reviews
Still Good - By: V, 11 Nov 2008 
It gets more boring once the girl joins in, but it is still very intelligent & captivating.
More! I need more! - By: Jorge Anderson, 10 Nov 2008 This is the second installment of Death Notein the UK, & contains episodes 9-16 (this is different to the American release, where each volume contains only four episodes).
The story is as gripping & involving as before - the plots twists & cliffhangers are superbly executed. The cat & mouse game between Light & the L continues - however, a second kira is introduced which really keeps the story going. To the series' credit, whenever you start to wonder 'how can this possibly go on another 20-odd episodes', he whole plot is turned on its head.
As with the first installment of Death Note, the animation is fluid, & also includes some cracking CGI shots; additionally, the characters are still as detailed & well drawn as before.
The opening & closing themes haven't changed since the first dvd, & most of the incidental music is the same as before - but it's ok, as the music is great throughout.
As far as languages are concerned, you have the choice of English, Japanese, or Japanese with English subtitles. As per usual, the Japanese with subtitles is superior to the English dub; however, the English is not as bad asin most anime. The subs are always readable against the backgrounds, & are a fairly accurate translation of the Japanese.
The DVD is packagedin a single box with two discs, each containing four episodes. As before, it comes with a mini leaflet describing the rules of the Death Note & short plot synopses for each episode. There are also some extras if you're interestedin how the series was made.
It's a worthy continuation of the series, & well worth watching even if you don't like anime! Only downside is that the series is still being released, so you'll have to wait for the conclusion (volume 3 is out already, but there are another 13 episodes to come after that).
Death Note takes a commercial turn - By: V. Chatzicharalampous, 03 Oct 2008 
After watching the first volume of death note (which I found fascinating due to the well thought out plot) I rushed to pre-order volume 2.
Volume 2 delivers some answers & carries on the story but for some reason I felt like volumes one & two had been made by two different people. Whereas Volume 1 has the most mature & dark story, supported by well thought out plot twists, volume two seems to have gone down the usual teenage commercial anime route. There are outrageous plot twists that are not supported by logical conclusions & instead of focusing on the three main characters & evolving their storylines, more characters are added thatin my opinion weaken the plot & water it down to what feels like a rushed release. The visuals are still great of course & there are moments of interest but for me it was an anticlimax compared to volume 1.
A second Kira surfaces - By: T. R. Alexander, 01 Sep 2008 This second volume of the Death Note anime series contains episodes nine to sixteen of the show & to put it simply, it only gets better & better. The episodes of this volume see Light & L meet for the first time but as they try to manoeuvre themselves into positions to outdo each other a complication arrivesin the form of a second Kira.
This series continues to improve with some great animation & is a generally faithful adaptation of the manga that is both fascinating & thoroughly enjoyable. The show does a great job at representing the game of mental chess being played between Light & L with some great symbolic scenes & imagery between the two. The main problem with the series is that the soundtrack can go rather over the top with the Latin chantingin places but it is otherwise very good & the vocal cast is also great. This anime is a great series that, if it keeps to the high standard that has been shown so far, will definitely become one of my favourites.
A New Kira is in Town - By: J. Snook, 31 Jul 2008 The popular cult series Death Note continues with volume 2; which contains episodes 9 - 16.
If you have not seen Death Note before, it is about a young teenager who finds a notebook that has the power to kill someone if their name is writtenin it. With the power of the notebook, our protagonist, Light Yagami begins to kill off criminalsin order to cleanse the world & bring about a utopiain which he will reign as God. However,these mass killings attract the attention of genius detective L who has cracked every case he's been given. Following from the events of the first volume, the story maintains it's thrilling plot & fantastic twists & turns.
This volume focuses particularly on the relationship between Light & L as they join forces, yet are also pitted against eachother. Furthermore, the appearance of the second Kira, Misa Amane, takes both geniuses by surprise. The 'cat & mouse' story gets even more gripping as they each want to make contact with this new Kira for their own separate devices. It is an interesting thing to watch as they are working together, yet secretly they are enemies both trying to discover eachother's true identity. This set up constantly leaves the viwe guessing which one will ultimately be victorious. Plenty of characterisation is dedicated to the character of L, as it becomes apparent that he is an unconventional detective to say the least. That, along with his 'slight' sweet tooth gives us an enjoyable & entertaining character. The character of Misa is also a nice addition to the show because she is a hyperactive yet naive pop idol, who also happens to own a death note. Her innocent & bubbly personality brings some nice comic relief to the episodes, as well as a nice changein mood & atmosphere.
This anime may not appeal to people to looking for an action packed gorefest. Death Note instead focuses on the characters & makes it seem more like a detective/mystery story. The animation continues to be superb as it is done by the acclaimed Madhouse Studios (Trigun, Perfect Blue, Ninja Scroll). Also, the music is really fitting to the series & as I saidin my review of death note volume 1, the opening & ending themes are amazing. These two song are from J-Rock Band Nightmare, & they really go well with the spirit & the feel of the series. Voice acting for the english dub is actually really good, with Battlestar Galactica's Allessandro Juliani continuing to shine as L. Special features on these discs include interviews with the voice actor for Ryuk & voice actress for Misa. As well as commentaries & Trailers.
If you are new to Death Note then you should definetly start from volume 1 of the anime, watch the movies, or read the brilliant manga which started it all off. Death Note is one of the most gripping & addictive anime series out there, & is definetely a vital addition to any fans shelf. After watching this, I can not wait to watch volume 3 of this amazing series.
