Bravely marching forward towards the end of the series… but not there yet! Spoilers for those who haven’t read this far, of course, blah blah blah…

Another major turning point, not just for Light, but for Kira, Near, Mello, and the Japanese task force. The task force’s last attempt to storm Mello and his mafia gang’s hideout failed miserably, thanks to interference from shinigami Sidoh. But when Light’s father, Soichiro, unexpectedly makes the deal with Ryuk for shinigami eyes, they’re able to break into the hideout and corner Mello. But he isn’t L’s heir just because of his scary looks… Mello manages to escape, taking Soichiro out in the process. We discover that there’s a spy for Mello in the SPK’s midst (Near seems well aware of who it is). Mello and Near form a shaky partnership by sharing information and then separate to see who can catch Kira first and avenge L’s death. The U.S. decides to take no action against Kira. Good old Demegawa of Sakura TV is proclaimed the spokesman of Kira, driving crowds into a frenzy as they hunt down those who would go against Kira (watch out SPK!). And Near sows seeds of mistrust (doesn’t that sound fancy?) in the Japanese task force. WHEW!

This was actually a pretty cool volume. Like I said in my last review, I really enjoy watching Mello because he seems best at catching Light off-guard. It’s nice to have some emotion register for these characters – and it was sad to see Soichiro pass on. Watching Light at his father’s side as he dies, you really understand the depths he’s sunk to as Kira. Soichiro’s last moments are spent being pressured by Light to write Mello’s name in the Death Note, and he refuses. We also see that Kira has been accepted by several world powers and is becoming more and more revered by the people. You have to wonder, though, if a man like Demegawa has been chosen to be the voice of Kira, what sort of corruption will he bring to Light’s ideals.

Are there other people out there who feel like Matsuda needs to be slapped a few times? He’s so trusting, it would be sad if it weren’t so annoying.