After four episodes that went by entirely too quickly, I am now stuck waiting for the third installment.  It's official: I am hooked on Death Note.  Volume 2 continues where the first dvd left off, furthering the very real chess match between Light and the detective L.

Did Light make a mistake when he orchestrated the bus-jacking?  His experiment was a success; he learned much more about the Death Note, but what if he left a revealing clue behind?  What if he overlooked even the tiniest detail?  These questions plague Light as he ties up some loose ends in anticipation of possible fallout from the bus incident.  Of course, Ryuk is little help, but he certainly enjoys watching Light mastermind his crimes.



Meanwhile, many of the police detectives have abandoned the search for Kira due to the growing threat to their own safety, and that of their families.  With only Light's father and a small number of detectives remaining on the case, L decides that it is time to reveal himself.  Working so closely with the detectives allows L more influence over their actions, and brings them all a step closer to catching Kira.  Maybe.  To say any more would ruin the story!

Light is the epitome of an anti-hero.  It almost seems wrong to root for him when each episode reinforces his sociopathic tendencies.  But root we do, while waiting to see how he plans to stay a step ahead of L and the police.  Light doesn't seem to have one shred of conscience.  When he first found the Death Note, he began using it to kill criminals.  His good intentions could be justified, even if his sense of justice and his plan to become the leader of a Utopian, crime-free society seemed childish, at best.  Light's early motivations have since mutated into something far more sinister since the police, and especially L, became involved.  He clearly views using the Death Note as a game.  He proves in this second volume that he'll do anything to avoid capture, and as long as he can keep L guessing, Light is the winner. 

One thing about the dvd that bothers me, though, is that there aren't enough subtitling options.  It's a small, technical annoyance, but it drives me nuts.  There are many instances in this series where writing is shown, whether it's an e-mail or a handwritten note, and there's no option in the menu to only show subtitles for Japanese text.  The only way to read these text portions is to put on full subtitles, which is a little distracting when one is watching the English dub to begin with. 

I am very taken with this series, and it's on my wish-list of anime to buy.  Death Note is intelligent and well-crafted.  So far, it's a true serial drama with each episode flowing into the next and few breaks for random filler.  It's fast-paced, meting out just enough detail to hold the audience's interest, but never revealing too much.  Maybe I'm just not a very good detective, but I don't find the series to be predictable, and end up practically holding my breath waiting to see how Light and L work out the puzzles they present to each other.  Volume 2 confirms for me that Death Note is a quality series, and I will definitely be coming back for more.

Details: Runtime 1:40, contains episodes 5-8.  Extras include Behind-the-Scenes Part 2, an interview with the animation director and character designer, and production art.