2015-03 - BD Nostalgia

Nยบ3 February 27 2015

Weekly magazine

- The Darkness: Close Your Eyes - 10 DC COMICS Stories Warner Bros. Should Animate Next - Ghost in the shell - digitaL spawn...

- Starlight

Content Volume 3 | NUMBER 3

Guesses, Hopes, and Far-fetched Wishes...

Warner Bros. Animation joined the “New 52” with January’s Justice League: Throne of Atlantis and following that up with the Court of Owlscentric Batman vs. Robin.

While we have some other New 52 stories that we’d like to see animated, there’s still many classic DC tales still ripe for adaptation.

March 3rd 2015

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Comics section COMIC NEWS 04- Batman & Harley Quinn Vs Deathstroke, It’s On! 05- Star-Lord & Kitty Pryde Enter Secret Wars 06- Secret Wars’ Age Of Ultron Vs Marvel Zombies Is An Ongoing 08- Original Kon-El Meets Kingdom Come Superman In Convergence: Superboy 10- SPAWN library debuts in digital format 11- The Darkness: Close Your Eyes 1

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REVIEW 12- Starlight: The Return of Duke McQueen SPOTLIGHT 14- 10 DC COMICS Stories Warner Bros. Should Animate Next COMICS PREVIEWS 36- Captain America 004 42- Magneto 015 50- Multiversity 001 56- Wonder Woman 039 64- Spawn 250

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BD Nostalgia is published weekly by SM DESIGN. Editor/ Publisher: Sylvio Martins, Editorial Office: 5330 Desmarteau, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H1K 2N9 | 514-299-1593. All characters © their respective owners. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © their respective authors. ©2015 BD NOSTALGIA. DIGITAL PRINTING IN CANADA.

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ANIME/MANGA NEWS 70- Viz Media Details Upcoming Complete Box Sets For Manga Series Claymore And Rosario & Vampire 71- New Initial D the Movie Legend 2 72- The Testament of Sister New Devil 73- Unbreakable Machine-Doll 74- Death Parade 76- Gourmet Girl Graffiti GUNDAM ENCYCLOPEDIA 80- Mobile Suit Victory Gundam 84- Mobile Fighter G Gundam 88- New Mobile Report Gundam Wing 92-Death Note MANGA PREVIEW 108- GHOST IN THE SHELL Editor/Publisher Sylvio Martins Associate Editors Hugo Sardinha Contributers Marie Moreira

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Editorial

Since January we have been working to re-design the magazine, making a new look,... which is going slowly and re-organizing our schedule so that we can come out weekly,... so that everyone can get a good quality magazine for the best price,... FREE. I have been making deals with news delivery companies, so that we can inform you the best way we can and there are a couple of steps till my goal. But we can get there if everyone helps.

Thank you again for your continuous support. Don’t forget next week we have scheduled two publishings, our very popular BD Nostalgia FanFic Edition #8 and BD Nostalgia Magazine #4.

Thank you and see ya next time

Sylvio Martins BD Nostalgia

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Comic News BATMAN & HARLEY QUINN Vs. DEATHSTROKE - It’s On!

DC says it’s the most brutal battle in the history of the New 52. See the start of it in this Newsarama exclusive preview of this week’s Deathstroke #5.

DEATHSTROKE #5

Written by TONY S. DANIEL Art by TONY S. DANIEL and SANDU FLOREA Cover by TONY S. DANIEL Deathstroke vs. Batman – with Harley Quinn stuck in the middle! The most intense, brutal battle in the history of The New 52 takes place in this issue.

New Villain Emerges In BATMAN/SUPERMAN 19 As Superman and Batman work to uncork the bottled city of Kandor, series writer Greg Pak promises the return of an old DC character in a new way in what USA Today (who premiered this preview) describes as Superman’s “Joker.”

BATMAN/SUPERMAN #19 Written by GREG PAK Superman and Batman have learned the devastating truth behind the identity of the unseen terrorists they’ve been pursuing. But will they recover in time to stop them from killing more innocents?

This issue is also offered as a combo pack edition with a redemption code for a digital download.

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STAR-LORD & KITTY PRYDE Enter SECRET WARS

Just because the world is coming to an lypse as revealed on the cover by Yasmine end doesn’t mean romance is over.

Putri.

Marvel announced Wednesday via ComicsAlliance of a new Star-Lord And Kitty Pryde series launching in June to coincide with Secret Wars. Written by Legendary Star-Lord’s Sam Humphries and drawn by newcomer Alti Firmansyah, Star-Lord and Kitty Pryde sees the comics power couple go from guest starring in each others’ books to having a book of their own -- but it’s not quite the happy couple you’d think, as the Kitty Pryde is the one from Age of Apoca-

“I can say it is an action romantic comedy with some big, huge moments between the characters,” says Humphries. “Emotionally and spiritually, this is the continuation of the Peter/Kitty relationship from Legendary Star-Lord — with a couple really huge twists you won’t see coming.

Whatever is about to happen, Peter and Kitty won’t be able to go back to the way they were after this.”

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Comic News SECRET WARS’ AGE OF ULTRON VS MARVEL ZOMBIES Is an Ongoing Forget hero versus hero - what about robots versus zombies? That oddball match-up will take center stage in the newest series announced tying into Marvel’s Secret Wars.

Announced by Entertainment Weekly

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(though teased in late 2014), Age of Ultron vs. Marvel Zombies is pretty much summed up in its title - the era of the recent Age of Ultron comic event opposing zombified versions of Marvel characters as previously seen in the hit comic series Marvel Zombies. The series, debuting this June, is by the recent All-New Invaders team of James Robinson and Steve Pugh, and will feature one of that book’s stars, Jimm Hammond, the original Human Torch. “[The series will be] at times tongue-in-cheek in that I’m trying to capture the black humor of the zombies and their situation, in the spirit of the original series,” says Robinson.

“However at the same time this is about what it means to be human and what it means to have that humanity taken from you, so there are some serious elements too. We’ll also see this bizarre scenario through the eyes of a character from a less technologically advanced domain where Ultron hasn’t been created. He must coming to terms with what he has the potential to/is capable of creating and then learning how to defeat it. And yes, it will be a story of survival too.”

The series will be set in the Battleworld domain dubbed ‘No Man’s Land,’ and is des-

cribed by editor Mark Paniccia as a prison area of sorts for this patchwork planet.

“Getting sent to this No Man’s Land means you’ve done something wrong in Battleworld,” says editor Mark Paniccia. “It’s equivalent to having to walk the plank over shark-infested waters. In this story you’ll see someone who is deemed a criminal sentenced to this very dangerous territory—a character I can’t mention—but is a really cool twist that James came up with.”

In addition to Jim Hammond and this mystery character, Paniccia says the series will include the Vision and Wonder Man, as well as Tigra and a host of zombified Marvel villains from a look at the first preview pages. Robinson says the battle lines will force everyone into two camps -- zombies versus robots, with the unzombified humans caught inbetween.

“Ultron sees his world as the epitome of perfection and the Zombies are the antithesis of that, so no they don’t get along at all,” says Robinson. “They war for whatever humanity they can find, with Ultron wishing to either control it or kill it and the zombies

wanting to eat it. They’re definitely at war.”

Although Age of Ultron shares a name with the upcoming Avengers movie sequel, the comic series has no official or implicit tie-in to the Marvel Cinematic Universe or the movie coming out in May. BD Nostalgia

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Comic News Original KON-EL Meets KINGDOM COME SUPERMAN in CONVERGENCE: SUPERBOY It’s been a long time since readers have seen the original Kon-El Superboy, but Convergence is revisiting him in what writer Fabian Nicieza calls his “purest version” — just after his introduction, while Superman is still assumed dead.

And when young Kon finally does meet the Man of Steel in Convergence, it’s none other than the Kingdom Come Superman.

That’s the backbone of the story Nicieza is telling in the two-issue Convergence: Superboy, as he explores themes related to the “conflicted, cocky and emotionally vulnerable” Kon learning that respect is something you earn.

Convergence: Superboy features art by Karl Moline and Jose Marzan Jr., and it’s one of the three total Convergence tie-in series written by Nicieza (the others being Convergence: Titans and Justice League of America).

We talked to the writer to find out more about Convergence: Superboy and why readers could will several thousand dollars in gold bullion if they pick up the book.

Newsarama: Fabian, you’re writing teens again! How’s it been revisiting this version of Superboy from the past?

Fabian Nicieza: I’ve been arguing, laughing, shouting and hanging with teens for the last several years just in real life and not on the printed page! Trust me, I like the 8

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control I have over teenagers a lot more when I’m writing them!

Getting to write Superboy has been a lot of fun. He’s such an easy character both to write and to love.

Nrama: What attracted you to this character and writing the Convergence version of his story?

Nicieza: Karl Kesel and Tom Grummett created a very rich, conflicted, cocky and emotionally vulnerable character and I’m getting to write him in the early stages of his superhero career, which was arguably his purest version.

All of the character’s strengths (and weaknesses, which always made him a better character because of them) are on display.

Nrama: Did you have to do research on that time period — dust off some old comics?

Nicieza: Having a vested interest in teenage superheroes from all the work I was doing at that time, I absorbed the book’s content and characterizations and they stuck with me. But I also went down to the basement and cracked open the first year of the book’s original run.

Nrama: Ah, the joys of reading comics for research. OK, but in this story, at what point in Kon’s life did he get “domed?” What was his status?

Convergence: Superboy Chip Kidd variants Convergence: Superboy Chip Kidd va-

riants Nicieza: Very soon after he’d emerged as “Superman” — even before he’d accepted he was going to be Superboy. There is no Superman in his world; Kal-El died fighting Doomsday and he has not returned to life yet.

Nrama: So wait, this version of Superboy hasn’t met Superman?

Nicieza: He has never met Superman, but he knows he falls under his shadow with everything he says or does. He thinks he should be Superman — Kon-El thinks he should be Earth’s greatest hero — but he doesn’t know that responsibility is earned,

not given.

Nrama: How did the dome affect Kon, and what’s his mindset as we meet him in Convergence: Superboy?

Nicieza: Can’t give too much away about that, but it’s made a normally impatient character ready to bounce off the walls.

Nrama: And then, according to solicitations, he meets Kingdom Come Superman.

Is this the Superman of the Kingdom Come

we know?

Nicieza: Yes. Nrama: But… why would he fight Superboy? What are the circumstances that make these two want to battle each other?

Nicieza: That falls under a “need to know” security clearance that can only be granted upon purchase of the comic book when it comes out.

Nrama: OK, OK. So let’s talk about this meeting. If Superboy has never met Superman… then what’s it like for Superboy to finally meet a version of Superman – and an older one, no less? How does that meeting play into the themes you’re exploring?

Nicieza: The meeting is not a pleasant one because of the circumstances surrounding the Convergence storyline. The story is more in line of the Kingdom Come themes, specifically: what is the right way to exercise great power? How should people of great power shoulder the weight of such responsibility? Can a young generation understand that respect should be earned and not expected?

Nrama: How would you describe the art style on these issues, and how does that inform the story you’re telling?

Nicieza: Karl Moline is a really strong draftsman, his figure work is graceful and realistic, his storytelling is consistently smooth, but what I like best about his work on this book is the emotion he gives to the characters, especially Kon. There is such a sadness and yearning in his eyes, combined with a defiance and arrogance. It’s perfect for the character.

Nrama: Then to finish up, is there anything else you want to tell readers about Convergence: Superboy?

Nicieza: I’ve been told by several sources, none of whom are affiliated with DC, that nine out of every ten readers who buy this book will win several thousand dollars in gold bullion. I was surprised by this, but thought it was a clever, if not very cost-effective, promotional hook.

So, the odds are pretty good if you buy our two Superboy issues, you’ll also get several crates of gold bricks delivered to your door.

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Comic News SPAWN library debuts in digital format

Image Comics and Todd McFarlane Productions are pleased to announce that the entire 250-issue library of SPAWN, the classic series created by Image Comics co-founder and President Todd Mc-

ning independent comic books in history and now fans can immerse themselves in 23 years and 250 issues of SPAWN with the simple swipe of a fingertip.

“For fans waiting to jump back into Spawn, this is the perfect time,” said McFarlane. “Issue #250 marks the long anticipated return of the original Spawn, Al Simmons.”

And as if the long-awaited digital release of one of the most beloved creator-owned comics series wasn’t enough to thrill fans, comiXology will offer exclusive bundling—for a limited time— providing SPAWN fans with an easy, discounted opportunity to enjoy the whole collection.

From February 4-9, customers can choose from the following bundles:

Farlane, is now available in digital format for the first time ever. SPAWN will be available to fans on comiXology.com, iBooks, Google Play, and imagecomics. com.

#1-124 for $99.99: bit.ly/1-125 #125-250 for $99.99: bit.ly/125-250 #1-250 for $174.99: bit.ly/1-250

Included with each bundle purchase is exclusive content from issue #250 featuSPAWN #250 marks a huge milestone for ring behind-the-scenes material that is McFarlane, who first released SPAWN #1 not available anywhere else in digital or in 1992. SPAWN is one of the longest run- print format.

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The Darkness: Close Your Eyes 1 Ales Kot / Maro Oleksicki ALES KOT (ZERO, WILD CHILDREN) joins MAREK OLEKSICKI (Judge Dredd, Predator, Books of Magick) to deliver this special Darkness one shot!

Los Angeles more than a hundred years ago: a different place, yet the sun still burns down the ground and the oilfields flow. This is a story of another Estacado. This is a story of love. This is a story of death.

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Starlight: The Return of Duke McQueen

by Zedric Dimalanta Story: Mark Millar Illustrations: Goran Parlov Format: 168 pages, full color, trade paperback; collects Starlight #1–6, originally published in single magazine format.

Publisher’s description: Forty years ago, Duke McQueen was the space hero who saved the universe. But then he came back home, got married, had kids, and grew old. Now his children have left and his wife has passed away, leaving him alone with nothing except his memories… until a call comes from a distant world asking him back for his final and greatest adventure.

attempts to deconstruct the publisher’s most popular characters. Wanted‘s villain-protagonists are thinly-veiled recreations of DC’s rogues, Superior is a nod towards the Fawcett Captain Marvel, the main character in Nemesis, depending on whom you ask, is either an extreme version of Batman or an ersatz Joker; the philosophical and ethical conflicts that beset the superheroes of Jupiter’s Legacy echo those often seen between the leading members of the Justice League (the title’s initials should be clue enough); and MPH is a gritty urban take on the speedster hero exemplified by the Flash.

If we run with this theory, the hero of Starlight can be described as Millar’s version of A number of creator-owned superhero co- DC’s Adam Strange: A pulp sci-fi adventumics produced by writer Mark Millar in the rer who falls, quite by accident, into the role wake of his contentious turn-of-the-century of the straight-shooting, jetpack-wearing departure from DC Comics are seemingly hero to an entire alien world. Starlight‘s 12 BD Nostalgia

Duke McQueen doesn’t just serve the purpose of pastiche, however. As with Millar’s previous quasi-homages to DC’s superhero comics, the appropriation of a DC property’s blueprint is merely the launchpad for a themed digression.

Starlight finds the former Air Force pilot McQueen four decades removed from his galactic adventures on the planet Tantalus, and he is now an elderly recluse and a widower thought of by everybody, including his adult children, as delusional or in the beginnings of dementia. Only his wife believed that he was accidentally transported to another world during one of his missions, and that he freed that world from the clutches of its murderous dictator, Typhon.

Suddenly offered a chance to reprise his role as Tantalus’ champion, McQueen joins a small rebel cadre against the new threat posed by the forces of the invading Brotean Empire, intent on becoming the hero he once was, one final time. Millar manages to get a lot out of humor and pathos from scenes of the crotchety McQueen trying (and

occasionally failing) to live up to his reputation: He is much, much older, after all, and is no longer as spry as he was in his physical prime.

Starlight does more than comment on pulp/sci-fi hero senescence. It also raises questions about wars of liberation and the liberator’s responsibility: For all his faults, the dictator Typhon might have been the only thing keeping the even more sinister Broteans from attacking Tantalus, and it is shown that the planet’s civilians are the ones who suffer the brunt of the Broteans’ rage for the guerrilla-style, hit-and-run tactics employed by McQueen and his rebel allies. Unfortunately, Starlight fails to explore these issues to anywhere near their fullest.

Just as things start to get really interesting and the supporting cast of characters are coming into their own, the book comes to an abrupt and somewhat unsatisfying end. The narrative feels suspiciously truncated—as if Millar originally intended for the original limited series to run for 12 issues but was pushed for whatever reason to resolve the story in six—and as a result, the third act feels terribly rushed and the conclusion comes off as rather facile.

These problems are partially mitigated by Goran Parlov’s art, though. Starlight offers readers familiar only with Parlov’s work on gritty, Garth Ennis-penned crime and military-themed comics such as The Punisher, Punisher Presents: Barracuda, and Nick Fury: My War Gone By the opportunity to see the Croation illustrator channel Moebius’ flair for fantastical design through a rendering sensibility that draws inspiration from modern masters such as Jordi Bernet and Hugo Pratt. The result is nothing short of a virtuoso showcase for Parlov’s range, versatility, and dynamic visual storytelling skills.

Starlight: The Return of Duke McQueen is a flawed future classic: It never really comes together as a whole largely because of pacing problems, but Parlov’s art and the book’s first two-thirds are compelling enough that it should still be worth seeking out all the same for fans of pulp/sci-fi comics.

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10 DC COMICS Warner Bros. S Animate Next 14 BD Nostalgia

Stories Should

Guesses, Hopes, and Far-fetched Wishes Warner Bros. Animation joined the “New 52” with January’s Justice League: Throne of Atlantis and following that up with the Court of Owls-centric Batman vs. Robin. While we have some other New 52 stories that we’d like to see animated, there’s still many classic DC tales still ripe for adaptation.

There are literally hundreds, if not thousands of great characters and specific stories to choose from to adapt and we had to comb and cull to make the list. In it sit some origin stories, Elseworlds stories, some humor, but definitely some of the most trademark DC stories in their library. With DC moving away from the New 52 branding, isn’t it time they received the animated treatment as well?

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10- Batgirl: Year One This is a bit of a long shot, especially given WB’s supposed mandate of just making male-centric films going forward, but how cool would this be?

True, it was made into a motion comic a while back, but a full-length movie showcasing Barbara Gordon’s first outing as Batgirl, befriending Black Canary, and then becoming an honorary member of the Bat family would be a delight. Legendary Bat-family scribes Scott Beatty and Chuck Dixon’s story was full of fun, adventure, and Batgirl punching Robin in the stomach.

creative team has garnered, a Batgirl cartoon in some form or another is more likely than ever.

Casting recommendation: Allison Brie as Barbara Gordon/Batgirl

Sure, Batman’s origin is integrated into pop culture, but Batgirl’s is still not as familiar to non-comic fans and an animated feature would be just the thing to get people recognized with Gotham’s most famous librarian. Plus, when was the last time you saw Killer Moth in an animated movie?

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9- Gotham By Gaslight While the DCAU tends to stray away so maybe it’s more likely than we think. from Elseworld stories and concentrate on origin stories and story arcs, this Casting recommendation: would be a killer movie to have made. Eion Bailey as Bruce Wayne/Batman With the higher profile for the characters thanks to their inclusion in the videogame Infinite Crisis, maybe now there’s finally hope.

Written by Brian Augustyn and art by then rising star Mike Mignola and P. Craig Russell, it’s considered the be the first Elseworld story taking the Batman mythos into a 1889 Gotham City where there’s a slew of murders resembling the work of Jack the Ripper. Gotham

By Gaslight reads, and should be shown, as a detective story/murder mystery in the same vein as TV’s Elementary, Sherlock, and CSI. Conveniently, this was one of the stories that Producer James Tucker and Director Jay Oliva both mentioned as a “dream project” at the Justice League: War premiere, BD Nostalgia

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8- Batman: The Long Halloween We’re actually surprised this hasn’t been made already as it pieces together some of the best bits of Batman’s mythology sprinkled with almost all of his toptier rogues. Another story that DC Animation executives have mentioned as a dream project, this was originally a maxi-series that spanned 13 issues, but in a way continues from Batman: Year One and shows the transformation of Batman’s fight against urban crime to the trademark supervilliany that plagues Gotham.

Batman story could have been (shhh), The Long Halloween has that sense of cinematic noir that would make a great translation to the small screen.

Casting recommendation: Jon Hamm as Harvey Dent/Two-Face

Oh, yeah, and it was one of the inspirations for Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. Who wouldn’t love to see Tim Sale’s moody and atmospheric Gotham brought to the screen?

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7- Formerly Known as The Justice League And now for something completely different.

While the rest of the list concentrates on the more gritty corners of the DCU, there was a time when the creators of the late 80’s Justice League International came together again and did a six-issue mini-series continuing the adventures of Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, Fire, Elongated Man, and Captain Atom, with the addition this time around of Mary Marvel.

Of course superheroics came into play, but it was the quasi-sitcom vibe that the series lent itself that made readers love it (it actually won an Eisner back in 2004 for Best Comedy Series).

Given DC’s knack for giving the green light to the more mature storylines and arcs, the Super Buddies would be a great chance to break away from those, providing the same vibe as Batman: The Brave and the Bold and Teen Titans Go!.

Casting recommendation: Adam Scott as Ted Kord/Blue Beetle

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6-Sinestro Corps War The Green Lantern animated movie fran- of the fight scenes would be insane to see as chise hasn’t really had that one hit that they jump out at you on the screen. ignited it, but what if you take the epic Casting recommendation: Jason Isaacs as Sinestro “Sinestro Corps War” and give it a shot at animated glory? Sounds like gold to us. What was basically a restructuring of the Green Lantern universe at the time has grown to be part of GL canon and the second part of a Green Lantern trilogy of sorts with Green Lantern: Rebirth being the first volume, this being the second, and Blackest Night being the finale. Some elements of the story had been touched on in Green Lantern: First Flight such as Sinestro making the yellow rings of fear in Qward, but this time he bestows his own legion of who’s who to make his own Corps, powered by the element of fear.

The event itself crossed over just two books but featured all the most popular Green Lantern characters and while some of these have been featured in other animated media, it would be a great way to introduce older fans that grew up on the animated Justice League with more of the Green Lantern corner of the DCU. Plus, some BD Nostalgia 25

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5-Batman: Knightfall “I will...BREAK YOU!” Needless to say, no one from the 90s generation wasn’t completely devastated at the thought of Bruce Wayne never walking again (of course in typical comic book style, he recovered), and the imagery is one that is still so recognizable to this day. In the early 90’s Chuck Dixon and Doug Moench created Bane, the man who would break the Bat, and set off a chain of events that led to Jean-Paul Valley assume the cape and cowl...and then become a teched-out Batman the likes we’ve never seen before.

Casting recommendation: Danny Trejo as Bane

Just as Batman: Year One revolutionized Batman in the 80’s, thus did Knightfall in the 90’s. Batman’s fall and rise might have been captured in some essence in Nolan’s “Dark Knight” trilogy, but Knightfall was a heavy influence on that and deserves it’s own stand-alone feature.

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4- Batman: The Killing Joke This one seems sort of obvious, right?

The Killing Joke has been a staple of Batman lore, but oddly enough, was never intended to be part of canon. The story also contains one of the most graphic images of violence ever in superhero comic books: Barbara Gordon being shot point blank by the Joker and left, paralyzed, assaulted, and demeaned in a sexually-charged scene.

The story also shows Joker’s origin, almost making him sympathetic (of course when you shoot women in the spine that sympathy goes right outside the window) and giving Batman and Joker what appears to be a final showdown. Fan speculation aside, the macabre imagery of the Joker’s hideout and level of violence was unlike anything readers had seen at the time. True, other features had shown Joker’s taste of grisly violence, but to adapt this story would take it to a whole new level.

Mark Hamill has gone on the record of saying while he is retired from voicing the Joker he’d gladly return to star in this adaptation, should they ever get around to it.

Casting recommendation: Mark Hamill as the Joker (Come on!)

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3- Superman: Red Son One of three “Elseworld” stories on the list, but still one of DC’s greatest spins on Superman: as the savior to Russia who is made into the champion of the common worker who fights a never-ending battle for Stalin, socialism, and the international expansion of the Warsaw Pact! Originally published a little over a decade ago, Superman: Red Son has endured as a contemporary classic with distinguished visuals and gives non-comic fans a good example of something new with a case of “what if...?”.

The story itself spans almost 50 years, and while a lot of that might be omitted, the idea that the United States help make Bizarro is too cool to pass up.

Casting recommendation: Chris Noth as Lex Luthor BD Nostalgia

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2-Crisis on Infinite Earths

Okay, much like our top spot, it features a And, with this year being the 30th anniton of characters and epic battles, but this versary of the legendary story, the timing time, it features the entire DC Universe and might be perfect. the fate of their entire reality at stake. Ori- Casting recommendation: ginally produced as a 12-issue maxi series Richard Armitage as the Monitor in the mid-80’s, Crisis on Infinite Earths

by DC’s top talent back then and did away with a lot of the convoluted history that DC had built through the years. But could it be adapted as an animated movie?

The probability is unlikely at this point in time, given that they have moved on to the New 52 and beyond, but again should DC ever take the risk in making such a movie, the pay off has massive potential. This event was the event at DC for a generation and defined an era of comics. Consider an animated feature that’s a history lesson of sorts for earlier generations all leading to a showdown with the Anti-Monitor! How could that not excite you?

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1-Kingdom Come Honestly, how could this not be number one?

Also, how could this even be possible given the sheer amount of story, back story, and characters involved, it seems like an impossible feat. Then again, Watchmen was deemed “unfilmable” for decades.

The way we see it, the only real way to do this story justice is being done entirely in a CGI format with motion capture, similar to Beowulf.

While Marvels introduced the comic world to Alex Ross (unless you were a fan of his RPG art), it was Kingdom Come that launched his career into the stratosphere.

Unfortunately, that signature style, his hyper-realistic painted would be “extremely difficult to emulate and animate,” Tucker and others at Warner Animation have said.

Mark Waid’s knowledge and love of the DC Universe and Alex Ross’s unique style for all the characters and locations make for a one-of-a-kind jaw-dropping love letter to

DC Comics that would never be matched.

There’s no doubt it would be an epic attempt to even start on this production, but this is still one of DC’s greatest stories of the past 20 years, and maybe one day, we’ll see it brought to life or something like it.

Casting recommendation: Richard Dean Anderson as Superman/Kal-El/Clark Kent

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Anime/Manga - News Viz Media Details Upcoming Complete Box Sets For Manga Series Claymore And Rosario & Vampire Viz Media, LLC (Viz Media), the largest monsters called Yoma prey on humans and distributor and licensor of manga and live among them in disguise, humanity’s anime in North America, details only hope is a new breed of wartwo substantial forthcoming rior known as Claymores. Half manga (graphic novel) releases human, half monster, these silset for the Fourth Quarter that ver-eyed slayers possess supernafeature new complete series box tural strength but are condemned sets for CLAYMORE and ROto fight their savage impulses or SARIO + VAMPIRE. lose their humanity completely.

Both sets will be published under the Shonen Jump Advanced imprint and will arrive in time for the start of the 2015 Holiday shopping season. The CLAYMORE complete series box set releases in October and will include Volumes 1-27 of creator Norihiro Yagi’s epic medieval action saga. CLAYMORE is a riveting, multi-arc, character-driven action story that has been a New York Times manga bestseller. The ROSARIO + VAMPIRE set debuts in November and will contain BOTH “seasons” of creator Akihisa Ikeda’s acclaimed high school vampire drama in a special 24-volume manga box set edition. Both releases also will include a collectable premium.

CLAYMORE COMPLETE MANGA SERIES BOX SET • Rated “T+” for Older Teens • MSRP: $214.99 U.S. / $249.99 CAN • Available October 2015 This box set contains Volumes 1-27, along with a booklet of cover images never before released in North America. In a world where 70 BD Nostalgia

ROSARIO + VAMPIRE COMPLETE MANGA SERIES BOX SET • Rated “T+” for Older Teens • MSRP: 185.99 U.S. / $214.99 CAN • Available November 2015 This box set contains the original ROSARIO + VAMPIRE and the sequel series ROSARIO + VAMPIRE SEASON II for a total of 24 volumes, and also includes an exclusive full-color mini-comic. Average human teenage boy Tsukune accidentally enrolls at a boarding school for monsters—no, not jocks and popular kids, but bona fide werewolves, witches, and unnameables out of his wildest nightmares! On the plus side, all the girls have a monster crush on him. On the negative side, all the boys are so jealous they want to kill him! And so do the girls he spurns because he only has eyes for one of them—the farfrom-average vampire Moka. On the plus side, Moka only has glowing red eyes for Tsukune. On the O-negative side, she also has a burning, unquenchable thirst for his blood...

New Initial D the Movie Legend 2 The film will premiere in Japanese theaters on May 23.

The cast from the first film will return, with Mamoru Miyano as Takumi Fujiwara, Yūichi Nakamura as Keisuke Takahashi, Minoru Shiraishi as Itsuki Takeuchi, Maaya Uchida as Natsuki Mogi, Hiroaki Hira-

film, and Shochiku will distribute it.

The first film in the new film trilogy, New Initial D the Movie Legend 1: Awakening (Shin Gekijō-ban Initial D Legend 1 -Kakusei-), opened in Japan in August, and also premiered in Singapore on December 4. The film trilogy retells the beginning of the story from Shuuichi Shigeno’s original car-racing manga. High school student Takumi Fujiwara works as a gas station attendant during the day and a delivery boy for his father’s tofu shop during late nights. Little does he know that his precise driving skills and his father’s modified Toyota Sprinter AE86 Trueno make him the best amateur road racer on Mt. Akina’s highway. Because of this, racing groups from all over the Gunma prefecture issue challenges to Takumi to see if he really has what it takes to be a road legend.

Shigeno’s original manga follows Takumi Fujiwara, a high school boy with a natural talent for driving, in his racing pursuits on the public highways.

The manga debuted in Kodansha’s Young Magazine in 1995, and Shigeno ended the manga last July. It has over 48 million copies in circulation.

The manga inspired several television anime series (including the Fifth Stage that ran in 2012), a live-action ta as Bunta Fujiwara, Hiroshi Tsuchida as film, several original video anime projects, Kōichirō Iketani, and Junichi Suwabe as and a successful game line. The manga’s fiTakeshi Nakazato. SANZIGEN Animation nal battles have also adapted into an anime Studio and LIDEN FILMS will animate the series called Final Stage.

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Anime/Manga - News

The Testament of Sister New Devil Introduction I want to protect my little sister (family).

Make them obedient to become stronger!

An ecstasy battle action that goes beyond the critical point! Based on a light novel written

by Tetsuto Uesu and illustrated by Nekosuke Okuma (Nitroplus), the series started publication in 2012 under the Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko label and has released 6 volumes to date. As the “ultimate desire-action that surpasses the limits of the light novel” filled with stylish and classic action, extremist ecstasy portrayals within the series became the talk of the town, and the novel has been comicalized in magazines “Monthly Shōnen Ace (art by Kashiwa Miyako, published by KADOKAWA’s Kadokawa Shoten) and “Young Animal Arashi” (art by Fumihiro Kiso, published by Hakusensha).

Currently, the total circulation of novels and comics put together is over 800,000. The trending power sees no end, and surpassing the realm of light novels and comics, it will finally turn into a TV anime series come January 2015!

Story “Hey – you said you wanted a little sister, right?” Basara Tojo panicked to the sudden query from his father.

However, his unparalleled father declares getting remarried, and after bringing over two beautiful girls that were to be his stepsisters, he was gone in the wink of an eye to go work overseas.

However, the true identities of the two 72 BD Nostalgia

girls Mio and Maria were the daughter and succubus for the previous devil lord!? Basara narrowly escapes from being forced to a contract as servant, but mistakenly creates a contract in reverse – where Basara becomes the master. On top of it, one sexual situation after another befalls Basara thanks to the contract. Meanwhile, Mio is in danger as other devils and the hero clan are after her life–!? An ecstasy battle action of the most powerful contract servant!

Unbreakable Machine-Doll

SUMMARY From the director of Queen’s Blade: The Exiled Virgin comes a thrilling combo of action and fantasy featuring six never before seen OVAs! Raishin Akabane and his beautiful companion Yaya enroll at Walpurgis Royal Academy to study Machinart: a dangerous blend of magic and technology.

Raishin is a puppeteer capable of using magic to power up Yaya, his automaton, for ruthless battles no mere human could survive. In the wrong hands, Yaya is a deadly weapon, but the honorable Raishin, despite his mysterious quest for vengeance, takes no pleasure in killing for sport. Instead, he joins forces with a harem of gorgeous classmates to unmask those responsible for a rash of heinous human experimentation. If new enemies and terrible grades don’t spell doom for Raishin, he and Yaya might live long enough to conquer the school where magic meets machine!

covers of the month

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Anime/Manga - News

Death Parade

BY Theron Martin Review: Death Parade is an extended and expanded version of a concept first brought up in the 2013 Anime Mirai short Death Billiards, in which people are sent to a Purgatorial bar (although they don’t necessarily know that it’s Purgatorial) named Quindecim upon their death (although they are not necessarily initially aware that they died) and their fate in the afterlife is determined by a bar-type game that they must play. In the original work, it was a game of billiards; in this episode it is a game of darts. Supervising it all is the passive, pro74 BD Nostalgia

per, white-haired bartender Decim, who only really tells his “guests” the bare minimum and is, for some reason, constrained from prematurely revealing crucial facts like this being the afterlife. In this particular instance, a recently-married couple are the guests after (we later learn) they died in a car accident. Their dart boards are rigged so that hitting various numbers causes pain in various parts of the body – for the other player. Although they initially start missing to avoid harming each other, some lingering issues of mistrust gradually come out (which was probably the whole point of the activity), and things turn ugly by the time

the game finally resolves.

Based on the first episode, Death Parade is one of the rare titles these days specifically aimed at older audiences and possibly even intended to have an audience beyond otaku. Almost all of the character shown so far have clearly been fully-mature adults, and the issues raised during the cruel game are adult issues. The artistic style is also indicative of this, as there is nothing cutesy about it and its use of a generally darker color scheme implies a somber, serious tone rather than just being “dark� as an affectation. The overall artistic effort by Mad House, in support of director/original creator Yuzuru Tachikawa, is pretty strong, with an impressive-looking depiction of an elegant underground bar, good character designs, and what looks like a significant animation budget. The musical score is also quite effective.

example of what goes on at Quindecim or indicative of a true anthology approach.

Given that several other characters are featured in the incongruously-energetic opener, and two of them show up in the episode’s epilogue after apparently having observed the dart game from the background, my guess is the former.

Either way, at least one more episode is going to be needed to get a lock on where the series is really going, but the first one is good enough to pique interest.

The story, though well-timed and well-constructed, is more typical and definitely not original; while the bar games is a newer twist on the basic concept, stories about some kind of trial for being judged in the afterlife, where buried secrets and resentments gradually come to the surface, have definitely been done before. It does tend to be overly dramatic, but such is also a common flaw of series like this. Unclear at this point is whether the first episode is meant to be just an BD Nostalgia 75

Anime/Manga - News

Gourmet Girl Graffiti

bY Hope Chapman

“Food porn” usually isn’t a literal term.

Typically, when someone says they’re enjoying “food porn,” they mean they’re scrolling through Pinterest or watching the Food Network, and the food they’re staring at is so good that it gives them a positive cerebral-chemical response that could also be associated with...well, you know. Gourmet Girl Graffiti is a very different kind of food porn, and honestly, it’s more gross than it is sexy.

Middle-schooler Ryou, whose parents are working abroad and grandmother has recently passed on, is alone in the big city.

She loves to cook, but is afraid that her food is losing its flavor as her isolation continues to bring her down. Fortunately, her cousin Kirin, who she’s never met before, has decided to stay with her for a while as 76 BD Nostalgia

she dreams of going to school in the big city soon. With the bright and cheery Kirin around, Ryou’s food starts to shine again, and the two of them can enjoy it the way Ryou always used to...by eating it in sensual slow motion, camera focused on the girl’s lips and saliva as the food vanishes little by little, building to her orgasmic cry at the glorious taste of it all. The presentation is so obviously sexual that the show itself comments on it, which does not make the experience any less awkward.

So, this is “food porn” where you’re actually supposed to get off to the food as it’s being eaten by a cute girl, basically. Just like this, only anime. Probably just as ill-advised.

If it feels like every review prior to mine (scroll on down and see!) opened with this observation, it’s because there’s absolutely

nothing else to talk about in this show. I mean, I guess you could dig into the dark underbelly of “why Shinbo always directs series that star lolitas,” but that’s a well best left unplumbed, especially considering the babyish-innocence-framed-as-yuri on display throughout this episode. You can’t even really discuss Shinbo’s unique directorial style and how it works (or doesn’t) with the material, because he’s apparently boxed it up for this mild and saccharine outing. It makes sense. Most of Shinbo’s visual trademarks contribute to an atmosphere of alienation and paranoia, which wouldn’t fit the tone of this particular project. (Didn’t stop him with Nisekoi though.)

So there’s no crazy Shinbo direction on display to discuss. There’s no hook outside of “new girl friends who learn about food together and act like maybe they might kiss.”

It’s not really a “comedy” because there are very few jokes, but it’s not purestrain yuri

fanservice for otaku either, instead burying those elements under a more accessible and universal cutesy veneer. Shrug? Shrug combined with mild grimace? It looks nice, at least. There’s no major problems with the show, there’s just nothing special here either.

Gourmet Girl Graffiti is one of those shows that weirds me out because I can’t stop seeing all the bright red puppet strings.

I know why the series stars middle school girls who act like four-year olds with super-shiny lips, who make jokes about being married masked as becoming closer as a family and orgasm every time they take a bite out of glistening, highly-detailed food.

(Not to mention the other quick “naughty” jokes about naked aprons and sly double entendres.) It may be based on a prior manga, but there are clear visual presentation decisions responsible for the uncomfortable framing in what should be an actually innocent show. I guess I don’t care for shows that refuse to be honest about what they really are.

If this was cute and sweet without reservation, or fully committed yuri fanservice, I would feel differently. So it’s too much in bad taste for me, but if you can get around all the Shinbo-at-his-worst (as in without his unique direction style but with more lolicon,) there may be some foodie euphoria to be had with the underlying gourmet theme.

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ENCYCLOPEDIA:

gundam part 5

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Mobile Suit Victory Gundam 80 BD Nostalgia

Mobile Suit Victory Gundam or V Gundam (Kidō Senshi V Gandamu) is an anime television program set in the Universal Century timeline. It consists of 51 episodes and was directed by Gundam creator Yoshiyuki Tomino. The series was first broadcast on TV Asahi (and its ANN stations) and later by the anime satellite TV network, Animax, across Japan and later its respective networks worldwide, including Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, East Asia, Latin America and other regions.

Contents [show] Story Victory Gundam is set in UC 0153 and succeeds the Federation and Crossbone Vanguard conflict of Gundam F-91. Therefore, it takes place well after the events of the Earth Federation versus Principality of Zeon conflict (which could be said to have ended with Char’s Counterattack or Unicorn).

of the spaceborn Zanscare Empire; only the AEUG-like League Militaire stands in their way. The mass-produced Victory Gundam is the League Militaire’s secret weapon against the invading BESPA. Overview Victory Gundam, the first of four Gundam television series that aired in Japan sequentially from 1993 through 1996 and the second longest Gundam television show with 51 episodes (SD Gundam Force is the first with 52 episodes) and featured the second youngest protagonist in Gundam anime the thirteen-year-old Uso Ewin. It is another one of Tomino’s “Kill’em all” series.

The main cast casualty rate of the League Militaire (especially the Shrike Team), as well as the Zanscare is extremely high. In a notable scene, two members of the Shrike Team are killed by being vaporized in their normal suits by a beam saber.

According to Tomino, while Victory Gundam was being produced, Sunrise The greatly weakened Earth Federation merged with Bandai over his objections. comes under attack by the BESPA forces The negative feelings resulting from these BD Nostalgia

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events made Victory Gundam his most hated Gundam series. In fact, his interview on the memorial DVD Box’s initial-printing booklet is entitled “Don’t buy these DVDs because you should not watch them!!”— similar to an admonition included in the Mobile Suit Zeta Gundams final DVD volume. (The interview itself explains the above situation.) According to rumours, it was during the production of this series that Tomino suffered from depression.

Aznable, based on that the last-name of Uso’s Mother (Miguel) is the same as Char’s last lover, Nanai Miguel (in Char’s Counterattack). This series takes place 60 years after the events of Char’s Counterattack so this is considered by fans to be very plausible. Even though Tomino officially rejects the rumour, it is also known that the production group considered the idea, just did not implement it (but the last name of Muller “Miguel” stays).

Tomino, as with the original Gundam There is an inside-rumour among and Zeta, had to contend with a great deal Gundam fans that the protagonist, Uso of pressure from sponsors and other inteEwin, is the great grandson of late Char rested parties. The first episode was ori82 BD Nostalgia

ginally intended to be episode four, but pressure from a major investor (Bandai) to show the main mecha from the start led to a confusing change to the early episode order. Another pressure came with merchandising interest to put battleships on mid series, while the main stage was on Earth. As a compromise and irony, the strange BESPA battleship/motorcycle

mixture vessels that made up the Motorad Fleet made their appearance. Some point out the death rate as mentioned above had a great deal to do with Tomino’s depression and frustration while working on the show - in comparison, his more recent works, such as King Gainer and Brain Powerd, avoid large body counts.

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Future Century

Mobile Fighter G Gundam 84 BD Nostalgia

Mobile Fighter G Gundam (Kidō Butōden Ji Gandamu?) is a 49-episode anime series set in the Future Century timeline.

After Mobile Suit Victory Gundam finished airing in Japan in early 1994, Bandai commemorated Gundam’s 15th anniversary by trying something new: developing the franchise outside the continuity of the Universal Century. Thus, the alternative worlds were born that are the settings for every TV series following Victory Gundam.

Premiering in 1994, Mobile Fighter G Gundam was the first of the alternative Gundam Universe series that would be unrelated to the Universal Century Gundam series. Directed by Giant Robo’s Yasuhiro Imagawa, this series took a different approach to the Gundam saga. Rather than having a war between the colonies and the Earth, a fighting tournament is held. This is called the Gundam Fight, it is held once every four years by the United Colonies Federation. Each country would send its

own representative, that would pilot a Gundam, and the Gundams would then fight on the Earth until only one is left, and that Gundam’s nation will then be able to obtain sovereign rights over all the nations, until another nation wins in the next Gundam Fight. This series is set in Future Century (FC) 60, during the 13th Gundam Fight and it focuses on the Neo Japan Gundam Fighter Domon Kasshu, who is in the fight as much to win as well as fulfill his own mission of tracking down his brother, who had stolen a mysterious Gundam; the Devil Gundam from the Neo Japan government.

This series would also be controversial, as detractors criticize G Gundam as either an ugly parody of the Gundam world or a thinly disguised take on the Street Fighter/Dragon Ball Z/Fist of the North Star trend with the Gundam name. There is a following of G Gundam fans who liked its out of worldliness and willingness to play up exaggerated national stereotypes for comedic effect.

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Rules and Regulations The TV show did not achieve high ratings of the Gundam Fight in Japan. However, its model sales were strong, and Bandai has deemed the show The following are the seven articles of the a success. Also, after the inclusion of G Gundam Fight International Regulations: Gundam in the Super Robot Wars games, - A unit whose head section has been desit became very popular. troyed is disqualified.

The G Gundam manga is published in - A Gundam Fighter must never aim at English by Tokyopop, and the anime was the cockpit of an opponent’s Gundam. licensed by Bandai Entertainment. In 2012 Supplement: Accidental harm inflicted on Bandai Entertainment USA went out of a Gundam Fighter during a match is acbusiness. Since then many bootlegs have ceptable. hit the market, especially for the popular - A Gundam Fighter may repair any damage to their Gundam as often as they shows. desire and move on to the championship These bootlegs typically come in a clear league, as long as the head section has not case and are nearly indistinguishable been destroyed. between the retail copy. These bootlegs - A Gundam Fighter must take full resare using the same disc count, disc art, and ponsibility for protecting their own are copying the DVD sleeves art and in- Gundam. formation as you would see with the offi- - A match shall only be held on a one-oncial retail release 1:1. This particular series one basis. was never released with clear casing and - A Gundam Fighter shall not taint the honor and dignity of the nation they are came in a thick black box. representing.

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- The Earth is the ring! Supplement: Destruction of property on Earth due to the Gundam Fight is not considered a crime.

Final Tournament Additional Rules Upon the start of the Finals of the 13th Gundam Fight, Wong Yunfat debuted some controversial new rules: - Unlimited repairs, improvements, and substitutions are acceptable during the final tournament.

- Victory may be obtained through any means (including targeting the cockpit).

- The final winner of the Battle Royale will be awarded the title “Gundam of Gundams.�

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After Colony

New Mobile Report Gundam Wing 88 BD Nostalgia

New Mobile Report Gundam Wing (alternatively referred to as Mobile Suit Gundam Wing) was a 49 episode anime broadcast in Japan beginning in 1995 and later broadcast in the United States in 2000 on the popular Cartoon Network Toonami programming block.

The successor to Mobile Fighter G Gundam, this series combined bishounen character design with more traditional mecha anime to great popularity.

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, known in Japan as New Mobile Report Gundam Wing (Shin Kidō Senki Gandamu Uingu ?), was an anime series in the mecha genre, and is one of the alternate universe Gundam series, taking place in the After Colony timeline. It is the second alternate universe in the Gundam media franchise, following Mobile Fighter G Gundam. The plot centers around a war between Earth and its colonies in space; however, in contrast to the Universal Century continuity, the Gundams in Wing are more closely allied to each other than they are to any particular

side in the conflict unfolding around them.

The series was aired across Japan on the anime satellite television network, Animax, and the terrestrial TV Asahi network.

It ran for forty-nine half-hour episodes, beginning on April 7, 1995 and ending on March 29, 1996. Directed by Masashi Ikeda and written by Katsuyuki Sumizawa (Yoroiden Samurai Troopers) with music

by Kō Ōtani, the series was loosely based on the original 1979 Gundam series, Mobile Suit Gundam, created by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Hajime Yatate.

The story of Gundam Wing begins in the year After Colony 195, with the start of Operation Meteor, the scientists’ plan for revenge against the OZ military organization. The operation involves five young boys who have each been chosen and trained by one of the five rogue scientists, then sent to Earth independently in extremely advanced Mobile Suits, one designed by each of the scientists, known as “Gundams”. Their Mobile Suits are called BD Nostalgia 89

Cullen narrated the back story, evoking memories of Voltron’s opening credits. It was broadcast in two formats; an edited version shown in the daytime and an uncut version aired at night. Examples of the edits included the removal of blood, obscene language, and the word kill being replaced by the word destroy. (This was extended to Duo’s nickname, “The God of Death”, with it being changed to “The Great Destroyer”, forcing the alteration of two episode titles.) The uncut version, shown at midnight, was completely unedited - a first for Cartoon Network, which at the time had never shown an unedited anime.

Due to the popularity of the series,two OVAs, compiling various scenes from the series along with a few minutes of new footage, were released in 1996 as Gundam Wing: Operation Meteor I and II. A three-volume OVA series, Gundam Media Information Gundam Wing had a run on Cartoon Wing: Endless Waltz, was produced in Network’s Toonami, premiering on Mon- 1997 as a sequel to the TV series; plotday, March 6, 2000 at 5:30 PM EST. In the wise, it ends the After Colony saga. In promos leading up to the broadcast, Peter 1998, a movie version of the OVA series Gundams because they are constructed from a rare and astonishingly durable material known as Gundanium alloy, which can only be created in outer space.

The five Gundam Pilots — Heero Yuy (an alias, not to be confused with the assassinated leader), Duo Maxwell (also an alias), Trowa Barton (another alias, he was previously known as Nanashi (No-Name)), Quatre Raberba Winner, and Chang Wufei — originally have no knowledge of each others’ existence. On first meeting any of the other five, each pilot believes the others to be enemy pilots in new OZ mobile suit designs. Once the young pilots realize that they have the same objective of destroying OZ (and in some cases the same mission), they band together to help each other complete their goals.

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was made, with new footage and a different In 1996, a fighting game called Gundam Wing: Endless Duel was released for the ending (Last Impression).

Super Famicom in Japan. The game was neManga sidestories have also been pro- ver released in the United States or Europe, duced. A prequel, detailing the events but has gained some popularity through the leading up to the launch of the Gundams emulation of older video games. Since then, to Earth, is Episode Zero. Several sequel Gundam Wing had appeared in several enmanga, occurring between Gundam Wing tries in the Super Robot Wars series, its and Endless Waltz have been written, tit- number of appearances are second only to led,New Mobile Report Gundam Wing: the Universal Century. Gundam Wing also

Blind Target, Gundam Wing: Ground Zero,and Battlefield of Pacifists. A coincident storyline is presented in Last Outpost (G-Unit). The Gundam Wing, Battlefield of Pacifists, and Endless Waltz manga series are published in English by TOKYOPOP, while Blind Target, Ground Zero, and Episode Zero are published by Viz Communications. Another sequel manga detailing the future of the colonies entitled New Mobile Report Gundam Wing Sidestory: Tiel’s Impulse was printed in 1998 and has not been published in America.

appeared in all of the titles of Another Century’s Episode, with all five Gundam pilots and Zechs Merquise using their respective machines in Another Century’s Episode 1 and 2, and Heero Yuy being the only one present in Another Century’s Episode 3.

Like most Gundam works, Gundam Wing has also appeared in the SD Gundam sub-franchise. It was the main focus for Musha Senki and the basis for Superior Defender Gundam Force’s interpretation of Lacroa, established hub of the Knight Gundam series.

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Volume Eight: Target Chapter 62: Decision The kidnappers had warned Soichiro against making a move and rescuing her, or else, they will kill Sayu. Soichiro unwillingly gives the order to send word to the police department until Light convinces that Kira was probably the one who killed the director.

He has probably infiltrated the police force once again, and if word gets out that they will exchange the notebook for Sayu, Kira might kill them all.

Back in his apartment, Light thinks about his next move. Kira has now gained two enemies: the kidnappers and the FBI. They both want the Death Note, and Light will do whatever it takes to keep them from gaining ownership.

A SPK task force member tells Near that the Japanese NPA director has been killed.

They assume that it was the kidnapper’s doing, but they don’t count out the possibility that it could have been Kira. Near comments that if it was Kira, it would substantially narrow down his lists of suspects. He shows his commander, Rester, a picture of Mello and asks if he has tracked him down. Rester answers that it seemed that he just vanished into thin air four years ago, and Near wonders if he’s involved in the kidnapping.

The kidnappers once again call the investigation team. They demand that Soichiro make the exchange by himself in L.A. in two more days. They tell the investigators that they’re very well aware of the fact that if the exchange for the notebook was announced to the public, Sayu will be killed by Kira. After receiving proof that Sayu was still alive, 94 BD Nostalgia

Soichiro announces that he will definitely go to L.A. and exchange the notebook.

Chapter 63: Target Soichiro decides to exchange the Death Note for Sayu without any tricks because he is afraid that if he’s caught, they will kill him and Sayu. Light, however, wants the whole Kira investigation team to discreetly shadow him, just in case. In addition, he gives Soichiro and the rest of the team new cell phones that allow members to overhear any conversations that take place with the cell phone.

Concerned that they might need back-up, Light calls the director of the FBI as L. However, the director of FBI is in the same room as Near. When Near overhears the director of the FBI speak to L, Near demands to speak to him and tells him, “L number two, nice to meet you.” Much to Light’s surprise, Near reveals that he is “N”, the leader of an organization created to catch Kira called the SPK and that he knows about the death of the real L. Light is ready to back out of asking Near for police force help, mostly because Near reminds him so much of L. However, Light relents, asks for his help and Near agrees.

Near believes that this fiasco might help them retrieve the notebook and capture Kira.

The next day, Soichiro and the team prepare to go to L.A. The team is traveling in separate flights, with the exception of Ide who is traveling in the same flight as Soichiro. As he is walking down the corridor at the airport, Soichiro is threatened by one of Mello’s gang members who forces him to get on to another flight. Ide is given instructions by Light to not interfere. The man forces Soichiro to get on the flight that Aizawa is taking to L.A. He is given an earphone, and Mello tells him that all he wants is the notebook and if he follows his instructions, no one will be hurt.

Chapter 64: Right Angle The flight is then hijacked by one of Mello’s men who says he is planning to drop off a passenger somewhere else. Matsuda tells Light of the hijacking. Aizawa sends Light a text message saying that Soichiro and the man are in his flight, and he is sitting where BD Nostalgia 95

he has a good view of them. Light tells Aizawa that Mello’s men are hijacking the plane in order to drop the director off somewhere.

Furious, Light grudgingly calls Near and asks him to order the American forces not to make any sudden moves. Near tells him that he will keep an eye out for the plane’s whereabouts using satellites. Using her shinigami eyes, Misa looks at security camera footage of the airport and finds out the name man who forced Soichiro in to the flight.

Light tells Near the name of the kidnapper, and the SPK comments that he figured the name out rather quickly.

Mello tells Soichiro that they’re going to make a pit stop where the exchange will take place. He demands that Soichiro contact L and tell him stop all media reports on the hijacked flight, just in case Kira decides to kill both him and his daughter. Light answers back as L telling him that they’ve stopped all media reports.

The plane lands and drops off Soichiro in the middle of the desert. Near sends Light footage of Soichiro in his present location taken from American satellites. Mello demands that Soichiro calls L to ask for a helicopter to pick him and his daughter. However, if anything other than a helicopter comes within a two-mile radius of them, both he and Sayu will be killed. Light, as L, calls Soichiro and instructs him to give the notebook to the kidnappers with no tricks. Mello thinks to himself that new L is “strangely obedient.”

A hidden underground hatch is opened, and Soichiro is ordered to enter. Now that his movements can’t be tracked through satellite, Near mockingly asks L if he has another plan or if he’s willing to let the notebook fall under the kidnapper’s hands.

One of the kidnappers instructs Soichiro to place it in a revolving glass door, which will send Sayu to her father after the exchange has been made. Light is wondering how the kidnappers plan to escape, and when he sees another helicopter heading toward the location, he thinks that it’s for the kidnappers.

The man demands that Soichiro test out the notebook, or else he will kill Sayu. After he does so, the man gets on the helicopter, and Light asks Near to help him track the location of the notebook. However, Near tells him that apparently Mello’s gang has placed the notebook on a missile that can’t be tracked by radar. Mello has outsmarted Light.

Chapter 65: Responsibility Light asks Near if America had anything to do with the kidnapping, and Near denies it.

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plodes upon Mello’s orders. Aizawa calls Light and tells him that the plane has landed safely, but all of the kidnappers have suddenly mysteriously died.

Light checks up on his father and sister in the other helicopter, and Soichiro tells him that he feels like a failure as a police officer and wishes to quit the force. The helicopter drops them both off at the Los Angeles police headquarters where Near plans to interview them with Light monitoring the conversation.

Back in the shinigami realm, a shinigami named Shidoh has lost his Death Note and hasn’t written a name in it for a long time. Fearing death, he has been desperately looking for it and believes Ryuk may have taken it to the human world.

The missile is then located in the Hudson Bay, scattered into pieces two hours ago.

The SPK concludes that the notebook has probably already fallen into enemy hands.

Near adds that Light basically, “handed it to them on a platter.” However, Near realizes that the only way to have stopped it was to have sacrificed Soichiro and Sayu, and he emphasizes with L. He tells L that he has a good idea of who was behind the kidnapping, and if he can find definite proof, he wants L to threaten to make the names and faces of the kidnappers public, making them susceptible to Kira’s judgment. They’ll want to exchange the notebook back then.

Near asks Soichiro if he noticed anything strange when he was speaking to the leader of the kidnappers over the earphone. Like, if he was eating anything specific. Like a chocolate bar. Soichiro tells him that he does recall hearing a “crack” sound, and Light realizes that Near already knows who might be behind this. He is determined to work with Near, making sure that he never figures out that he’s both Kira and L. Sidoh appears to Ryuk, demanding his Death Note back. Ryuk tells him that he’s not sure of exactly where it is right now.

Ryuk thinks to himself that he must not tell Light about this.

Chapter 66: Death Ryuk comforts Shidoh by telling him that everyone’s looking for the Death Note, and once they find a picture of the kidnappers, he can track him down using his shinigami eyes from the shinigami realm. Once Shidoh finds the current owner, he must follow the human until the human dies, and then, he can write a name in it.

Light asks if Near can tell him who he suspects is the kidnapper. Near refuses to tell him because he no longer feels compelled to work with the new L and the Japanese poBD Nostalgia 97

lice after they practically gave away the Death Note to the kidnappers. He tells Light that he feels that the new L is incompetent and unlike the real L, has done nothing to further the Kira investigation. Light is pissed, and he vows to get the Death Note back before Near and kill him along with the kidnappers.

Suddenly, most of the SPK members are killed. Near senses that they were spies that the kidnappers decided to kill with the notebook rather than get more information.

Only a few member now survive. Light tells him that Near should quit being so resistant and share information with him so that they can both catch Kira as quickly as possible. Light asks that Near tell him who he suspects of being the kidnappers, and in exchange, Light will tell him details about the Death Note. For Near, it is a tempting offer, but it is rather dangerous to tell L about Mello because he fears that he will trace both Mello and Near to Wammy’s House. However, Near is confident that he has destroyed all pictures and information about himself. Near tells Light about Mello.

Two days later, Light finds out that mafia thugs around the U.S. are dying in unprecedented numbers, leading them to believe that the kidnappers have mob ties. Aizawa and Matsuda come back with information they found out about Mello from Wammy’s House. It seems that it was educational facility to train the next L, and Mello and a boy named Near, were the top two contenders. When L died, Mello left the orphanage, refusing to work with L. All photographers of them have been destroyed, but a fellow orphanage resident drew their portraits. Light realizes that, somehow, he is still fighting against L. Chapter 67: Button With only the drawing of Mello, Shidoh begins to scan the human world for him. However, he still wishes that the investigators would somehow lead him to him.

One day, Soichiro receives a call from Mello. The investigation team quickly notices, and they use the cell phone sharing system to listen in. Mello asks Soichiro how come Kira can use the Death Note to kill others just by seeing their faces.

Light sends Soichiro a message from his lap top, telling him to respond by saying he doesn’t know. Then, Mello asks the name of the L they chose to re98 BD Nostalgia

place the real L. While Light and investigators ponder about what to do, Matsuda sends Soichiro a message telling to say that it was Matsuda.

Near calls Light and asks him if the information that he gave him about the Death Note was all the information he knew about it. Light answers that it. However, Light did not mention anything to him about the shinigami, the shinigami’s eyes and ownership of the notebook, in order to keep his advantage over him. However, Light counters by asking Near if he is indeed the Near from Wammy’s House. Near acknowledges it and explains to him that Mello sees this as a game. Whoever gets the notebook first and finds Kira first is the winner, and he will do anything to win. Mello kept Soichiro alive in order to get more information from him, and he purposely ate chocolate by talking to Soichiro in order to send Near a message that he got the notebook first.

Meanwhile, Mello calls the president of the United States and tells him that he now has possession of the Death Note. With the notebook, he has the capability of making a person launch a nuclear attack before they die, if he does not cooperate with him.

Chapter 68: Discovery Mello tells the president that he knows that he created the SPK so that the American government could get a hold of the Death Note. Mello offers to give the notebook to him, but in exchange, he wants to president to grant him amnesty, funding, weapons and the use of satellites. In addition, Mello wants the president to report to him SPK’s movements.

While Light and the investigators is planning their next move, they gets a call from the president of the U.S. who asks Light if there is any way to escape the notebook. Light realizes that the president is being threatened by Mello. Light sees an advantage to this.

Light gets the president to tell him everything and reassures him that he has already figured out the names and whereabouts of most of the kidnappers, even though in reality, it’s a lie. Light asks the president if he can use a group of men not known to the SPK or the kidnapper. The president answers that he has a special group of thirty men reserved for situations like this. Now, all Light has to do is find out where Mello is before Near.

Misa calls Light, telling him that after researching pictures of wanted mafia thugs, she found a man among them with a name but no lifespan using her shinigami eyes. Light is thrilled because this means that he is the current Death Note owner. When Light looks at the picture of the man nicknamed Jack Neylon, he notices that he looks nothing like Mello. However, it’s possible that this guy is one of Mello’s top men and is near him.

Chapter 69: Flight After a long night of researching Jack Neylon, the president of the U.S. calls and is ready to deploy his special task force. Light sends the president and the leader of the special task force the drawing of Mello and photographs of his top thugs. Light gives them instructions to kill them, and keep the president in a safe area where he won’t be forced to start a nuclear strike, even though Light is well aware that the Death Note cannot force a person to kill others before they die. Light asks the president to show him the satellite images that SPK is looking at, which show the three places they believe to Mello’s headquarters. However, when he asks the president what images the kidnappers were looking at, he answers the same. This means that Mello is definitely not in any of those hideouts. Light plans to control Jack Neylon using the Death Note BD Nostalgia 99

and make him reveal his whereabouts to Light.

Four days later, Misa runs up to Light and tells him that he received a letter with the address of Mello’s hideout. Light’s plan worked. He had written Jack’s real name in the Death Note and made him send a letter with the address of his whereabouts inside to Misa. He is scheduled to die of a heart attack in two more weeks, which hopefully will be after he has already killed Mello and Near.

The investigation team is now tracking the address that Light received via satellite.

They see a couple of Mafia thugs go inside. The president’s special task force has the place outside surrounded. They get the orders from Light to move in and retrieve the notebook. The men, who have on helmets to shield their faces, move in to hideout.

Suddenly, their helmets are knocked off by some invisible force. It is Sidoh. From the security cameras, Jack Neylon sees the faces of the men and calls out their names while another thug writes them down in the notebook.

Chapter 70: Tremble In a flashback sequence, after Light figures out that Jack Neylon is the current Death Note owner, Sidoh sees his picture and finds him quickly after scanning the human world from the shinigami realm. He goes to Mello’s location where Jack is and throws the notebook so that it touches Jack, making him see Sidoh. He explains to Jack that he is a shinigami, and if everyone else touches the notebook, then they will all see him.

After Sidoh becomes visible to everybody, Mello and his men grill him with questions. They figure out that the “If you don’t use the Death Note after 13 days, you will die” rule is fake. Mello wonders if Kira knew about this fake rule, and if so, if he used it to his advantage. Mello then asks him about other Death Note owners, but Sidoh answers that he can’t talk about them. Mello then forces Jack to trade half of his lifespan for the shinigami eyes. He also tells Sidoh that once they get the Death Note from Kira, they will give it to him if he promises to help them by standing guard outside and pulling intruders toward the cameras.

Back in the present, this is exactly what he has done to the special task force. Light quickly realizes that it’s another shinigami. Aizawa suggest that they contact the SPK for help. However, Light doesn’t want Near involved, fearing that he’ll become suspicious as to how he found Mello’s hideout.

Light confronts Ryuk about the shinigami, and Ryuk tells him that he found Light’s notebook in the shinigami realm so the owner was the original shinigami who dropped it. Light asks Ryuk if shinigami are allowed to talk about other Death Note owners, and he answers no. Still, he fears that Misa and most importantly, her shinigami eyes will be killed by Jack Neylon once he figures out with his shinigami eyes that Misa is a Death Note owner. He makes Misa quit her career and promises to marry her.

Mello’s gang has evacuated from their hideout. They call several high ranking officials, including the president of the U.S., demanding to know who was it that instigated the ambush, but they have all committed suicide. Mello wonders who could have figured out where they were hiding.

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Volume Nine: Contact Chapter 71: Contact After the kidnapping incident, Sayu is in a constant state of shock. Soichiro feels terribly guilty. Near finds out that the president of the U.S. is dead, along with the troops that he deployed to Mello’s hiding place. The SPK deduces that they were definitely killed using the notebook, and their helmets were taken off because they had to see their faces. Near wonders who it was that discovered Mello’s hideout.

Frustrated, Light asks Misa to hand him her notebook, which he will strap on to him.

He gives up ownership, once again, of Ryuk’s Death Note, but does not lose his memories since he has Misa’s notebook strapped to him. He instructs Ryuk to follow whoever was the next owner of the Death Note, which he predicted would be Matsuda.

Then, Light orders Misa to pretend to be Kira and call his father.

Two days later, Soichiro receives a call from Kira, and the investigators listen in.

Kira tells him that he knows the notebook is in enemy hands. He will send to them his Death Note as well as the location of Mello’s hideout. However, he tells them that on November 10th at 11:59 p.m., most of the mafia members from Mello’s group will die.

He instructs them to ambush the hideout and get the Death Note back. Kira tells them that he believes that they are enforcers of justice in his world, and no harm will come to them. However, he can’t bear to see the notebook in the Mello’s hands.

Three days later, the investigation team receives the Death Note, and they can all now see Ryuk. Matsuda is overly eager to take advantage of the situation, but the rest of the members are hesitant to trust Kira. He, then, volunteers to make a trade for the shinigami eyes so that they can go and retrieve the Death Note on November 10th from Mello with no mishaps. However, Soichiro steps up and says that he’ll make the trade BD Nostalgia 101

for the shinigami eyes because he thinks it’s his fault that the notebook was lost in the first place. In addition, if he has to use the Death Note, he is willing to use it and die 13 days later.

Chapter 72: Verification The investigation team decides to go along with Kira’s plan to retrieve the notebook. Light asks Ryuk if he can convince Jack Neylon’s shinigami to do nothing while they retrieve his Death Note. The investigation team will go in fully equipped with cameras on the shield helmets so that Light can see what exactly what they see.

On November 10th at 11: 47 p.m., the investigation team is in place and ready to ambush Mello’s hideout. Light gives Ryuk orders to find the other shinigami, convince him to stay away and promise him that by doing so, he will get his notebook back.

When Ryuk finishes talking to Sidoh, Soichiro gives the go-ahead to trade half of his lifespan for the shinigami eyes. He looks at the photographs of the subjects and can see their names and lifespans. At 11: 59 p.m., the names and lifespans of the subjects disappear. This is the signal to move in and launch the attack.

Chapter 73: Cornered Most of Mello’s gang is now dead. Mello figures that Kira is involved. He sees that Sidoh is doing nothing so he tries to get out of the room and orders the rest of his gang to bring the Death Note up to the monitor room. Mello’s gang begins to shoot at Soichiro and his team. Light orders them to use tear gas, and when they do, one of the thugs drops the notebook. They tell Light that they have the notebook, but they have no clue where Mello is. While the investigation team is searching, Mello is watching from a monitor and realizes that he’s the only one left. He blows up the two entrances so that they cannot leave. However, he also threatens to blow up the whole building with his switch if they make any sudden movements. Mello orders them to destroy all of the cameras in their helmets, throw all of their weapons over the railings, and one of them hold the notebook while the rest back away. Soichiro holds the notebook while the rest back away. He orders Soichiro to take off his helmet and walk over the door.

Mello comes out of the door and demands that Soichiro give him the Death Note and his mask. Soichiro sees his name. It is Mihael Keehl.

Soichiro tells Mello that he now knows his true name, and if he surrenders, he won’t kill him. An aggravated Light wishes that his dad would just kill him. Soichiro tells him to drop the switch, but Mello answers by saying that if he tries to kill him, he’ll just blow himself up and everyone else along with him. Soichiro tells him that he’s not afraid of death and fully prepared, along with his men, to give up their lives. Meanwhile, Light is desperately hoping that his father will kill Mello before it’s too late.

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Chapter 74: A Fine Performance Soichiro continues to threaten Mello when he notices someone behind Soichiro. It’s one of Mello’s gang members who thought he’d survive by pretending to be dead.

With his gun, he shoots Soichiro several times. Mello tries to get the notebook from his hands, but they won’t let go of it. When the investigation team hears the gunshots, they decide to break in. They shoot the surviving Mafia member, and they threaten to shoot Mello, who is now wearing a helmet, next.

However, Mello presses the switch, and the building blows up.

After the explosion, Light asks Mogi if there is sign of Mello. He fears that he may have gotten away. Also, none of the investigation team, with the sole exception of Soichiro saw Mello’s face. Light fears that Mello may be a danger to him, especially if the SPK and Near get a hold of him first, and Mello tells them about the fake “13 day” rule. Light needs to get his father to write down Mello’s name in the Death Note!

Soichiro was shot in the neck and is bleeding profusely. He is taken to the hospital where they tell him he doesn’t have much longer to live. Light goes to the hospital and sees his father. Soichiro sees that he can see Light’s name and lifespan, which means that he’s not Kira. Of course, that’s because he gave up ownership of the Death Note, but Light has more pressing issues now. As Soichiro starts dying, Light begins to panic and begs his father to write down Mello’s name in the notebook.

However, Soichiro dies before he can do it.

Light and the investigation team give Sidoh back his Death Note, and he leaves for the shinigami realm.

Chapter 75: Acknowledgement Light is upset at the fact that Mello isn’t dead. He realizes that Near probably doesn’t want Mello killed because he is a source of information for him.

Just then, Near calls L, which is one of many repeated calls. Near feels like he’s into something big because the new L had mentioned that they were still in possession of the notebook. He wonders why Kira is letting the Japanese police continue possessing the Death Note, especially since the Japanese police is supposedly hunting down Kira, and he might not want them knowing certain facts about the notebook. It’s enough for Near to conclude that the new L is Kira. He says he’s “seven percent serious”, but he needs Mello to gather the rest of the evidence.

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Then, the vice-president of the U.S. holds a press conference in order to proclaim that the United States has accepted Kira and will do nothing to stand in its way. Needless to say, Light is thrilled.

The SPK wonders what will happen to them now, and Near answers, in disgust, that they will be most likely dissolved.

Back in Light’s apartment, Matsuda is watching and wonders out loud whether Kira is really all that bad. He is fighting against evil and for a peaceful world. Aizawa counters by saying that it’s a peaceful world based on fear. However, Light chimes in saying that Kira will be considered either good or evil based on the results. This means if Kira is captured, then he is evil. If he succeeds, he is good.

Chapter 76: Greetings While watching different television shows, Light sees first hand how quickly the public’s perception of Kira has changed. Much of the world now does not view Kira as evil. However, he’s determined to catch Mello before Near and the SPK gets a hold of him.

Near is going to dissolve the SPK. However, he thinks it might be to their advantage because Mello probably wants to get in contact with former SPK members.

He’s alone now, and he needs all the information that he can get if he’s to catch Kira. Near is convinced that Mello will try to contact the SPK members, especially Hal Linder who is a woman. Near instructs each one of them to tell Mello of the possibility that the new L might be Kira and that Near is in possession of Mello’s only photograph. Near also orders the members to find new recruits now that the SPK will officially go underground.

Light hears about the SPK disbanding and feels like Near is beginning to make his move. Nevertheless, Light decides to use the Kira-supporting zealots led by Sakura TV’s director Demegawa to spread Kira’s ideals.

Hal Linder is walking home when all of a sudden, Mello, with a scar on his face, pulls out a gun. She tells him to be quiet, leads him to the bathroom and takes a shower.

Hal tells Mello that Near predicted that he would make contact with her. Although, he never realized that he already had. She tells Mello that Near thinks the new L is Kira, and Mello is puzzled that such an incompetent idiot like new L is Kira. Mello threatens her with a gun to lead him back to the SPK headquarters.

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Hal, with a gun pointed to her by Mello, leads him to where Near is waiting for him.

Chapter 77: Use The SPK members pull guns on Mello, but Near tells them to put the weapons down since there was no sense in killing him because he will probably be of great use to them..

Mello, however, starts to point his gun toward Near and threatens to shoot him, telling him that he is not “a piece of Near’s puzzle” that he can use to solve the case. But, Hal convinces him to put the gun down because if he shot Near, they would have to shoot him and that would make Kira happy.

Mello has come for the remaining photograph that Near has in his possession. However, Near gives it to him in exchange for some information about the Death Note. Mello tells Near that the Death Note is a shinigami’s notebook, and people who touch it are able to see shinigami. He also tells him that one of the rules written in the notebook is fake, but he isn’t going to tell him which one it is. Now, it’s a question of who will catch Kira first.

Light is determined to kill Near and Mello. As Kira, he calls up the vice-president and demands that he look up any information on agents who “disappeared” right before the creation of the SPK. Light hopes that by finding out that information, he may find some of the living, current SPK members and get closer to Near.

On Sakura TV, director Demegawa has made a new program called “Kira’s Kingdom” for pro-Kira viewers. He tells his audience that he has been chosen by Kira as his spokesman and vows to spread Kira’s philosophy around the world.

Chapter 78: Prediction Near, through process of elimination based on what he has seen the notebook do, figures out that the fake rule is the “If you don’t write a name in the Death Note after 13 days, you die” rule.

Near calls L and tells him that he’s caught Mello, but he has escaped. Light is furious that Near might have gotten the chance to question Mello first. Still, Light is skeptical that Mello escaped and thinks that Near let him go. However, Near swears that he escaped and begins to ask L about the existence of shinigamis and their ties to the Death Note. Light doesn’t deny it and tells him that he didn’t divulge those details because he thought Near would never believe him. However, then Near asks him if he knows about a fake rule in the Death Note. Light is forced to admit that through process of elimination, it is only logical that the “13 day” rule is the fake one. However, Light suggests that Mello may have been lying and asks Ryuk if all of the rules are true. Ryuk says yes. Excited at the new lead that he has been given, Near asks the new L and the whole Kira investigation team if they had ever seen L’s face. Light panics and hangs up. Near takes it as an affirmative answer. The rest of the investigation team members are angry that Near suspects that one of them is Kira. However, Light decides to call Near back and continue the interrogation. Light admits that they have seen his face. Near then asks them why has Kira, after killing L, not killed the rest of them as well. Telling them that he believes Mello over a shinigami, Near insists that the “13 day” rule is a fake and that Kira is among them, making the shinigami lie. Near even suggests testing the rule by BD Nostalgia 105

having him write Mello’s name on the Death Note, and if he dies after 13 days, Kira will be happy. Light consults with the investigation team, and they all agree that they do not trust Near enough to go along with such a plan, especially if he thinks that Kira is among them. When Light tells him that they refuse, Near answers that it’s what he expected.

Light now knows that Near suspects him of being Kira and that whole conversation was an act so that he can get the whole investigation team to have doubts about him.

He tells the team that because Near is fishing for information, then Mello can’t be too far behind. He’d probably try to contact Mogi. Just then, Mogi’s phone rings, and Mello is on the other line.

Chapter 79: Lies Mello asks Mogi to come visit him in New York right now. He tells him to bring no wires or cameras and to stay on the phone at all times and not hang up until he gets on the airplane. Light sees this as a perfect opportunity to catch Mello. Mogi quietly leaves the building with Aizawa and Ide tailing him with cameras.

When Mogi arrives at St. Nick Station, Mello tells him to enter the building right across from him. Mello, who is watching from another building, then calls Near and tells him that a man named Mogi from the Japanese task force is coming. Mello orders Near to interrogate the man, but let him keep his cell phone on so that he may over hear the conversation from where he is.

Near is impressed by Mello’s tactic, but is unsure whether this might be L/Kira who Mello has sent to kill him. Near quickly calls L, and when he hears Light on the other line, he says he dialed the wrong number and hangs up. Light becomes suspicious.

Near is now sure that this man is not L and lets him in. He introduces himself to Mogi as Near.

Light is shocked when he hears this. However, he remembers that he had prepared a counter measure that he could use for moments like these. Misa, on Light’s orders, finds the location of Near’s whereabouts and sends a message to the Kira zealots.

When Mogi realizes that it’s Near, he is determined not to talk. Near fears that he has little time because if Kira is L, then he could be killed at any time. He begins by asking Mogi to join them because their goal is the same: to catch Kira. Near asks him if the former L had ever suspected of someone in their team being Kira. Mogi doesn’t answer. Near tells Mello that Mogi may already be controlled by Kira not to talk. Mello responds by saying that they can assume that Kira is in the Japanese task force if Mogi doesn’t talk because he has no motivation to not want to cooperate. Mello then tells Mogi and Near that he already tested the “13 day” rule, and it was indeed fake. Near then asks Mogi if he does not think that the fake “13 day” rule strikes him a bit odd.

Mogi still does not respond.

Two days later, Light responds with his secret back-up plan. Pro-Kira zealots led by Demegawa have all started to storm the building where Near is staying. They are all determined to kill Near.

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