For years I have been teaching graphic novels in ELL 2 and 3 classes. I think it is also suitable for grade 8s.
One of my favourites is Death Note. It is probably one of the most popular graphic novels in Asia. It has been translated into 7 languages including English.
I use it to talk about concepts of vigilantism, due process, and weapons of mass destruction in contemporary society. I also tie it into Japanese value struggles between the pursuit of justice, the generation gap, and anti-war passive responses since World War II. Many articles in the English version of Japan Times about these issues.
Death Note
Manga series
Death Note (Japanese: デスノート Hepburn: Desu Nōto) is a Japanese manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. The story follows Light Yagami, a high school student who stumbles across a mysterious otherworldly notebook: the “Death Note”, which belonged to the Shinigami Ryuk, and grants its user the power to kill anyone whose name and face he knows. The series centers around Light’s subsequent attempts to use the Death Note to change the world into a utopian society without crime and the subsequent efforts of L, a reclusive international criminal profiler, to apprehend him and end his reign of terror.
I honestly only get to teach the first five anime episodes, the part 1 TV series movie, and the first three of the revised Live action TV series. The plots differ in each so there is a great opportunity to teach alternative story lines and contrast/compare plots.
I have a whole slew of activities which you can preview on my website
http://scharlescoderre.com/curriculum
These include the legends of Grim Reapers across various cultures and a look at the Faustian choice stories starring the Devil (which essentially is at the core of Death Note). You can also pull in anti bullying issue and strategies as one theme extension.
Many students get highly engaged with Death Note and will finish the entire set of novels, TV series, and movies on their own time. Just remind them not to stay up all night, to do their other homework, and to get outside because these novels are highly addictive.
There is a recent USA version on Netflix starring Willam Defoe as the Death God Ryuk. That adaptation has the associated controversy of “white washing” (though L is black) and not using Asian actors. I find it the weakest of all versions because of poor acting. The newer version of the updated Japanese TV series is also on Netflix.
Hi Charles,
I love this manga/anime! It is a brilliant collaborative work between Ohba and Obata, who are renowned specialists in the field. I’ve also been fascinated with the intellectual and psychological elements and the way the classic battle (almost like a chess game or a game of Go metaphor) between Light and L plays out. Thank you for sharing your insight and expertise on how to teach this as a text!
My pleasure Paul. I once had a gifted/delayed (IQ equivalent to 24 year old but schooling delayed by about 5 years below grade level by life circumstance) lad from Vietnam who latched onto the manga series and actually became obsessed with it. He read it constantly. It was something to see. Though I had to remind him about balancing other studies.
The English is about L3 and 4 (High Intermediate / Advanced) or regular grade 7-9.
I found Death Note very interesting that L upheld the Japanese societal aversion to vigilantism. But L is very much about meting out appropriate Justice when deserved. Not saying that their justice system is lenient by any means. In Japan, an accused gets NO right to bail – they must wait, sometimes up to a year, in detention for a three judge tribunal trial.