Death Note is one of my favourite anime and has been one of my favourites since I was in elementary school. A new one-shot was recently released. It takes place after the events of the series. Spoilers ahead, read at your own risk!
Thoughts: I thought that the idea of selling a Death Note was interesting, especially to governments across the globe. Not everyone is as righteous as Light Yagami. Some people are more concerned with money, this is reality. It was cool to see Donald Trump, Xi Jinping and Shinzo Abe in manga. This made the reading experience feel more relevant to real life.
It was interesting that Trump was the one who ended up purchasing the Death Note. The payment method was also interesting. With so many people in that region, it would be nearly impossible to track down the seller. The seller had calculated that he would forget his memories of the Death Note so that he could spend his money worry-free. This would also make it difficult for the investigation team to track the seller.
Another interesting thing is that Kira is taught in schools and is mentioned in books. He left a legacy, but it seems like everyone is taught that he was evil.
Another interesting thing is what Ryuk said about the changing times. He said that if Light did all the stuff he did, there is a higher chance that he would be caught now because of advancements in technology. Even posting things on the Internet is a lot more challenging. If Light picked up a Death Note in 2020, I wonder how he would utilize it and make his presence known to the world.
I expected more engagement from the investigation team. They were nowhere to be seen when Ryuk met up with Trump. If I recall correctly, the investigation team worked for the government. They were powerless in this one-shot, which was disappointing.
Another disappointing thing was the addition of new rules. It deviated too far from the original.
In the end, Ryuk kills off Minoru Tanaka. This was expected. I think Minoru was quite optimistic to think that he could sell the Death Note and carry on with his life like nothing happened. I don’t think his death was surprising at all.
It is important to remember that this is a one-shot. Of the Death Note one-shots I have read, I definitely enjoyed this one of the most. There are page limits in one-shots; only so much can happen in 80-something pages. Despite a couple of disappointing things about this one, it gave me more things to think about. Honestly, I’m just happy that the original creators posted something Death Note related again. This is a series that people will never lose interest in. People will always come back to Death Note because it has that kind of impact on you. These are my personal feelings about this series.
You can read the Death Note One-Shot for free here.
Wretched and Divine 