A few days ago, Shonen Jump released a free and accessible “one-shot” manga special of Death Note! Starring Ryuk and his new owner, the story takes place 10 years after Kira (Light Yagami) ended his reign.
As a huge fan of the genre and franchise myself, of course I wasted no time the moment I found out about it. If you want to check it out yourself (which you should), click on that link in the tweet. It’s nothing too spectacular, but if you loved Death Note, then you won’t want to miss this.
What would’ve happened had the Death Note fallen into the hands of another genius, perhaps one who’s ideals and intentions are much different than that of Light Yagami? Enter Minoru Tanaka, who’s just that genius.
Unlike Light with his perfect test scores and a line of girls fawning over him, Tanaka isn’t your extravagant genius, despite being awfully good looking himself. In fact, he has trouble just passing some of his tests, even though he has the highest IQ among his same-aged peers in the entire nation. His drive and ideals are nothing like that of Light’s, which is exactly why this proved to be an interesting and refreshing story.
While this was set in the creepy world of Death Note, the story was nothing as crazy as the original. Instead, it presents a whole new idea and perspective as to how someone might make use of the sinister Death Note. We’re left wondering just what it is exactly that Tanaka is trying to achieve and how exactly is he going to achieve it.
The themes at play involve small bits of crime and politics, with even the comical cameo of President Trump. The story also inspects the idea of power; what it could do to people and the things people would do to obtain it.
Ultimately, the 88 page special offers a satisfying short read that any fans of the original series would be happy with. Would Tanaka change as Light had in becoming Kira? What exactly is Tanaka trying to accomplish? What happened in the end? You’ll just have to read it to find out.
Click HERE to read the manga.
Just as good as the original: a pure work of genius… perfectly describe this one-shot.
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Hahaha, maybe not AS GOOD as the original, but definitely a worthwile read 😛
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