Today I will be discussing the new instalment of Death Note,
produced as a oneshot set after the canon story of Kira and L. It is available
to read online via Viz Media’s website!
Warning. This will contain SPOILERS for both Death Note and
the new Death Note Oneshot.
There is a lot to unpack in such a short space of time, but
to get started, I would like to talk a bit about some of the characters. The
first would have to be our new protagonist – Minoru Tanaka. He is shown to be
an intelligent High-School aged boy, that is reserved and does not have many
friends. He is presented with the Death Note, a notebook used by Light Yagami
to act as Kira, God of The New World.
He refuses the notebook from Ryuk and instead bargains that
he should come back in two years, which Ryuk obliges. When Minoru receives the
Death Note, he is confident he has conjured up the perfect plan to utilise it.
The majority of the story from that point onwards focusses
on how the young man executed his plan, auctioning off the Death Note without
being detected by the Japanese Police, which appeared to be headed by Aizawa, a
character from the original story, with Matsuda a loyal underling. – I intend
to discuss their roles in the story later!
One of the criticisms that I have seen online was how Minoru
did not compare to Light. And that was clear from the get-go. This story was a
oneshot, and would only exist for the equivalent of one volume. Light’s story
extended for a significantly longer period. He consequently had an drastically
different series of opportunities to develop as a character.
It was clear from the get-go that the two boys would not be
the same – Ryuk believed that Minoru would be a substantial candidate due to
him having the highest scores, however, he misunderstood an IQ test not being synonymous
with the academic performance league tables. This meant that Light was a boy
who knew of his smarts, applied himself and honed his skills, while Minoru had
the intelligence, but was struggling in school. With that in mind, most of his
character development occurred between the lines during the two-year period
between his first and second meeting with Ryuk.
I believe that Minoru was a very bright and smart
protagonist, he took on a completely different perspective to how to handle the
power that had once belonged to Light. Which could have easily been a nod to
consumerism and the popularity of the manga and the show’s merchandising,
including Death Notes with the names of characters that were murdered in them.
It was a refreshing take and I really enjoyed seeing him handle the obstacles
that fell into his way.
The next thing I would like to discuss was the minor roles
of Aizawa and Matsuda, two of the six original members of the Japanese Police
Force that worked with L and Watari to catch Kira. Considering that two of the
original policemen died during the original story, seeing two of the remaining
characters still participating in active-duty roles after the conclusion of the
story provided plenty of insight.
Aizawa was older than his underling, Matsuda, and the fact
that he is yet to retire serves to act as a dating feature of the story. The
two men also provided an aspect of insight about what the immediate responses
were to Minoru’s attempt to sell the Death Note.
They also helped to enhance the story, as they were two of
the few remaining humans alive that would have been able to recognise the face
of Ryuk when he appeared on television. Their presence would have made fans of
the original happy, especially as Matsuda can act as comic relief, but also
furthered the plot tenfold.
Then there was Near, who was now going under the initial L,
having replaced Light acting in his rightful role as the detective’s named
successor. He was present for several reasons, to give a clearer picture of how
much time had passed, and to add that element of chase back to the story.
Near was initially depicted to be approximately thirteen in
the original story. He is significantly older, thus demonstrated by the growth
of his hair, and his increased height, although he still latches onto the
element of his character that made him so endearing originally – toys. His
childlike quality to outlook on things was refreshing when compared to the
harsh and blunt perspective that his predecessor, L had had.
It also added the opportunity to provide nods to the
original story in the form of the rubber Kira figurine that had been used in
the final confrontation between Near and Light.
The chase, however, left many readers on social media
frustrated, something I would like to dig into: Near is aware of Ryuk’s
presence as he was able to see him. He immediately realised there could be a
means to track down Minoru Tanaka and began looking into creating a Shinigami
Facial Recognition Device, which would have been immensely effective due to how
Ryuk needs to remain relatively close to his Death Note at all times.
However, Minoru seems to have thought about the heightened
surveillance which would have derived from the fall of Kira. He consequently
manages to do what Light could never do, outsmart L. This is because Light got
caught up in his own tragic flaw, his narcissism and God-Complex. Minoru,
however, had nothing to lose, and thus was able to think clearly about what he
could do to benefit from the Death Note.
The next thing I would like to touch on is how much
character development we got from Ryuk. It might not have seemed like a lot had
changed about him, but he had clearly changed since having met Light. There was
a level of immense fondness that the Shinigami had for his previous companion,
demonstrated by the fact that he asked after his legacy when Minoru mentioned
Kira. Ryuk was quick to engage that topic of conversation, intrigued to know
what had become of the world his companion had forged. He appeared somewhat
saddened by the development that children were taught about the efforts of Kira
in a negative vein, as Light had intended to be feared and revered.
This was further validated at the end of the story, where
Ryuk writes Minoru’s name in his Death Note, revealing it was on the same page
as Light’s when years had passed since Kira’s fall. He had obviously killed
numerous humans after Light’s death, but had kept his page blank. This was
likely out of fondness or respect.
Now, the next thing I would like to discuss is the
commentary provided by the writers and artists. The most prevalent being the
auctioning of the Death Note. Minoru sells the Death Note online, using Ryuk
and his invisibility to his advantage. In doing so the trend starts with people
on social media and it eventually results in world leaders publicly calling
press-conferences to make sure this new person with Kira’s power knew of the
money they were willing to spend.
The President of the United States ends up winning this
auction, but due to a new rule, imposed by the Shinigami King, he is made aware
that if he accepted the note, he would die, just as the person who instigated
the transaction upon receipt of their funds. This meant that the President, who
bears a striking resemblance to the current president, implying that this story
is set in 2020 if not later, had the option to refuse the notebook, or take it,
only to die. He declared he would not accept the Death Note, in fear of his
life. Minoru, however, had been none the wiser and died, despite his efforts to
distribute America’s wealth to the Japanese public, boost their economy and
help the masses.
It seemed ironic that the Kira that would have the greater
influence was one who did not use the Death Note to kill. An irony, which was
beautifully apt for the context and content.
I loved this oneshot and believe that anyone, whether they
have engaged in the original material or not, should give the story a chance,
it gives a really interesting outlook on the way that morals work. I will
happily purchase a physical copy of this volume, should it be released. I loved
every moment of reading it!
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