There is a very clear ending in Death Note. The loose ends are tied. We know what happened to it protagonist. But there’s still something lingering if it happens. There’s room to discover what shinigami did before. Comic Short story Death Note tries to answer those potential questions, specifically showing Kira, L, and Ryuk’s influence on the world. This also provides an opportunity to see how others handle the power of the Death Note.
Editor’s note: There will be spoilers around Kira and L’s appearance in the original Death Note below.
As expected from the new installment attached to the series, Short story Death Note manga is primarily a collection of stories about the new Death Notes. However, with the characters and setting involved, it is also holistic about their legacy. For example, chapters C-Kira and A-Kira both show how others will deal with receiving Death Notes years after Kira. The world learns of these books as new cases emerge. They learn of L’s involvement in the original Death Note case. Since the inactive people in the situation and its resolution don’t know if L or Light is dead, new cases are considered “Kira.” Even when L says they’re not “real”, people still want to believe them. Which means we see new fanaticism and react to the comeback.
It also means we see how L influenced his successor, Near. Since L’s death was never revealed, everyone considered him alive. The new manga shows how that knowledge affects Near and his decisions. It also provides an opportunity to read more of his thoughts on a variety of issues. Since he shared the spotlight with Mello for part of the story, each story he appears here helps build his character. With A-Kira, we get a more direct look at a new “Kira” chosen by Ryuk himself. In the original Death Note, Light Yagami obtained the book by accident. Ryuk didn’t choose him. In this new story, everything is more intentional. Ryuk has been bored before, and Light’s decisions are amusing. So for this new case, he picks out another smart individual in the hope of another compelling situation. And while Kira didn’t influence this newcomer’s actions, someone else studied the case’s reaction to events as prior experience helped shape the course of the adventure.
As for its final story, it provides insight into the background of the series. The collection includes “Taro Kagami Tales.” Although it exists outside of the main series continuity, due to being Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata’s first story involving the Death Note, we still get to see Ryuk and the book in its original form. We see the influence of both the human world and the individuals who find them. More importantly, we see how this original concept has influenced the series.
Short story Death Note is all about what comes first and what happens next. We see what can happen in one story, with Ryuk affecting a new Death Note user. Meanwhile, other stories show new Death Note users, people’s reactions to the additional Kiras, and Near continuing to act under the guise of L. Each story shows how the original adventure was permanently change some people and the world, and how they change the future.
Short story Death Note will be available in English from Viz Media on May 10, 2022.
