Death Note, the 37 episode anime based on the manga volumes by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, recently had another manga sequel release. Death Note: Special One-Shot dropped online last March to critical acclaim. Since the anime went off the air in 2007, the special one-shot now stands as bonafide sequel canon and rivals if not bests some quality moments of its original manga run. Fans are already clamoring for an anime adaptation.
It's not too bad a feat of success for the returning writer and illustrator, seeing how their principal character died over a decade ago. This special issue introduces us to Minoru Tanaka, a new lead for a new generation. So is an anime adaptation of the 87-page manga warranted? Read on for the balance of the pros and cons.
10 Yes: There’s A Suspense-Thriller Void To Fill
There’s a very short list of anime like Death Note. There's an even shorter list of these genre series released within the last few years. While anime fans have plenty of action-hero shonen to keep themselves busy, the brain-teasing battle-of-wits shows have been in short supply. That’s why there’s no better time than the present to adapt and animate the clever crime caper read that this 2020 one-shot is. The anime climate is ripe for something like this that's both new and familiar.
9 No: It’s Too Short
Death Note: Special One-Shot has only 87 pages of content, and if the adaptation were to meet the pacing established by the original series, it wouldn’t even be enough manga material for a handful of episodes. The Death Note manga was originally adapted at about 2 or 3 chapters per episode, with each manga chapter running at roughly 19 pages.
It would be logistically unviable for any animation studio to round up staff, animators and original voice actors from over a decade ago to create two episodes of a television series. Perhaps a movie special or an OVA, but given the tremendous popularity of Death Note as a franchise, it’s difficult to imagine its manga adaptation having anything less than a full order of a television broadcast series.
8 Yes: It’s Optimistic
The legacy of Death Note has strong philosophies as seen through the original anime’s main antihero Yagami Light. They characterized Light as an intelligent problem solver with a realist’s sense of justice, so he is relatable to any fan that perceived themselves the same way. Once the deadly notebook corrupted him, fans overlooked Light’s arrogance, ego, and hubris in favor of his more endearing qualities.
The new one-shot features a protagonist that doesn’t have these delusions of grandeur, so it’s refreshing to see that it’s possible to make use of the Death Note without murderous intent. No matter how it ends for Minoru Tanaka, seeing him defy the laws of absolute power in animated form is a must.
7 No: Don’t Mess With a Classic
Must-see animes are short for a reason, and that reason usually is because they are both literally and figuratively complete. If authors, artists, and producers decide it’s done, it’s done. Genuine completion entails that there isn’t any more to be told of an enjoyable story and that anything further than its decided end would be a disingenuous cash-grab.
For instance, the anime community lauds Cowboy Bebop, Black Lagoon, Code Geass, and Terror In Resonance as examples of 1 and 2 season animes that embraced the finality of their franchise. Adapting an entire manga just because the original authors pacified fans with a one-shot is not reason enough to develop another anime. Just because JK Rowling is still authoring Harry Potter stories doesn’t mean the studio should continue churning out films.
6 Yes: It's Prescient
Many films and tv properties did not age well with contemporary social mores and innovations in new technology. A number of their synopses and plot points could be ruined by just one phone call or text message. The Death Note One-Shot, however, proves that the cat-and-mouse chase could survive a world of the NSA, FBI, and every invasive contact-tracing privacy violation in the world as we know it today.
Social media even has a major stake in this storyline. The shift to a world of gadgets and tech that wasn't around in the early aughts would rightfully reinvigorate Death Note. For this to work, it needs to be as inventive as this one-shot manga is. An adaptation would do well to explore how a teenager could foil every international government's search and seizure of his WMD.
5 No: The Ending Doesn’t Scale
The one-shot’s ending is polarizing because it reads as a contrivance that only serves to bookend the story. Without spoiling what it is, it reviews as something acceptable when read, but would satisfy no one if found in a screenplay. Think of it as how sketch comedy doesn’t always translate to film or tv-spin offs. The one-shot’s medium serves its audience differently than A/V fiction can execute. Its ending won't scale to anime without dividing fans because it's an execution that prints better than it screens.
4 Yes: It’s Authentic and Faithful
The one-shot doesn’t ret-con the story of Death Note’s anime episodes, and the source material is still in the talented hands of its original creators. That stability and consistency is a real treasure given how Death Note now has plays, movies, and fan fiction in volumes that all water down the purity of its source.
Adapting the new manga one shot wouldn’t just be a reboot or re-imagining; it would be reclaiming itself in its own climate. Having the original artist and writer means having the same style, tone, look, feel, and vision that kicked off all the exploits that linger today. The one-shot does not take risks that are too bold and undoes nothing it has established.
3 No: Not Enough Character Development
A major part of everyone’s enjoyment of Death Note fell into how it changed the main character throughout the series. With the 2020 one-shot, the genre lends itself more to a slice of life format and doesn’t develop or challenge its characters enough. Only longer manga can give us challenges that thicken the plot, make the villains more menacing, or force the characters to change. To adapt this storyline would entertain us, but would hardly have the thrilling emotional impact it once did. An anime version would need enough time to build suspense.
2 Yes: We’ve Missed The Characters
If the one-shot were adapted, fans would welcome the show’s surviving characters with open arms. All of them were unique from personality to design, and there would be nothing better than to see how Near, Aizawa, Matsuda, and the quirky Shinigami God himself Ryuk would talk, think and behave in their new circumstances.
Even if the brevity of the story isn’t enough to see them grow, it would satisfy fans enough to see how they’ve already grown. Also, any anime older than ten years hold a level of respect that spans generations. Seeing characters that fans recognize or know about is as nostalgic as it is fun, like rekindling old friendships.
1 No: The “Book” Is Always Better
The book is always better. It’s a rule, and manga one-shots aren’t exempt. Reader imagination fills in the blanks between panels as best as our minds can create, and an anime needs to find creative ways to simulate or compliment that. Details and exposition in an adapted anime aren’t always one hundred percent faithful to its source narratively.
To its credit, Death Note did come close to being panel to screen shot-accurate in its day. Again, 87 pages paced according to the original manga adaptation calculates as less than 3-5 episodes, and this psychological thriller isn’t the most filler-friendly. Continuity and consistency are key. If it happens, one thing’s for certain, Death Note fans are hoping for sooner than later.