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Death Note Tanpenshuu
Death Note Short Stories
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Alternative Titles

Synonyms: Death Note: Tokubetsu-hen, C Kira-hen, C-Kira, Death Note: Tokubetsu Yomikiri, a Kira-hen, a-Kira, L: Day One, L: The Wammy's House, Death Note ni Rakugaki 4-koma, Death Note Four-Panel Comics, Kagami Tarou-hen, Taro Kagami, Death Note Pilot, Death Note: L FILE No. 15, Death Note 13: How to Read - Shinsou, Death Note: Special One-Shot, Death Note Episode 0

Japanese: DEATH NOTE短編集

Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 1

Chapters: 6

Status: Finished

Published: Aug 4, 2003 to Feb 4, 2020

Genres: Action, Mystery, Supernatural

Theme: Psychological

Demographic: Shounen

Serialization: Shounen Jump (Weekly)

Authors: Obata, Takeshi (Art), Ohba, Tsugumi (Story)

Statistics

Score: 7.30¹ (scored by 63,542 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #4876²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #151

Members: 99,548

Favorites: 1,002

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Reviews

Filtered Results: 37 / 41

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Feb 3, 2020

violentman12

Recommended

Mod Edit: This review was originally posted for Death Note: Tokubetsu Yomikiri (123699) and has subsequently been merged into Death Note Tanpenshuu (132335).

This was a very fun, short read. If you're a fan of death note in general I highly recommend it. The overarching themes present throughout the original series are ingrained into this one-shot. It presents an interesting take on how owning a death note would look in modern times. The art is as good as ever and the characters, both old and new, are given adequate development, as much as you could expect for something this short. Also included some unexpected political messaging ...

Feb 13, 2008

brass2themax

Recommended

Mod Edit: This review was originally posted for Death Note: Tokubetsu-hen (4941) and has subsequently been merged into Death Note Tanpenshuu (132335).

First of all, I want any readers to keep this in mind while reading my (short) review of this single "oneshot" (pun) chapter.

1) I rated a 10 for story because I thought the story of Death Note as a whole was magnificent, and truly original.
2) I rated character mediocre, because there was no N/A option.

Now, onwards!

This is going to be extremely brief since the chapter is, well, brief. Some fans would go to say that this chapter is completely unnecessary as any addition to ...

Jul 16, 2012

MoonSpider

Recommended

Mod Edit: This review was originally posted for Death Note 13: How to Read - Shinsou (3645) and has subsequently been merged into Death Note Tanpenshuu (132335).

Original review: July 16th, 2012
Last updated: February 18th, 2023

It has been more than a decade since I had revisited this encyclopedia, even granted that it was for one of my favorite series. The main reason would probably be that I was roughly 16 when I first read through it and needed to do so online, unable to buy retail manga on my own. Over a decade later and having dived into numerous other series in the meantime, I've finally ...

Feb 3, 2020

WhoCanPeliCan

Recommended

Mod Edit: This review was originally posted for Death Note: Tokubetsu Yomikiri (123699) and has subsequently been merged into Death Note Tanpenshuu (132335).

All out this is a perfectly decent One-Shot for the Death Note series.

It doesn't intrude on the original significantly and works as a nice little mini story to be appreciated. While it isn't nearly as fun as the original manga, it gets the story across with a decent ending. The ending did involve some bending of some rules and involved me being willing to accept certain previously unstated things. But the result was worthwhile enough for me to enjoy it. It also helped ...

Feb 3, 2020

ValeVale

Recommended

Mod Edit: This review was originally posted for Death Note: Tokubetsu Yomikiri (123699) and has subsequently been merged into Death Note Tanpenshuu (132335).

As a Death Note fan, I've been waiting for it since the day it was announced. Let me tell you one thing - I does not disappoint. There are some aspects that could have been improved but overall, taking into account that it's just a one-shot and not a full-length story, it was executed nearly perfectly. It was long enough to deliver point across and re-introduce mind-games aspect of the original Death Note and short enough to fit the one-shot standards.
It was nice ...

Sep 4, 2009

ycart59

Mixed Feelings

Mod Edit: This review was originally posted for Death Note: Tokubetsu-hen (4941) and has subsequently been merged into Death Note Tanpenshuu (132335).

Ah, well, I seriously just finished reading this, so this is what I have to say about it:

I saw this and I had never known that it was created, so of course I was going to jump straight into it. Now, let me just tell you now, ever since the second arc of the actual Death Note, I've hated Near with a burning passion. And I mean HATE. I've rooted for Mello since the beginning. So when I saw that this was based around ... Near, I got a little nervous. But I went ahead and read it. So, this is my opinion on it:

Story (7): Well, since it's Death Note, I can't really give it that low of a scoring. Because, well, it's Death Note! But the oneshot as a whole (which isn't a lot) wasn't all that great. It was a little upsetting, because it didn't really have anything to do with Death Note, except to just give the Death Note fans 46 more pages of Death Note goodness. But I think that it kind of failed. The best part about the whole thing was the Wammy flashback, when I about had a panic attack when I saw young Matt and Mello off to the side. (I seriously love them that much... XD) So, yeah. This is a long paragraph, so I'm gonna move on now.

Art (7): Now the art made me kinda mad, because all of a sudden, it was supposed to be three years, yet Near and Lidner looked really different. Either they were trying to give the look of time passing, or it had just been too long since Death Note had been written that they lost the touch of the Death Note look.

Character (6): Like I said, they featured two of my least favorite characters throughout the whole thing: Near and Lidner. I never liked them, and I never will. The only reason it's getting a six is because of the Wammy flashback and it had the kickass characters that everyone loves. (Except for the crazy people that really do like Near... no offense. =P)

Enjoyment (6): I enjoyed it, I guess. Although it could have been a lot better. There were times where I just plain skipped a few pages, because they bored me half to death.

Overall (6): This could have been a lot better than it was. It didn't really feel like the Death Note that we love, because there was none of that amazing suspence that Death Note is famous for. There wasn't really a point to this thing, except for maybe trying to make a bit more money off of the Death Note franchise. So, overall, I say just skip it. Read it or don't, 46 pages of random won't really change anything, except you might lose a little bit of respect for Tsugumi Ohba like I did.

Jun 11, 2008

Pyrefly

Not Recommended

Mod Edit: This review was originally posted for Death Note: Tokubetsu-hen (4941) and has subsequently been merged into Death Note Tanpenshuu (132335).

Death Note was a fantastic manga and anime series--sometimes, in the entertainment industry, really successful works get the creators thinking: "So many people liked this. What can we do to keep making profit off the fans?" This usually spawns a sequel, but a general rule of movies/books/etc. is that sequels for profit just don't work. Death Note is one of the latest victims of this, with a one-shot "follow-up" that leaves the readers wondering what was the point.

Story: This is Death Note, after all. ... The story, limited as it was, involves another Death Note killer. Three years after the ending of the original series, people begin dying mysteriously once again. However, this murderer's victims are very different from the original Kira's. The story revolves around that to an extent, but there isn't half as much drive or suspense as in the original. I suppose that is to be expected from a one-shot, but the way it was presented was quite uninteresting. The only thing worth reading was a short flashback of L speaking with the Wammy's House orphans, which gives a little more well-deserved insight into L's character.
Beyond that interesting little tidbit, the story played out like a really bad fanfiction that happened to be written by a professional. The professional, actually: Ohba's still the writer here. This is surprising because you would expect it to be so much better, being written by the original author.
The whole concept of another Death Note user just seems to ruin the whole idea for me: the series' ending was wonderful as it was. I, for one, was perfectly content with how it ended, and to be honest, the original idea of Death Note can only be used once: after that, it's being recycled and is not as good.

Art: The art was way off this time; the characters we know and love all look different, and not just because it takes place three years later. For instance, the adults. The way they were drawn, they just looked...different. I can't think of a better way to describe it. It seemed like the artist decided to slop his way through it, or maybe forgot how to draw the characters since it's been a little while. But that's unlikely.

Character: Terrible. Ohba wasn't thinking straight, because most of the characters are unforgivably "OOC." There are one or two new characters, but the others have weirdly different personalities all of a sudden.
I'm not condemning the characters because of their lack of development--since this is a one-shot story, that's to be expected--but for how out-of-character everyone was.

Enjoyment: I'll name the two enjoyable things: the orphanage flashback, and the fact that Near is now building a Card House Empire that fills up an entire large room. Even better than the original Dice City that I liked so much.

Overall: Since the whole purpose of this one-shot was to make the creators money, and they didn't seem all that interested in keeping to the original series' pace and tone, and felt like majorly messing with the story's canon, there is very little merit to reading this. Unless you want to demonstrate how very, very bad sequels can get, skip it. You'll be no less of a Death Note fan for doing so.

Dec 8, 2011

SugahRush

Recommended

Mod Edit: This review was originally posted for Death Note: Tokubetsu-hen (4941) and has subsequently been merged into Death Note Tanpenshuu (132335).

Story: 7
I think it was good but they should have made it a little longer.

Art: 9
The art was great because it was very detailed. (Card towers, Shinigami world and the Japanese streets)

Characters: 9
Some Originals, so it was great to see what happened to them after the original.
...

Feb 3, 2020

keragamming

Recommended

Mod Edit: This review was originally posted for Death Note: Tokubetsu Yomikiri (123699) and has subsequently been merged into Death Note Tanpenshuu (132335).

This was a very good one shot to the magnificent death note series, I will be honest I didn't expect much and I was predicting that it would simple be another Light rip off character with the same type of plot, but this was a big surprise as the main character in this one shot wasn't actually smart in terms of book smart, but he sure was clever, the fact that this was so entertaining/interesting without the death note actually being used ... speak volume of how great Ohba, Tsugumi is as a story teller and also how magnificent the art style is thanks to Obata, Takeshi.

I like the fact that the series takes place in our current time when internet is booming with various social media and showed us basically a what if scenario if kira was still alive if he would be able to bypass all these things to be able to use the death note without getting caught and this main character kinda prove that, the most interesting thing about this is that the main character wasn't interested in using the death note at all but he instead use it as way to make a lot of money from it, he also rejuvenated the Japanese economy and help many people. I really like that he was very clever, though while reading the chapter I thought their was an ulterior plan behind it and he wasn't actually going to sell it, turn out I was flat out wrong on that part, I thought it was really great how he was able to receive the money by making sure everyone from that specific bank was able to receive it between the age of 60 and below, that way he protect his identity while still gaining a life time amount of money, I thought that was a fantastic idea that I didn't came up with while reading it. I also like the part where nations where bidding to get a hold of the death note, I think this is how it would turn out in the real world if there was a death note in our world up for bid.

The part I didn't really like was the new rule added to the death note where whoever sells or buy the death note will die, kinda felt force and also gave our main character no chance of winning, imo I would have prefer a better way of him dying by using a already establish rule, but it was still good overall, I did thought that he would have survived and that their would be a potential sequel manga coming out as I really like this main character and also felt nostalgia seeing a few of the old cast from the original series, but I think it is still highly likely that we will get a sequel death note series, I think they were testing the water here, but seeing how this is trending on twitter I think they got their answer.

Overall I think this was a great/entertaining one shot to the death note series and now with this one shot I am convince a sequel to death note can work, before this I was afraid if there would be any sequel to death note that it would ruin the original but now I think that is not the case and I and many death note fans would look forward to a sequel of this great series.

Please Ohba, Tsugumi & Obata, Takeshi drop that boring ass unimaginative series called "Platinum end" and get back into the death note series.

Thanks for reading.

Nov 7, 2014

greatyu

Recommended

Mod Edit: This review was originally posted for Death Note: L FILE No. 15 (70815) and has subsequently been merged into Death Note Tanpenshuu (132335).

Apparently this is just two basic short stories concerning the Ultimate Detective : L
This one is not my most anticipated Chapters or "Files" of Death Note for sure, but i liked it

We go through: A Normal Day of L's life in the first story and,
A small Reference of L's past as a child(First day at the Wammy's House)

Story: Watari is present in in both stories and he seems to narrate both of them. You get at least interesting ...

Feb 11, 2020

Krunchyman

Not Recommended

Mod Edit: This review was originally posted for Death Note: Tokubetsu Yomikiri (123699) and has subsequently been merged into Death Note Tanpenshuu (132335).

'Death Note' carries the distinction of being the "gateway" anime for scores of western adolescents and young-adults. In fact, if not for 'Death Note' and 'Gurren Lagann,' I'm not sure I would have given the medium much of a chance. Sure. I grew up on 'Pokemon,' 'Dragon Ball Z,' and 'Yu-Gi-Oh!'. But those shows were geared toward a younger audience whom would purchase gobs of merchandise every time Goku changed his hair color. Seriously, though. Kim Kardashian (Freiza) ... is jelly from all the attention she’s not getting from her "enhancements." The Butt just got 10 inches bigger!

Anyhow…

I was a big fan of 'Death Note's' intellectual approach to the introduction of a pre-eminent power. So much so, that I binge watched it twice in a seven day period (while being in school!—Thank the Shinigami King for coffee!). Aside from overly dramatic dialogue, romanticized main characters, and an underwhelming conclusion, 'Death Note' is an anime that warrants the massive amount of hype that it receives. Of course, I could go into detail explaining each facet of the show that I found enjoyable; however, this review is about its one-shot successor.—Titled: 'Death Note: Special One-Shot.'

yeah… title could have used a little creativity.

In all seriousness, this 'Death Note' one-shot had an interesting idea that could have been good if fleshed-out over the course of numerous chapters. But the brevity of the work made certain outcomes inevitable.—Thus, inhibiting the enjoyment of the reader. The one-shot starts off with a Japanese boy, Minoru Tanaka, who comes into contact with Ryuk (due to Ryuk craving apples). Not wanting to proverbial write his own gravestone like the previous Kira. Minoru decides to not use the 'Death Note,' but to auction it off the highest bidder. As anticipated, there is a high demand for the greatest killing instrument known to man. Eventually, though. The last bidders are the richest countries in the world, whom wish to possess the 'Note' for geopolitical advantages.

The first qualm I have is the lack of alliances in the bidding for the Death Note. If such a power existed, why wouldn't China strategically align itself with Russia to outbid the United States? This would, inevitably, lead to a proverbial "alliance race" in which the group of countries with the most capital would gain the Death Note. Afterwards, however, the winning alliance would need to determine who would possess the Death Note and how they would share the "benefits" of such an instrument (somewhat similar Yotsuba group in the original 'Death Note,' but on a larger scale with political leaders at risk).

My second qualm is with the superfluous addition of Near to the story. In effect, he serves one purpose: to "validate" A-Kira's (Minoru's) superior intelligence compared to the previous Kira (Light) — via admitting defeat. If you defeat the man who defeated the "thee" man, then, ergo, you are smarter than the previous Kira. The original 'Death Note' was a proverbial competition of the mind between two strategic savants. There’s no need to diminish their battle by having A-Kira, effortlessly, conquer the top mastermind.

My third and final qualm deals with the ending. An ending that was retconned to all hell, and ruined the entire proceeding. Angered by the "misuse" of the Death Note. The Shinigami King wrote a new rule that any human involved in buying or selling the Death Note would die upon completing the transaction. Do you see the problem? The whole premise was that Minoru discovered a loophole in the set of predetermined rules of the Death Note. And instead of being rewarded for his cleverness, he was punished retroactively. What the hell was the point if the Shinigami King was just going to troll a human with superior wits?

Furthermore, the transfer of wealth from A-MUHR-eh-KA to Japan was thinly veiled Japanese Nationalism. I get it: Trump’s not popular around the world. But combating his abrasive nationalism, with petty nationalism is just… petty. Unfortunately, it was a failed political jab that makes Marco Rubio's ill political "jokes" look clever. All in all, this one-shot was ill-advised and had a clear ulterior motive that I, personally, did not find amusing (and I voted for Bernie Sanders).

Aug 19, 2020

The_Wreck_DeReck

Not Recommended

Mod Edit: This review was originally posted for Death Note: Tokubetsu Yomikiri (123699) and has subsequently been merged into Death Note Tanpenshuu (132335).

To be honest it just straight up garbage🤬. Nothing good or interesting about this story compared to the original. I advise you not to read it, it might change your perspective of Kira to a horrible one, one who's just damn greedy... The best thing I just to stick to the original and never acknowledge this ever happened.
The only thing that’s good about is it's art style that is still just normal manga style nothing special bout it.😑
The best way I can put ...

May 31, 2024

Ultron-Sigma

Recommended

Mod Edit: This review was originally posted for Death Note: Tokubetsu Yomikiri (123699) and has subsequently been merged into Death Note Tanpenshuu (132335).

For clarity, I used to be a fan of Death Note. Not a big fan but a regular one: read the manga, watched the anime, watched the live-action movie. However, I remember very little from the original Death Note.

A quick summary about this: Ryuk, the Death God/Shinigami that helped the original protagonist: Light, continues to seek out his new "Kira" (the alias used by the original protagonist) for fun. Ryuk meets with Minoru (the current progonist) and he comes up with a different ...

Feb 7, 2020

Sauerak

Not Recommended

Mod Edit: This review was originally posted for Death Note: Tokubetsu Yomikiri (123699) and has subsequently been merged into Death Note Tanpenshuu (132335).

The story was really boring even for a one-shot and i was very dissapointed the notebook wasnt used. Even though it makes sense for him not to use it, because Near would probably find out, and he only wanted to live a happy life. That changed with the new rule introduced which made me reconsider the plus i mentioned earlier. I dont think this manga is worthy of having the "Death Note" in name. Also, Near was useless, and i hate his new ...

Mar 7, 2023

buyBread

Mixed Feelings

Mod Edit: This review was originally posted for Death Note: Tokubetsu Yomikiri (123699) and has subsequently been merged into Death Note Tanpenshuu (132335).

The top review states that this is apparently a very good read if you're a "Death Note fan". I, respectfully, disagree. This short story is absolutely not something I'd recommend to a "Death Note fan" with excitement. Is it Death Note? Sure, yeah I suppose it is and has that similar charm to it, but it's kind of like going from L to Near in the original run. It feels underwhelming, less interesting and overall not as enjoyable and these feelings are only ...

Feb 4, 2020

Trapzinha

Recommended

Mod Edit: This review was originally posted for Death Note: Tokubetsu Yomikiri (123699) and has subsequently been merged into Death Note Tanpenshuu (132335).

ENG:

NOTE: This opinion contains SPOILERS
Death Note Justice or Evil for me was a very good read, once the protagonist got out of the usual cliché work using DeathNote to kill people or for vengeful purposes.
And also for approaching how the world looked like after the L's fall. Yagami, apart from the way he dealt with, by not being tracked by the FBI, INTERPOL and other groups, as much the technology in the world has advanced so much.
But I particularly tought the ending TOO ...

Feb 5, 2020

Lerdakyn

Recommended

Mod Edit: This review was originally posted for Death Note: Tokubetsu Yomikiri (123699) and has subsequently been merged into Death Note Tanpenshuu (132335).

The new Death Note One-Shot does not disappoint, it brings new elements and perspectives to the world of Death Note while being a great standalone story with its own unique twist.

Quite some time passes between the end of the original series and this chapter. That means we get to see what the world thinks of Kira and his actions after the events of the main series. The advancement in technology raises an interesting question: How would Kira execute his plans today? This aspect ... almost feels like the author commenting on his original work. The new character, Minoru Tanaka uses the technology to his advantage.

Minoru Tanaka is not the next Light Yagami. He's smart but in a very different way. His thought process about the Death Note - possibly influenced by the world's view on Kira - reaches a surprising conclusion that I doubt many would have thought of when receiving the notebook of death. One thing remains the same though: his plan is indeed brilliant. It brings back the feel of the original and many well-known characters make an appearance throughout the story. However, they don’t have much time to shine as the focus always remains on Minoru and the slowly unfolding master plan. I liked that his intentions aren't clear from the beginning, it creates a sense of uncertainty. The way he acts also makes you wonder how much was pre-planned, how much did he anticipate and what his main motive was. The goal and results of said plan are impressive and in typical Death Note fashion, there is no or little commentary about what effect it would/will have on the world. Similarly, the narrative brings up interesting large-scale problems along the way then leaves the readers to think for themselves which is one of my favorite parts of the series.

The art is great, Takeshi Obata's panels are detailed and expressive at the same time. I think this will be an easy transition for anime-only watchers like me.

The writing is clever, but it's a short story so there's little of the familiar cat and mouse game. It ends abruptly in an unexpected way which might bother people and I'm not the biggest fan of it either. There are some details that save the ending though, for example, the protagonist's involvement. An interesting way to look at it is that the one small bit of "selfishness" left is what directly caused the ending. Of course, just like in Light's case there are elements out of Minoru's control.

Overall, this is a fun and enjoyable read with a concept that blew me away.

Jun 26, 2021

Vixtris

Not Recommended

Mod Edit: This review was originally posted for Death Note 13: How to Read - Shinsou (3645) and has subsequently been merged into Death Note Tanpenshuu (132335).

The concept of Death Note without anything of what makes the actual DN manga good.
I wasn't expecting great things of this one shot, I didn't even knew this existed but got to read it because I stumbled upon it while wanting to read the actual Death Note manga.
Characters are super bland and generic, the plot is nothing interesting, it does not have any of the interesting detective play of the actual series. The only thing I can salvage from ...

Sep 23, 2020

Kemora

Recommended

Mod Edit: This review was originally posted for Death Note: Tokubetsu Yomikiri (123699) and has subsequently been merged into Death Note Tanpenshuu (132335).

An unnecessary new Manga for Death Note, but still an enjoyable experience.

To all Death Note fans out there, just read it and have fun with it.

The story is pretty good but it has some problems. [Spoiler]: Near aka (L) has nothing to do in the story, he is some sort of an extra character, and for the first time ever he admits that he's defeated. But let's be honest the story really got me at the end, it has a very good writing. ...

Jan 3, 2022

Tsunamii_

Recommended

Mod Edit: This review was originally posted for Death Note: Tokubetsu Yomikiri (123699) and has subsequently been merged into Death Note Tanpenshuu (132335).

SPOILER AHEAD

This one shot is very good.

[Art] Nohing to say about the art, good but not amazing. Charadesign is cool

[Character] Minoru Tanaka is a well-written character, I liked the parallel with Light, Minoru uses a different technic to use the Death Note, for differents goal, different moral, different ethic.

[Story] Using the death note in a different way than Light is a clever idea. At first, Minoru looks smarter than Light. Because he's careful and know about Kira's story. So he's ...