Warning! Spoilers ahead for Death Note Short Stories chapter 1!
A disturbingly off-putting twist from Death Note's official sequel is actually much more dramatic than the original manga's most epic scene. Both moments appropriately share similarities with each other as they involve a slew of simultaneous murders that result from the eponymous otherworldly notebook but the manner in which the violence occurs in Tsugumi Ohba's Death Note Short Stories is much more unsettling.
Although first portrayed in the 2003 manga, fans more readily associate the moment when Death Note's tragic first Kira, Light Yagami, finally embraces his eponymous Death Note to the anime's high-energy adaptation. As Light furiously writes down a collection of victims' names in his notebook, he finishes each entry with a dramatic pen stroke. Although effective on its own, the anime immediately transitions to the victim dying of a heart attack, creating the impression that Light is physically assaulting his victims in real-time. All of this is embellished further by the emotional energy of the orchestral choir's powerful performance in "Low of Solipsism" which enhances the moment's intensity.
Chapter 1 of the Death Note sequel, Death Note Short Stories emulates this moment to a disturbing degree. The scene begins with a group of everyday citizens debating on live TV about what they erroneously assume to be the reemergence of Kira. In truth, the perpetrator is in fact one of two Kiras who have received a Death Note from the shinigami Ryuk. This Death Note holder the detective N refers to as Kira-C, while the other from chapter 2 of Death Note Short Stories is designated as Kira-A. The citizens who come on TV to discuss Kira-C are hidden behind a barrier to protect them, but as they debate, they soon realize that they all want to die, and once they come to this chilling revelation, they become emboldened, tearing down the barrier as they rush to the TV camera, pleading for Kira-C to kill them. In a manner fitting of Light's successor, Kira-C obliges, resulting in each person collapsing to the floor in a dramatic fashion.
What makes this scene so unsettling is watching these poor souls plead for death. They are all quite young, and each one of them says upsetting things to explain why they wish to no longer live on this Earth, giving readers a chilling glimpse into their tortured minds. It's even more disturbing to witness the ones who initially survive the first wave of killings become more resolved in their desire to die, even excited, once they realize for sure that they are indeed pleading to a person who can in fact release them from their torment. They don't run away in a panic. They just plead more imploringly. Furthermore, anime watchers actually wanted Light to write in the Death Note and, in so doing, kill the criminals Light chose to victimize, as they were the most violent and disturbed convicts to walk the Earth. Conversely, readers of Death Note Short Stories don't want the same fate to befall the citizens pleading for death. It's an utter tragedy, and the fact that it all transpires on live TV further accentuates the major implications that are associated with such a horrific spectacle. While Light might have made the world safer in Death Note, it's evident he didn't make it saner.
Although it's unlikely that Death Note Short Stories will ever be adapted into a series of OVAs, readers can only imagine how this scene could be depicted in such a medium, the soundtrack alone would be truly chilling.
