Kadokawa, Monthly Shonen Ace Editorial Department.
Editor Arakawa Akira printed out the digital version of the first chapter of Death Note, then sat down at his desk and began reading it carefully.
"Day after day, repeating the same thing... it's just... utterly boring. This world is truly rotten."
"Death Note—literally, the Death Notebook. How to use it... anyone whose name is written in this notebook will die... How boring."
"This society is truly sick. It's like a chain letter of misfortune, completely stagnant."
"Seriously, my brain must be completely broken."
"You must remember the target's face, otherwise the entry is invalid. Therefore, other people with the same name and surname will not die as a result."
"After writing the name, if you write the cause of death within 40 seconds of human time, the target will die. If you don't write anything, the cause of death will automatically be cardiac arrest. After writing the cause of death, you have 6 minutes and 44 seconds to describe the more detailed process of death..."
"Write a name, and the person dies... Hmph, how utterly boring."
"Wait, if they really die, wouldn't I become a murderer? Heh, no way, no way could that happen."
"See? Nothing happened. Well, that's only natural."
"Ah! They're dead?! Cardiac arrest... no, that's a coincidence, it must be just a coincidence."
Since it was a preview manga for an original anime, Arakawa Akira had initially held no expectations. However, as the story progressed, he found himself increasingly captivated.
This concept... it's quite interesting.
The key was its meticulous logic. Through detailed psychological portrayal, the manga perfectly captured the protagonist's mental transformation, making everything feel natural and seamless, without any jarring moments.
In the manga, after confirming the Death Note was real, Yagami Light spent five consecutive days writing down the names of countless criminals. Then, the Shinigami Ryuk appeared and told him:
"Users of the Death Note will experience anxieties and fears that ordinary people can't comprehend. And when you die, I'll have to write your name in my own Death Note."
"Those who use the Death Note should never think they'll go to heaven or hell."
"I didn't choose you. I just lost my Death Note. Do you think you're so clever that you'd be chosen? Don't flatter yourself."
"Why did I lose it? Because I was bored."
"To be honest, the Shinigami these days have nothing better to do. If you write someone's name in the Death Note, they'll just laugh and say, 'Why work so hard?'..."
So far, this was just exposition.
But soon, something truly astonishing happened, leaving Arakawa Akira in awe.
Ryuk, the Shinigami, held the Death Note Yagami Light had found and said, "You've written so many names. But why is the cause of death only specified for those hit by trucks?"
"Without specifying the cause of death, everyone would die of heart attacks. That's the best part of the Death Note," Yagami Light replied with a smile.
"Huh?" Ryuk looked puzzled.
The protagonist explained:
"Once I've finished writing down the names of the major criminals, the overall level of evil in the world will gradually decrease. Even the most foolish person would notice that someone is eliminating the world's criminals, right? I want to make the whole world aware of my existence, to let everyone know there's a vigilante punishing the wicked."
"First, we need a thorough cleanup. By constantly writing down the names of vicious criminals, we'll ensure no one dares to do evil again."
"For criminals, I'll make them die of cardiac arrest. For those without morals or who cause trouble for others, I'll use causes like illness or car accidents to slowly eliminate them. That way, the world will surely move in a better direction."
Upon reading this, Arakawa Akira's first reaction was: Is this what a normal person would think?
Then it struck him: if such a Death Note, capable of writing down how anyone dies, truly existed, then this idea might actually be possible to realize, even if it's achieved through unjust means.
This protagonist is both a genius and a madman.
Moreover, this concept elevates the entire work, setting this manga apart from other shonen manga.
At the end of the first chapter, the protagonist leaned against the window and said to Ryuk, "I'm a diligent model student, second to none in Neon. And soon... I'll become the god of this new world!"
The Shinigami Ryuk chuckled. "Humans... are indeed interesting."
After finishing the first chapter, Arakawa Akira returned to the first page of the manga, tidied the messy printouts, and let out a long sigh.
I'm still hungry for more!
This is so interesting!
The premise is intriguing, the logic is rigorous, the plot flows smoothly, and most importantly, the protagonist's thoughts and actions after obtaining the Death Note are truly unconventional, setting this manga apart from the typical shonen fare.
Not a shonen manga, but an akuto manga.
Such a work would undoubtedly be serialized by Shueisha, and if it maintains this quality, it should achieve considerable success.
I never expected this to be the pre-serialized manga for an original animation set to premiere in October.
The production company, L.S Production, is an animation company founded just a few months ago, not by any renowned Supervising Director or producer, and completely unknown.
It's safe to say the October animation market will have a dark horse.
Of course, none of this concerns Arakawa Akira. He's just a minor editor at Kadokawa Monthly Shonen Manga, not at Shueisha, Kodansha, or Shogakukan. He doesn't dabble in the animation industry, has no grand ambitions, and spends his days doing his job before drifting into a state of passive waiting.
With this thought in mind, he put down the printed draft of the first chapter of Death Note, completed his editorial tasks, and submitted the manga manuscript to his editor for review.
After submitting the manuscript, he suddenly remembered something and said to his editor, "By the way, Wada-san, when the reader survey results for this issue come out, could you let me know?"
Editor Wada Shohei couldn't help but glance at Arakawa Akira one more time before nodding. "Sure."
Although Kadokawa wasn't a manga giant like Shueisha's Jump and didn't have a policy of canceling series with poor reader survey rankings, that didn't mean they didn't conduct surveys at all.
The necessary procedures were still in place, but Arakawa Akira had never paid attention to the results before.
This time, however, he felt that Death Note was something special, and he wanted to see how the survey results would turn out.
In his opinion, such an explosive opening for a new series should easily captivate readers. It should at least rank in the top five, right?
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