In the events unfolding after Kira’s demise, Tokyo is back to normal. Because of Kira’s ruthless unjustified killings, crime rates arose and an immoral dilemma erupted. Minoru Tanaka’s predecessor, Light Yagami, wanted to “cleanse” the world of wrongdoings and any sleazy subhumans. To understand this psychological-thriller hit series, one must first understand what the Death Note is. Within its series, it is defined as a supernatural notebook which possesses the power to kill any individual whose name is written.

The supernatural notebook originates from the realm of Shinigami (死神). This name denotes ‘God of Death’ in Japanese and these creatures are not featured within classic Japanese folklore. Shinigami rely on human life spans in order to stay alive, so they persist in killing and view the note as a tool to survive. Once a human is targeted and killed, the Shinigami takes on the rest of their lifespan. Humans, on the other hand, view the Note of Death as an instrument of mass genocide. These Gods of Death possess the ability to see living organisms’ lifespans and this is common among the species. The notebook user requires the name and face of the individual killed. Not all humans possess the ‘Shinigami Eyes’, however, the user can make a transaction with a God of Death. In exchange for the eyes, the human’s lifespan is cut in half.

Following Yagami’s Shinigami, Ryuk embarks on a mission to find the next recipient of the deadly note. Minoru initially rejects the notebook and requests Ryuk to ask him once more in two years once he has made his decision. In 2019, Ryuk approaches him once more, and finally, he accepts. Contrasting in approach to previous Kiras, he hesitated, whereas Light did not and took it upon himself becoming a “God.” In Death Note’s alternate ending, it’s estimated Light killed 124,925 people in total, although estimates vary across various sources.

In the note itself, it is stated: “The human who uses this note can go neither to Heaven nor to Hell.” 

For every kill made in the note, that user must relive the awful, terrible, painful deaths of their victims. The user will pay this mortifying price in their afterlife. The note’s pages will never run out and if ripped, these pages possess the full power of the notebook. Other than that, Minoru is not overwhelmed by the note’s power, but rather, decides to incentivize on the opportunity. He creates a digital auction for the book and it will be automatically sold to the highest bidder. In the Death Note universe, Kira is internationally notorious and at one point, the world quietly accepted Kira.

Allured by the lucrative online marketplace deal, the United States President bids for the Death Note and announces this nationally. Before deciding to possess ownership of the note, the American President chose to forfeit instead. This was because the Shinigami King decided to institute a new rule which enforces sold death notes to be illegal. He is the highest ranked among the Gods of Death and he is the one who executes these official rules. Whoever has bought or sold the Death Note will die instantly.

Minoru, now a high-school student, his death is soon to be. Ryuk writes down Minoru’s name in his notebook and he dies of a heart attack. He went by the alias, ‘A-Kira’ and took on Kira’s notoriety. The one-shot is free to read and in fact, perfectly depicts what a Gen-Z would’ve done with the Death Note. The notebook was sold for JP¥ 1,000,000,000,000,000 to the United States of America. Minoru Tanaka wanted to distribute this wealth among his family and Japanese society so these people live better lives post-recession.

Minoru Tanaka exploited humanity’s cynicism, greed, and selfishness, however, Light Yagami applied his own subjective ideals to the world objectively. Yagami left a dreadful effect on Japanese society, in contrast to Tanaka leaving hope. In the face of intelligence, their work habits are complete polar opposites which are drastically different from one another. So their motivations arise from distinguished backgrounds and circumstances.

Truly, Death Note is a miscellany told from Ryuk’s perspective and believes in the value of all death being equal. (“Death plays no favorites. Humans are so interesting.” — Ryuk, Death Note)