Death Note: Tokubetsu-hen

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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 the Death Note story. I, however, think it poses a purpose separate from the story itself, and is meant to emphasize ... just how strong Light and L really were as people.

If you've read the chapter in full (I will not spoil it), you know that it is once again shown that the Death Note requires a tremendous amount of willpower and psychological control to keep its user from being overwhelmed by the emotion and guilt that comes from killing people. This is somewhat demonstrated by example, as was said by Light himself at one point.

This chapter is meant to show how a normal person handles a Death Note, in contrast to how Light handled his. It emphasizes that Light is an extremely strong person, and even though most fans already know this, this chapter adds some realism to that fact and makes the point stand out. L is obviously also strong, as is shown in various ways by Near's own actions (taking after those of L), and by a flashback to a lecture presented by L to the children of Wammy's house. No regular person could (presumably in the Death Note world) think the way he does or see things his way so easily.

This chapter was meant as a supplement to Death Note, its purpose to simply put emphasis on two of the greatest characters in detective/mystery manga.

So here's the official breakdown:

STORY: Outstanding. It's Death Note.

ART: Great. Very well done.

CHARACTER: N/A. We know all of the characters, and the "character" (attribute) of the story itself doesn't really apply since this is just a oneshot chapter.

ENJOYMENT: Good. Not great, because I found it started off a little on the slow side, but I did enjoy the twist at the end (if you can call it a twist, maybe more like an unexpected end).

OVERALL: Very Good. It's not on par with the rest of Death Note, but it's worth the read to any fan of the original manga. It's curious in its own way.

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.

Enjoyment: 9
... I reallly liked reading this because my favourite character is Near and ever since i finished the original, ive wanted more.

Overall: 10/10

I am a very big fan of Death note, but this one shot was just a bit unnecessary.

Story - 7/10

This is a completely new take on Death Note and never expected this to happen. And of course, not all surprises are welcome ones. (SPOILERS) Instead of using the Death Note, the guy decides to sell it. A very random and unexpected decision. Of course, he is only doing this for the money. But this is the dumbest part of the story is that when the Main Character goes to collect the money (BIG SPOILERS) he dies. Apparently, you can't perform any activities regarding the ... Death Note when you don't own the Death Note. This was a pretty dumb rule and that's why I think this was a bit unnecessary.

Wasn't a big fan of the main character, he just doesn't have the spark like Light Yagami did.
So,

Character - 5/10
Enjoyment - 7/10
Art - 8/10

This One-Shot basically takes place after the original story. 3 years have been passed, and another Death Note has taken by a human, and that's pretty much it. It's only one chapter, so there is nothing more to talk about.

Story (8): Since I am a big fan of the second arc of Death Note, I loved this One-Shot's story. Like I said, it's about another person who finds a Death Note, and Near is trying to catch the killer. Well, I don't want to spoil the story, but we get a pretty interesting backstory of Near's relationship between L. So in that case, it makes ... Near's personality more interesting.

Art (9): Takeshi Obata did an amazing job, just like he did in the original manga.

Character (8): Same characters, but like I said, Near's personality is very interesting in this One-Shot.

Enjoyment (9): I had so much fun while reading this. Only bad thing is that it's only one chapter. If it was longer, It would've been better in my opinion.

Overall (8): If you are a huge fan of Death Note, this is a Must Read for you.

It's kinda difficult to talk about this without spoiling. But suffice to say, this takes place after the original Death Note, with a new death note on the loose. How is the new L going to take this challenge on?

I liked it. It's a fairly simple story but gives some extra content after the manga ended. There's a bit of exploration towards the aftermath the original story had to it's remaining characters. I'd say it feels canon enough, not really like a fanfiction or anything.

I'd give it a read if you're a Death Note fan, you'll like the thing. From me it gets a 7/10.