Artist Takeshi Obata's new manga Show-ha Shoten! might have absolutely nothing in common with his wildly successful series Death Note, but the Shinigami Ryuk he masterfully illustrated in his earlier dark psychological thriller actually makes a brief albeit hilarious cameo in this new sports comedy - even though just by mention only.

The highly welcome nod to the former series comes during a pivotal moment in the first chapter of Show-ha Shoten! written by Akinari Asakura, when an overly flamboyant former child actor and popular student named Taiyo Higashikata is in desperate need of a comedic partner in order to participate in a school comedy show. The protagonist, the shy Shijima Azemichi, has been tasked with the unfortunate task of relaying the bad news to him that Taiyo won't be able to perform unless he provides more information despite being the main act, and during the odd exchange, Taiyo learns Shijima's secret. Shijima is the hilarious Everyday Shijimi, a mysterious caller who's had the most wins than any other participant in a highly popular comedic TV show.

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When Taiyo learns the truth, he being the massively enthusiastic person that he is, starts to gush and immediately proceeds to share his favorite Everyday Shijimi jokes, including the one that references Death Note: "Who did the Shinigami regret giving the Death Note to? The guy who yells 'Killstreak!!" before writing every name." While a relatively short moment, readers who started reading Show-ha Shoten! because Death Note artist Takeshi Obata is illustrating the series definitely appreciated the reference, no matter how small it might have been, especially since Show-ha Shoten! shares nothing in common with Death Note contextually.

Even though Ryuk is not directly referenced, it's not completely out of context for the Shinigami Ryuk to be associated with comedy. Sure, Ryuk is a member of a terrifying race of extra-dimensional beings that are not only literally death gods but that extend the length of their own demonic lives by killing humans with their own personal Death Note. However, Ryuk has quite an affinity for apples as they - unlike Shinigami apples, which taste like sand - are essentially the equivalent to cigarettes and alcohol, and he's portrayed humorously whenever he excitedly devours them. But the real comedic element is when Ryuk suffers from apple withdrawals that manifest in the most peculiar ways. He sometimes twists his body into a pretzel or performs handstands, a set of ridiculous actions that are even more preposterous when taking his demonic appearance and heritage into account. (There are also some humorous moments during the anime's second opener showing Ryuk chasing after an apple in some sort of net that suggests someone off-camera is using the apple as bait to coax the hungry Ryuk into following them and another moment where he's holding an apple victoriously over his head as he dances triumphantly.)

Fans who are expecting Show-ha Shoten! to be anything like Death Note should put those unreasonable expectations aside if they have any hope of them enjoying the new series for what it is: a sports shonen comedy. This isn't the first time artist Takeshi Obata has illustrated a manga that has absolutely nothing in common with Death Note and few of them, if any, actually reference the dark psychological thriller. Fans are lucky that a joke alluding to Ryuk even made the cut and shouldn't hold their breath for anymore. Instead, they should enjoy the comedic elements of what's turning out to be a strong series, and if Death Note is amazingly referenced again, that will make the surprise even more welcoming.

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