Warning! Spoilers ahead for School Judgement chapter 3!
Artist Takeshi Obata is celebrated mostly for his depictions of the utter havoc that his masterfully rendered shinigami unleashed upon the world in Death Note. But one of his oddest manga series involved children carrying out law and order themselves, the ridiculousness of which was only exacerbated by the fact that baby lawyers presided over these kangaroo courts in the aptly named School Judgement.
This isn't the first time that Takeshi Obata has ventured far beyond the darkness and overall ominous feel of Death Note. The legendary artist also illustrated the sport series Hikaru no Go, which revolved around the eponymous strategic board game, as well as the moving drama Bakuman where the romance between a mangaka and voice actress was dictated on the success of their series. But School Judgement definitely deviates the most, moving beyond into the realm of the utterly bizarre, which is only improved upon by the amount of satire that saturates each and every chapter.
School Judgement could very well be much darker than it already is just by the fact that the worst punishment these student-run court sessions can result in is students being exiled to an island where they are forced to attend a juvenile detention center. But Takeshi Obata's ability to capture the grotesque helps darken the overall mood of the series, like when the culprit of the first case is revealed, causing the perpetrator to fall into an unsettling frenzy reminiscent of Light Yagami's terrifying mental breakdown at the end of Death Note. Similarly, much like how Death Note's art consists of less cartoonish depictions of characters, Takeshi Obata employs the same style when capturing the faces of the baby judges. These portrayals are quite jarring, especially when compared to the majority of the series. As readers learn, these babies have aged considerably, appearing as middle-aged men and women, just due to the amount of pressure that serving as judges creates. Takeshi Obata renders their aged faces quite masterfully, so much so that readers can't help but sympathize for them.
One of the reasons why the babies affect readers so profoundly is the light-hearted manner in which Takeshi Obata draws all the other characters. The style evokes the more childish portrayals in Shonen manga, and even the cuteness of Shoujo manga series, that it's hard to believe Takeshi Obata is actually behind each line and curve. Takeshi Obata even takes his craft to the next level by the way in which he captures the shenanigans of public defender Abaku Inugami and prosecutor Pine Hanzuki. The rivalry between both characters reaches such outrageous heights that when they devolve into fits of petty name-calling and idle threats, Takeshi Obata illustrates them in an overly cartoonish style that most mangaka for Shonen and Shoujo adopt to depict extreme anger in a humorous manner.
School Judgement is just one of many ways in which Takeshi Obata has strayed from the style and overall theme of Death Note. In fact, a recent rumor began circulating the manga community that Takeshi Obata is collaborating with Asakura Akinari on a series called Shoha Shoten that sounds nothing like Death Note as it is said to focus on two young comedians entering the industry. It's unknown what kind of tone this new series will take, but given Takeshi Obata's track record, it could be serious like Death Note or satirical like School Judgement, or something completely new altogether.