Context: One of our protagonists, Nina Fortner (I don't want to say too much about her importance to the plot, so suffice it to say that she wants to kill Johan for her own reasons) has taken a job in a small Italian restaurant, owned by Mr. Rosso. Rosso is a kindly old man, who happens to cry at old movies and loves good food. Nina had an ulterior motive for taking the job with him: it turns out that Nina is aware that Rosso has a dark past as a professional hitman. Rosso is now telling her a story from those days.

Reads right to left:













I think the other thing that makes Urasawa's filler so good is that even when it doesn't serve the plot all that much, it does serve the themes. Rosso doesn't find redemption, in the most literal sense. Instead, he simply reclaims his humanity, and all of the good things that come with it ("the taste of sugar"), by ceasing to commit crimes against others. As the loss of humanity plays an important role throughout the series, Mr. Rosso's example becomes ever more important, long after his effects on the plot proper have ceased to be felt.

All scans taken from the scanlation at Spectrum Nexus.