Plot Summary

Boredom can be deadly, at least that’s how it turns out when a shinigami (death god) decides he needs a little excitement in his life. The shinigami in question, Ryuk, casually drops his death note into the human world, with instructions on its use.

Death Note Theatrical Poster

The human who picks up Ryuk’s death note, Light Yagami, a gifted law student whose faith in the justice system is shaken, sees the death note as his opportunity to rid the world of crime once and for all- and to rule it.

But just as Light is hitting his stride in reshaping the world by offing thousands of criminals, his efforts are confounded by the mysterious world renown detective, L.

L, who always solves his case, has taken on the challenge of uncovering the identity of the quasi-benevolent murder dubbed Kira (Killer) by the public. As the two go head to head, a dangerous game unfolds in which one misstep is a sentence of death.

Who will win this cat and mouse, or more appropriately, shinigami and human, game?

Review

As adaptations of the manga, and even as stand alone films, the live action Death Note movies are almost total failures. To start with, Light was never an idealistic, naive teenager. Never. But in the first movie, he’s startlingly naive and damn near stupid in his views on law and justice.

Light’s new persona is only the beginning of the reworking of the stellar pacing, story and development of the manga series into an unwatchable, plodding, tedious, five hour crapfest. Fans who have dedicated themselves to the manga series, i.e. read every volume and read them carefully, will silently scream as they watch their favorite detective and his rival bore diehard fans to death.

The live action movies have none of the fast pacing, plot twists, tension or suspense the manga has. This is a stripped down reinterpretation of the manga in which only the names (and not all of those) and a few scenes remain intact. It takes forever to plod from the beginning to the point where Misa enters the picture, two and half hours to be exact and the entire first movie. Movies don’t have the same luxury as a series to meander from Point A to Point B, there’s not enough time, but that’s exactly what these two films do.

They add scenes which make no sense, hesitate at points which drag on and on, delete important points all together, tack on insignificant characters and rewrite key characters’ personalities. The biggest omission is the Yotsuba story arc- crucial in the manga in establishing L and Light’s relationship and dynamic, missing all together from the movies. The arc is re-imagined in the most tedious manner imaginable, further destroying the manga storyline and tone.

Granted, there’s always story rewrites in adaptations, and granted omissions are a given, yet the movies still lack the tone and feel of the manga. Mood is something that can still be achieved, regardless of rewrites and adaptations. The manga has mood, drama, tension and pacing. Even barring the existence of the manga, the movies lack any of these necessary tidbits. Another absolutely crucial criteria missing is character development.

Character Development

Death Note The Last Name Poster

Live Action Light is a pale, empty thing compared to Manga Light. Even without a basis to compare with, LA Light’s a shallow, stupid creature merely going through the motions. He’s initially portrayed as a naive and idealistic justice-hugger jaded by the current system, who then turns to remote murder to realize his goals. But no connection is made with this character to the audience. His actions are meaningless and without passion, worse, they’re petulant.

We don’t jeer or cheer Light’s deeds as in the manga. This Light is incredibly dumb and wooden and the most disconnected character of the lot. Gone are the arrogance, extreme emotions and self-confidence of Manga Light. This version of Light takes daily doses of stupid and mediocrity to assure the most surefire road to Fail.

Light’s not the only character hopped up on dumb juice, the entire cast of LA Death Note is flirting with an overdose of stupidity. Naomi Misora, so clever and sure in the manga, is absolutely brain dead in the movie: “Hahaha, I didn’t give yous my real name cuz I like know yuz is Kira and junk. Neeya!” Even without the manga to outshine this important scene with the intrepid former FBI agent, it still makes no sense. Neither does it make sense to change Naomi’s finace’s name, Raye Penber, to Raye Iwamatsu.

L is another dismal letdown in the movies. Instead of getting the clever, dynamic and off-handedly humorous genius detective who’s on par with Light, audiences are treated to L chowing down on sweets and making the occasional contribution to the case. He just sits there, shoveling sugar down his gullet, and has no presence.

L’s range of emotions are stunted and he’s almost as empty as Light. There’s no spark between the two, no tension or hint of hidden dangers and certain death. There’s no feeling of risk either, something both characters dined on daily in the manga. The absence of contrast between L and Light is stark. Light isn’t evil enough to play off L and L isn’t passionate enough about good to cast Light in shadows.

That’s the biggest crime of the movies, that there’s no quasi-friendship cum ying and yang dynamic between these two memorable characters. L and Light have about as much tension between them as an overstretched rubber band.

Character Design

The character designs for the movie are much like the manga and stick to realism and the mundane. The clothes are comparable to what modern Japanese wear, with the exception of Misa who wears gothic lolita inspired gear. Shinigami are designed with a more fantastic bend, which is appropriate for Reapers.

Oddly, the actual death notes themselves are massive. Not only are they huge, they look like something out of a souvenir catalog rather than a book from the realm of death.

Cinematography

Both films are shot with about as much attention to lighting and perspective as a soap opera. Where are the dark, brooding shadows to cast an aura of suspense? Where’s the cleverly placed lighting to highlight an object or expression? What happened to the chiaroscuro, in mood and lighting?

Perspective in the movies is as flat and dull as a noontime series and absent are any shots which have any cinematic appeal. The unmoving pages of the manga hold more visual interest in the first chapter than both movies have in their entirety. Nothing stands out from the story in terms of cinematic language. The visuals are delivered in a straight monotone, without life and interest.

The CG for the shinigami could have been better. The death gods look hokey, rubbery and all around fake when they move. When they don’t move, they tend to look believable, but those instances are rare.

Music

Music adds mood and tension to any visual medium, and is crucial in film, either in its absence or its presence. The music for the movies had zero presence and it lays down on the job. It doesn’t build to a scene, it doesn’t create atmosphere, it does zilch.

Death Note Live Action Soundtrack

The opening for the first movie, Dani California by the Red Hot Chili Peppers is a good song in its own right, but makes no sense as the intro to the live action Death Note movie. It’s a rock number with a southern twang. The subject matter, a woman who leads a rough life and moves to California, is an incongruous theme for a movie about a psycho, egomanical teen in Japan who kills criminals with a magic notebook.

Snow, also by the Chili Peppers, accompanies the credits for the second movie. Snow is a great song, and is actually more apropos to the film than Dani California.

Manatsu no yoru no yume, by Shikao Suga is a theme from The Last Name. It’s another good song, a soft ballad, but is wasted on the film.

Acting

Anime Light Versus Live Action Light

Tatsuya Fujiwara gets my vote for worst-cast actor, ever. Fujiwara doesn’t look anything like the handsome, charismatic Light, he looks like a sack of potatoes attached to a stick figure and acts about the same. Tatsuya either didn’t bother to do character research, or he wasn’t up to the part. Anyway it’s looked at, his performance as Light is about as passionate and animated as a dried up piece of jerky.

He doesn’t deliver the main character’s dual, diabolical nature; his charm; his arrogance; his confidence; his persuasiveness; his all around belief in himself. Fujiwara has no concept of Light and it comes through in his performance.

Kenichi Matsuyama does marginally better as L, but not by much. Matsuyama looks closer to L than Fujiwara does to Light, and has L’s mannerisms down, yet he still doesn’t capture the detective’s eccentric essence. He’s fun to watch, superficially, but Matsuyama doesn’t deliver the impact and presence of the character.

Matsuyama and Fujiwara have zero chemistry on screen. It’s like watching oil and water interact, one slides over the other, not quite meshing, not quite mixing-Fujiwara is water, Matsuyama is oil. The two need more chemistry than a superficial melding like that to be believable and it just isn’t there.

Misa, as played by Erika Toda, is another character going through the motions. She doesn’t act, or even look, like Misa Amane. She plays the part far too seriously to ever get Misa’s dim-witted, cheery personality down. Misa needs to be breathy and light, but Toda’s performance is too straight and heavy, it’s too forced. A gothic lolita hanging around Shinjuku on a Sunday would have been a better choice than Toda.

The other actors in the movies, with their campy acting and overacting, give the films a distinctive B-movie quality. Most of the blame for the shoddy performances can be attributed to poor direction on the part of the man behind the cameras.

Rachel's Death Note Entry for Death Note Live Action

Conclusion

The Death Note live action movies are a patchwork of badness and poor choices. Some scenes are done verbatim from the manga, but without the feeling, intensity and context.

Other scenes are horrible, campy re-imaginings of the series and detract from the story. All are held together with consistently bad acting, lack of cinematography and dearth of emotion.

Death Note deserved far better treatment than it received at the hands of these two films. The manga is a brilliant work of fiction and has garnered millions of hardcore fans.

True fans of the manga will howl bloody murder after sitting through all five hours of the movies, while other folk may be happy as a clam with this slipshod work of film. I for one am writing this one down in my own personal, anime death note.

Rating

Death Note, Live Action get 1 outta 5 Hammies!

Check out the ALL NEW EXCLUSIVE Death Note II: The Last Name HyperTrailerSM – the next evolution in the movie trailer – interact with the trailer, embed it on your blog, see exclusive behind the scenes footage, view production photos, buy merchandise and much, much more! More than just a trailer…it’s a HYPERTRAILER.

So basically, it’s supposed to be ‘the next evolution in the movie trailer’. I think that’s a rather lofty goal, but hey – check it out and tell us if you think it deserves the title of ‘the next evolution’. Personally, I was hoping that Smell-O-Vision™ would be ‘the next evolution’ in movie trailers, but oh well. Here ya go:

quality=”high” WIDTH=”300″ HEIGHT=”250″
NAME=”http://www.ncmsocial.com/widgets/Deathnote/small_HT_player04″
TYPE=”application/x-shockwave-flash”>

Here’s a little trick I discovered: To embed it in your site, click on the little ‘P’ at the top right corner.

Winner #1: Alicia R. Thomas
“Though in the beginning my favorite was L, before I knew it, my favorite character became none other than the lead character, Light Yagami/Kira.  He’s my favorite because in watching the series he tapped into the darkest corners of the viewers mind. He showed just how twisted and manipulative a person could become when they possessed unearthly power.Watching his progression from a seemingly noble cause, to pure, power-hungry insanity.”

“With every well-thought plan, every twist, turn, and setback I found my own heart racing and I became rather emotionally attached to the character and his struggle.  You end up asking yourself if you’d be any different if you were in his position.  His character is rich and deep, in the darkest and most forbidden ways… he really draws a lot of excitement from the viewer (or me at least) and therefor, he’s my favorite.”

Winner #2: Faust721
“Amane Misa for me because she is voiced by Hirano Aya. Yes, a very shallow reason, but i was never really attached to the characters but rather the atmosphere of the show.”

Congratulations to the winners, and thank you to everyone who entered. Keep an eye out for more contests from The Anime Blog! Here are a few of our past anime giveaways.

Don’t foget to enter to win tickets to see Death Note II: The Last Name at a theater near you! The contest ends today at 12:00pm CST!

Special Two-Night Event Will be Shown in Select Theaters Nationwide

VIZ Pictures, an affiliate of VIZ Media, LLC that focuses on Japanese live-action film distribution, has announced that it will team with NCM FATHOM, the entertainment division of National CineMedia, to present a special two-night multi-city debut at over 300 theatres across the United States for the live-action special event DEATH NOTE on May 20 and 21, at 7:30 pm. local time.

This special two-night event includes a specially produced 20-minute feature on how the manga translates to live action as well as the first-ever interview with Director Shusuke Kaneko.

Advance purchase tickets will be available from April 18th through April 20th to all subscribers of the SHONEN JUMP e-mail newsletter (sign-up is available at www.shonenjump.com). Tickets for the general public will be available starting on April 21st at presenting theatre box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com. For a complete list of theatre locations and prices, please visit the www.FathomEvents.com website (theatres are subject to change).

DEATH NOTE is based on the hit supernatural action mystery manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. The live-action film, directed by Shusuke Kaneko, known as the director of popular monster film “Gamera” series, was released in Japan in 2006 and mirrors the manga’s story of Light Yagami, an ace student with great prospects who is bored out of his mind. All of that changes when he finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by a rogue Shinigami death god named Ryuk. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and now Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. But when criminals mysteriously begin dropping dead, the authorities send the legendary detective L to investigate, and he is soon hot on the trail of Light, who must now reevaluate his one noble goal. Both Light and L believe themselves to be on the side of justice, and the two match wits trying to show exactly which of them is “good” and which of them is “evil.”

Presented by NCM Fathom and VIZ Pictures, the DEATH NOTE live action feature appears on the big screen in high-definition with Cinema Surround Sound in select locations throughout the U.S., screening in more than 300 select AMC, Cinemark USA Inc., Georgia Theatre Company, Goodrich Quality Theaters, Kerasotes ShowPlace Theatres, Loeks Movie Theatres & Cinema, National Amusements and Regal Entertainment Group movie theatres through NCM’s Digital Broadcast Network.

“NCM Fathom is excited to partner with VIZ once again to bring such a unique event to the big screen for ‘DEATH NOTE’ fans across the country,” said Dan Diamond, vice president of NCM Fathom. “’DEATH NOTE’ is a perfect fit for NCM Fathom’s line-up of alternative in-theatre entertainment of all types – from anime, music concerts, extreme sports, comedy, children’s programming, the Metropolitan Opera and more.”

The DEATH NOTE manga and animated series have become extremely popular domestically. The 37-episode animated series is seen by millions each week on cable broadcast and the series is also distributed on DVD by VIZ Media (rated T+ for Older Teens). On the print side, DEATH NOTE 13: HOW TO READ, a companion volume to the successful manga series, also published domestically by VIZ Media, was recently ranked in USA Today’s Top 150 list of America’s best-selling books in February.

“DEATH NOTE is a riveting and critically acclaimed drama that has become the latest animated and manga series to capture the attention of millions of fans across North America,” says Seiji Horibuchi President and CEO of VIZ Pictures. “Inspired by its manga and animation counterparts, the live-action DEATH NOTE combines the best aspects of suspenseful crime dramas like Heat, Seven and Sea Of Love with supernatural plot elements to make for a very unique story. We are very excited to partner with NCM FATHOM to present this special two-night event in major markets across the country. With multiple genres available to enjoy the story we hope the film attracts fans of the manga and animated series and vice versa.”

About National CineMedia

NCM LLC operates the largest digital in-theatre network in North America through long-term agreements with its founding members, AMC Entertainment Inc., Cinemark USA Inc. (NYSE: CNK) and Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE: RGC), the three largest theatre operators in the U.S., and through multi-year agreements with several other theatre operators. NCM LLC produces and distributes its FirstLook pre feature program; cinema and lobby advertising products; comprehensive meeting and event services and other entertainment programming content. NCM LLC’s national network includes over 15,250 screens of which over 13,200 are part of the company’s Digital Content Network (DCN). NCM LLC’s DCN covers 169 Designated Market Areas® (49 of the top 50). During 2007, approximately 542 million patrons attended movies shown in theatres owned by the NCM LLC founding members (excluding Loews). National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: NCMI) owns a 44.8% interest in and is the managing member of NCM LLC. For additional information, visit www.ncm.com or www.FathomEvents.com.

About VIZ Pictures, Inc.

Based in San Francisco, CA, VIZ Pictures, Inc. distributes Japanese live-action films and DVDs, with particular focus on Japanese “kawaii (cute) and cool” pop culture. VIZ Pictures approaches each release from a J-pop fan’s point of view to serve manga and anime generation in North America. VIZ Pictures titles include TRAIN MAN: DENSHA OTOKO, LINDA LINDA LINDA, THE TASTE OF TEA, and PING PONG. The company will continue to offer the hottest visual entertainment straight from the “Kingdom of Pop” for audiences of all ages in North America. VIZ Pictures, Inc. is an affiliate of VIZ Media, LLC, the San Francisco-based leading U.S. publisher of Japanese manga (comics) and merchandise licensor of Japanese animation such as the popular “NARUTO” animated TV series. For more information please visit www.viz-pictures.com.

About VIZ Media, LLC

Headquartered in San Francisco, CA, VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), is one of the most comprehensive and innovative companies in the field of manga publishing, animation and entertainment licensing of Japanese content. Owned by three of Japan’s largest creators and licensors of manga and animation, Shueisha Inc., Shogakukan Inc., and Shogakukan Production Co., Ltd. (ShoPro Japan), VIZ Media is a leader in the publishing and distribution of Japanese manga for English speaking audiences in North America and a global licensor of Japanese manga and animation.

The company offers an integrated product line including, magazines such as SHONEN JUMP and SHOJO BEAT, graphic novels, videos, DVDs, audio soundtracks and develops and markets animated entertainment from initial production, television placement and distribution, to merchandise licensing and promotions for audiences and consumers of all ages. Contact VIZ Media at 295 Bay Street, San Francisco, CA 94133; Phone (415) 546-7073; Fax (415) 546-7086; and web site at www.VIZ.com.