Death Note: Desu nôto (2006) Reviews

• "L, do you know shinigami's love apples?"

  seansamurai2006-06-17

  Just returned from debut of Death Note, and surprisingly I enjoyed it. Manga to big screen adaptations don't always do so well, so I wasn't getting my hopes up over this. All the main characters are portrayed very well by the cast. Yes, even Tatsuya Fujiwara did a great job as the stories protagonist, Yagami Light. However, his rival, played by Ken'ichi Matsuyama was amazing. Completely captured the world's greatest detective's every mannerism with ease. But the true star of this 2 part story is definitely Light's shinigami, Ryuuk. Outstanding job by the CGI crew, and Ryuuk's voice was just as would be imagined in the manga. Can't really give too much away because I'd hate to spoil it for anybody who hasn't read the manga (that being said, definitely read the manga to see what was changed, in my opinion, the changes were overall good, not great, but it won't make you angry) . I guess the main question on everybody's mind would be is the movie better than the manga? No, but in a (about) 2 hour film you couldn't do much better with story. Well worth checking out.

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• Death Note: As good as the anime? No, but a million miles better than the Hollywood version

  Platypuschow2017-09-22

  I admit it I'm a Death Note fanboy, the anime was a masterpiece and truly one of the most intelligent well written pieces of television ever made. The American adaptation was a travesty, an embarrassment of colossal proportions which missed the entire point of the series and I was concerned about the Japanese version purely because I can't imagine telling that epic a story in 90 minutes. Immediately I was taken by the solid casting, this was Light and L was sheer unadulterated perfection and a stark contrast to the American version who was the weakest link of the entire film. The movie is a compact version of the first half of the anime with some slight differences/tweaks near the end which actually change the story quite a bit. Honestly I didn't mind as they were done so well as was the rest of the film. So where does it go wrong? Well it doesn't really, but be aware this is part 1. Even I didn't realise that and will be shortly venturing into the finale. I always hate movies which aren't self contained and without part 2 this is merely part of a story. The final moment of this however was outstandingly done 10/10. If you like the anime I recommend this, yes it's essentially the same story but a valid adaptation that deserves your time. Well written, fantastically acted, a near masterpiece. The Good: It's Death Note Very well made, written and filmed Extremely well cast The Bad: Red Hot Chilli Peppers was the weirdest choice for a credits song Ryuk sfx are really quite weak Things I Learnt From This Movie: If a person has a gun to their head, point a gun at them as well that'll show em! The US had no excuse for not making a decent Death Note movie

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• A Nutshell Review: Death Note

  DICK STEEL2006-10-14

  Absolute power corrupts absolutely, so goes the saying. What happens if you have the power to bring about death to any individual with just the mighty stroke of the pen? How would you use your new found ability? Would you decide to inflict capital punishment and take away lives of criminals, convicted, suspected or otherwise? Would you be the grim reaper, transfixed in your own branding of right and wrong, backed by the power of mortality? Based on a popular Japanese manga written by Takeshi Obata, Death Note tells the story of the god of death, bored with life, making available his Death Note(book) to the human world. Picked up by aspiring lawyer Light (Tatsuya Fujiwara), he soon finds that the rules written in both English (yes) and Kanji on the inside front cover, actually work - whosoever has his name written inside the book, will meet death via a heart attack. That's just scratching the surface, as Light continues to experiment with the capabilities of the book, as well as to internalize all the rules to call upon some serious manipulation of the rules to work to his advantage. Why does the book operate with that set of rules, well, that's something you have to accept at face value if you want to enjoy the movie. Starting off with the deaths of criminals as Light experiments, soon the authorities take notice of these mysterious deaths, and launch a nationwide dragnet to hunt down the perpetrator. Foreign help is also called in, and L (Ken'ichi Matsuyama), an unseen and only heard police investigator, gets roped in. It's a battle of wits as Light tries to keep his Kira persona (given by the press) alive while avoiding being caught by an ever zealous L, as both boys (yes, boys) engage and challenge each other. One to continue utilizing the notebook in more creative ways, while the other trying his best to second guess, and to see through guises and red herrings. Things become more interesting when family ties are involved, and relationships get put to the test in an interesting run up to the final scene. I thought Light's character development was crucial to the movie, and Fujiwara brought that through his role quite effortlessly with his impish looks. The god of death, a frequent companion of Light, master of the book and actually is the voice of rational thought, is totally CG rendered, which allows for its supernatural movement to be as natural as possible. However, the design does resemble Brian Bolland's Joker with its patsy white face and permanent teeth showing grin, except for its extremely huge spanned wings, and punk like hairdo. Death Note succeeds in making you sit up on the edge of your seat for the most parts - it does have certain slow moments in the movie which plods the pace down a tad too much. While it presents differing views on capital punishment, the movie itself doesn't suggest which is right or wrong, but is almost adamant in bringing forth the notion of the corruption of power. I haven't read the original manga to do a comparison, but as a movie in itself, it works, given its relatively high production values. Part 2 is already signed, sealed and soon to be delivered. I can't wait to see how the movie takes off from where it ended. Intriguing, interesting and entertaining stuff!

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• Review, only very minor spoilers

  hydra1202006-08-08

  Plot: the plot of the movie is relatively straightforward, and follows the same basic premise as the manga: Yagami Light finds a "Death Note" dropped by Ryuk, a shinigami (god of death) and decides to use it to purge the world of criminals. Subsequently, the police and mysterious detective L begin to track him down. However, it doesn't really get very far despite its length (over two hours) because it bulks itself out with an original plot thread - in fact, the movie only gets as far as Light and L meeting for the first time. Plot Changes: Chronologically, it's much the same as the manga - but a massive plot alteration comes in the form of original character Shiori. I'm still not entirely sure why they chose to give Light a girlfriend - but she has a major role (along with Naomi, who now has a much bigger role than in the manga) - and an event involving her, Naomi and Light is the climax of the movie. Misa has a very minor role, although given how little of the manga timeline was covered, it's not really surprising. She only has a couple of scenes, but it's nice to see her. Rem makes no appearance. I was a little disappointed that they changed one of my favourite scenes - I won't say how in case you haven't read the manga, but Light and L meet in a completely different way. :( There were also a number of weird, irrelevant-seeming changes, as you always get with movie adaptations. :p Such as changing Raye Pember's surname to 'Iwatari', and altering the NPA Kira team to include a woman. Unimportant, but odd to note. :p Acting: On the whole, I think the acting was excellent, and the movie was (mostly) cast brilliantly. Although I still don't think that, visually, Fujiwara makes a very good Light, he was certainly convincing, and does a good evil smirk. :p I think most of the problems I had with Light were down to direction, rather than Fujiwara's acting. (Also, I think it has to be said he does a great job with Ryuk - you can't tell he was acting with a stick at all :p) Personally, I think that Matsuyama really stood out as being plain awesome. :D His L was nigh-on-perfect, and I don't even mean in appearance; the gestures, posture, the way he holds things and his mannerisms in general. Slightly more sullen than I'd expected, but brilliant. (and his love for sweets is still there, and even more emphasised than in the manga. I think he's eating in every scene. xD) Also notable was Seto Asaka - I just think she played Naomi really well, especially within the new role given to the character. CG: (ie, Ryuk!) :D Ryuk was certainly... interesting. But he's one of my favourite characters in the manga, and I loved what they did with him. His voice is perfect, and appearance-wise, pretty much got him just right. Only problem is, sometimes the CG just doesn't look that good. It varies of course - sometimes it looks amazing, but other times... really not. But on the whole he was done well, considering how surreal his appearance is. Pacing: The movie has a really interesting opening - you see a hand writing in a book, and then various criminals dying of heart attacks, while their name is 'written' across the screen. Unfortunately, after than I found it a little slow until L showed up (which wasn't until after halfway through) - although perhaps that's due to him being my favourite character. But regardless, since a lot of the movie is just setting things up and exposition for later, it was probably to be expected. That's not to say it isn't interesting, as it is, but... one of the best aspects of Death Note is the interaction between Light and L, and you don't get that until later. Overall/General: I think it's a great movie, and works with the premise of the manga well, without being slavishly faithful (which is never a good thing :p) However, it does have its problems. Personally, I wasn't that happy with Shiori's addition to the story. Taken by itself, her plot-thread was actually rather interesting, and a nice idea. However, I felt it altered Light's character too much - his motivations for doing what he does; what he's like as a person. They already changed him by leaving out that part of why he does what he does is because he's bored (Ryuk, too) - and, add Shiori, and you're left with a cold, evil teenager who hates criminals, and apparently seems like he can get close to people. In the movie, I almost think he comes across as too cold-blooded, too soon. This is all fine if you haven't read the manga, I think, and it's probably brilliant if you can take it for what it is. But... I missed Light's boredom and utter god-complex which was so obvious in the manga. :p And his aloofness - the implication that he wouldn't have a girlfriend because no-one was good enough for him. Er, but my slight issues with Light's character aside, it's a great movie. xD dark and full of suspense (but with moments of humour... L offering a kebab of sweets and cakes to Chief Yagami in total seriousness comes to mind :D), and very enjoyable. I can't wait for the second half, and I'm really interested to know how they're going to try and resolve it (as, clearly, Death Note actually goes on for five more volumes after where they're intending to stop.) So, despite a few issues... Death Note pt. 1 = awesome. :D

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• Fans of DN Manga... go see it if you can!

  moon_underwater40002006-09-10

  I dunno why some people think that the CGI of Ryuuk was bad... I thought it was excellent - realistic but not too out of place. It doesn't have physical fights and thrill (and if you've read the manga, you would know). The actor choices were pretty good - Tatsuya Fujiwara was, and still, well-known for his on-stage productions, and Kenichi Matsuyama's (from Nana fame - he was Shinichi, the bass player of the band 'Black Stones')L / Ryuuzaki was awesome! His every 'weird and strange' movements were exactly how I imagined the actual L would be ^-^ If I have to choose one thing negative about this film, it would be the character - Shiori. I have nothing against her, but then again, she was just some additional romance line that the director thought was a good idea. So in the end... if you're a fan of the DN manga, and you don't mind the directors changing the scenes abit, you should definitely give it a try!!

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