#him not being Kira but being suspected by L and acting the EXACT SAME WAY HE DOES IN THE SHOW is honestly something I can see happening | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

narratornavigatorstoryteller · 3 years

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happy birthday L here’s a vaguely outdated analysis

general thoughts/starting points

aversion to teamwork/preference for working alone and directing people to do the more hands-on parts of investigating

implications that he values being in control

passion

often overlooked in favor of his more obvious traits

represented most clearly in mello

calm and stable

generally seen as his most obvious traits

represented most clearly in near

“grey” morals

despite being "the good guy" of the story, L cannot be described as a good person or a hero. he can best be labelled as an anti-villain, or, "a character with heroic goals, personality traits, and/or virtues who is ultimately the villain. Their desired ends are mostly good, but their means of getting there range from evil to undesirable." (defined by tv tropes)

intelligent, likely equal to that of light

in the english htr13 stats, light’s intelligence is listed as 9/10 while l’s is 8/10. this is due to a translation error in which the statistic was originally meant to be listed as “knowledge.”

neurodivergence

L is probably one of the most heavily neurodivergent characters out of any shows i’ve watched up to this point. because of the time he would’ve been diagnosed with aspergers, but he’s definitely somewhere in the autism spectrum. some of the most major tells for this are his social isolation, fidgeting/repetitive actions (specifically stacking things), and showing few emotions (doesn’t apply to everyone, but is still common)

liar, potentially compulsive or pathological

compulsive - lying with what seems to be no clear goal or ability to stop, often born of habit

pathological - lies have a clear motive, with intent to manipulate

motive (or lack therefore) behind the things he says is debatable

what to and what not to take with a grain of salt is largely subjective, although, it can be assumed that at least some of his “percentages” were meaningless (e.g., he told light that he was one of the least likely suspects with one of the lowest percentages of probability. he often openly contradicts this. knowing that the majority of percentages regarding light were skewed at the least, its not unreasonable to think they were all inaccurate.

near also employs this use of percentages. while they could resemble different things for each, it may still be worth noting.

other traits

sarcastic, with a dry sense of humor

pride/arrogance(?)

low social and life skills

seems to have a notable relationship with the supernatural/spiritual

briefly considered in the beginning that kira was a god, but let go of the idea on the assumption that god wouldn't need names and faces

reacted harshly to the mention of shinigami in a response video from the second kira. he seemed unwilling at first to accept that shinigami meant exactly what it said, and later stated that he hoped it Wasn't a god of death

knowing that he would soon die, L "atones for [his] sins" by drying light's feet for him. in some denominations of christianity, "foot washing" is used to represent an act of great humility, inspired by the actions of jesus christ washing his disciples feet in the days before his death. this could, however, just be symbolism meant to foreshadow L's death. alternatively, it could be seen as a mark of the way his views have developed over his time on the case

his apparent hesitation regarding things of this nature could be caused by a lack of understanding. as a very prideful person who tends to second guess everything he's given, it would make sense that suddenly being forced to change his entire worldview would cause shock and, at least, mild unwillingness to approach it

it could also be the result of feeling that he may no longer be in control. L is, as he's shown to the viewer, a leader. he decides what cases he takes, why, and directs those working on the field until he's done. in addition to having to let go of some of that control for this case (by revealing himself and working alongside others instead of just instructing them), he would also have to release full control of his perception of the world around him

relationships

mello and near

mello and near, as the top two choices for L's successor, represent two major parts of L; his passion and intensity (shown through mello) and his tendency to be analytical and collected (shown through near). upon first glance, L is often characterized as being very calm and detached from other people. it may be a stretch, but this can also be seen in the relationship between near and mello themselves, with mello being the "second" and feeling overshadowed by near, who is often read as the "copy" of L

L served as a major inspiration and motivation for both near and mello, seeing how both expressed what could be considered disappointment. mello became angry that L hadn't managed to beat kira, while near's statement about how not being able to "solve the puzzle" and "beat the game" makes you a loser could be read as comment on L's inability to catch light

on that note, i think that L had to have been in contact with them at least a few times

near, as "number one," may have spent the most time with L, potentially having even met him in person as referenced by the similarities in the way both physically act, though this could be mere coincidence. in addition, his methods of investigating are far more similar to L's than mello's are, implying that he was able to study how L thought and went about doing things to the point where he was able to personally recreate and even correct them. while this distinction could also be influenced by a difference in resources, its still clear from their individual characters that even left under the exact same circumstances, they'd want to take different approaches to the issues at hand.

despite having likely spent less time together, i feel as though the relationship mello and L might've shared wasn't quite the same as that with L and near. mello was distraught upon learning of L's death, largely, in part, because L had promised that he would catch kira. this implies that, even if they truly had only interacted once, mello put a lot of faith in L as someone he could not only look up to, but as someone he could depend on and trust.

watari

the relationship between L and watari is never openly addressed, however, we see watari acting not only as L’s representative and caretaker, but also a genuine father figure. during the flashback before his death, we see watari personally bringing L to wammy's house, and in present time, we see L go to watari, presumably for comfort.

light yagami

as light was kira, there was naturally going to be a tension between him and L. the relationship they had was built on lies, competition, and manipulation. they act as foils of each other; light was a hard-working, handsome honour student and son of the police chief, while L was an overall eccentric and rude detective who hid everything about himself that he could. this difference between their surfaces emphasizes just how similar they actually are, being both extremely intelligent with a strong sense of justice (seeing themselves As justice) and the ability to stand out from those around them. at one point, L says that light is his first friend. it's not unlikely that this was a stretch of the truth, however, i wouldn't be surprised if L truly had grown attached to light. light matched him for skill and intelligence, surpassed him in many other areas, and provided the challenge that L sought in his cases.

#death note #l lawliet #l lawliet death note #ryuzaki #l death note #character analysis #L

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harriet-tuttle · 5 years

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Highlights from Mark Watches Death Note

Episode 1

Ryuk is… well, he could be on a friendly baking show, and I’d still be terrified of him. HE LOOKS LIKE WHAT I THINK ALL CLOWNS LOOK LIKE: ENDLESSLY FRIGHTENING.

Episode 2

I mean, word of advice, Light: stop acting like an arrogant teenager who discovered Ayn Rand or something. FREE ADVICE FOR YOU, DUDE.

Episode 3

Watari stands by the laptop that’s connected to L, which has to be the most boring job imaginable.

Episode 4

He stops viewing these people as humans and instead seems them entirely as pawns. They’re good for nothing more than his goal: to rid the world of all criminals and create a utopia. What utopia that might be is left unsaid, not because the show is trying to hide it from us, but because Light probably hasn’t even decided what it’s going to be.

Seriously, Light is the worst. (That is an odd sentence to type. Makes it sound like I hate electricity or something.)

Episode 5

Initially, I was convinced that he just wanted to misdirect Penber. That was easy to do, and after Penber got off the bus, I figured that was it.

But no.

Nope.

NOT AT ALL.

Episode 6

L ACTUALLY SMILED. (That was my single favorite moment in the whole episode.)

Episode 7

When we’re not focusing on how Light is THE LITERAL WORST PERSON IN THE UNIVERSE, Death Note gives us more of the relationship between L and the police officers who have won his trust.

Episode 8

So how will the future of this anime look? I don’t think you can sustain this kind of back-and-forth for nearly thirty episodes, especially since Death Note is already barreling forward as it is. Will Light slip up and reveal something about himself to L? Is there a third party I haven’t met yet that will mess things up? And what of the very strange subplot involving Ryuk’s withdrawal from apples? Was that there to drop a hint about the shinigami, or was it weird just for the sake of it? (I realize I’m asking for background information on a floating reaper who looks like a clown, so… whatever.)

Episode 9

I honestly thought that L and Light wouldn’t meet until well past the halfway mark because… well, that’s why all the tension existed! Neither of them were ever in the same physical space, and they were exacting a war against each other from a distance.

That’s why L’s actions are so fucking flagrant and brilliant. No one expected this. Not me, not Light, PROBABLY NOT ANY OF YOU.

Episode 10

Even if he has Light investigate himself, it only means that he’ll eventually lead them straight to him anyway. It’ll happen either through his fantastic deductive work, or Light will give away something to the team. But does that mean that L will have to introduce Light to the other officers on the task force? That seems like a bad idea

Episode 11

Somehow, Kira had killed Ukita without knowing his real name. Understandably, EVERYONE FREAKS OUT. THAT INCLUDED ME. How? How had Light been able to do this while standing in his bedroom? He couldn’t have possibly known who would show up to the police station. But let’s say he did. “Assault” takes things a step further when Light’s father drives a bus into the station. Will Light risk killing him if he discovers who drove the bus? Oh, but let’s take this a step further: two random cops who show up to deal with the police bus that sits in the lobby ARE KILLED. There is a 0% chance that Light knew their names, so how? HOW???

Episode 12

There’s so much going on in this episode that I was positive the show would cut away right before Second Kira’s shinigami revealed how to kill him. Why would they reveal something this huge so early into the show? Because Death Note doesn’t give a shit about me, and I was shocked to watch an extended flashback sequence play out.

Episode 13

In the thirteenth episode of Death Note, I will repeat myself endlessly while reviewing this: HOW DOES IT KEEP ESCALATING.

I just have to expect this show to throw me into an abyss every episode. I just have to do this to survive.

Episode 14

At the very least, I don’t think Misa will last much longer because she’s too much of a risk to Light. IT’S GONNA HAPPEN, I’M CALLING IT.

Episode 15

I get that catching Kira is a big deal for all of these people, and I’m happy that they all believe that Kira’s murders are 100% wrong. Does that mean they should be allowed to do something like this to a teenage girl??? No, not at all!!! It’s horrifying! Did they feed her? Anything???

Episode 16

NOW I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHO THIS SHOW IS ABOUT. WHAT THE FUCK.

Episode 17

As for Light? Well, he’s now handcuffed to L. FOR TWENTY-FOUR HOURS A DAY. (Major BOOOOO to that weird-ass line where Misa calls them gross because boys shouldn’t be handcuffed together? Yuck.)

[N.B.: This is the first and only remark by Mark Oshiro, Gayest Reviewer on Planet Earth, that in any way acknowledges subtext between Light and L. Behold the glory of this non-barking dog, my psychotic fandom.]

Episode 18

At this point, does L even suspect anyone else aside from Light and Misa? No, not really, even when he guesses (correctly!) that Kira’s “power” can jump from one person to the next. I don’t think L will ever take his eye off of Light for the remainder of the show.

Episode 19

In the nineteenth episode of Death Note, I really loved this, and MATSUDA IS GREAT.

Episode 20

Yet this is where the main schism happens. L, unsurprisingly, wants to follow the option that allows his theories to be proven. That’s who he is. He’s nearly as averse to being impulsive as Light, so he doesn’t want to move ahead with an arrest UNLESS he can prove every bit of his hypothesis. In this case, that means letting people die, despite knowing that these men are going to use Kira to kill them. There is a tragic irony in the fact that Light finds this plan abhorrent because DUDE, YOU HAVE KILLED MORE PEOPLE THAN ANYONE ELSE IN THIS DAMN SHOW.

Episode 21

However, then she stated that she wanted to do something to get even closer to Light and impress him.

HOW WAS A DATE WITH HIGUCHI GOING TO HELP HER DO THAT? Oh, Mark, YOU DON’T GET IT. Look, the very nature of Death Note means I’m always going to act like a fool whenever someone tells the truth.

Episode 22

Look, I kept thinking that EVERYTHING was going to go wrong. When Light called the Yotsuba men, I was certain they’d spoil the plan. Then I thought that Higuchi wouldn’t actually go through with murdering Matsuda. And then, as each piece fell into place, the tension got worse because WHAT IF HE ACTUALLY REVEALS HOW HE KILLS? How is Misa going to react to that?

Episode 23

How the hell are there fourteen more episodes??? HOW???

Episode 24

I’m so nervous about this development, though, because it allows Light to be completely free of the investigative team. Oh, sure, he’ll probably stick around so he can monitor everything, keep these people from getting close to him, but now? He’s won, hasn’t he? At least for the time being. However, there are now a bunch of variables and chaotic factors just sitting around. All these detectives and cops and investigators all know the truth of the Death Note. (Well, except that Light lied about one of the rules that governs the notebook. HE IS SO EVIL, Y’ALL.) How are they going to approach this case knowing the truth? I bet that Light will start killing criminals in the next episode, and I don’t know how this will progress from there. Don’t they all know way too much? Can’t they use the knowledge they have of the Death Note to be better detectives? How many red herrings will Light give them to keep them busy?

I am comfortable stating that something like that can’t last forever. Something will have to come crashing down. What could that be???

Episode 25

What the hell is wrong with this show.

Episode 26

Y’all, Death Note doesn’t even fuck around when it comes to CLIP EPISODES.

Episode 27

WELL, THIS IS HOW THERE ARE MORE EPISODES OF THIS SHOW. THE DEATH NOTE IS INTERNATIONAL NOW, AND LIGHT IS GONNA GET FUCKED UP. Episode 28

The elaborate, complicated, and utterly ridiculous means that Mello and his men go to in order to obtain the Death Note is significant because, as I said before, no one had been able to truly best Light. Ever. Ever. L tried, and LOOK WHERE THAT GOT HIM. (I miss him.) But Mello comes out of nowhere, concocts a truly absurd method to get what he wants, and executes it flawlessly. Seriously, let’s go over this. He:

orchestrates the quietest hijacking of an airplane ever, all so that it can land somewhere in the middle of the desert in America and then continue on to its final destination of Los Angeles. (Can you imagine how fucking terrifying that must have been if you were on that plane? IT LANDED IN THE DESERT!!!! Good lord, they’re probably all traumatized now.)

is fully aware that Soichiro will be monitored by satellite, so the entire swap is UNDERGROUND IN A SECRET BUNKER THAT SOME GANG OR MAFIA ONCE USED.

has his man utilize a revolving door that is so deviously brilliant that I can’t even believe a human thought of it.

has that same man making the trade test out the Death Note before accepting it

then has two separate “vehicles” leave the compound at the same time so that those surveilling him don’t know which one has the Death Note on it.

makes one of the vehicles a missile. I cannot even remotely exaggerate here, y’all. A missile. A MISSILE.

I THOUGHT LIGHT WAS RIDICULOUS AND OVERLY-DETAILED ABOUT HIS PLANS, BUT HE HAS CLEARLY MET HIS MATCH.

Episode 29

(Does that mean he gave up half his life AND HE ONLY HAD A FEW HOURS LEFT ANYWAY? Good god.)

Episode 30

In order to subvert what Near is doing, he turns the President against the SPK and has him PUBLICLY DECLARE THAT THE U.S. WILL NOT PURSUE KIRA. He knows that everyone is afraid of him, so the threat against the President’s life is easy. It’s a no-brainer. But when Near gets a little too close to the truth, Light takes matters a step further, unleashing Demegawa’s dogma as a weapon. He stokes the flames of anger and resentment, and he lets this man loose on the airwaves, and A GIANT CROWD OF PEOPLE ARE BREAKING INTO SPK HEADQUARTERS TO OSTENSIBLY MURDER EVERYONE THERE AND HOW IS THIS A MORAL, PEACEFUL WORLD, LIGHT? PLEASE ANSWER THAT.

Episode 31

But how? How does Light slip up so terribly after meticulously constructing this entire existence meant to protect him?

I think the answer to that can be found in the way that Near behaves. It’s so much clearer now that Near is NOTHING like L, and his brash, aggressive manner speaks to that. I believe Light composed his master manipulation with L in mind. There was a code of sorts that L followed. Near, however, doesn’t give a shit. He really doesn’t.

Episode 32

WELL. I said that I wasn’t sure why Mikami had been introduced to us so suddenly and without a real sense for who he is, AND THUS, I GOT THIS EPISODE.

Episode 33

She then requests five pages of the Death Note and tells him to continue killing people with a “fake” notebook. Which makes no sense to me! How can Mikami kill anyone if his notebook is fake? Perhaps I misunderstood this, and Mikami scheduled out deaths in order to cover himself. But what did he do with the real Death Note? Hide it? Give it back to Light? Of course, all of this is useless to talk about if Mikami didn’t actually do as he was told. HOW THE FUCK DID MIKAMI KILL THAT MAN ON THE TRAIN? How?????? I DON’T GET IT.

Episode 34

Credit for that goes to Gevanni, who was given one of the most difficult tasks on the whole team. Surveilling Mikami had been bad enough, but he’s asked to break into the man’s locker at the gym and touch the Death Note. IT’S SO TERRIFYINGLY RISKY, ISN’T IT. Yes, it’ll give him the power to see a shinigami, but Ryuk could be RIGHT THERE. Watching him. READY TO WARN MIKAMI ABOUT HOW CLOSE THE SPK ARE.

Bless that man’s heart. That whole sequence was terrifying.

Episode 35

I’m still struggling to understand why he did it. Why kidnap Takada? If his goal was to catch Kira before Near did, then I suppose he was trying to draw Kira out by kidnapping someone associated with him. As Kira’s spokesperson, Takada was the only person that Mello had access to who could make this goal of his a reality.

Lord, does he underestimate EVERYTHING, though. Kidnapping a high-profile media personality was bad enough. Did he think no one would follow him or figure out a way to locate Takada? However, it’s Takada’s resourcefulness that ends up taking Mello down. I still don’t know how this fits in with Light’s plan for Mikami. Does he have a fake Death Note or not? We do see what Takada does with one of the pages that Mikami gave her, but I’m also a little confused by that, too. As far as I understood it, Light genuinely did not expect her to have that page, nor did he think she would use the Death Note to kill anyone if she was ever captured. Indeed, that’s part of the conversation that they have over the phone near the end of the episode. Light refers to a vague “plan” that he had discussed with Takada about what should happen if she were captured. Which was???? We don’t ever find out because she made her own choice.

Episode 36

The show drags this moment out to an impossible length, and even if it’s seriously unbelievable (WAY MORE THAN THIRTY SECONDS PASSED, COME ON), it’s compelling and nerve-wracking. This is it. There’s no leaving that room unless one side wins. You know, Death Note has been fairly cynical along the way, so if it ends with Light’s victory, I wouldn’t necessarily be surprised. But I want Near to reveal that he knew this would happen because… well, I want to see Light pay for what he’s done. I want to see him fall from his unnatural height because he’s played with human lives as if they are nothing more than pieces of garbage to be discarded as he saw fit.

I want Near to bring justice to this world because Light has no idea what justice is.

Episode 37

I found it incredibly powerful that after thirty-six episodes of this man proudly and defiantly claiming that he was at the head of a moral mission to protect the world from evil, Near called him a murderer. IT IS ABSOLUTELY THE BEST SINGLE EXCHANGE IN THE ENTIRE EPISODE, PERHAPS THE WHOLE SERIES. In just a few sentences, Near obliterated Light’s logic. He called him a serial killer and a murderer and refused to accept a single shred of this man’s terrible logic. I LOVE IT SO MUCH, EVERYONE. I think it’s a perfect lead-in to what comes next: Matsuda’s reaction. After Near so brilliantly dissected what was wrong with Light, I believe that Matsuda broke. And honestly, I don’t think there was a better choice of a character to finally go up against Light and to fatally harm him. Look at his transformation! He went from the goofy, underused investigator to the man who wanted desperately to be seen, to be respected. Then, as L was killed and Kira became an undeniable part of the world, he turned into a fanboy. He began to support the idea of Kira, perhaps not totally, but enough to be entertained by the drama that unfolded around him. He couldn’t take the case seriously because… well, did anyone take it seriously?

So when he found out that he’d been played, that the killer they’d been searching for the whole time was right next to him, he snapped. This story belonged to Matsuda, and it’s about the best closure I could ask for.

This was a fun journey, y’all, and now I know why people had been recommending me this show for so many years. I UNDERSTAND.

#mark oshiro #world's only sjw who likes stories and fun #he is awesome #death note

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kerreire · 7 years

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I watched Death Note 2017 and thought it was... alright? (Spoilers)

So I watched the Death Note 2017 film expecting it to be as terrible as everyone said and it wasn’t, not really. I don’t think the film is secret gem or anything, it’s still not very good and to be honest I mostly watched it because of the director. Anyway, I have spoiler filled thoughts about the film and I wanna talk about it.

-Race. I should be upfront and say I’m a white Irish person living in Ireland, that’s inherently going to impact how I see things. But yeah, Light is white, the explanations they come up with for certain stuff *cough* Kira *cough* are pretty silly. They easily could have gone with a Japanese-American actor and I’d rather they did, for all the reasons people generally bring up in relation to this topic. I wish it weren’t the case, but it’s not a deal breaker for me. I recognize other people are going to feel more strongly about it. Also with Nat Wolff you never stop thinking of Peter Parker in Spider Man 3 watching the film, ever. And his reaction to meeting Ryuk is hilarious.

-I don’t actually have that much affection for the source material so the fact that it really isn’t a faithful adaptation didn’t bother me as much as it would fans. I watched the Anime when I was 16 and liked it, but I’m not really a big fan or anything. And yeah, it’s not faithful, nor is it trying to be. To the point where it’s entirely accurate to describe Mia as “a character with a name that sounds sort of like a character from the original.” It’s worse than the original but it didn’t ruin things for me, at least it isn’t just a worse version of the exact same events

-In the original Light is a villainous monster with a god complex from day one. Here he’s not, he comes loaded with feelings that the justice system has failed him in regards to his mother’s death and Mia and Ryuk act as far more corrupting influences. Mia herself doesn’t have much reason for her actions outside of I guess liking the power, without Rem and the second Death Note the story here has Light and Mia’s relationship with both being Kira and the conflict between them comes to a head when Mia kills FBI agents investigating them, Light refuses to kill his father causing L to suspect him and Mia plotting to take the Death Note for herself. Also, Willem Dafoe is great.

-I’m a sucker for mundane investigation into the supernatural, it’s why I love The X-Files and I thought the stuff with L was still pretty good. The methods L used seemed to make sense, they changed him a lot as a character but I did like him becoming far more emotionally involved when Light starts messing with Watari, although how he does that without knowing Watari’s full name is anyone’s guess. Lakeith Stanfield did a fine job in the role and I’m fine with it being less goofy than the original, no Light and L being handcuffed together here. Also, they don’t kill him half way through the film and replace him with a kid version of himself nobody likes, so that’s a plus.

-If you’re looking for interesting themes about the nature of justice there aren’t any. If you thought maybe given the American setting and that Light is white and L is black they might play into how people of color disproportionately face incarceration and police violence, they don’t, ever. They don’t even mention it.

-The ending is really good. Light throughout the whole film is missing all the masterful planning that his character had in the original but I loved the scheme he eventually sets up. The climax occurred as it did entirely as a result of Light setting it up like that and fate altering things so it would play out like in the Death Note. The scheme was 1) clever planning on his part and 2) shows that he actually is a bastard and a much darker person than Mia thought. Also I do like it being left ambiguous as to what L decides to do in the end, although it’s probably kill Light.

-I expect better from Adam Wingard as a director. I recognize he didn’t write the screenplay so I won’t pin that on him, this is the first film of his I’ve seen where he wasn’t collaborating with Simon Barrett as the writer. But camera work, transitions and soundtrack all felt subpar compared to his earlier work. There are elements that worked well in his earlier work (the amount of synth for example) which just feels out of place here. It never crosses over into terrible but it’s just okay.

So in conclusion, Death Note 2017 is exactly as good as Final Destination 5. Because that’s how I enjoyed the movie and in general it’s far more in line with it than the source material. It’s like a horror film that’s not particularly strong but is serviceable and does some interesting things storywise, the kind of film I have a weird affection for. If it weren’t for the fact that it’s an adaptation of a popular Manga/Anime series, that’s probably how it would have been received, almost instantly forgotten and somebody like me would watch it a few years later and be surprised to find that it’s alright. I know they had considered a sequel but given the reception, that’s not happening. Which is for the best really, the people involved can move on to hopefully better things.

#Death Note #Death Note 2017 #Movies #Watch The Guest instead

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semicolonthefifth · 7 years

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Fans won't like this, or, Death Note 2017

“Death Note” is a story that I got into at the height of its popularity, when the anime and its English Dub was being spread across media, and when fan support was at its most public. I saw it around the time when the “Death Note” aesthetic was growing in stores like Hot Topic, and when schools were banning products similar to the titular notebook from their classrooms. Although I was spoiled on several of the critical plot points surrounding the series, I still enjoyed it from beginning to end. Aside from the animation and story, which followed the dramatic battle of the minds between a teenager who wished to use the death note as a means to combating the world’s ills and the mysterious detective bent on putting this self-appointed god down, it was the themes and intrigue that truly grabbed me. Each episode was another new method in out-thinking your opponents, in a world where death could be brought down by simply writing a person’s name in a book. Light Yagami was cold and calculating, always thinking 2 steps ahead as he slowly went insane from an ever-growing god-complex and disillusion of moral superiority; the detective L, although a socially-awkward golem, proved to be Light’s intellectual equal, and was getting closer and closer to learning Light’s identity as Kira, an omniscient figure who killed those who committed bad deeds. There’s a lot of themes to pull from the story, even to this day, but it worked thanks to a series that approached it all through the genre of a detective piece, with multiple characters making the mystery all the more complicated. It’s understandable then that an American film adaptation would draw in a lot of concern and hate, especially due to the controversial name and race change. Unlike some anime where race is somewhat questionable due to fictional locations, “Death Note” is undoubtedly Japanese in both location and culture. It would be controversial to make all but one of the characters non-Japanese, in addition to changing the main character’s name to fit the western location (the now often-mocked Light Turner). In addition, with all western film adaptations of anime, the story is heavily condensed to fit the typical running time for a movie, and so a lot of the characters and story that would have been present in the original manga and anime is cut out to fit the new story. Obviously “Death Note” isn’t a good adaptation, enough so that you wonder why it wasn’t its own movie. Dwelling on that thought though, there’s an observation I have to make. Could it be that, were this film not an exact adaptation of the “Death Note” story, and at best a side-story to the universe, that the film is actually pretty good? What I’m saying may come across as blasphemy to fans, but let me explain through this review. STORY: Netflix’s “Death Note” follows Light Turner, a bright kid in high school who (after a run in with some bullies) discovers the strange death note. In his time at detention he reads the rules of the book and soon discovers the presence of Ryuk, a death god who has chosen Light as the keeper of the notebook. When an individual writes a name into the book, while thinking about that person, the named victim will die, whether by the writer’s choosing or through some form of fate. Light, testing the book, uses it on one of his bullies, and witnesses the books effect almost immediately. With the book, Light decides to take up the mantle of Kira, and uses the death note to kill criminals, terrorists, and evil people. He does this with the help of a high school friend turned lover named Mia Sutton, who helps in picking the names for the book. However his actions soon takes the notice of the world, and with it its greatest detective, L, who quickly theorizes the location of Kira being where Light lives. Now Light must hide from L’s investigation, all the while Misa grows reckless, his sanity starting to slip, and Ryuk watching it all with a sick sense of glee. DEATH NOTE THE ADAPTATION: I’m going to devote a section of this review to pointing out the differences between the film and the original anime/manga. While the film does its best to match the general story, there’s a lot of changes between the source material and the adaptation, enough so that the film feels like its own story. Light Turner is vastly different from Light Yagami. While Light Yagami is mostly cool-headed and places himself at a moral high-ground, Light Turner is prone to emotional outbreak and often questions his use of the death note. Yagami is more intellectual in his actions and behaviors, to the point that you can believe he has truly thought out the use of the book, its strategic value, and the value in his way of thinking; Yagami is also charismatic, and he does a fine job in hiding his identity from everyone around him. Light Turner, on the other hand, is in way over his head, and constantly runs into issues regarding how he uses the book through much of the film. Although bright enough to dodge suspicion, he lacks the charisma to really convince people of his involvement to Kira, to the point that it’s easy to suspect he has some sort of ties. In a battle of wits, Yagami overpowers Turner very easily. The same could be said between the American L and the Japanese L. Both L’s are socially awkward, and prove to be competent in their investigation, however that is where the similarities end. Anime L is awkward, but it more shows that he’s absolutely focused on the case, and that there are attempts to softening his act when he needs to get close to people; L is also as intellectual as Light Yagami in how he acts, and very rarely does he go into emotional outbursts. Film L, meanwhile, is very awkward, trusts very few people, doesn’t attempt to connect with people, and is very prone to letting his emotions get in the way. Whereas Anime L can be seen as an investigator who is barely a person, Film L is a gifted youth who can be ruthless in his attempts to finding Kira, and loses as much sanity in this case as Light does. More so than Light, the film L is very different from his anime counterpart. Other characters are different as well, with Light’s Dad being more gritty and as father than an investigator as compared to the anime, and Film Watari barely having a presence. Misa Amane, the second Death note user and an obsessive love interest to Light, makes an appearance as Mia Sutton, Light’s partner and potential lover who quickly becomes obsessed with the death note and Kira. On Mia versus Misa: Misa was characterizes as being bubbly and in love with Kira, and having a tragic backstory that led to her ownership of a death note. Mia, meanwhile, becomes a partner to Light when he shows her the death note’s power, and helps him along in hiding from L while slowly wanting to power of the book herself. Lastly there is Ryuk, who is the most like his original character than all the others. Still, the film Ryuk is actually more evil and gleeful in how he acts, in contrast to the anime Ryuk who, while gleeful, is treated more as an entertaining spectator to Light’s actions. One can almost see the film Ryuk as a villain in how he’s portrayed, however that would be getting ahead of myself. Aside from the character differences, the stories are vastly different. Missing from the anime is the friendship between L and Light, as well the in-depth investigation to finding Kira, as well much of the characters that were present in finding him (like all the agents who helped Light’s father). Rem is not present, nor is she mentioned, as well as any other Shinigami (the death gods aside from Ryuk). The second half of the anime is cut out, so we also don’t meet Near and Mello either. Instead we have a story that’s all about L trying to find Light; Light’s relationship to Mia; and the fears towards Ryuk and what he plans to do with the death note once Light’s done with it (if it even goes that far). If you are a fan of the original “Death Note”, there’s a good chance you’ll be pissed by all these changes. The story doesn’t match the source material, and its understandable to be frustrated by it. Of course it’s also quite expected, as it would’ve been impossible to adapt such a long and complicated series without cutting so much out to fit a single film. All of this sounds like it makes for a bad film… …right? Well, here’s where I think I may lose some people. While this film is a bad adaptation, strangely enough it’s a pretty good film. Not necessarily a great one, as there are issues, but it’s actually good. Allow me to explain. STORY (SPOILERS) AND ACTING: I want you to first change how you think about this film. Let’s pretend that this isn’t a movie about the story from Death Note. When approaching this film, let’s think about the story in a different way. If we were to see this movie as a side-story to the Death Note universe at best, which followed another user of the book who was influenced by Ryuk (or any other Shinigami) who was also hounded down by another detective (perhaps even change all the characters’ names so they don’t match the source at all) you would get a film that is actually quite interesting. Instead of the story surrounding a battle of wits between two intellectuals, you’d instead get a horror story surrounding a naive youth who comes across the death note, whose problems grow more and more as he’s hounded by an obsessed detective. Both sides are quickly losing their sanity, all to the entertainment of a sadistic death god who simply had to toss a book their way to bring out an insane world-changing phenomenon. What the film lacks in intrigue, it almost makes up for in madness. Almost. Light Turner is alright, but he comes across as foolish for a lot of the film. You sympathize with him not for his beliefs and the idea that he could fix the world, bust instead because he’s very pathetic, and you feel sorry for him for getting caught in this mess. The actor’s performance is great, and there’s nothing bad that comes to mind about it. L is cast almost as a secondary villain, especially in how he jumps to outbursts towards Light. He’s less of an investigative character, and more so an obsessed detective who is letting this particular case become more personal as time goes by. Another fine performance, almost better than Light in how he uses his emotions within the story. Another villain is Mia, as she progresses to this mad individual who keeps trying to influence Light to go deeper into his Kira persona. She’s very different from her anime counterpart, but in a way that she becomes her own character. Like the others, her performance is actually quite good. I’d say that everyone does a fine job, but nobody gets on Ryuk’s level, thanks to the voice acting done by Willem Dafoe. Dagoe’s Ryuk is amazing, although it does get into Spiderman’s Green Goblin at times. He’s very sadistic in how he acts, taking delight in Light’s suffering and always making joyous threats to what he’ll do with the book when he passes it on. The way he comments on Light’s situation is always entertaining, and the way the film raises him to a full-on antagonist is amazing (specifically for the film, of course). The story is simple where it needs to be, with the investigative intrigue being present at the middle and end of the film. There’s less of a mystery and more of a horror/drama, with Light being in panic over what he’s gotten himself into, and the actions he commits to trying to fix everything. The first third of the film is a hard sit; the attempts at comedy can be dull, and Light is pretty dumb in a lot of the moments at the beginning. In addition the beginning feels a lot like a typical horror movie, with bully characters, death scenes and scares. However, after Light takes the alias of Kira and L is introduced does the film become a lot better. The way Light tries to avoid capture is great, and L’s obsession raises the stakes well enough. I’d say that the film gets better and better as it goes, with the ending making up for the beginning. The gore tones down along with the dumb moments, and the film actually starts being smart in how Light uses the death note. It’s at the end where it feels like a real “Death Note” film, with a closing scene that is the best in the film with how it leaves on an ambiguous (albeit frustrating) end. Honestly a lot of the fault lies in the beginning up until L comes in. The way characters act is dumb and very typical, with Light’s father being a gruff cop who scolds Light for getting in trouble, and Light being this typical teen who has some angst. Once the actual crime drama comes in does it finally get better. As great as the anime/manga though? Not close at all. The original anime/manga is a lot smarter, and has the advantage of being a series, whereas the film is short and relies more on the drama/action side of things. Still, it’s quite entertaining, and there are moments that does serve as a smart film. VISUALS AND MUSIC: The visuals and cinematography is great, and a lot of the artistic editing/shots are fantastic. The film does a great job in adapting a lot of the wild angles and shots that were present in the anime, and I’d say that’s well worth some praise. Some shots are really dark though, especially whenever Ryuk is present, however the coloring and lights is great when the darkness isn’t too strong. Once more the beginning feels a lot like a typical modern horror movie with its use of blues, but (again) the tone improves once L enters the picture. There’s a careful use of CGI, mostly in Ryuk and in other scenes. It’s not too obvious, although Ryuk (while as incredible as he is) does feel like a puppet when he talks. He’s certainly better when seen either from behind or away from direct view. The music though… is more miss than hit. I think it was a mistake to use a lot of songs from bands, rather than its own original soundtrack. They try to be quiet for a lot of the film, with a soft orchestral soundtrack in a lot of the scenes. However in the final third the music tracks come right after the other in attempt to make certain scenes feel more powerful. It can be laughable at certain times, but in others it’s just extremely noticeable and gets in the way of seeing the film. It’s a terrible mistake, and one I wish wasn’t in the film as much in the end. CONCLUSION: This is going to be difficult. If this film were its own story, or was treated as a side-story with characters completely separate from those in the original, it would be an entertaining film that has some flaws, but could be considered a good watch. Not something you could recommend to see, but a good film to pass the time. However, as an adaptation it is extremely unfaithful, and fans will hate this film a lot for what it did with the story and characters. The film-makers had to make the film about Light Turner and a detective named L, and for that it suffers for making so many changes. Were it about a teenager (not named Light) who was stalked by a code-named government agent, with the teen finding a death note that looks eerily similar to a case happening in Japan (thereby being a story running parallel, rather directly from it) this movie would be seen as an interesting mini-drama that could perhaps expand the world more. Instead it chose to be a adaptation, and it’s difficult to ignore that, even for me. So do I ask you to see it? Perhaps to not see it? I can’t say. If it is impossible to ignore this film as an adaptation, than I’d say don’t watch it. Go watch the anime, or maybe the Japanese film adaptation in 2006. You won’t find the anime or manga in this Netflix film. Fans will hate it, this I promise. However, if you can treat this as a side-story, or something completely cut from Death note, it’s a good popcorn film to see with friends. Nothing worth remembering, but entertaining nonetheless. I wouldn’t say it’s worth recommendation, but if you have any free time and you’re browsing Netflix, I don’t think you’ll regret putting it on.

#semi reviews #review #film review #movie review #death note #death note 2017

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casuistor · 7 years

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Re: Misa’s death in the anime

Reposting my original post with minor edits!

So Misa’s death in the manga is confirmed in HTR13 as being February 14th 2011, but in the Death Note anime, Misa’s date of death is left ambiguous. Even according to HTR14 (the official guidebook for the anime), Misa’s date of death is left as “不明” -- unknown (Page).This differs from characters who do not have a confirmed date of death in the manga; they have the space where the answer goes crossed out. (Example) The implication, therefore, seems to be that Misa does die, though the exact date of her death is unknown.

Despite the ambiguity, the anime strongly implies Misa commits suicide and that it occurs before she is aware of Light’s death. This seems weirdly out of character and has led to a lot of alternative explanations such as the possibility that her final scenes in the anime actually take place some time in the future after she becomes aware of Light’s death.

But actually I think her suicide in the anime does take place on January 28th 2013 and that it occurs before she is aware of Light’s death.This probably sounds weird because there’s no obvious trigger for her suicide if she wasn’t aware of Light’s death, but this version of events is actually quite consistent with how Misa is portrayed in the anime specifically.

The Death Note anime, like any other derivative work, alters the characterizations of individual characters in the process of re-telling the narrative. I’ve talked about how the anime changes Light (here), but I haven’t touched on how the anime changes other characters. Credit goes to @mikami for having written this fantastic post on how the anime alters Misa’s personality in the anime.

The anime portrays Misa as having a much greater degree of self awareness with regards to her relationship to Light than is ever implied in the manga. Manga-Misa and Anime-Misa are very different characters. But despite the two depictions of Misa being largely incompatible with one another, I generally tend to find Misa’s characterization in the anime more or less consistent. So while I do think the argument that “Misa wouldn’t have killed herself prior to knowing that Light died” is completely valid for manga-Misa, I don’t think the same argument applies for anime-Misa.

To elaborate on this point a bit further, I want to talk about “Misa no Uta” aka that song Misa sings in episode 25.

Lyrics to “Misa no Uta”

気をつけて神様は見てる。暗い夜道は手をつないでください！一人で遠くでもいつも見つけ出してくれる。知ってることは全部教えてくれる。私がおぼえたなくても、何度でも教えてくれる。

でも　全部わかってしまったらどうすればいいの?

The English translation (nabbed from here)

Be careful, God is watching. In a street blacked by night, please link our hands together. Even if I’m by myself and far away, He can always come find me.

He comes to teach me everything He knows. Even if I should no longer remember He will teach me over and over.

But what should I do once I know everything?

As Luna already discussed in the linked post, the finer implications of what this song says about Misa’s perception of her relationship with Light, I’ll go ahead and point out something else. Specifically, the last couple of lines.

The “Even if I should no longer remember” line is interesting because it most obviously refers to Miss more recent memory loss in the first arc, but it also foreshadows how Misa gives up her memories again in the second arc. The anime makes this element of foreshadowing all the more evident with visual cues that directly link “Misa no Uta” to Misa’s eventual suicide.

The two scenes, as Luna pointed out, are meant to be contrasted. The two scenes are connected.

And following that train of thought, there’s another really interesting point to be made about “Misa no Uta.”

Her song ends on a question.

In the context of “Misa no Uta” the question is one that is really asking “what will I do once I no longer have any use?”

This is a question that Misa, in the manga, never asks herself. She is convinced Light is in love with her and isn’t using her for her utility to him, but the anime does have different ideas about Misa.

Outside of “Misa no Uta” there aren’t many anime-exclusive scenes where we get a glimpse of Misa when she is alone after she is together with Light. When she’s around other people, she tends to be as enthusiastic and full of energy as she is depicted in the manga. But when you do look at how Misa is portrayed in the anime when alone and there’s no need for her to act and put on a cheery face, she’s always noticeably disturbed.

Here she is in the opening scene of Misa no Uta:

Here she is when she has lost her memories and is alone in her apartment.

The unspoken distress in this scene is made very clear by the fact that in the background her pet bird is shrieking. But the symbolism doesn’t stop there because bless the anime, it really likes its symbolism..

As you can see in the screencap above, her pet bird is a literal lovebird. The symbolism here is, again, yet another nod to the fact that Misa is clearly aware that her relationship is falling apart.

First Light made her quit her job. Then Light asked her to give up her memories (which she wouldn’t remember). Then Light told her to go back to work so he could get access to NHN. Now Light no longer spends time with her because he’s working at his job. …And spending time with Kiyomi.

The implications of these facts are things that manga-Misa never wants to face. But on the other hand, Anime-Misa, who recognizes the possibility that Light is purely using her is starting to realize that her usefulness is coming to an end.

Even if I should no longer remember He will teach me over and over. But what should I do once I know everything?

By the later parts of second arc, Misa has reached the point where Light is no longer guiding her or by her side because he has nothing to left to teach her so to speak. One way of looking at it is that when a person has nothing left to teach you, it’s because you have already learned everything you need to know.

Consider also the fact that even though Misa has lost her memories, she is still aware that there was a period of time in which she and Light were both arrested as Kira suspects. Consider the fact that Misa is essentially arrested by Near again and that Mogi allows this to happen – which theoretically wouldn’t have happened if Misa wasn’t a threat and that this is obviously related to the Kira investigation since Light’s involvement more or less confirms this as fact. Consider also that she knows what happens to people who are no longer needed by Kira. She knows what Demegawa’s and Kiyomi’s fates were.

Misa’s suicide in the anime is not a consequence of her knowledge of Light’s death. It’s a consequence of her knowledge of the death of her usefulness to Light that grows steadily over the course of the entire second arc.

The answer to her question in “Misa no Uta” is to commit suicide. She doesn’t want to find out what a world without Light is like. She doesn’t want to know what a world where she has outlived her usefulness to the person she loves is like.

But why January 28th 2013 specifically? The reason for that may simply have to do with the fact that this date is the first time in second arc when she is left alone after she loses her memories. Remember soon after she surrenders those memories, Mogi and Aizawa keep Misa under constant surveillance. January 28th 2013 is the first time when Mogi is not with her and she has her freedom back.

And the first thing she does with this freedom is to go to a very familiar roof at the top of a familiar building.

Yep. It’s the top of the skyscraper that L had constructed back during the Yotsuba arc.

This choice is significant because it’s the one place she remembers she was able to be unambiguously useful to Light. Misa doesn’t have any memories of acting as Kira and helping Light create their new world together because she loses all of the memories specific to the use of notes. But what she does have are her memories of helping Light catch Higuchi here. No doubt it’s a treasured memory and I think this is probably the last thing she thinks about before it is implied that she jumps.

Whether you’re a fan of the anime’s interpretation of Misa’s character or not…it’s pretty damn sad.

#analysis #misa amane #cw: suicide #death note

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swipestream · 6 years

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SUPERVERSIVE Goes Warpig: Why the Netflix Death Note Movie SUCKED

Our good friend Daddy Warpig isn’t the only one who can be passionately but rationally and analytically disgusted by steaming piles of crap. We at the Superversive team are capable of the same thing, and on that note, I’d like to tell you why the Netflix American Death Note film is an insult to the franchise name, and a black mark on its legacy forever. It’s worse than bad. It’s insulting.

In the big picture, it’s sort of hard to see, or at least explain. But none of the small details add up. Everything felt wrong. It was kind of like somebody made Abrams-verse Death Note but not as mindlessly entertaining…since Death Note has no appeal as mindless entertainment. Star Trek is theoretically brainier entertainment but at least it has spaceships and phasers and cool stuff; the Abrams movies were solid popcorn filler and I enjoy watching the first one especially. It just wasn’t good at the cerebral half of Trek.

“Death Note” is entirely about the mind game. The notebooks and the death gods are the only supernatural elements in the story, and they’re a plot device. If you lose the mind game, there’s nothing worth watching – and the Netflix film lost the mind game.

The premise of the movie is the same as the premise of every other adaptation: A Death Note drops out of the sky and is picked up by Light, an exceptionally intelligent but otherwise average high school student. The Death Note gives the holder the power to kill anyone simply by writing their name down. They also get to be followed around by a death god (shinigami, for you purists), the original owner of the note. This one’s name is Ryuk, and he appears in every adaptation, ’cause he’s just that cool (William Defoe as Ryuk in the Netflix movie is one of the few bright spots).

The first place the movie goes wrong is with Light. In the original anime (this is going to be my shorthand for both the anime and manga, since the former is just a direct adaptation of the latter) Light isn’t just smart, he’s a super-genius, more brilliant than every other character in the story except, arguably, L. And this is a story with no dumb characters. His intelligence is god-like.

And Light is also an excellent athlete. And handsome. And great with the ladies. And charming. He’s the classic sociopath – perfect on the outside with the heart of a monster underneath.

In the Netflix movie, Light is smart…for a high school student. He does other people’s homework and has them pay him. That’s smart, I guess. He also stands up to a bully by prissily yelling about how it’s child abuse if he hits them. That’s…not smart. He ends up in detention. Not very Light-like. He has no friends and is a nerd. VERY not Light-like.

Ryuk’s character design is basically the same in every adaptation, because it is perfect and awesome

In the anime, when Light sees Ryuk for the first time, he’s cool as a cucumber. Oh, a death god? Well, I suppose I do have a notebook with the power to kill people by writing their name down. He doesn’t seem to bother me. Why should I care? Light is stone cold. He assesses threats with the cold-blooded rationality of a predator and reacts to them accordingly. Ryuk might have been scary looking, but when Light deduces he’s not a threat…why freak out over it, right?

This version of Light sees Ryuk for the first time and screams like a little girl crying for his mama. It’s ridiculous and pathetic and very much NOT Light.

Anime Light trusts nobody. Nobody is a “friend”…and nobody is off limits. Light may eventually decide to “trust” you in the sense that he uses you as a pawn because he is convinced you won’t betray him, but this only happens after long and careful planning and deliberation, in the absolute assurance that letting you in on privileged information will directly benefit him in some way.

Movie Light, after using the Death Note to settle a couple of personal vendettas, shows it to a girl (Mia) and tells her what it does.

Was he friends with this girl? Nope.

Does he have any reason to believe she’ll do anything but freak out, and possibly get the Death Note taken away? Nope.

Does he have any reason to believe she won’t try to steal it herself? Nope.

So why does he show it to her?

He has a crush on her. That’s it. That’s the reason. Light reveals that he stone cold murdered two people with an untraceable and unstoppable weapon, because he had a crush on a pretty girl. Movie Light SUCKS.

Where does Light keep the Death Note? Surely in some untraceable spot, somewhere nobody would ever think to look or could stumble onto accidentally?

Anime Light creates an elaborate death trap, ensuring that anybody who doesn’t do the exact set of steps required to retrieve the Death Note from its hiding spot will literally set the entire house on fire and burn everything to the ground. In public he is never stupid enough to carry the Death Note around with him, instead smuggling pieces of paper that he hides in places like secret compartments on his watch.

Movie Light brings it to gym class and reads it on the bleachers, and is promptly spotted. He also carries it around with him, stuffs it inside of a Calculus book (when he doesn’t take Calculus, making it an especially dumb hiding spot), and leaves it lying around. Later in the movie Mia is able to steal several pages of the Death Note. How? Because he left it sitting there. In the next scene a group of FBI agents investigating them commit suicide. Light is too dumb to realize that Mia stole the Death Note, and accuses Ryuk of acting on his own. Light is an idiot. The movie frames the revelation that Mia stole the Death Note as a “twist” instead of an absurdly obvious plot device.

Anime Light will kill anyone, do anything, to avoid being caught – and he will not lose a second of sleep at night over it. He openly talks of killing his own family several times, and while he never has to do so directly he is certainly very much open to the possibility.

Movie Light is essentially challenged on TV by his father: Kill me if you can. Light doesn’t do it, because this version of Light will kill hundreds of people in cold blood but is willing to get caught if it means not killing his father. Movie version of L (more on him soon) immediately and correctly figures out that Light must be Kira (the Death Note killer) for this reason.

Let’s talk about L. In both adaptations L is the detective in charge of the Kira investigation. I’m going to be fair here and say that Keith Stanfield did a very good job here and was easily the best part of the movie; it’s not his fault the writing betrayed him in the end.

The Lind L. Tailor scene is one of the most iconic moments in the Death Note franchise and the moment it became clear how brilliant the plotting really was. It was a ploy by L designed to pinpoint Kira’s powers and location by sacrificing a death row inmate and announcing on live TV that he was in charge of the Kira investigation. It established L’s brilliance, his ballsiness, and the stakes and rules of the game in one awesome game-changing moment.

More like LAME L. Tailor scene, amirite? Huh? Huh?

The Lind L. Tailor scene is not in the Netflix movie. Instead we get a pale imitation where L simply holds a press conference and asks Kira to kill him; when Kira doesn’t kill him, he deduces that this means Kira needs a name and face.

Here again the stupidity of the Netflix movie is contrasted sharply with the brilliance of the anime. In the anime the Lind L. Tailor scene works because L is repeating the broadcast over and over throughout the day – as he says, though apparently he gets lucky and Tailor is caught the first go around. The key here is that it’s not just that he’s looping it, it’s being repeated live, so he can show Kira that he knows exactly when he made the kill. He also DOES NOT USE HIMSELF – that’s the big twist in the scene, that he’s using a proxy.

In the Netflix movie, L goes up and invites Kira to kill him himself, and at a live press conference. When it’s over, he leaves. This defeats the whole point of the scene – he proved nothing! All he knows is that for some reason, Kira did not kill him – he does not have any proof that Kira CAN kill someone with just a name and face. And he risks his own very much NOT expendable life on a hunch with no proof. And doing this would prove nothing about Kira’s location, since he’s already pinpointed him to Seattle. Non-action is not evidence. It’s just not proof against his theory – a very different thing.

Later Netflix L deduces that Light is Kira by having Light’s father – the police chief – give a press conference, live. When he does not immediately die afterwards – as of course he would if Kira had no relation and thus no reason to keep him alive – he uses this as his evidence that Light is L.

…Except L would never be this sloppy. Anime L would NEVER use this scenario to come to a conclusion like that. He would do something rather like he actually did – suspect Light, hide cameras in his house, set a tail on him, and track his movements. What he would NOT do is decide that his investigation is over based on such a flimy deduction. Again – one of the best parts of the anime is that it doesn’t contain moments like that. If Anime L doesn’t have proof Light is Kira, he doesn’t go gunning half-cocked on hunches, which is exactly what Netflix L is doing. And the thing is, if Netflix L HAD set up Light’s room with cameras, Light would almost certainly have been caught, considering how much stupider he is than anime Light.

Later in the movie, L introduces himself to Light and tells him he knows he’s Kira but has no evidence yet. He even takes off his half-mask thing and shows him his face.

Why would L risk his life like this? It’s not explained. There is no reason. L gains nothing from this. When Anime L reveals himself to Light the scene is shocking and dramatic, because up to that point it was understood that L’s big advantage is that Light had no idea what he looked like or what his name was. As the episode goes on it becomes increasingly clear that not only has L not made a mistake or gone off the rails, he has executed a masterstroke, one of the most brilliant moves of the game to that point, effectively evening the playing field against a seemingly unstoppable enemy. Anime L NEVER took unnecessary risks unless he knew the potential gains were massive. Netflix L is careless in comparison.

This, by the way, is the only face to face interaction between L and Light in the whole film. The back and forth battle of wits underpinned with Machiavellian maneuvering that characterized their relationship in the anime? Completely gone.

Later, after Netflix L’s assistant, Watari, is killed, he loses it, grabs a gun, and goes after Light vigilante style…with no evidence, when earlier in the movie he makes a point of saying he doesn’t use a gun to kill people.

Anime L would never do this. First off, L HATES to lose. If Kira somehow managed to get to somebody close enough to L to affect him, it wouldn’t prompt L to give up his values and go running off half-cocked against a suspect. It would be another reason for L to up his game, to further solidify his dedication to the cause and willingness to take even more dangerous risks. But stop trying for answers and instead steal a car and start gunning for somebody? Unthinkable.

And second off…what, exactly, is L hoping to accomplish? I mean revenge, I guess, but then when he first sees Light he tells him to freeze and puts him under arrest…why? With what evidence? He had nothing. No matter how upset L was he’d never do something that rash – in fact, if L was upset he would ESPECIALLY not do something that rash. He would simply double down on his efforts, work twice as hard. Like Netflix Light, if less dramatically, Netflix L is just a lamer version of the anime L. He’s not a “different” interpretation, he’s a worse one.

Light, by the way, is willing to leave Watari alive. When his girlfriend yells something to the effect of “Stop acting all high and mighty because you don’t have the balls to do what’s necessary”, she is absolutely right, and it’s hard not to be on her side. Come on, Light, you’re a predator. You’ve killed over 400 people! Embrace it!

This is accurate.

The ending is just a mess. So the Death Note doesn’t just allow you to control people’s actions before their death, it allows you to place yourself into a medically induced coma and fall in specific spots at specific times. Apparently the Death Note can do anything so long as you write “And also, this person dies” at the end of the sentence. L, by the way, finds a page from the Death Note stuffed inside Light’s calculus book. You might recall that Light doesn’t take Calculus. This is how obvious his hiding place is.

The Netflix Death Note is like a Russian doll of bad decisions. It’s just mistake after mistake, one on top of the other, and beneath all of that is the biggest mistake of all: Focusing on the edgy themes and black comedy in lieu of the incredibly deliberate and careful plotting and mental machinations that make up the heart of the original story.

Because beneath all of its death gods and magical notebooks, “Death Note” is a thriller. And when you take that aspect away, as the Netflix movie did, you’re doing more than making a bad Death Note movie. You’re not making a Death Note movie at all. You’re just adding another chapter into the book of generic grimdark fantasies so beloved in this, the dung age.

And you should be ashamed.

SUPERVERSIVE Goes Warpig: Why the Netflix Death Note Movie SUCKED published first on http://ift.tt/2zdiasi

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