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Manga Recon at NYAFF 2007: Death Note and Death Note: The Last Name

June 23rd, 2007 by Erin F. Bookmark this post

Anime and manga otaku will be psyched that both live-action Death Note movies will be playing in the NYAFF, with the director in attendance. I wouldn’t be surprised if these screenings are already sold out. This will be the North American debut of both films, despite many fans having seen them thanks to internet piracy. Viz Films will undoubtedly eventually distribute the DVDs in North America at a reasonable price. The Death Note anime series is still running and episodes are available for purchase in the iTunes store.

DEATH NOTE

Chances are you already know the premise of Death Note if you’re reading this, so I’ll be brief: Light Yagami finds a magic notebook that has the power to kill anyone who’s name he writes in it’s pages. Light immediately sets out to free the world of crime by killing every criminal he sees on the news; unfortunately, the police consider Light’s actions mass murder and call in the world’s greatest detective, known only as “L” to solve the case.

The real question is this: Will your friends who aren’t familiar with Death Note be able to enjoy this film? My answer is a cautious maybe; the CG for the Death God (shinigami) character Ryuk is a bit lackluster - he looks like he’s in a videogame. The plot is a little draggy and convoluted since it’s split into two movies. I’m not certain someone coming from a non-fan perspective would have the patience for it.

If anything, Death Note feels like a date movie. Light is played by hot young actor Tatsuya Fujiwara, and his girlfriend Shirori’s part is expanded for the film. There’s a tragic-death-romance ending that seems tacked on to win over… well, your date. It seems like a movie made by guys with some kissing thrown in so that girls will still enjoy it.

Although Misa Misa is a major character in the manga, she is mostly absent from the first film - her role is mostly regulated to her face painted on the side of a bus. L barely arrives halfway through Death Note; L fans will have to wait for the second film for hot, hot L action (see below).

Although a bit bland, there were some moments of Death Note that I enjoyed immensely. First, when Ray Penbar writes the names of the U.S. FBI Agents in the Death Note, the first name he writes is “Miles Fitzerald” which is clearly “Fitzgerald” with no G. I’m not nitpicking here - this was a dramatic name-writing scene with the name spelled out in close-up and the plot hinging on the written word.

Second, I found it extremely gratifying that Macs were used in the film only by good characters. L has a platinum PowerBook G4, (an upgrade from the Mac G4 cube in the manga) whereas Light uses only PCs. The FBI agent had a Thinkpad, but that Thinkpad was only used for evil! (I’m writing this on a Platinum G4 Powerbook, by the way.)

Third, there is a crucial zoom-in at the end of the film onto a bag of chips. It’s a bag of consum� flavored chips. Truly, a classic moment in cinema history!

Finally, I didn’t like the way that Ryuk’s feathery shoulder-pads were rendered in CG. Thanks to Monsters Inc. I know there are better fur/feather rendering engines out there, but I suspect that Death Note had about 1/12th of the budget of your average Pixar film. It may not be a fair complaint.

Overall, Death Note is way more accessible to the general public that Death Note: The Last Name, but I’ll explore that in a moment.

DEATH NOTE: THE LAST NAME

Death Note: The Last Name is not a good movie. It is not objectively good; nor is it accessible to non-fans of the Death Note franchise. Now that that’s out of the way; OMG I loved this movie!!!!1

The ideal viewing situation for The Last Name is a junior high slumber party. I wanted to eat ice cream and popcorn and break out into pillow-fights while watching this film. The plot is convoluted, sure, but this is actually a movie about watching two hot fictitious geniuses play out a game of symbolic chess against each other. Did I mention they were hot?

More fan-fiction fodder than film, The Last Name rehashes the second part of the Death Note manga, from roughly volume 5 on. Instead of the (spoilers) Death Note ending up in the hands of the Yotsuba corporation, an ambitious female new anchor becomes the next Kira. She quickly kills off her competing news anchor to advance in ranks as one would on a Klingon Bird of Prey. And if you know what I mean by that, you’re probably nerdy enough to watch this film.

The Last Name appeals to me in the same way that old Doctor Who episodes appeal to me; it is solidly cult with some camp thrown in. Watching the first Death Note movie is not enough to understand the plot of The Last Name; one needs to have read some of the manga or seen the anime to understand it. It is the same problem with pre-1989 episodes of Dr. Who - one must understand the franchise to get any enjoyment out of it. The camp element comes into play as L eats more and more sugary snacks in each scene. A normal person would scoff at such scenes, but to an insider this is pure fanservice.

Fortunately I watched the movie alone; otherwise my high-pitched giggling would be intolerable to others. If you’re watching this with an audience of fangirls you ought to know what you’re in for: Squeeing.

Mello and Near are not in The Last Name, and the movie is better off for it.

The best past of The Last Name is the ending. Rather than sticking strictly to the manga, The Last Name has a really good ending. It takes a little from the end of the books, but clears up the clouded plot and comes to a very satisfying conclusion (unfortunately drawn out a totally unnecessary epilogue scene). If you want to know more about the ending, read the wikipedia entry, because I’m not going to spoil it for you here.

Filed under: Features, Reviews, Blogs, Movie Reviews, Movie Features, Manga Recon, Death Note, NYAFF, Spoilers, Viz

26 Comments Add your own

1. Jon Haehnle | June 24th, 2007 at 6:58 pm

Did you really think Light was hot? Everyone I watched Death Note with commented that they thought he wasn’t very good-looking at all, especially compared to the manga/anime Light. Nor did he appear especially ingenious, but that’s another matter. Maybe this (brains, not looks) changes in The Last Name. I’m hoping so at least! Glad to hear you enjoyed both films, though.
2. Erin F. | June 25th, 2007 at 1:17 am

I didn’t think Light was that hot, but somehow talking to L made him seem hotter. L was not as cute as in the comics, but I think the actor was doing a really good job, which made him cuter.
3. Jon Haehnle | June 25th, 2007 at 10:15 am

I do think L seemed better cast than Light and I’ll probably confirm it when I see Last Name. And I forgot to add, love your diagrams as usual Erin. Also, I now realize what my next iTunes purchase will be — Death Note anime!
4. mark kira | September 6th, 2007 at 8:22 am

i really think that the last name was so cool!!!!!i really love the twist of the story,including their strategies and styles!!!well i was shock because the main two character died, i wish i have a deathnote and a shinigami!!if i had it, i will do the same thing as light did!!im a criminology student as well, i want to punish all the criminals!!!!!!!!that’s it!!!!!!!thanks!!!!!!!
5. Jiggy Iggy | September 6th, 2007 at 1:24 pm

I thought they were both hot! And I’m a straight guy man!
6. gaest | September 7th, 2007 at 3:37 am

I completely agree that these movies are probably only for the fanbase, because someone coming into them with no prior knowledge would be either lost or overly critical of plot points, etc. And I love your charts. Overall, awesome review, particularly the line:

“Fortunately I watched the movie alone; otherwise my high-pitched giggling would be intolerable to others. If you�re watching this with an audience of fangirls you ought to know what you�re in for: Squeeing.”

That made me giggle just remembering my own fangirlish reaction to The Last Name. I never “squee” but I was squeeing like crazy for this movie, and (a bit less) for the first movie. The change they made for the ending was bloody fantastic and - dare I say it?! - it was how the manga should have ended.

Now I can’t wait until the prequel featuring L comes out… and I’ll probably squee insanely while watching that movie too….
7. Tsukishiro-chan | September 28th, 2007 at 9:04 pm

I have not yet watched The Last Name…but I have to say I was not impressed at all by the first movie…
They took a perfectly engaging story and turned into a dumb love story. If they were trying to apply to the female population, they failed miserably (I’m a girl, and I was terribly exasperated by the love scenes).
Besides, I did not find Light attractive at all, nor particularly smart! He was extremely out of character. L wasn’t half as lovable as he is in the manga, but he was not too bad.
Overall, they should have kept a cleaner story line. There were many unnecessary scenes in the movie, and it lacked essential parts.

Oh well, I haven’t really seen a movie adaptation of a book that is completely pleasing, and, as someone said before me, they probably did not have much of a budget. Not to mention death note has a rather demanding story line.
8. Remy | October 5th, 2007 at 3:08 am

I’ve watched those movies around febuary. they were really good
9. swoozie | November 7th, 2007 at 8:56 pm

i just started watching death note and its really good
10. ja-ckSon. | November 23rd, 2007 at 1:45 am

great movie
11. Schuyler | December 3rd, 2007 at 7:50 pm

I was wondering if anyone knew where I could download or buy this movie with english subtitles. Please e-mail me and tell me. I really wanna see it, especially since Near and Mello are not in it. They completely ruined it. Long live L!!
12. Katherine Dacey-Tsuei | December 4th, 2007 at 11:40 am

Viz acquired the rights to both films, so they should be releasing subtitled versions on DVD in 2008. There’s no information about the Death Note films on their website yet, but keep checking back.
13. Katherine | December 6th, 2007 at 9:58 am

I love Death Note. But you wouldn’t want to put that book in my hand becuase a lot of people that I don’t like would be dead right now. Light is my favrote. But my friends like L for some reason. But anyway Death Note is a great book and I think that everyone should read this fantastic book.
14. WolfyJ | December 30th, 2007 at 2:35 am

Id like to just make the simple fact in the review that dramatic close up scene with the chips is to let us deduce that L has already somewhat discovered that inside the bag of chips was about the only blind spot in the room, purposely created by Light.

I am somewhat disappointed in the movie probably because I have high expectations from it, but I still managed to find it rather enjoyable. I am disappointed in Light because he does not appear to be even half as smart as the anime. However I’m so happy with L that it kind of makes up for it.
15. ace santiago | February 10th, 2008 at 1:50 am

i thought the movie waz cool all in general. dont you guys
16. Gurvinder | April 14th, 2008 at 9:33 pm

omg i love death note i cant wait till the movies come to canada seriously im DYING to see them! light is so hot and smart! i’ve seen the anime and cant wait to see the action live
17. citra_luph light | April 26th, 2008 at 12:59 am

light you are verry handsome, cute, kawaii, I very love you.LIGHT SO HOT AND SEXY
18. Aceatck | April 28th, 2008 at 8:24 am

lol i wonder if melllo is the girl?????
19. DeathNoteLuvr | April 28th, 2008 at 8:34 am

Where can I get the movie?
20. Secret | May 25th, 2008 at 2:02 pm

In Regards to purchasing the live action Death note both volumes one and two you can purchase it at the San Francisco’s Japantown movie and anime store located in the mall, not to mention there store is far superior to any other store i’ve seen, they even have a used section from past rentals. I believe they deliver but they’re might be a minimum. Keep in my mind that it is in japanese and cantanese and subtitled for both cantanese and english. Happy hunting.
21. Erin F. | May 27th, 2008 at 7:18 pm

Kids, don’t buy region-free DVDs subbed in Cantonese and English - those are the most common bootlegs around. Wait a month or two, Viz will put out the DVDs officially soon enough, and you’ll get cool extras (probably) at a very reasonable price without having to special-order from San Francisco.
22. saila ainillah | June 8th, 2008 at 11:41 pm

i think anime japan cool, amazing. ang dont to make we bored. i like so much!!!!!!!! menggunakan bahasa indonesia aja ya!!!!!!!
aku sangat suka anime jepang karena keren enggak membuat kita suntuk saya sangat suka sekali apalagi naruto yang mendunia sangat keren saya suka!!!!!! animasi baru yang saya sangat gemari adalah death note ceritanya menarik, unsur film semua ada disana
23. anika | June 15th, 2008 at 10:42 am

awwwwwwwww l iz so hot lob him btw in real hiz face iz not lyk dat
24. Ikami | June 29th, 2008 at 2:59 pm

that was a funny pic of L and Light
25. miyu | July 10th, 2008 at 2:34 am

frist time i saw the cover picture from the dvd, i thought this movie was a japanese version of “Harry Potter” and didn’t watch it untill yersterday night.

they said that there’s 2 parts for this movie right? the one i watch was about L and the little mute boy with a little 12yr old girl. anways-its a good story, i think L is very cute. (im still pretty new to this storyline) a friend told me that Death NOtes was from a anime. Will have to watch the anime!!
26. Erin F. | July 11th, 2008 at 11:09 am

The one just about L is the third live-action movie.

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