Death Note and Death Note Two

Title: Death Note....Death Note Two (The Last Name)

Release 2008

Directed by Shūsuke Kaneko

Produced by: Toyoharu Fukuda

Takahiro Kohashi

Takahiro Satō

Seiji Okuda (The Last Name) 

Music by: Kenji Kawai

Studio: NTV, Warner Bros

Cast:

Tatsuya Fujiwara as Light Yagami

Kenichi Matsuyama as L

Erika Toda as Misa Amane

Asaka Seto as Naomi Misora

Shidou Nakamura as Ryuk (voice)

Shinnosuke Ikehata as Rem (Voice in Death Note: The Last Name)

Shigeki Hosokawa as Raye Iwamatsu

Shunji Fujimura as Watari

Takeshi Kaga as Soichiro Yagami

Yuu Kashii as Shiori Akino

Hikari Mitsushima as Sayu Yagami

Shin Shimizu as Kanzo Mogi

When I spotted these movies in Coconuts I was so elated I got a bit teary...yes, I was really that excited. The anime version was one of my very most favorites and to be able to own the live action films was a dream come true.


This movie is about a college student, (genius really) named Light Yagami. He discovers a mysterious notebook, called the "Death Note", lying on the ground. Once he touches it, he's able to see a shinigami, (death spirit) named Ryuk, who reveals some of the books secrets, but by no means all. The notebook states that if you write someones name in it while picturing their face, the person will die. Although skeptical, after some experimentation....Light discovers that is indeed authentic. 

Ryuk

Having grown up with a police officer as a father, he realizes that justice isn't always swift, and that sometimes the guilty do not get the punishment they deserve. As a result, Light decides to take matters into his own hands and starts executing criminals.....a lot of criminals, under the persona known as Kira. All the while Lights' father Soichiro Yagami along with the mysterious L, has been leading the investigation to hunt down Kira. 

The Last Name:

The eccentric and childlike L is determined to uncover Kira, and being a genius himself, they are equally matched. Light always manages to stay a step ahead of him but L closes in little by little, despite the fact that Light has taken on an accomplice named Misa, who also has a Death Note. For certain reasons Misa sees Kira as her God...her hero. With her shinigami Rem, she is able to Look at someone and kill them....but will she be able to see L's face? In the end will light be willing to sacrifice his own father to achieve his goals...to be the god of his new world.

Rem

The way I see it: If I expressed to you all of the twists, turns and manipulation that actually existed in these movies this review would be full of spoilers...not something I would do ;) The deranged labyrinth that is lights mind was like a fun-house to me...such a good time :D The movies stayed, (for the most part) true to story. L, (who is my absolute favorite character) was flawless. Kenichi Matsuyama literally was L, he completely immersed himself in this role. Truly incredible. 

The bad, the bad, and the ugly: They changed the ending. In my opinion... Americanized it. It was still good, but I am a fan of the...somewhat brutal at times, Asian style of anime and movies. Also in the anime series Light was always obsessed with power, and vocalized it often. They really didn't emphasize this in the films.

Love it or Leave it: OMG loved it!!! It was sooo much fun and Light was sooo messed up...quite the sick puppy ;) The fact that it did stay basically true to the story was big for me. The shinigami looked great, (it was eerie in fact...lol) and came across with a lot of personality. Erika Toda as Misa, also did a phenomenal job with her role. 

Note: You probably would only be fond of these movies if you enjoy anime, or Japanese style films. I, being a fan of both....was in my glory :D