The Japanese manga Death Note was invented by the writer and screenwriter Tsugami Oba, and illustrated the manga Takeshi Obata. In the center of the detective story component is the so-called Death Note, which is a notebook that gives its owner the opportunity to take the life of any inhabitant.
The manga was introduced to the public at the end of 2003 and circulated until the spring of 2006. And in November of that year, the first episode of the anime of the same name, directed by Tetsuro Araki at the famous animation studio Madhouse, went on the air. The project instantly became popular in all countries of the world. Manga and anime were highly appreciated by art critics and the public, they became equally successful both in Japan and in foreign countries.
The main plot
Initiative of the plot of "Notebooks of death" in all its formats (manga, anime, series, books, games, film adaptations) is the same. At the very beginning, the audience gets acquainted with the bored death deity Ryuke, who dropped the Death Note from heaven to Earth. Notepad is a perfect weapon that allows the owner to deal with anyone whose face he saw and whose name he knows. It is only necessary to enter the name in the notebook. The circumstances and terms of death can be specified in each individual case, but if there are no special instructions, the victim dies of a heart attack within 40 seconds after entering his name. Although in the plot of "Notebooks of death" of the American film adaptation, the emphasis is placed in a new way.
Manga
It’s very difficult to describe briefly the plot of “Death Note” of the Tetsuro Araki television series. The story begins with the fact that the notebook is in the hands of an intellectually gifted high school student Yagami Light. The teenager grows up in the family of a policeman, he knows firsthand about the criminal situation, therefore he is seriously concerned about the problem of rising crime. Guided by youthful maximalism, the hero decides that the best and most effective way to fight crime is to destroy all the criminal elements. Despite the fact that criminals die for a natural reason (usually a heart attack), the number of suddenly dead mafiosi and other dregs of society draws the attention of the public and law enforcement agencies.
Thanks to the media, the mysterious killer is called the nickname of Cyrus (from the English “killer”), and an outstanding detective of our time begins to hunt for him under the pseudonym L. He hides his face and does not give his real name to be protected from Kira. L guesses that the object lives in Japan, and after a while begins to be actively interested in Light.
This is just a saying ...
But this is only the plot of the Death Note plot. Describe all the actions of the central characters in series - repeat the story of the manga. In the following episodes, key characters compete in insight, foresight and intuition, trying to get as much information as possible about each other without revealing their identity. Against the background of their confrontation, the authors introduce a lot of plot branches. On Earth 2 more similar notebooks fall. Kira acquires an army of fans, especially devoted he sometimes passes a notebook. L has students.
The plot of Death Note resembles a real saga, because between the first victim and the finale more than seven years pass. In general, it is almost impossible to reduce the manga to the timing of a feature film.
Adaptations
Death Note exists in several formats. Manga has become the basis for three rather non-standard video games. In addition, print editions and a musical were staged. Japanese film adaptation inspired filmmakers to shoot a separate franchise. The director of Shuseuke Kaneko made two films in 2006: Death Note and Death Note: The Last Name, based on the story of the confrontation between L and Light. Despite the fact that the plot of “Death Note” by Shuseke Kaneko radically differs from the original story, fans stormed theaters, thereby guaranteeing films worthy box office.
The success of the projects prompted the development of history; in 2008, the spin-off “L: Change the World” was released, which is not closely related to Death Note and tells of the latest investigation of a brilliant detective. 2016 was marked by the end of the filming process and the premiere of the movie Death Note: Light the New World. The project takes place in the same invented universe, but its narrative is unprecedented. The plot of the film "Death Note:" The Last Name "and the part" Light the New World "is connected by a mini-series consisting of three episodes, united by the subtitle" New Generation ". However, these projects are practically unknown to the Western audience and are popular only in Japan.
Netflix Version
Negotiations on the film adaptation of manga by foreign film studios began in 2007. In 2009, Warner Bros. received film production rights. The production process developed extremely slowly. Only in 2015, when the director’s chair was occupied by Adam Wingard, who had previously directed “Guest” and “You Are Over!”, The filming began to gain momentum. But in 2016, Warner Bros decided to step back from the project, transferring authority to Wingard and Netflix.
For Netflix, the adaptation of Death Note was a demanding project. The script for the American film adaptation, which was released in 2017, is significantly different from the Japanese source. The action, of course, moved to the United States. The creators tried to start and end the confrontation between L and Light in 101 minutes of timing. Separate lines are ejected from the plot completely, for example, the appearance of other deities or additional deadly notebooks. The overall pace of the story has become much more dynamic.
Character Transformation
The description of the plot "Death Note" in the American version is practically the same, only truncated several times. The main changes affected the characters. The dissatisfaction of the fans of the original was caused by the character L. With the light hand of the creators he became an African American. The image on the screen embodied Lakit Stanfield ("Voice of the streets", "Off"). The image of Light transformed no less seriously. From an intellectual student, a universally recognized genius, a handsome man, a favorite of the public, he turned into a rogue schoolboy using the Notebook and to avenge the offenders. The character is embodied on the screen by Natom Wolfe ("Trainee", "Blame the Stars").
One of the heroines in the manga called Misa Amane also changed. In Hollywood movies, she changed her citizenship and nationality, turning into Miyu Sutton. In the original, the heroine falls under the influence of Kira due to psychological trauma. In Adam Wingard, the character becomes a full-fledged accomplice in crimes. This changes not only the perception of history, but also the general atmosphere, re-emphasizes who is the hero and who is the villain.