Death Note (2006)

A battle between the world's two greatest minds begins when Light Yagami finds the Death Note, a notebook with the power to kill, and decides to rid the world of criminals.

Director:

Shûsuke Kaneko

Writers:

Tsugumi Ôba (original manga), Takeshi Obata (original manga)

Stars:

Tatsuya Fujiwara, Ken'ichi Matsuyama, Asaka Seto

4 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Tatsuya Fujiwara	...	Light Yagami
Ken'ichi Matsuyama	...	L
Asaka Seto	...	Naomi Misora
Shigeki Hosokawa	...	FBI Agent Raye Iwamatsu
Erika Toda	...	Misa Amane
Shunji Fujimura	...	Watari
Takeshi Kaga	...	Sôichiro Yagami
Yû Kashii	...	Shiori Akino
Shidô Nakamura	...	Ryuk (voice)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ryôhei Abe
Sota Aoyama	...	Detective Tôta Matsuda
Norman England	...	FBI Agent
Masanori Fujita	...	Stalker
Michiko Godai	...	Sachiko Yagami
Janyse Jaud	...	Detective Sanami (voice)

Storyline

Light Yagami finds the "Death Note," a notebook with the power to kill, and decides to create a Utopia by killing the world's criminals, and soon the world's greatest detective, "L," is hired to find the perpetrator. An all out battle between the greatest minds on earth begins, the winner controlling the world.

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Plot Keywords:

live action remake of anime | serial killer | based on comic | based on comic book | tokyo japan | 

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Taglines:

The human whose name is written in this note shall die.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Fantasy | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan] Warner Bros. [Japan]

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

17 June 2006 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Death Note: The First Name

Filming Locations:

Fukuoka City, Fukuoka, Japan

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Nippon Television Network (NTV), Shueisha, Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

126 min

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES DTS (DTS-HD master audio) (Blu-ray release)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

(at around 5 mins) One of the criminals who dies in his prison cell near the beginning of the film is reading the novel Bye Bye Jupiter (1984) (which was the source of the film of the same name).

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Goofs

(at around 1h 5 mins) On the subway, when Raye Iwamatsu first opens the file containing the FBI agent IDs, it first reads his name as Raye Penber (his original name in the anime). When the window is enlarged, it is switched back to Raye Iwamatsu.

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Quotes

Light Yagami: The law has its limits.
Shiori Kashino: Everything has limits.

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Connections

Followed by Death Note: The Last Name (2006)

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Soundtracks

Lucifer's Angel
By The Rasmus

User Reviews

In some ways, better than the original anime and it's very watchable for everyone

This is the live-action version of the TV anime series, DEATH NOTE. They are both relatively similar, though the plot lines have been moved around a bit and a girlfriend was created for the main character, Light. In the anime and manga, there was no girlfriend and so my purist daughter complained loudly when she appeared in the film. However, I advise you to relax and give the film a chance--I actually LOVED what they did with the lady in the film. Early on, she's about as superfluous as a vestigial tail, but later she becomes an important part of the plot--you'll see. But as for the rest of the film, it is true to the original--Light is an evil piggie and L looks and acts much like a cockroach (like in the anime).

As for the story itself, it's a pretty hard film to describe for Western audiences. If you are already an anime/manga freak, then you probably will not be scared away by the odd plot line and story elements about the supernatural. However, for the uninitiated, please try to suspend judgment--the film can be enjoyed by anyone--not just anime/manga fans. I am much more of a casual fan of the genre and enjoyed the film immensely. My wife generally hates anime and loved the film. And, my insane "sold my soul to anime" teen loved the film as well. In light of this, I really think this live-action film is good entertainment for all.

One final note is that the guy playing Light's father is Chairman Kaga from Iron Chef. Throughout the film, I kept expecting him to whip out a yellow pepper and eat it, but unfortunately he did not!