Today I’m going to talk about Death Note. The Manga, the Anime and the horrible, must-avoid-at-all-costs Netflix movie.
Some people read “Manga” or “anime” and stop right there. They conjure up images of big-eyed crazy characters with impossible costumes and incomprehensible plots. I’m going to say right now that Death Note is so well done and so thought out and accessible that any of you gaijins (foreigners) can enjoy this easily.
This is the gateway-drug anime for non-anime watchers. I read both the manga and have seen the show and while I always prefer the book, this is one that it’s quite close, I’d say go with the anime. It’s on Netflix, so it’s easy to find.
The premise is amazing. There are these Death Notes, books that once a name is written that person will die. The author can have a circumstance to the death and a time to the death. If you could kill all the worst people in the world, to make it a better place, would you do it? And from there it’s off the the races. There are many other rules of the Death Note which gets very interesting and the conflicts become extremely well-thought out. I can’t say enough good things about this show, which leads me to why this whole Netflix live-action version movie is just a complete waste.
Netflix had a property with such potential and so different and to turn it into this just bad, bad movie is a travesty. What is so baffling is that the writer and producers must be fans to be able to make it. You just don’t go into a meeting and want to make a movie not knowing it or being a fan, so they know the story but their execution is so off that you must wonder what the heck happened.
Okay, that’s all I’m going to say about it. If you like Horror and GOOD STORIES. Go watch Death Note anime on Netflix. I promise there are no “big eyes”.
Andres
Andres Salazar is the author of the horror western comics www.pariahmissouri.com