Netflix’s new Death Note movie is finally out, completely white washing one of my favorite animes of all time. I really hated this interpretation of L, Light and Ryuk’s deadly waltz of horror and mystery. Here are the top five biggest problems I had with Death Note: American High School Edition . Obviously there are spoilers for the movie after this, but chances are you’ve already watched the movie and just want to read an article from someone who really hated it.
Death Note Is Not A Teen Drama- When the Power Rangers was ported over from Japan and needed to fulfill the needs of an American audience, a fake “high school” backstory had to be put in to keep our attention of a five-year-old. It seems like the producers of this movie thought the same of their audience, a group of manga fans that can’t handle teenagers doing normal shit. The ‘80s prog-rock anthems don’t have anything to do with Death Note and the chase scenes seemed so unnecessary in a movie that was extremely short for time.
Cramming Before Exams- Death Note is only an hour and 40 minutes long, but tries to accomplish two seasons worth of anime. The transition from normal high school student to deranged murderer took minutes and appeared out of nowhere. One moment, he’s getting bullied, 20 minutes later, there’s a montage showing him gleefully enjoying the deaths of dozens for the “lolz.” We don’t get a sense of Light trying to do what he believes is right, even if it's fucked up, only that he’s totally in love with his girlfriend ands not much else.
Ryuk, Where You At? We barely get anytime with Ryuk, played by Willem Dafoe and the only good part about this movie. Keeping the shinigami off camera because they only had so much money for CGI in the budget or the director wanted it to look “creepy” was a terrible idea. Everything turned Christopher Nolan when he showed up and all I wanted to do was shine a flashlight on his face. If we had more of Ryuk and less make out scenes and prom dates, the movie could have worked.
Misa, The Generic Female Love Interest- In the original Death Note anime, Light’s relationship with Misa Amine was as toxic as you can get, Light was using her affection to get what he wanted. In the Netflix version, Light shows her the book almost immediately to impress her, which makes no sense. In the anime, he keeps the book a secret, even making a complicated device to hide it in his desk. In Netflix’s deep-fried take, he openly shows it to her and wants to get her in on the action. Why is she totally alright with this book and why would he think it’s an appropriate thing to share with someone who takes cigarette breaks in the middle of cheerleading practice.
Light Is A Moron- Light is supposed to be the smartest kid in the class, who can out-think and out-plan anyone who gets in his way. The police, L and even Ryuk are pawns in his game, with his hubris eventually leading to his downfall. In the movie, he’s just a boy with a murderous death book that likes a girl. Starting your killing career off with your high school bully isn’t very smart when you’re trying to remain inconspicuous. He doesn't even bother to lock up the book, but just leaves it out there so anyone can go and find it.
Did you like Netflix’s Death Note movie? Tell me a nursery rhyme in the comments section!
