Death Note - TV-Serie

Different from the comics, but it was still good as a drama

Death Note TV Series is based on the popular Manga of the same name. This is not the first time we've seen a live adaptation of the manga as there were three movies released in Japan and later released in America with English Voice overs from the original cast of the Anime! Although these movies were great, I feel there's only so much that can be done when you're restricted to the time-frame of a film. The TV Series has the potential to flesh out the story with a steady pace so it wont feel rushed and it leaves the door open for proper character development as each episode is around fifty minutes long! So far the TV show has shown some new twists on the established story that follows Light Yagami (Kira) and thats not a bad thing! I've read the manga, watched the anime, and seen the films and I am excited to see where the TV version will take it!

I liked the show. But actually the anime still much better a million times than this. It is impossible to make some realistic tv show closed to the Anime master piece

And like that it's over, I have now officially seen every bit of Death Note out there. Anime, Japanese movies, American travesty and now the Japanese live action series.

I went in with low expectations, as much as I adore Death Note I was fresh off the live action films and expected this to be a cheaply made rushed adaptation of the anime but I couldn't have been anymore wrong.

Little did I realise that this fantastic 11 part series has a true identity of it's own. It follows the original story but tweaks it here and there in some minor and some major parts to make it standout. Normally I hate it when stories do that but here because it's so damn good it was forgivable.

The performances are excellent, the writing is flawless and I was captivated once again almost as if I was watching the Death Note anime for the first time.

It isn't flawless overall, there are questionable moments, the cgi isn't great and in places it does look cheap but you can get past all of that with ease.

The shifts in storyline actually add to it, though I do find some of the decisions quite baffling especially when it comes to Nia.

This is essential viewing for fans of Death Note alike the anime and the live action Japanese films. The only poor Death Note is the American version but let's just pretend that never happened.

The Good:

Amazing soundtrack

Beautifully written

Well acted

The Bad:

Some dodgy cgi

Some questionable plot changes

Ryuk gets just plain annoying

Kento Yamazaki plays a great character, but it's really not L

Things I Learnt From This Series:

Hollywood had so much source material to use for their movie and still made that embarrassment

I still don't know what sex Nia was supposed to be

I really like this live action mini series version of Death Note. It is a very engrossing story and has a much better pace than the anime series. The anime started out as a masterpiece and then drug on and on forever with a tedious conclusion. This is a reworking of the original and I actually like the live action story tweaks a lot. Light is also much more likable instead of a genius egomaniac. I also found the L character to be very likable and smartly played by the actor. Misa is also less annoying. Some fans of the anime have commented on the changes that were made. I think they were definitely for the better. About the only place I have been able to find this series is on Crunchyroll.