Obsolete Death Note: The Netflix ver. Live Action

[Almonds]

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So there's been a lot of talk about the recently released Netflix version live action Death Note trailer. And the flame wars on the internet has been quite aggressive.

Death Note is a very popular manga which gave birth to a lot of adaptations. An anime (which was also hugely popular), three live action films (with a fourth one recently released), and a musical (in two versions - Korean and Japanese; the casts are completely different). The Netflix adaptation seems to be a more western-oriented version of Death Note.

Personally, I don't mind adaptations as long as it stays true to the original source material to an extent. There can be different interpretations of the character depending on who takes the role, though I do believe there should be certain traits from the source material that has to be kept. (L has to be a sugar addict no matter what)


So what are your thoughts?

 

[indigohex]

I watched the anime when it was on ABC2 here in Australia (back when ABC2 would air anime on a Tuesday night at 9:00 after Good Game). I won't be watching it as I don't have Netflix, and I fear that this westernisation will ruin Death Note. If it was a Japanese cast and kept their Japanese names, fine, but I fear that this won't go down well.

 

[----]

As a fan of the original Death Note, I remain cautiously optimistic. I don't expect amazing things out of it, but I hope it won't disgrace the series as a whole. From the trailers, it seems to be a bit more action focused. I'm not exactly sure how I feel about that, but eh. As to the controversy surrounding the race changes, etc: I can't say I'm too invested either way. If anything, I wish the writers would have chosen something better than Light "Turner." That made me cringe a bit. Either way, I'll be keeping my eye out for it.

 

[Almonds]

The reason some of the original traits have to be kept is because it is important to the plot.

Light is an attractive high school student (university student later on) who gets good grades and knows how to charm people. He uses his appearance and attitude to his advantage and this has not only saved him from getting caught multiple times but also gave him the choice to pick dedicated helpers. (He was able to charm Misa and other girls for creating alibis)

L has the appearance of a hobo which causes people to look down on him at first, but he catches them off guard with his sharp intuition and persistent observations. He usually acts behind screens and despite having a bad back, is surprisingly athletic. Not to mention he's a sugar addict - which might not be that much of a plot point, but it certainly is a partial reason for his unhealthy-looking appearance. And he puts all of his focus on his work, which would be the reason he doesn't care for clothes and settles for the famous white shirt and jeans. (Not to mention he's got helpers from the FBI and Watari to do most of the actions for him - which would allow him to stay back and search for more clues)

None of those seem to apply to the actors in the trailer.

Their appearance, intelligence, and personality were important factors in the original story and if they changed that for the live-action, then that means the entire story would have to be rewritten completely.

 

[----]

I have to agree with you there. Light, L, and the new female character (Misa[?]) only loosely resemble their manga/anime counterparts.

The whole L in a hoodie thing bothered me quite a bit. This international detective is walking around public with nothing more than a hood, and that protects his identity? Alrighty then. Once I get my ideas together, I'll write a much longer response on here.

Regardless, I still hope for the best.