Trailer Reaction : Death Note

Hello everyone !

Today I'm doing something different because …. I'm out of content. Just kidding *nervous laugh* of course I'm not out of content. *clears throat* let's go back to business. Books are great but I want to talk about other things sometimes and since I'm a huge fan of TV Shows and movies, I thought « why not ? ». So today I'm bringing you my reaction to the trailer of the Netflix adaptation of Death Note (spoiler alert : I think this is going to be terrible.)

This post contains spoilers for the original story. Italic quotes are from the manga/anime.

THE CHARACTERS' APPEARANCES

Kira : What the heck is that hair ? Light is supposed to be neat. He doesn't have a single pleat on his clothes and he's always well-dressed. It's not the kind of person to dye his hair. He's classy (not that people who dye their hair are not but look at the actor on the trailer. Does he look classy to you?).

Misa : Well clearly her clothes are not like Misa's.

L : I have so many issues with his appearance. He seems mysterious and badass.

If it wasn't an adaptation of Death Note I would have said that I love his outfit. But this is supposed to be L. Don't get me wrong, L is mysterious and badass but his appearance doesn't show that. If you saw L on the street you'd probably stay away from him because of his disheveled look.

He has shadows under his eyes, he's underweight, he always wear the same clothes and almost never wear shoes.

That guy is too clean. Too approachable.

Ryuk : I think they did a pretty good job with him.

THE CHARACTERS' PERSONALITIES

Kira : In the manga/anime Light Yagami is cold, manipulative and ruthless. One thing he never does in the whole story is questionning himself.

« I understood that killing people was a crime. There was no other way! The world had to be fixed! »

He believes himself to be justice. To him, the end justifies the means. He doesn't question what he does. He thinks knows he's right. He knows the world needs him. He's confident. Thinking about getting caught makes him laugh. He's convinced to be smarter than L, smarter than everyone really.

However, in the trailer Kira says « we're not the good guys anymore ». He admits that what he does is wrong and looks pretty freaked out about it. He's not confident at all. At that point, he looks like a scared kid who played with something he shouldn't have.

L : L is cautious and secretive. He doesn't show his face to anyone so seeing him being on camera feels wrong. L took some time before revealing himself to the police and Light. He wouldn't just go around saying who he is. In the trailer we can see him yelling at Kira « I promise you, you will not survive ».

1. The L from the manga/anime is the one provoking Kira over and over not the other way around.
2. Is that a death threat ? Because if it is, it would make L on the same level as Kira.

Ryuk : He's the only one who seems to have the same personnality as the original one. Also, I love his laugh.

KIRA AND MISA AGAINST THE WORLD

Some of you may have noticed I didn't include Misa in the previous section and that's because I think she – and her relationship with Light – deserves a full one.

That's the aspect of the movie that bothers me the most. In the manga, Light uses Misa and she accepts it. He wants her to do his bidding without asking any questions.

« I'm going to get more intimate with Misa and make her fall helplessly in love with me ».
 

But in the trailer Light says « what if we could change things? » and asks for her opinion. They look to be in this together which reduces Light's manipulative side. I don't know about you but I don't want to see a caring Light.

I think you're not crazy enough, we can change the world.

 Misa seems to have some influence over him. He treats her as an equal which is pretty out of character.

WHAT I HOPE FOR

• I want the philosophical aspect of the story to be developped.
• There has to be a Matsuda. He's such an important character. He questions everything and everyone and even though he's often seen as ignorant, I think he adds another dimension to the story.
• I dont want a happy ending. This is not a happy story after all.

That's it for today. Now you know why I think this is going to be terrible. They should've made a movie inspired by Death Note but not an adaptation. Maybe I'm completely wrong and the movie will turn out great, I don't know that seems unlikely but who knows ?

What do you think of this trailer ?

 Are you going to watch the movie ?