Death Note 2: The Last Name

(Originally Written  March 16, 2015)

Following the death of his girlfriend Shiori secretly by his own hands, Light Yagami is exactly where he wants to be…right alongside L, his father and the Kira Taskforce dedicated to bringing him down.  But the intensity increases when a second and a third Kira appear to take up different roles in Kira’s crusade.  Light seeks out new allies and strategizes bold gambles to hold on to the power he has obtained.  Can Kira and his comrades be stopped?  And if he can be, who will end up being the last name written in the Death Note?

Welcome to the end of Live Action Anime Month (or four weeks of films either or).  Let’s end it with a bang shall we?

Ive thought a lot on how I should go about this review.  Should I spoil the ending and compare it to the Anime?  Or should I keep it secret and suggest watching the film for yourself to see just how great it is?  I’ve decided to go with the former.  The ending of this two part film epic is nothing short of amazing and I’ll just say that this was the ending the Anime and Manga both deserved.  All the right players are present and things are brought to a brilliant stand off and conclusion.

Ok so what about getting to that ending?  The film picks up right where the first one ended and wastes no time getting us back into things.  Light and L are finally able to share screen time and man is it just awesome listening to them share theories, play chess, and literally have Light look smug knowing he’s Kira standing next to L while L will never let go of Light as his prime suspect.  In another lifetime these two could have been amazing friends rather than mortal enemies and we get a quick glimpse of that at one point when Light sacrifices his memory of the Death Note to elude L’s suspicions.  Kudos to Tatsuya Fujiwara, who continues to ooze creepy but damn near unshakable confidence as Dark Light and show a bit of how Light probably used to be, optimistic, excited and good at solving crimes, as Good Light.  L gets some funnier moment this time around, more so than part one.  His shock when he realizes Shinigami’s are a factor in the case now and his mouth full thumbs up to Light when something goes right should definitely get a chuckle or two…not that he doesn’t lose his intuitive edge while doing this, it’s just amusing to see more of his unusual and whimsical at times style.

We get a couple of key new players in the form of the pretty but a bit too naieve Misa and the ambitious Dark Side turnee Kiyomi.  Both are interesting takes on who could grab and use a Death Note.  Misa may be a bit of a ditzy idol but she got smarts and feels she owes Light for avenging her families murder.  All she wants to do is help Light and have him love her in return.  Kiyomi starts off as a journalist seeking to make her mark because of her research on Kira and slowly finds herself lulled in by its power and sees herself as Kira’s true companion.  Adding further to the plot is Misa’s Shinigami guardian, Rem. I think Rem actually got more screen time than Ryuk and while a bit more complex, isn’t really as entertaining as the Apple Eating Rockstar Death God.

For an almost two and a half hour film, the story goes at a brisk pace, cramming in a lot but never feeling overwhelming, moving quickly but providing enough info for viewers to follow and keep guessing where it will all end.  Even in the lull where Light and Misa are being detained for almost two weeks, the pacing is never at a snails pace.  Gotta give em credit for making such an ambitious two parter work so well at doing this.  One nitpick I do have with the film is the one year later epilogue jump, it just didn’t feel needed and doesn’t really add to the kick ass climactic scene prior.  It just felt like a time extender that didn’t need to be there.  Though it does include one creepy as hell ending image that is the perfect “ahem” note to end the story on.  Another brief nitpick is while the supporting detectives do have more to do, none really stand out outside of Matsuda and his comic timing.  One detective meets his end early on, minor spoiler, but it didn’t really register with me just cause I didn’t really know him as well as Light, L or the Chief…who knows how to make a bad ass entry in that same scene.

Oh and did I mention that the score was done by Mamoru Oshii regular composer Kenji Kawaii (Ghost in the Shell, Patlabor, Avalon)?  If I haven’t then man, his score was perfect atmosphere for Death Note but it’s his guitar laden finale that plays after Snow by The Red Hot Chilli Peppers (weird) that steals the show for me.

Death Note and Death Note 2: The Last Name are an almost four hour epic that never feels long and is always exciting.  The characters feel transplanted from page and Anime screen to live action seamlessly and the movie manages to stay true to it’s origin while putting it’s own spin on things, sometimes for the better.  And Death Note 2 did something pretty astonishing in and of itself: it took Part 1’s momentum and kept it going and push it further, upping the stakes, bringing new pieces to the table and never losing a beat in the process.  Part 1 was the build up and Part 2 was a definite payoff.  Save for those couple of nitpicks, im tempted to give this movie a 10/10.  But I will still settle for a

9.5/10

This is how you do live action Anime adaptations.  Thanks for looking at these live action reviews.  Next week we’re back into the Anime realm for a new journey and a look at one of the all time greatest fantasy classics of a generation…Escaflowne.

 

(And on that, ahem, note, we've almost come full circle with one more Classic Review to go.  BUT I think ive found a way to fill the void left by their inevitable absence.  Keep an eye out on Friday, think you'll like what I have in mind of you can make it work.)