Now, if you haven't heard of the manga/anime Death Note, let me esplain the plot. A death god gets bored, so he drops his death note into the human world to see what will happen. The death note is a book, a journal of sorts, that has the power to kill anyone simply by the owner writing that person's name in the book while picturing their face. So, Light Yagami, a narcissistic genius high school student, finds it, tests it, and starts ridding the world of evildoers while proclaiming himself God of the new world. The police enlist the help of "L", an eccentric genius with a sugar addiction, to catch him. Sometimes Light is forced to kill innocent people to protect himself, cue all types of conflict, drama, and crises.
What would you do? What would you do in the same situation as Light? Would you use the power you'd been given for good? On the flip side, what would you do if you lived in a world with such a person? Would you be for or against his killing work? I have to admit, when I watched the anime, I took Light's side. Truthfully, I'm probably still on his side. Or maybe I just want to think that. What is right? What is wrong? Who gets to decide? Death Note ends up an extreme and entertaining commentary on capital punishment.
Netflix created their own movie version in English. All things considered, I thought it was a successful adaptation. Willem Dafoe was perfect as Ryuk. The ending was different but somewhat unexpected and wrapped things up nicely.
What I didn't like was that Light's character was so different that much of what made the anime interesting was lost. They twisted him to fill the role of a typical American anti-hero: an academic outcast virgin who is bullied and (even more annoying) falls for a pretty face (which would NEVER happen because Light only loves himself). And THEN they made poor Ryuk out to be the bad guy, whereas in the anime, he interfered very little with Light's decisions and subsequent descent into (calculated) madness, obsession and malevolence.
You should totally watch the anime. Like, today. I'll pay you in Skittles.
J. L. Dodd
“This world is rotten, and those who are making it rot deserve to die. Someone has to do it, so why not me?” - Light Yagami
“If Kira gets caught, he is evil. If Kira rules the world, he is justice.” - Light Yagami
Death Note Rules
The human whose name is written in this note shall die.
This note will not take effect unless the writer has the person's face in their mind when writing his/her name. Therefore, people sharing the same name will not be affected.
If the cause of death is written within the next 40 seconds of writing the person's name, it will happen.
If the cause of death is not specified, the person will simply die of a heart attack.
After writing the cause of death, details of the death should be written in the next 6 minutes and 40 seconds.
Links:
https://myanimelist.net/featured/620/20_Quotes_from_Death_Note_
http://deathnote.wikia.com/wiki/Rules_of_the_Death_Note
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