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EP. REVIEW: Death Note (Drama)


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maximilianjenus



Joined: 29 Apr 2013
Posts: 2858
PostPosted: Thu Jul 09, 2015 10:20 am Reply with quote
I stopped reading the review when the plot started being told (the misa misa mention), not ebcause I ahve anything against the review itself, but because the chagnes sound big enough that I have to watch it before getting spoiled.
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Lemonchest



Joined: 18 Mar 2015
Posts: 1771
PostPosted: Thu Jul 09, 2015 10:27 am Reply with quote
Haven't watched the anime but I might try watching this. I tried GTO 2012 once but I could only stomach about 20 minutes of the "acting" & cheap soap opera feel before I gave up.
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KutovoiAnton



Joined: 03 Mar 2013
Posts: 939
Location: Vladimir, Russia
PostPosted: Thu Jul 09, 2015 10:56 am Reply with quote
I guess I'll try watching it. Actual movies aside, my only experience with JDramas are Taiga dramas.
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WashuTakahashi



Joined: 18 Mar 2015
Posts: 415
Location: Chicago, IL
PostPosted: Thu Jul 09, 2015 11:05 am Reply with quote
This doesn't sound like TOO terrible of an adaptation. I've never really gotten into j-dramas before, but I think i'll give this one a shot.
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SailorTralfamadore



Joined: 25 Feb 2014
Posts: 499
Location: Keep Austin Weeb
PostPosted: Thu Jul 09, 2015 11:09 am Reply with quote
maximilianjenus wrote:
I stopped reading the review when the plot started being told (the misa misa mention), not ebcause I ahve anything against the review itself, but because the chagnes sound big enough that I have to watch it before getting spoiled.


It's a daily streaming review and I've always been under the impression I'm allowed to give away the plot details in streaming reviews. If the editors say I'm wrong, okay, but I'm particularly not sure what I would talk about with these reviews without doing that. Most of the audience for this show is Death Note fans whose main concern would be how the j-drama changes the story.

[Edited this post a little because I think I might've misinterpreted things first time around. I'm kinda sleepy right now.]


Last edited by SailorTralfamadore on Thu Jul 09, 2015 11:21 am; edited 3 times in total
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Lemonchest



Joined: 18 Mar 2015
Posts: 1771
PostPosted: Thu Jul 09, 2015 11:11 am Reply with quote
SailorTralfamadore wrote:
"It was his sled"-

Well now I have no reason to watch the two hours of Citizen Kane that had nothing to do with that reference. Thanks, spoilers!
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Hameyadea



Joined: 23 Jun 2014
Posts: 3679
PostPosted: Thu Jul 09, 2015 11:33 am Reply with quote
This DSR came outta nowhere Shocked
Did ANN started covering anime- and manga-based live-action content? (I know that stuff like stage-plays, TV dramas, and live-action movies were and are mentioned, but I don't recall any of them being covered for review purpose.)
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor


Joined: 05 Jan 2002
Posts: 7912
Location: Anime News Network Technodrome
PostPosted: Thu Jul 09, 2015 11:36 am Reply with quote
Hameyadea wrote:
This DSR came outta nowhere Shocked
Did ANN started covering anime- and manga-based live-action content? (I know that stuff like stage-plays, TV dramas, and live-action movies were and are mentioned, but I don't recall any of them being covered for review purpose.)


We do when we can. We'll have a review of the live-action Attack on Titan next week after the premiere.
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jroa



Joined: 08 Aug 2012
Posts: 537
PostPosted: Thu Jul 09, 2015 11:54 am Reply with quote
Unlike Rose, I don't really give Tetsuro Araki a ton of credit outside of his undeniable yet purely technical artistry. While it's important for directors to have that, of course, the best ones should try to go beyond this.

Araki can certainly make things feel very bombastic and some fun camp value comes with that, sure, but this is not enough when he's not working within the framework of already successful source material. The spell seems to break once you take that away.

Quote:
The fact that Light was so unapologetically vile is a lot of why the original story worked for me, and what made it feel so fresh. The "he who fights monsters" corruption of a nice guy by evil actions has been done to death in fiction.


Which is open to debate, since it could also be argued that unapologetic evil has also been done to death in fiction. Just in another corner of the library, so to speak. Either way, there is nothing truly new under the sun. Our personal preferences and interests are just wired differently and make us perceive something as "fresh" or not for various reasons.

Rather than necessarily making Light a "nice guy" though, I think my underlying problem with Death Note was the lack of character development. They could have kept everything in the initial premise exactly the same but actually tried to do something more interesting with him later in the story. Not surprisingly, I think the resolution of the Yotsuba arc was a lost opportunity in this regard.

That is why I am quite open to whatever this new adaptation wants to try.
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penguintruth



Joined: 08 Dec 2004
Posts: 8458
Location: Penguinopolis
PostPosted: Thu Jul 09, 2015 3:03 pm Reply with quote
I felt like Light lacked his eye of the tiger, "I WILL BECOME A GOD OF THE NEW WORLD" arrogance. He was a little too meek. Part of what made Light an interesting character is how unapologetic he was. But for all we know, he could be on his way to that in this version. It was a little suspicious in the manga that he just flat out went from ordinary teen boy to grandiose sociopath between a couple of pages.

L appears to be less awkward, which has me worry about the approach to him, too. He has this outward confidence that seems to be borrowed from manga Light. He's very streamlined "hotshot detective" and I don't get that sense that he's an introverted shut-in with a million quirks. And Watari seems to be more comic relief than anything.

I don't know what the hell they're doing with Near and Mello. Near is a girl and Mello isOHGODWHATISTHATSTOPIT.

The show has obviously been made on the super cheap. It looks like something made for Nickelodeon back in the 90s. It's hard to take seriously.

But despite all these criticisms, I am actually pretty interested in seeing where this goes. And Light's sister and Misa are both super cute.
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SailorTralfamadore



Joined: 25 Feb 2014
Posts: 499
Location: Keep Austin Weeb
PostPosted: Thu Jul 09, 2015 3:09 pm Reply with quote
jroa wrote:
Araki can certainly make things feel very bombastic and some fun camp value comes with that, sure, but this is not enough when he's not working within the framework of already successful source material. The spell seems to break once you take that away.


Isn't that an argument in favor of his directorial style, not against? If it's a completely different effect when it's taken away, that means it actually did add a lot to the material. That means it works.
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BL2W



Joined: 01 May 2014
Posts: 13
PostPosted: Thu Jul 09, 2015 4:10 pm Reply with quote
SailorTralfamadore wrote:
jroa wrote:
Araki can certainly make things feel very bombastic and some fun camp value comes with that, sure, but this is not enough when he's not working within the framework of already successful source material. The spell seems to break once you take that away.


Isn't that an argument in favor of his directorial style, not against? If it's a completely different effect when it's taken away, that means it actually did add a lot to the material. That means it works.


I think jroa means when the good material is taken away from Araki (in other words, when he isn't given good material to work with), the "spell" of his directorial style seems to break--not the other way around. ^^;


Last edited by BL2W on Thu Jul 09, 2015 4:13 pm; edited 1 time in total
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amcnulty



Joined: 29 Aug 2014
Posts: 48
PostPosted: Thu Jul 09, 2015 4:10 pm Reply with quote
SailorTralfamadore wrote:


It's a daily streaming review and I've always been under the impression I'm allowed to give away the plot details in streaming reviews. If the editors say I'm wrong, okay, but I'm particularly not sure what I would talk about with these reviews without doing that. Most of the audience for this show is Death Note fans whose main concern would be how the j-drama changes the story.


We can definitely give away details in the reviews. In fact, it's what I'm most looking forward to in your reviews of this series! I'm not sure I'll have the time/inclination to watch this drama, but I'm interested enough to see how they changed it.

...So far it seems like they changed it more than I'm comfortable with. (Although why should I care, seeing as how we've already had so many versions of the story? Why does each new version have to be loyal to the manga?)
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Sam Murai



Joined: 01 Dec 2006
Posts: 1051
PostPosted: Thu Jul 09, 2015 6:23 pm Reply with quote
BL2W wrote:
SailorTralfamadore wrote:
jroa wrote:
Araki can certainly make things feel very bombastic and some fun camp value comes with that, sure, but this is not enough when he's not working within the framework of already successful source material. The spell seems to break once you take that away.


Isn't that an argument in favor of his directorial style, not against? If it's a completely different effect when it's taken away, that means it actually did add a lot to the material. That means it works.


I think jroa means when the good material is taken away from Araki (in other words, when he isn't given good material to work with), the "spell" of his directorial style seems to break--not the other way around. ^^;


I am a big fan of Araki's, but given my experiences with GUILTY CROWN and what I've seen of Attack on Titan, it doesn't seem like his direction is able to elevate a show beyond its story/script work. That may sound strange given his great style and sensibilities, and it is a little sad to say, but the weakness of those two series in those regards just mute whatever good is being done visually or in other areas (only on Ep. 8 for AoT, so perhaps it will improve…) . That is not to say that Araki is a poor director, it's just that the story or script needs to be at least a solid level or beyond, as well, in order for the whole series to work. I'm still not sure if this is a flaw in his approach or just a byproduct of his style, and it seems to have a greater effect on his works than, say, Akiyuki Shimbo (another distinctive director whose works can similarly suffer from middling writing).

On the subject of the DN drama, I am on the fence about watching it, since I have never been that big on Asian dramas (for many of the reasons brought up in the review; spoiler[not to paint a broad brush…]), though I'll likely give it a shot. The changes sound pretty interesting and open up a number of potent avenues to get to the meat of DEATH NOTE, so we'll see…
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_Cyphon_



Joined: 16 Nov 2014
Posts: 996
PostPosted: Thu Jul 09, 2015 8:37 pm Reply with quote
We're doing live action dramas now? Good variety I suppose, though I won't be watching this anytime soon. Nothing against the show, I just don't like anime/manga material adapted to real life play.
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