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The Many Adaptations of Death Note




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db999



Joined: 23 Dec 2017
Posts: 299
PostPosted: Fri Mar 03, 2023 9:52 am Reply with quote
This was a fantastic and in-depth article that really took me back to when this news was coming out. Funnily enough, even if the fan casts were considered as jokes, both would have actually done a really good job as Light and L, especially Pattinson who would have knocked it out of the ballpark. As for my thoughts on all the adaptations of Death Note I’ve liked most of them. Obviously, the anime is a classic I usually end up watching that once every year or two. I also liked the Japanese Death Note movies, I didn’t think they were amazing, but I loved the ending of the 2nd movie, and it threw me for a loop that they licensed songs from The Red Hot Chili Peppers to be the theme songs for the movies. The Live Action Drama series version of Death Note was also pretty good. It was better than the movie adaptations were. The Death Note Sequel movie was awful and I think the worst adaptation of the series. It was just plain bad. My unpopular opinion is that the American Live Action movie, while being a bad adaptation, was actually a pretty good movie. If you’re able to separate it from its source and be fine with it being its own original story it’s pretty decent.

The most surprising adaptation is the Stage Musical which is good, which I didn’t expect and it actually made me think that Theater is actually the perfect medium to adapt Death Note to. The sensibilities of theater, with actors needing to act over the top to be seen by members in the back of the audience and soliloquies, is just perfect for the characters of Death Note. I’d love to see an adaptation of the second part of the story with Near and Mello. Back to the musical, the songs were pretty good which I didn’t expect at all. As for the new Netflix Adaptation by the Duffer Brothers, I’m again cautiously optimistic about it, depending on how involved they actually are with the project. If the Duffer Brothers actually plan to be heavily involved with the creation of the series or even becoming show runner’s, I think it might actually be good, but if they’re just producing we’ll have to wait and see who the tap to become the show runner’s for the series.
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MrTerrorist



Joined: 20 Oct 2010
Posts: 1348
PostPosted: Fri Mar 03, 2023 5:04 pm Reply with quote
Ironically the best western adaptation of Death Note is The Simpsons Halloween Special, Death Tome.
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Primus



Joined: 01 Mar 2006
Posts: 2761
Location: Toronto
PostPosted: Fri Mar 03, 2023 5:56 pm Reply with quote
There was an audio drama adaptation of Death Note produced several years ago. It was supposed to be released in English, French, and German but only the last version saw release. Part of me wonders if that's because of the changes made.
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Sariachan



Joined: 09 May 2005
Posts: 1494
Location: Italy
PostPosted: Fri Mar 03, 2023 7:28 pm Reply with quote
The musical is quite good!
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fathomlessblue



Joined: 28 Mar 2012
Posts: 348
Location: Manchester, UK
PostPosted: Fri Mar 03, 2023 9:43 pm Reply with quote
Primus wrote:
There was an audio drama adaptation of Death Note produced several years ago. It was supposed to be released in English, French, and German but only the last version saw release. Part of me wonders if that's because of the changes made.


Yeah, it was written by famed historian Jonathan Clements (he gets around). All I know is that it had a thinly disguised Trump in it & that Misa was apparently radically differently. I recall Clements talking about it on a podcast, saying the German version was about to be released and that he was in still talks regarding other languages. I can't say whether it was interest, content or quality, but clearly those versions never panned out. The English version is written at least.
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11349
PostPosted: Sat Mar 04, 2023 6:46 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
But it's also, nonetheless, a cohesive document with the correct formatting for a screenplay.

Ouch. Normally you'd save shade like that for the summer. Wink
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Beatdigga



Joined: 26 Oct 2003
Posts: 4371
Location: New York
PostPosted: Sat Mar 04, 2023 7:32 pm Reply with quote
Why the Duffer Brothers decided with their newfound credibility and deal with Netflix their first new post-Stranger Things project would be yet another Death Note adaptation baffles me.
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maximilianjenus



Joined: 29 Apr 2013
Posts: 2862
PostPosted: Sat Mar 04, 2023 9:32 pm Reply with quote
why is the sequel not even mentioned?

it got a small mini series, 3 or 6 episodes, then a longish movie and it happen 10 years after main,.showing us stuff like the death of matsuda en misa. i have remixed feelings about it as it had the potential to be great , but the movie format killed it as it is too shirt to handle 6 death notes and even then some plot decisions were looking great, juts to stumble on its own toes, one example, all tbe great set up for one of the characters to be lights little sister, just to kill her after revealing she was the sister of some random..the 2015 live action series on the other hand took similar liberties but it landed them amazingly well and in general it makes more sense than the original manga.
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BadNewsBlues



Joined: 21 Sep 2014
Posts: 5920
PostPosted: Sun Mar 05, 2023 12:06 am Reply with quote
Beatdigga wrote:
Why the Duffer Brothers decided with their newfound credibility and deal with Netflix their first new post-Stranger Things project would be yet another Death Note adaptation baffles me.


Well can’t make another adaptation of Spider-Verse so go for something that hasn’t been adapted to death on these shores Razz
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crazieanimefan1



Joined: 18 Feb 2015
Posts: 409
Location: Auburn, AL
PostPosted: Sun Mar 05, 2023 12:41 am Reply with quote
The only good part of the Netflix one was Willem Dafoe as Ryuk. He was the only good part of that whole movie. As for the three original movies (I know they made a fourth, I didn't see it yet), I quite enjoyed them. The musical, I watched some of it as well and heard the English soundtrack.

But after that Netflix disaster...I think it's time to put Death Note to rest (pun intended).
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