The Many Adaptations of Death Note
by Kennedy,
Since the manga's completion in 2006, Death Note has been adapted 5 times, and has yet another adaptation said to be on the way. If that sounds like a lot, it's because it is. Most manga can realistically hope for only one or two adaptations—an anime, and maybe a live action adaptation of some sort. A lucky few titles have received more, but these titles are the exception and not the rule. Furthermore, most such series are classics that are old enough for their fans to be able to remember Blockbuster and dial-up internet. Think Sailor Moon or Fist of the North Star. By comparison, Death Note—whose first chapter isn't even old enough to legally purchase alcohol in the US—is a baby.
At its core, the story of Death Note is fairly simple: a jaded but highly intelligent teenager named Light Yagami happens upon a supernatural notebook owned by a shinigami named Ryuk, which kills anyone whose name is written in it (a Death Note). Light quickly decides to use the notebook to kill criminals en masse, with his ultimate goal being to shift society to strictly adhere to his moral standard, and to rule over this new world as an absolute judge, jury, and executioner—as a god. A reclusive detective named L takes on the case and quickly becomes suspicious of Light, thus launching a high-stakes game of cat-and-mouse between the two. Where Death Note becomes more complex, however, is how this game is played, and the ways in which other people/players get involved. These obstacles easily let Death Note span the course of 108 chapters.
The first adaptation of Death Note is also its sole non-live-action adaptation: the 2006–07 anime by Madhouse. Widely considered to be the gold standard for Death Note adaptations, this is also by far the most manga-faithful and successful one. “Is Death Note the best new anime series to be released in America during 2007? That may be debatable, but its status amongst the year's elite titles is not,” wrote Theron Martin in his review of the first volume of Death Note's US DVD release for ANN, “The rare blend of originality, intelligence, and quality visuals it exhibits allows it to take an interesting horror-story concept, bend it over backwards, and turn it into a good-looking thriller whose intensity matches that of any dedicated action series despite its total lack of true action scenes.” But although this adaptation was Death Note's first, it was hardly the last.
The first live-action adaptation of Death Note was a trilogy of Japanese films released between 2006–2008. While the first film serves as a condensed summary of the first few chapters of Death Note manga, the second one (which, like the first, was directed by Shusuke Kaneko) diverges from it by way of creating a new outcome between L and Light's psychological chess match (or would it be tennis?) against each other, paving the way for a totally original story (and, by extension, ending) in the third movie, L: Change the World (directed by Hideo Nakata).
Reception to these films tends to range from decent to good; they've certainly seen financial success (L: Change the World, in particular, did very well in the Japanese box office), though it's hard to deny that they still pale in comparison to the manga and anime. “Well, it's a pale imitation of both the manga and anime series, but I didn't have a bad time while watching it. It's a movie that someone who hasn't seen or read the series could enjoy, but that one who has would realize it's a let-down,” Bamboo Dong would say about the first of these movies in a 2008 Shelf Life post, “A lot of what makes Light such a complex character was lost through the remake, and considering that was one of the best things about the show, it's a bummer. But like I said, L is pretty awesome, so maybe that's reason enough to check it out.”
Meanwhile, it's impossible to say precisely when or where it started, but early into the anime's release, English-language Death Note fans noticed that Light (aka Kira) had a striking physical resemblance to American actor Zac Efron—who at the time was fresh off the heels of starring in Disney Channel's massively successful original movie High School Musical. The stark contrast between the megalomaniacal Light and Disney-approved Efron was simply hilarious to Death Note fans. That Efron either is Light or should play Light in an American-made, live-action version of Death Note quickly became a bit of a meme, spawning several dozens of side-by-side comparisons of two, photoshopped images of Efron holding a Death Note, and even a website: ZacEfronIsKira.com.
But this funny observation started feeling less like a joke, and more like an impending reality when, in 2008, word got out that Vlas and Charley Parlapanides were working on a screenplay for an American remake of Death Note for Vertigo Entertainment—a production company which specialized in Americanizations of Japanese horror movies like Ring aka Ringu (The Ring, 2002), Ju-on (The Grudge, 2004), and Dark Water (2005). For the most part (or, with some exception for certain aspects of The Ring), Vertigo's movies generally weren't popular among fans of the Japanese originals. This was more than enough precedent to dishearten several Death Note fans, who dreaded thinking about just how un-Death Note-like this screenplay (and the movie it could ultimately become) could get away with being. Yet despite that, this project still generated a decent amount of buzz among these fans, who regardless of their pre-emptive opinions on the screenplay/movie itself, were also morbidly curious about whether or not Vertigo would fulfill the prophecy by casting Efron as Light.
Conversations about this project flared up again in May 2009, when it was announced that Warner Brothers (WB) acquired the rights to adapt Death Note, and that the Parlapanides brothers were still the screenwriters. Between that and Efron's saying that he liked Death Note later that same month in an interview with ELLEgirl whilst promoting 17 Again in Japan, more than ever the idea that Efron could—and would—play Light on the big screen seemed imminent. And then in October, a document that was alleged to be the Parlapanides' Death Note screenplay was leaked online.
The leaked Death Note screenplay was radically different from its source material in just about every way imaginable. Here are a few of the more prominent changes (and it's hard to emphasize enough that these are only a few of them):
- Rather than the detached high school genius Light Yagami in Japan, this Death Note revolves around a 21-year-old working college student in New York named Luke Murray.
- One of Light's defining character traits is that he doesn't truly care about other people, and sees them only as pawns to further his agenda
- Luke, on the other hand, not only has a girlfriend that he loves and a good relationship with his family, but the first major event of the script is him saving a random woman from being hit by a subway train simply for the sake of saving her.
- Ryuk, Misa, Rem, the Yotsuba group, and characters from Death Note's second act such as Mello, Near, Takada, and Mikami (or counterparts fulfilling their roles) aren't present whatsoever.
And it ends with a redeemed Luke talking about how he's going to try to “undo some of the harm” he's done by going to law school—by “fighting the good fight, trying to help those that were unjustly convicted.” He seemingly freed himself from L's suspicions, forfeited the Death Note indefinitely, and hid it away because “nothing good can come from it.”
In its best moments, this script is a cheap imitation of a rich manga. But in its (many) worst moments, it's downright antithetical to the Death Note manga and its characters. But it's also, nonetheless, a cohesive document with the correct formatting for a screenplay. Whether or not this truly was the Parlapanides brothers' screenplay has never officially been confirmed or denied, so it's hard to feel certain about its authenticity one way or the other. That the leaked screenplay was either an early/outdated draft, or simply not the real screenplay to begin with, tended to be the most prominent theories.
Despite hints made in November 2009 by Efron himself that at least some preliminary efforts toward casting him in a Death Note movie might've happened, over a year would pass before there were any significant (and official) status updates. These long-awaited updates, however, would be game-changing. In January 2011, WB hired Shane Black (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, later Iron Man 3) to direct their Death Note movie, and that Anthony Bagarozzi and Charles Mondry (who were both working with Black on a yet unrealized Doc Savage project) would be taking over as screenwriters. “[Death Note is] my favorite manga, I was just struck by its unique and brilliant sensibility,” Black would tell Deadline, “What we want to do is take it back to that manga, and make it closer to what is so complex and truthful about the spirituality of the story, versus taking the concept and trying to copy it as an American thriller. Jeff Robinov and Greg Silverman liked that.”
With a new director and new screenwriters came renewed interest from Death Note fans in this project—or rather, it mostly seemed to be renewed interest in bemoaning the project, as the recent memory that was 2009's Dragonball: Evolution didn't exactly leave anime fans particularly thrilled at the prospect of another Hollywood-made manga adaptation. And in the midst of this, whether it was rooted in affection or sarcasm, what began as a joke concept of Robert Pattinson being cast as L quickly started to take on a life all its own. Not unlike the idea of Efron as Light in the years prior, there was just something about the idea of Pattinson—famous largely for his portrayal of the broody and bedazzled Edward Cullen—as the eccentric and unkempt L that Death Note fans couldn't get enough of. And thus a new wave of memes and fake movie posters was ushered in.
Little is known about Death Note under Black's direction, except that it seemed to be defined by a power struggle against WB for creative control over the film. At Long Beach Comic Con 2011, Black would discuss in a panel how WB wanted the film to have more broad appeal—to achieve this, they didn't want Ryuk (or any of the other shinigami characters) there at all, and they wanted to make Light more sympathetic by giving him a tragic backstory (involving a friend being murdered). Black, however, adamantly opposed these changes, and expressed that he had no intention for his Death Note to include them.
Despite all the effort made in keeping this project alive, updates would become increasingly sparse in the years to follow—so sparse, in fact, that in 2013 Black had to clarify in an interview that it was still happening at all (though he wouldn't elaborate on this with any specific details/updates). But then, puzzlingly, it was reported in July 2014 that Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting, Milk) would be directing Death Note. This was quite the plot twist to proverbially leave at everyone's doorstep without an explanation. Especially in the absence of any statements from WB, Black, Van Sant, or any of the studios said to be involved (Vertigo Entertainment, Witten Pictures, and Lin Pictures), this news was about as sudden and confusing as one could possibly imagine. In particular, the decision to involve Van Sant, while not necessarily bad, felt questionable to those keeping tabs on the project. After all, at a glance, Death Note just doesn't fit the vibe of Van Sant's most known works—so why, many people wondered, was Van Sant, of all the possible directors, being tapped for this? But like many of the other questions raised by this news, there would never be an official answer.
At some point between June 30 and August 6, 2014, Death Note was quietly removed from Black's IMDB page. This seemed to be confirmation enough for those still trying to keep up: Black was out, and however mysteriously, Van Sant was in. But with no major updates under Van Sant until the 2015 announcement that Adam Wingard (The Guest, You're Next) would be taking over as director, there's even less known about his time as director than Black's—and in fact, it's possible that the reason nobody seems to know anything about Van Sant's brief time as director is because there's simply not much to know about.
As though to highlight just how painfully slow progress at WB was, two other completely different live-action adaptations of Death Note launched whilst WB was trying to navigate these directorial woes. The first of these adaptations was a musical—the aptly titled Death Note: The Musical.
Initially announced in 2013, the musical looked promising for Death Note fans and general audiences alike right out the gate. Although the songs were initially written in English (and demo recordings of them were made) and a reading workshop would be held in New York in 2014, the musical originally only ran in Japan and South Korea throughout 2015. The musical's plot adheres somewhat closely to the manga. Naturally, several story beats have to be condensed to fit the musical's runtime, and then eventually it diverges significantly after the arrest of Misa to end it quicker and somewhat differently (though not nearly as differently as, say, the 2009 screenplay). But all the main characters from the first act of Death Note are present and acting like themselves, and the main, relevant story beats of Death Note are present—and told through the magic of song (catchy songs, no less!). As an adaptation, I'd personally go so far as to call it a pretty good one.
The musical would have additional runs in Japan and South Korea in 2017, Japan in the early months of 2020 (it was closed early for obvious reasons), and South Korea and Brazil in 2022. Additionally, there have been Death Note: The Musical concerts in Russia. Scriptwriter Ivan Menchell would tweet in 2017 that an English version of Death Note: The Musical is, “coming soon” (later that year he would add that it's “Definitely planned for the future. Promise to keep you posted. Don't have any time frame yet. But it's comin…”) but as of the time of writing, there are no publicly known plans for a run of Death Note: The Musical in English.
During the same year of Death Note: The Musical's debut, an 11-episode-long Death Note TV drama premiered in Japan (it streamed on Crunchyroll while it was airing, but is no longer there as of the time of writing). This drama still retains the core foundations of Death Note's original story. Where it differs both from the source material and other adaptations, however, is in how it's the first of the live-action Death Note adaptations to incorporate elements from the second act of Death Note (EX: Near, Mello, Mikami, etc.) into its story, albeit in ways that differ heavily from the source material.
This drama—like the musical—has become widely regarded among those who've watched it as flawed, but it's still one of the more enjoyable Death Note adaptations. “This version of Death Note is a more than worthy addition to the franchise. It takes its own spin on the story that may be more thematically rewarding than the original, without forgetting its roots,” wrote Rose Bridges for ANN, “It's satisfying both to old fans of the anime and manga, and people experiencing Death Note for the first time. It's what I like my adaptations to be—a mix of the old and the new—and it only got better at it neared its conclusion. The Death Note j-drama was everything I'd hoped for and a little more.”
Circling back to WB's long-awaited but lowly-anticipated Death Note movie, setting the tone as the first major announcement to happen under Wingard was the all-important decision of who would be in charge of the screenplay, and who would be playing Light—or more specifically, would Efron be playing Light? On one hand, Efron would soon be approaching 30, and no longer looked as Light-like as he had the decade prior. But on the other, this is Hollywood. While there were plenty of people guessing that Wingard wouldn't be casting Efron, the actor who did get the part wasn't exactly a predictable choice: it was Nat Wolff. As in, Nat “yes, the one from The Naked Brothers Band” Wolff (though to his credit, even by the time this announcement happened, he'd been involved as an actor in plenty of other projects like Paper Towns, The Fault in Our Stars, and more). Shock, confusion, laughter, and just about every other type of loud reaction imaginable erupted across not just Death Note fan communities, but also plenty of curious onlookers in the anime community. Vastly overshadowed by the news of Wolff's involvement was the news that Jeremy Slater (Fantastic Four) would be the project's new screenwriter.
In the advent of this announcement, WB's Death Note now had a director, a star, and a screenwriter—while this still wasn't enough to get the project off the ground, it was still more than this project ever had yet. Albeit slowly, the gears were moving and tangible progress was actually being made. But alas, there was still one more curveball in store for this cursed project: Enter Netflix, who acquired the project (including its director, star, etc) in 2016. WB's Death Note was now going to be a Netflix original (and will henceforth be referred to as Netflix Note), and production was slated to begin in a few months. Cast announcements would soon start to trickle in, and less than a year later—in March 2017—a brief trailer and release date (August 25, 2017) was posted, therefore affirming it: almost 10 years, several directors, and several screenwriters later, the American Death Note movie was actually happening.
So, what of the movie itself then? Was it a movie that warranted its 9-year wait? Well, Netflix Note was received about as well as a brick traveling at a high-speed to one's face. By and large, Death Note fans hated it for spitting in the face of the source material, while general audiences hated it for being an incoherent and massively underdeveloped mess. The only silver lining to be found was in how the same things that made it so terrible, also made it prime for ironic, “so-bad-it's-good” enjoyment. “It's hard to imagine Death Note aficionados being pleased with something so flagrantly disrespectful to its source material, but there's still reason to rejoice in the specific flavor of badness we were gifted,” wrote Jacob Chapman for ANN, “Rather than being dull or disposable, Death Note 2017's desire to be different no matter the cost gives the movie its own maverick charm, inimitable by the flood of safe remakes we forget one week after they hit theaters. (Lookin' at you again, Ghost in the Shell.) There's a trashy kind of triumph that rises from the uniquely poor decisions holding Death Note together, and every fan should watch it just once for a one-of-a-kind example of how adaptations can go wrong.”
Especially with the power of hindsight, it's easy to understand how Death Note's siren song has lured in so many creatives and studios over the years despite its relatively young age: it was extremely popular upon its release, it's still popular today, it isn't terribly long, and perhaps most importantly, it lends itself to a live-action format more readily than most (arguably any) other anime of its popularity level. More specifically, even with the shinigami characters present, Death Note is still way more grounded in reality than the fantastical—or, “in-need-of-a-lot-of-expensive-visual-elements”—likes of, say, One Piece, Cowboy Bebop, or Ghost in the Shell. In short, when looking to adapt a manga/anime to live action, on paper Death Note just makes logistical sense.
But that begs the question: is there even a need to bring manga/anime into the action format at all? Although I'm preaching to the choir by writing this on the ANN, it's still worth saying plainly that despite Hollywood's stereotypes about animation, anime/manga isn't some lesser entertainment medium, and it doesn't inherently need to be brought into live-action to be considered valid as a piece of art or entertainment. That being said, it's also worth reminding everyone that despite the stereotype that all anime live-action adaptations are bad, that's simply not the case—several are quite serviceable, and some are even generally regarded even among fans of the source material as good. The issue at play here is that the bad ones tend to be really, Really, REALLY bad, and they also tend to be more high-profile—we can't help but think of them first and foremost. And even solely in Death Note's exceptional, over-abundant wealth of adaptations, one can see a perfect microcosm of this.
While I'd like to think that surely everyone in TV/movie production knows by now that Death Note's been adapted more than enough times, against all odds (certainly against common sense) the recent news that the Duffer Brothers (Stranger Things), Halia Abdel-Meguid (Miss Annity, The Devil in the White City), and a number of producers from the 2017 series are involved in making a “new take” on the series for Netflix suggests otherwise—or perhaps more accurately, it suggests that as always, capitalism will do anything to milk cash cows to their absolute last drops.
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