Death Note

Original title: Death Note: Desu nôto

IMDb RATING

7.5/10

33K

YOUR RATING

Tatsuya Fujiwara and Ken'ichi Matsuyama in Death Note (2006)

A battle between the world's two greatest minds begins when Light Yagami finds the Death Note, a notebook with the power to kill, and decides to rid the world of criminals.

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Dark Fantasy Serial Killer Supernatural Fantasy Crime Drama Fantasy Mystery Thriller

A battle between the world's two greatest minds begins when Light Yagami finds the Death Note, a notebook with the power to kill, and decides to rid the world of criminals.A battle between the world's two greatest minds begins when Light Yagami finds the Death Note, a notebook with the power to kill, and decides to rid the world of criminals.A battle between the world's two greatest minds begins when Light Yagami finds the Death Note, a notebook with the power to kill, and decides to rid the world of criminals.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.5/10

33K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 4 wins & 3 nominations total

Trivia
(at around 1h 27 mins) Light can briefly be seen reading Jenseits von Gut und Böse (English: Beyond Good and Evil) by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. The basic concept of the book is that good and evil are not absolute, but rather social constructions and thus have different meanings varying from society to society.

Goofs
(at around 1h 5 mins) On the subway, when Raye Iwamatsu first opens the file containing the FBI agent IDs, it first reads his name as Raye Penber (his original name in the anime). When the window is enlarged, it is switched back to Raye Iwamatsu.

Quotes
Ryuuk: You know, Light... you're more of a Shinigami than any Shinigami I ever met.

Connections
Featured in Death Note: The Last Name (2006)

Soundtracks
Dani California
Performed by Red Hot Chili Peppers

User reviews110

Featured review

cool

As a non-aficionado of manga, I am always wary of manga-inspired productions. Nana, for example, panders purely to its manga fan-base and fails to engage a wider audience.

Death Note, however, manages to break free of its comic book origins. Light finds the Death Note, a jotter that allows him to pass a death sentence on anyone whose name he writes in it. Ryuuk, the apple-addicted Angel of Death who owns the book, turns up to play sidekick to Light's procession of executions. The police are at a loss, till super-sleuth 'L' takes on the case and figures out the MO and narrows the suspects down to the lead detectives' family.

Tatsuya Fujiwara is perfectly cast, his angelic features in shocking contrast to the character's dark heart. Ken'ichi Matsuyama is all quirky brilliance as L. The pace is brisk, the twists plausible and surprising. The ending sets up the sequel but in a forgivable manner. Fun, entertaining cinema.