This manga (Death) Note Lives Up To Its Name

Due to the fact that my partner and I are going to be seeing a special screening of the live action version of the Japanese Manga "Death Note" I thought I would reprint an earlier review of the first half of the movie that we saw earlier this year. The movie Death Note does not follow the best selling Manga series of the same title all that closely, but it does get the series main point across just like the books did so well. Light Yagami (Tatsuya Fujiwara) finds the Death Note, a notebook with the power to kill, and after going on line to a police data base and seeing for himself just how many criminals are getting away with murder, decides to create a Utopia by killing the worlds criminals. His first few are in Japan, but soon he expands his choices, soon the crime rate starts to drop across the globe. his Father, Souichiro Yagami (Takeshi Kaga) heads the police unit that is tasked with bringing the killer to justice. Light has named himself Kira, and word of his power spreads across the Internet, that he begins to hear people he passes on the street speak of Kira. The world's greatest detective, "L" (Ken'ichi Matsuyama) is hired to find the perpetrator. The actor playing L definitely captivates you with his perspective of the character, from the anime to the screen. An all out battle ensues between the greatest minds on Earth, as Light and L pit themselves against each other, L uses tricks to lure Kira out into the open, he uses camera's in the police officers homes, so he can track the families, this proves fruitless. L finds a pattern in the killings that match a students college schedule. He has this student and several other people followed by F.B.I. agents. Light is followed by Agent Ray (Shigeki Hosokawa) and soon has to turn his attention towards him, he feels that if he is followed he can not kill the evil doers in the world. Light soon crosses the line and you begin to wonder if the book is manipulating Light, or if it's Light in control. A second note book is dropped at the feet of a TV star Misa Misa Amane (Erika Toda) who is close to being murdered herself. The end of the first chapter of the movie has Light and L meeting for the first time face to face. Light set up Agent Rays fiancee Naomi Misora (Asaka Seto), because she is getting close to finding out that Light is in fact Kira. light has her eliminate herself and Light girlfriend Shiori Kashino (Yu Kashii), she is the only person that has been able to get close to Light. he does this to both protect himself and to get closer to the investigation, so he can control where it goes. The book has a few rules, which are explained to Light by Ryuuk, who follows Light around eating apples, he can not be seen by anyone unless they touch the death note, Light uses this rule to get to Agent Ray. Light soon finds that he can make people act in any way he wants them to, as long as he writes it in the book first. he can have them kill themselves and leave notes behind to mislead L. This chapter is a convincing story of what can happen when a person sets out to do what he thinks is right, but then gets carried away with the power rush. i give Death Note a 4 and on my avoidance scale I give it a 0. You can catch up on the first chapter of Death Note now it is available on DVD, and the final chapter "Death Note: L The Last Name" will be screened two nights only. Oct. 15th and 16th. GO SEE THIS MOVIE.