Death Note (Live Action - Dub & Sub)

I'm a huge fan of both the anime and the manga (It's my current obsession) so when I got the chance to go see the movie in theaters, I was ecstatic. I'll admit, the dubbing looked a bit...goofy, but that didn't change the fact that it was just as awesome as the Manga/Anime. Truth me told, I was recovering from eye surgery when I went to see it, so the fact that it was dubbed was a blessing, since it meant I didn't have to try and read subtitle. Another bonus was getting to hear L's wonderful dub voice while seeing the adorable L in the movie. XD

On a serious note, I hope hey release "Last Name" and "LChange The World" as well. I've only seen "Death Note", and really want to see the other two.

I recommend this DVD for any fan of Death Note, or anyone who enjoys a good psychological suspense movie. It realy makes you think! And if you don't want to watch the dub, there's this magical setting called 'subtitles' that lets you watch the Japanese voices, with English voices. Don't decide against it until you've tried it, at least.

WELL I SAW IT WITH SUBTITLES AND IT WAS JUST SO COOL! OF COURSE IF IT HAD BEEN MADE BY HOLLYWOOD MAYBE THE ACTING OR GRAPHICS/DIGITAL EFFECTS COULD BE A LITTLE BIT MORE TO OUR TASTE. YET, FOR A FILM THAT WAS PRODUCED IN JAPAN BY A JAPANESE CREW IT WAS GREAT. IT'S FULL OF LAUGHS AND IT WILL MAKE YOU WISH YOU COULD SPEAK JAPANESE, BECAUSE IT'S SO MUCH FUN! IT'S ALMOST A GREAT AS WATCHING BABY WOMBATS DANCE...^_^ CUDDLE WUGS

I saw it in theaters and got a refund after seeing a few minutes of it. They dubbed it! Was expecting it to be in Japanese. o.O It looked so goofy! Why can't people just read subtitles? x3 lol

"Death Note" was a much better flick than I was expecting. It was a huge hit in Japan, and because I had never read the original manga, I had avoided it thinking I wouldn't get the entire story. My loss, as it turns out.

The cat-and-mouse detective game mixed with the fantasy elements of the gods of death and their magical books makes for an interesting story. The two main characters, "L" and Light, are an intense duo, and like the best of this genre of film it is hard to decide who to root for. Light (Tatsuya Fujiwara, "Battle Royale"), known by the general public as the hero/murderer "Killer", is the holder of the Death Note, and has the power to kill anyone on Earth just by writing their name. A hardcore and brilliant student of criminal justice, he uses his power to erase the vermin of the world, serial killers, child rapists and gangsters. For the most part, his actions are praised, but he is still a murderer in the eyes of the law, and needs to be brought down. On his side is the Ryuuk, a Japanese god of death who gave Light the Death Note in order to keep himself entertained. Hunting him down in "L" (Ken'ichi Matsuyama, "Linda,Linda, Linda"), a young, oddball genius with a penchant for sweets who keeps his name hidden in order to protect himself from the powers of the Death Note. L hunts Light, and Light hunts L, and it is never clear who is the person a step ahead, and who is the fly falling into the web.

Director Shusuke Kaneko, who cut his teeth on Godzilla, Gamera and Ultraman flicks, managed to keep the story close enough to the manga to please the fans while making it complete enough that newcomers don't feel that they are only getting a part of the picture. The CG animated Ryuuk stands out at first, but soon becomes a natural part of the storyline, and Kaneko's familiarity with the special effects learned from the monster films did him good service. All of the actors do a great job, particularly Fujiwara and Matsuyama as L and Light, who carry the movie on the strength of their performances.

"Death Note" was a great enough film that it had me running to pick up the sequel, which actually makes a single film "Kill Bill"-style, as well as checking out the manga and the spin-off flick "L:Change the World". All of them are high quality, and all of them are recommended.

I just watched this in the theater as part of its (very) limited May '08 US theatrical release, and it was simply magnificent! There were a few slightly quirky or off-beat directorial choices, and somewhat rudimentary special effects; but overall, I found it exceptionally entertaining.

The premise is very clever, and the one-upsmanship of the plot twists are simply brilliant. Of course, I think the real appeal of a story like this is that there are actually TWO protagonists in fierce conflict with one other - a rare and difficult literary feat. On the side of the law, we have a neutral (perhaps even slightly evil) hero, known only as "L." Opposite L, we have "Kira," a chaotic anti-hero with a deeply twisted sense of justice. It's that highly satisfying kind of narrative that invites you to root for either or both side at the same time, depending on the color of your soul.

The roller coaster ride that unfolds - both in the movie itself and the depths of your own conscience - is a thrill ride not to be missed.