Hey howdy hey! I just finished Another Note: The Los Angeles BB Murder Cases, so I think this makes me a Death Note Renaissance (wo)Man. I saw the anime, saw the three live action films, read the manga, read the manga guide How to Read, read the novelization of L Change the World, and watched Visions of a God and L’s Successors. The only thing I didn’t do was watch the DVDs in both sub and dub. I’m too tired now to go back and do that. This has all been within a relatively short period of time, you know, a few to several months, but not a whole year. I’m not sure I can go through Light killing the innocent FBI agents one more time. (I can live L’s death again—I’ve watched it in several You Tube AMV’s. Ah, poor, sweet L!—Hey, as the Silent Reaper comic says, L eats lots of sweets, so that makes him sweet.)

Here’s some things I liked and didn’t like about the various stories and retellings (spoilers rampant):

The anime: I liked how L had his own episode when he died. The manga didn’t have the scene in the rain or the foot massage. Still, I think I like the last episode best, to watch Light get served by Near, shot by Matsuda (my second favorite character going from comic relief dummy to serious avenger, wow!), then get his name written in the book by Ryuk. And Light probably thought Ryuk was his friend!

Death Note and Death Note: The Last Name: There was a lot of strong language in the beginning. Once there was a time when I wouldn’t have let myself watch such a thing. Light and L look suitable. I think live action L is cute, though anime L is cuter. I love the end of the first movie when Light meets L, and L is eating a bag of consommé potato chips. What was with Light having a girlfriend? She seemed like the All-American girl, even though Japanese. Why doesn’t Soichiro have a mustache? Ah, no big deal. The plot veers way off from its source in the second movie, but I didn’t mind. I’m used to adaptations changing things around, and I’m glad L didn’t get killed by Light, even though he did pass away. But he got to die on his own terms, not Light’s. “Poor” Light, betrayed by Ryuk again! Dying in his father’s arms, that was a nice touch.

L Change the World: This was too long, and boring whenever L wasn’t around, but whenever he was on screen, I was fascinated watching him. Near didn’t seem like Near at all.

The manga: If I was expecting lots of cute pics of L, I didn’t get them. Instead, he was bug-eyed all the time. I was a little bored reading on after L’s death, but then things picked up and got intriguing again. Usually, a manga takes an hour to go through, but this one was so wordy it seemed to take as long as a regular novel. I liked Matsuda a little less in the second half; he seemed like Light’s lackey. The ending wasn’t as intense as in the anime. Hate the there being no Heaven and Hell aspect; I’m a big believer in the afterlife. I want to see L happy and Light tortured in Heaven and Hell respectively. I was a little ticked off at the manga-ka for that, but I forgive him. But I do not accept his view in the manga; I pretend the characters live on spiritually, canon be damned.

How to Read: This was very exhaustive. I thought I’d never get through it. But I did. Interesting alternate universe (?) manga in the end, where there’s not only a Death Note, but a death eraser. Oh, on the which character are you game, I ended up as L. Because I’m a liar. That is not one of my big vices. Oh, well, at least I get to be L instead of Light.


L Change the World: This movie novelization tells the story differently. For one thing, Near is already at Wammy’s House and doesn’t feature much as a character. Matsuda gets a cool scene! I really loved a page describing how L got his bad posture, his dark circles, and his taste for sweets. I also loved the last page, which hints at a happy afterlife for once.

Visions of a God and L’s Successors: These two DVDs retell the anime story with a few new scenes. I got a little bored at times. I was glad they included the Light and L in the rain scene, but a bit sore they cut out the towel drying scene afterwards. I was glad for an addition of a scene of L’s funeral, even though Light desecrated his grave. I like L appearing post-death at the beginning of the second DVD.

Another Note: The Los Angeles BB Murder Cases: Although I was sad that Naomi had to die in Death Note, this book gave me no reason to care for her. And L wasn’t in it as much as I thought—who I thought was L was actually Beyond Birthday. And who came up with names like Blues-Harp Babysplit?

So, that’s about everything official, I think. Let me know if I miss something. I ordered a Ken’ichi Mitsuya photo book with a manga of L—unfortunately, it’s in Japanese.