Death Note (Part One) - Movie

So, after a brief absence I decided to sit down and watch a movie I'd been interested in for a while. That movie was Death Note, based on the manga and anime of the same title.

The premise is simple enough. A young college student named Light Yagami, who's father is a police detective, has dreams of joining the police force after college. A dedicated student and believer in the law, he comes to realization after some research that many of the criminals in society go free from prison or are not sentenced at all. This frustrates him and causes him to become disillusioned with the idea of the justice system. One night after a tense confrontation with a freed killer, Light finds a mysterious notebook in the streets simply titled "Death Note." Inside the notebook are a few rules stating that if someone's name is written in the notebook they will die within a few minutes. The rules also specify other things that are discovered through the course of the film. Of course Light finds this to be impossible, until he actually tries it with a freed criminal who is on the news. When the criminal dies suddenly of a heart attack, Light begins to experiment with other criminals (as he has access via hacking to the police database). Criminals begin dying by the dozens throughout the world and people begin to notice. Soon the killer is dubbed "Kira" (killer in transliteration) and people either love him or hate him depending on how they feel about his actions. Soon a police investigation is launched including international police and FBI support to catch the famous Kira.

As Light becomes more adept at using the notebook he meets the shinigami (reaper spirit) attached the book and while Light can see him, no one else can. The reaper serves only as a sort of counsel to Light and takes no side in the story. No one, not even his girlfriend Shiori, is aware that Light and Kira are one and the same. As the film moves forward a mysterious person named "L" joins the police investigation and speaks only through a computer terminal to the police in order to protect his identity from Kira. Soon it becomes a game of cat and mouse between L and Kira and the public soon becomes frightened of Kira. Kira begins to experiment more with the notebook and finds that he can write down what will happen with someone he names in the book and that it will happen. An example of this is when he directs inmates in a prison to cut themselves and write symbols on the wall before killing themselves, or a man being hit by a car. This places Kira into a position where he is more like a god than a man and the power soon begins to consume his personality.

I won't spoil the film but it is suspenseful, dark, and a lot of fun. The concept is interesting because the viewer is not sure who to root for after a while. In the beginning it seems easy to root for Light, but as he begins to take the lives of even good people who get in his way, that support ends rather quickly. But then, the character of "L" is suspicious enough to keep the reader in a sort of median position between the two. The film is well paced and I was on the edge of my seat at points when it felt as though the noose was about to snare Light. The effects are not the best but then, it's a TV movie and rendering a death reaper on the screen for a majority of the film might be expensive, so its forgivable. I have seen worse effects in bigger budget movies that make the theater so they aren't so bad. At least the reaper looks exactly like he does in the manga so that's cool. The acting is good and the guy playing Light did an amazing job, as did the guy playing "L."

Overall a great movie worth a watch because the interaction between the police in their chase and Light is fascinating to watch with a brilliant premise as the backdrop. Take the time, check it out and see a really cool original concept brought to the screen. Now.....on to part two. Until next time, mata ne!

Maou (魔王) - Drama Review

Before I had started to watch this series, I was a bit skeptical. Here was a show that featured two members of Japanese pop groups in the lead roles. Would they be able to pull off a solid show? And a dramatic suspense show at that? Well, I found that I didn't need to be skeptical at all. The show turned out to be quite well done and the characters were great. But before I explain what I liked, here's a brief overview.

Maou is, put simply, a revenge drama. It focuses on the two primary characters of Naurse Ryou, played by Ohno Satoshi, and Serizawa Naoto played by Ikuta Toma. Naruse is a brilliant and accomplished lawyer, who is well known for his generosity and kindness and being able to win cases. Serizawa is a police detective who is known for being brash and undisciplined. The two seem unrelated in the beginning but that soon changes. It seems that Naruse has a well-planned revenge scheme that he hatches against Serizawa and those around him, including friends and family. The reason for revenge, as shown later in the story, is that Serizawa and his friends used to bully kids at their middle school, and one of the kids that is bullied is eventually killed, stabbed by Serizawa on accident. Serizawa, who's family is wealthy and powerful, gets him off for the crime and he goes on to live his life and become a police officer. Naruse is the older brother of the boy that died in the stabbing. His mother also died of a heart attack following the younger brother's death and thus, Naruse has lived alone and bitter for the following decade. So the story is of Naruse's revenge plan against Serizawa and those around him.

How is this plan executed? It is a detailed and intricate system whereby Serizawa receives a red envelope containing some clue and a tarot card that holds some significance. Soon afterward the target would receive a similar envelope and the same tarot card. Finally, a third individual only slightly related to Serizawa or the target would receive the same tarot card and another item, usually the means to kill the target. What would happen is that the third individual would be the trigger, becoming angry at the target for some reason, pushed by the envelope's contents and then go to confront the target, who would then also become angry over the confrontation. The results would then lead to the target's death and the killer, who would have killed the target accidentally would then be represented by Naruse and released due to it being self defense. Naruse does it this way to re-enact the setting of Serizawa'a release after killing his brother before. Only the people dying are Serizawa'a friends. It seems complicated but is shown in the drama very well and there is no confusion as it is explained. As the people begin to be murdered, Serizawa and his fellow detectives move trying to identify the true killer, never sensing it could be the angelic Naruse.

Other issues emerge as the story develops: family problems within the Serizawa household; cracks in friendships; adultery between coworkers; and the truth behind the killing. I won't spoil anything but things are definitely not as clear as they appear initially. And in the midst of all of this is a young woman named Shiori, who has the ability to touch an object and see brief images of events that occurred around it in the past. She assists the police in efforts to help them in their investigation but she soon falls for Naruse, complicating matters further. As the story moves forward both Serizawa and Naruse begin to see their pasts in real terms and develop as characters. Their fates and their paths are destined to cross and it is well worth the journey to follow them on this path. Again, I won't spoil the ending or anything major...just suffice to say that the story is well told and worth the watch.

The acting is well done in this series, and by far Ohno Satoshi steals the show as the tragic and yet brilliant villain Naruse. His cold dead stare will haunt you after a few episodes and become synonymous with the deaths occurring in the story. He is one of the best TV villains I have seen and has a definitive human side that will make you root for him when you know you shouldn't be. Toma, as Serizawa, is also quite good as the emotionally tortured detective with a haunted past. As his friends soon begin to fall around him it is quite clear he is ensnared in a deadly game of which he is an unwilling participant, and the drama that emerges out of the cat and mouse game between Serizawa and Naruse is fun to watch. The supporting cast is excellent, especially Serizawa'a father and the other detectives. The story is haunting, suspenseful, and will challenge you. It is Shakespearian in tone and epic in scope. Take the time and watch all eleven episodes. It is well worth it. Until next time, mata ne!