Recently, Netflix has dropped a teaser trailer for their new live action adaptation of the acclaimed anime and manga series called Death Note.  I will discuss my thoughts on this, but before I do that, here is the teaser trailer:

As of the moment I am writing this, the trailer has been out for 16 hours and it already has had over 3 million views. It is already trending on several social media platforms and has had several live reaction videos made for it. It is safe to say that the fans are eagerly and, maybe like me, a little apprehensively keeping an eye out on it.

I am a huge fan of Death Note.  It is my number one favorite anime of all time, and it was the anime that got me into anime.  I call it a gateway anime in that when I watched it, I went searching for animes that could replicate its intelligent storytelling and incredible character arcs.  It is a nail biting psychological thriller.

For those who don’t know what Death Note is about it is the story of Light Yagami, a brilliant high school student who stumbles across the Death Note that fell from the sky.  The Death Note is the Shinigami Ryuk’s notebook of death.  A shinigami is an equivalent to a grim reaper.  Whoever’s name Light writes in the notebook, as long as he has the person’s face in mind when writing their name, that person will die.  Light becomes obsessed with killing all the people he believes are undeserving of living in this world and is trying to become the god of a whole new world order.  In steps “L”, a genius reclusive detective, who makes it his mission to catch Light, also known as Kira, and bring him to justice.  The cat and mouse game between these two geniuses is intense as they race to hunt down the identity of the each other.

This anime is gritty, dark, cerebral and intense.  It is on a higher level of storytelling and use of subtext than most television shows and movies out there.  So it is safe to say that I have a very strong connection with this story and will be critical of any adaptation made from it.  It has already been adapted into live action movies and television shows in Japan.

So what will Netflix do differently?  It can do quite a lot actually which can be worrisome.  Already we see that it takes place in Seattle.  I actually like that they didn’t go the typical route and have it take place in New York or Los Angeles.  I also see that Misa is a rebellious cheerleader, which does fit the idea of her, but it is a major change.  Misa, in the anime and manga, is a pop icon who seems sweet and cheerful, but has a dark, gothic side to her.  The one prominent shot we have of Misa in this trailer is very telling as we see a don’t give a sh*t smoking cheerleader.

I will say that I am excited to see Ryuk and L.  I love Willem Defoe, who will be voicing Ryuk, and we did get to see a glimpse of the Shinigami.  His design and how he looks will really shape people’s opinion of this adaptation, so I hope to see more of him in the longer trailer.

Ryuk from the Death Note anime.

I also am intrigued by L who is played by Keith Stanfield.  I saw a set picture of L as he is covered up while he does a press conference.  Now in the anime, L is an awkward reclusive whose only real contact with the world is through Watari.  People may ask why he is always covered up in this adaptation.  I think this plays around with the paranoid L that we all knew was an aspect to his character, but we never really thought about it.  The one shot I saw of L in this trailer looked cool, but it is not enough for me to make a judgment on, but I am intrigued which is good.

I’m still on the fence about Light.  Nat Wolff actually looked more like Light with his natural hair color and less like him with this blonde dye job.  That is not as important.  I just hope his acting can handle this character because Light Yagami’s shoes are big shoes to fill.  Light is the most charming sociopath you will ever meet.  He is terrifying how easily he can deceive people.  I will have to see a longer trailer to see just how well he can fill those shoes.

Light Yagami from the Death Note anime.

I can see already that they are changing things up.  First off, there was no Ferris Wheel anything in the anime or manga.  I don’t even know what to think of that scene.  I’m not sure how I feel about Misa being a delinquent cheerleader either.  I did like the look of the notebook and how it fell from the sky just like the anime.  I also really liked the dark atmospheric tones in this trailer.

As of now I am on the fence on how I feel.  I will definitely check this movie out when it comes out on August 25th.