Overview
is a 2006 Japanese supernatural thriller film based on the manga series of the same title by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata. The film primarily center on a Tokyo college student who attempts to change the world into a utopian society without crime, by committing a world-wide massacre of criminals and people whom he deems morally unworthy of life, through a supernatural notebook that kills anyone whose name is written in the pages, while being hunted down by an elite task-force of law enforcement officers within Tokyo, led by an enigmatic international detective. The film was directed by Shusuke Kaneko, produced by Nippon Television, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures Japan. The film was licensed by VIZ Pictures, Warner Bros.
It was followed by a sequel, Death Note 2: The Last Name, released in the same year. A spin-off film directed by Hideo Nakata and titled L: Change the World, was released on February 9, 2008. Another sequel, Death Note: Light Up the New World, was released in October 2016.
Plot
Light Yagami is an extremely intelligent university student who resents crime and corruption in the world. His life undergoes a drastic change when he discovers a mysterious notebook, known as the "Death Note", lying on the ground. The Death Note's instructions claim that if a human's name is written within it, that person shall die. Light is initially skeptical of the notebook's authenticity, but after experimenting with it, Light realizes that the Death Note is real. After meeting with the previous owner of the Death Note, a Shinigami named Ryuk, Light seeks to become "the God of the New World" by passing his judgment on those he deems to be evil or who get in his way.
Soon, the number of inexplicable deaths of reported criminals catches the attention of Interpol, as well as a mysterious detective known only as "L". L quickly deduces that the murderer, dubbed by the public as Kira (a Japanese approximation of the English word "killer"), is located in Japan. L also concludes that Kira can kill people without laying a finger on them. Light realizes that L will be his greatest nemesis, and a game of psychological "cat and mouse" between the two begins.
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