Netflix’s Death Note: 5 Things It Did Better Than The Anime (And 5 That Were Worse)

In 2017, Netflix came out with a live-action remake of Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata’s popular anime series Death Note, directed by Adam Wingard. This time around, the story of the murder notebook takes place in Seattle, where bullied high schooler Light Turner (Nat Wolff) finds this notebook and resolves to rid the world of criminals once and for all. Joining him is the insidious young lady Mia Sutton (Margaret Qualley), while the mysterious super-detective L (Lakeith Stanfield) goes on the hunt for Kira.

Though this movie was widely criticized, there are a few elements to it that may actually compare favorably to the original anime. Art is subjective, and even Death Note fans might find some interesting new ideas and themes in this live-action movie. So, how do the film and anime stack up? What does each offer that the other doesn’t?

10 Netflix: The New Ryuk

Voiced by Willem Dafoe, the Shinigami known as Ryuk is a real terror on the small screen. His CGI body is detailed, grisly and spooky, and pretty accurate to what the anime showed. The older, live-action Japanese Death Note movies also had CGI Ryuks, but not of this caliber.

Ryuk fans rejoice, for the beloved Shinigami is better and meaner than ever! He helps add to the horror movie feel of 2017’s Death Note, and it’s immediately clear that Ryuk isn’t here to play games. Nor should he be.

9 Anime: A Bigger Cast

To be fair, any movie based on a large piece of source material has to consolidate and cut material to make everything fit into two hours. But still, some popular Death Note characters are glaringly absent from the 2017 movie, such as the fun-guy Matsuda to Near and Mello to Rem and the Yotsuba group.

Many different characters populate the anime: some smart, some evil, some noble, all interesting. Light and L have plenty of company!

8 Netflix: A More Motivated Light

Not that the anime’s Light Yagami became Kira on a whim. Far from it. But in 2017’s Death Note, we get a more cinematic introduction to Light Turner’s career as Kira, where we see a poor teenager being bullied and ostracized at a rain-sodden, miserable high school.

Viewers might feel bad for the guy, and it’s little wonder that he’s venting his frustration and helplessness by becoming Kira and fighting the forces of evil.

7 Anime: A Bigger, Better Battle Of Wits

The Death Note franchise is a supernatural crime thriller and battle of wits, but the 2017 movie mostly focuses on the “crime thriller” part of that concept. Meanwhile, the anime is a real treat for the brain, as both Light and L are brilliant young men with all sorts of cunning tricks and ploys to use against each other.

Later, the same is true when Light/Kira clashes in a three-way battle with Near and Mello. From potato chip bags to using FBI agents to using  proxy Kiras and hidden cameras, the anime has it all.

6 Netflix: Mia Betrays Light

Think about it: Light Turner got his hands on the ultimate weapon: a notebook that can kill anyone with a written name! And better yet, it can control the victim’s actions before they die, should they be written down. Light shares his powers with Mia Sutton, but this turns on him quickly. Mia, being ruthless an ambitious, covets the notebook and soon coerces Light into giving it to her.

This is an amusing and logical step for the plot to take, and it really shows the “double-edged sword” aspect of terrifying power like the Death Note. A treasure like that is bound to turn friends on each other.

5 Anime: The Ultimate L

This is not to criticize or downplay Lakeith Stanfield’s performance as the super-detective L. But rather, to say that the L in the anime has even more of a presence on screen, from his blank but intense eyes to his shabby clothes and messy, wild dark hair. Plus, his delicate way of holding things and oddly baby-like mannerisms make him easy to like.

A lot of Death Note fan art adoringly shows this L in all sorts of situations, and he’s a proper darling of the anime fan world. What’s not to like?

4 Netflix: Horror That Chills The Bones

In any iteration, the tale of the Death Note is a dark and scary one, where death gods hand over a killer notebook for flawed and ambitious human beings to use. There’s more than one way to present that, and the anime opts for a battle of wits within an intriguing crime thriller. Meanwhile, the 2017 movie uses a different, but equally valid perspective: horror.

This adds to the atmosphere and makes everything feel even more high-stakes and nerve-wracking than ever, from Ryuk’s monstrous appearance to grisly on-screen deaths to a neo-noir scene where L and Light converse near a rainy window under eerie neon lights.

3 Anime: Light’s Descent Into Evil

While the 2017 movie mainly portrays Light as a bullied high schooler who got in over his head, the original anime is more ambitious with Light. Here, we get a Greek tragedy as the innocent and optimistic Light Yagami slides into a descent to madness and evil, and he justifies himself the whole way.

He doesn’t realize how deep he gets into it, and later on, he casually betrays and kills many companions who only wanted to help him. In the end, when outed as Kira, Light bursts into laughter that chills everyone in the room. Is he even human anymore?

2 Netflix: Action-Packed Climax

The 2017 movie wants to give the viewers some thrills, and we get them when Light and Mia clash one more time at a large ferris wheel, the Seattle Great Wheel. It’s edge-of-your-seat action as Light and Mia vie for the killer notebook, and only one of them is going to get out of this alive.

And when the ferris wheel falls apart while Ryuk and Light’s father (Shea Whigham) watch, an eerie silence falls. Only later does the truth come out. What a ride!

1 Anime: More Sympathetic Characters

Yes, the 2017 Death Note movie makes Light rather sympathetic by making him more downtrodden. But the original anime features many characters who may win over the viewer’s heart, such as Misa, Matsuda, and Soichiro Yagami.

Misa gets in over her head and becomes a tool for Light’s quest, and while she genuinely loves him, Light gives her nothing in return. Matsuda looked up to Soichiro as the police chief, and he’s devastated when Light is outed as Kira all along. And finally, it’s heart-breaking that Soichiro suffered so much for the Kira case, only to perish as he unwittingly aids Kira’s plans. Rest in peace, Deputy Director!