Few manga and anime properties in the 2000s had the impact that Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata’s Death Note did. A supernatural psychological thriller, the series follows teen genius Light Yagami, whose discovery of a shinigami’s (death god) ‘Death Note’, an artefact that kills anyone whose name is written in it, inspires him to rid the world of criminals.
Hyped up on god-like power, Light assumes the moniker ‘Kira’ to protect his identity and feed into his mystique. His judge, jury, and executioner arc soon catches the attention of teen detective ‘L,’ developing the plot into a gripping cat-and-mouse game between the pair. Tense and philosophical, it’s no wonder the manga has been adapted many times into TV and film. Here’s how to watch Death Note in order.
Death Note (2006-2007)
The first adaptation of Death Note was a TV anime series. Spanning 37 episodes, the show was split into two parts that aired in both Japanese and English without a break; a division that makes sense for the source material, which contains a dramatic mid-story twist that effectively resets all the pieces on the board.
Except for the original manga, Death Note remains the strongest piece of franchise media to date, bringing Light and L’s inner monologues and tense exchanges to life with melodramatic animation and voice acting that are iconic beyond manga and anime fandom. It was popular enough to garner two subsequent TV films, Death Note Relight - Visions of a God and Death Note Relight 2 - L's Successors, which are director’s cuts summarising the series, plus some added scenes.
Death Note (2006)
The first of a series of Japanese live-action films, Death Note (2006) stars Battle Royale’s Tatsuya Fujiwara as Light and character actor Kenichi Matsuyama as L. It introduces the premise and sets the two up as adversaries, ending with a cameo from Light’s unrequited love interest, the doting model Misa Amane.
While well-plotted, acted, and mostly faithful to the source material, the film makes a few changes that become more pronounced over its runtime. These include making Light a bit older (university-aged rather than a high school student), adding new Death Note rules, new characters, and an original climactic scene.
Death Note 2: The Last Name (2006)
The sequel to the 2006 live-action Death Note film was released just a few months later and picks up where the first left off. Misa Amane takes a central role as a co-conspirator of Light/Kira, equipped with her own Death Note. As Light joins the very task force formed to stop him, he uses Misa to throw suspicion from L off of him.
Like the first film, Death Note 2: The Last Name is plotted tightly and darkly enough to build suspense and intrigue, carried by a strong cast. However, further story departures from the manga’s ending may rankle fans who prize faithfulness over originality.
L: Change the World (2008)
As indicated by the title, this spinoff of Death Note 2: The Last Name focuses entirely on L and his final case before the end of that film. That case involves thwarting a terrorist organisation in possession of an engineered virus, the deadliest known to man.
L: Change the World doesn’t add anything new to the Death Note franchise, but if you’re a fan of L, in particular, it’s a nice opportunity to spend time with him outside of the Kira case. It also brings one of his young proteges, Near, into the Japanese film universe, and received a highly popular light novel adaptation.
Death Note (2015)
While a live-action Death Note TV series has been in the works in the US for years, Japan beat Hollywood to the punch with 2015’s Death Note. Compacting the entire story into a lean 11-episode run without sacrificing its key plot points, characterisation, or impact, this more concise storytelling earned it higher praise than the anime iteration on this front.
For this reason, the series may be the best and most bingeable way to familiarise yourself with the story. It’s also the first live-action adaptation to feature the troubled Mello, another L successor, alongside Near.
Death Note: New Generation (2016)
The first of two sequel projects to Death Note 2: The Last Name, Death Note: New Generation was streamed as a three-part miniseries in Japan. Each episode revolves around a different original character: a new Death Note investigator, a new Death Note user, and a new L—Ryuzaki, the detective’s ‘true’ successor.
Taking place a decade after the events of Death Note, it includes cameos from Light and L’s original film actors and deals with those characters’ legacy—a generation still inspired by and scared of Kira’s extreme prejudicial measures to create a ‘new world.’ The series functions primarily as a prequel to the next film.
Death Note: Light Up the New World (2016)
A follow-up film to New Generation, Death Note: Light Up the New World teams a reluctant Ryuzaki up with the current Death Note task force, who have to find not one but six of the deadly books loose in Japan, as well as identify and stop the person who has taken on Light’s mantle as ‘Neo Kira.’
With 10 years in real-time having passed between this film’s release and the manga’s conclusion, Light Up the New World attempts to update Death Note for a new fanbase. Simply adding more books and killers ups the stakes, but its themes and ideas will still feel very familiar to existing fans.
Death Note (2017)
Netflix’s 2017 Death Note film is the most dramatically different, and therefore, controversial live-action adaptation to date. Director Adam Wingard’s film does what many Hollywood anime remakes do, Americanise the setting and characters, with much greater focus on Light in high school and a more romantic relationship with Misa (aka Mia).
While most of the cast perform well, the film was largely panned due to these changes, which many felt detracted from rather than enhanced or contributed anything new to the murky, moral quandary at the heart of Death Note. It’s worth noting that the manga authors didn’t mind this divergence, adding that the film could still appeal to a wider audience unfamiliar with its basis.
Where To Watch 'Death Note' Movies And Shows Online
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