L: Change the WorLd (film)

L: Change the WorLd (also known as Death Note: L, Change the WorLd or Death Note III), directed by Hideo Nakata, is a spin-off film and a sequel to the Death Note film series. The series is based on the manga Death Note by Tsugumi Ohba illustrated by Takeshi Obata, but follows an original story line. Hideo Nakata told The Daily Yomiuri that he wanted to exhibit L's "human side" that was not exhibited in the Death Note series.

Two versions of the film were shown in the United States on April 29 and 30, 2009. The first version of the film shown was in Japanese with English subtitles and the second version shown was dubbed in English with the same voice actors from the English dubbed Death Note anime not including Watari like the US release of its predecessors. The film was released on DVD in the US on August 18, 2009.

The film was adapted into a light novel with the same name on December 25, 2007 by "M".

Plot
In the final 23 days of L's life, he meets one final case involving a bioterrorist group that aims to wipe out much of humanity with a virus. The virus has an infection rate that is one hundred times the infection rate of the Ebola virus. He takes a boy he names Near, the sole survivor of its use in a village in Thailand, and an elementary school student named Maki Nikaido under his wing.

Dr. Nikaido later receives a sample of the deadly virus which destroyed that village in Thailand. His assistant, Dr. Kimiko Kujo, reveals herself to be the leader of the organization that created the virus. Dr. Nikaido, who has created an antidote to that virus, refuses to give it to her. He destroys the antidote and injects himself with the virus. She later kills him, and she is convinced that his daughter Maki has the antidote formula.

Under the pursuit of Dr. Kimiko Kujo and her assistants, Maki runs and escapes. She eventually finds L's headquarters. However, the group manages to track Maki down, forcing L, accompanied by Maki and Near, to run away with a high-tech crepe truck. They also received the help of FBI agent Hideaki Suruga during the escape.

They escape to Nikaido's research partner's lab, because they needed his help to recreate the antidote. Using Near, L manages to acquire the antidote just as the terrorists are about to take an infected Maki to the US to spread the virus. L stops the plane and gives all the infected passengers, including the terrorists (those that survived), the antidote. Maki then tries to kill Kujo for revenge, but L stops her, telling her that killing Kujo would not bring back her father. Kujo and the terrorists are then arrested, while Maki goes to the hospital and wakes up, fully cured, with her stuffed bear next to her and a recording from L telling her to have a good day tomorrow. The film concludes with L leaving Near and giving him Near's "real name".

After the end credits, L is seen back in his room eating a chocolate bar and then leaves momentarily, possibly leading to the events where he dies in Death Note: The Last Name. The film ends with the words "L Lawliet, Rest in Peace" on a black screen.

Cast

 * Ken'ichi Matsuyama as L
 * Narushi Fukuda as Near
 * Mayuko Fukuda as Maki Nikaido (二階堂 真希 Nikaidō Maki)
 * Shingo Tsurumi as Kimihiko Nikaido (二階堂 公彦 Nikaidō Kimihiko)
 * Youki Kudoh as Kimiko Kujo (久條 希実子 Kujō Kimiko) a.k.a. K
 * Sei Hiraizumi as Koichi Matsudo (松戸 浩一 Matsudo Kōichi)
 * Bokuzō Masana as Asao Konishi (小西 朝夫 Konishi Asao)
 * Yuta Kanai as Tamotsu Yoshizawa (吉沢 保 Yoshizawa Tamotsu)
 * Megumi Sato as Hatsune Misawa (三沢 初音 Misawa Hatsune)
 * Renji Ishibashi as Shin Kagami ( 賀見シン Kagami Shin)
 * Kiyotaka Nanbara as Hideaki Suruga (駿河 秀明 Suruga Hideaki)
 * Masanobu Takashima as Daisuke Matoba (的場 大介 Matoba Daisuke)
 * Shunji Fujimura as Watari
 * Kazuki Namioka as F (エフ Efu)
 * Hao Ganhane as Azetsu Mokotu
 * Erika Toda as Misa Amane
 * Shidou Nakamura as Ryuk (voice)
 * Asaka Seto as Naomi Misora
 * Yōji Tanaka as Sasaki (佐々木)
 * Tatsuya Fujiwara as Light Yagami
 * Ayui Naisora as Yagure Mokotu
 * Shigeki Hosokawa as Raye Iwamatsu

English dub voice cast

 * Alessandro Juliani as L
 * Michael Strusievici as Near
 * Meg Ryan as Akizuki Mokotu
 * Chantal Strand as Maki Nikaido
 * Ted Cole as Kimihiko Nikaido
 * Cathy Weseluck as Kimiko Kujo a.k.a K
 * Michael Dobson as Koichi Matsudo
 * John Novak as Shin Kagami
 * Brian Dobson as Hideaki Suruga
 * John Murphy as Daisuke Matoba
 * Shannon Chan-Kent as Misa Amane
 * Ron Halder as Watari
 * Brian Drummond as Ryuk
 * Nicole Oliver as Naomi Misora
 * Bill Switzer as Sasaki
 * Brad Swaile as Light Yagami
 * Megan Hollingshead as Yagure Mokotu
 * Richard Ian Cox as F
 * Michael Adamthwaite as Raye Iwamatsu

Trivia

 * Up until March 5, 2008, there was total of 2,200,000 attendance (a total of approximately 250,000,000 yen) for this film. March 5 was also Ken'ichi Matsuyama's birthday, so he celebrated both his birthday and the hit of the film.