Death Note (2006 film)

Death Note is the first of a series of two live-action Japanese films (and a spin-off film) released in 2006 and based on the Death Note manga and anime series by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata. The films primarily centred on a university student who decides to rid the world of evil with the help of a supernatural notebook that kills anyone whose name is written in it. The first two films were directed by Shūsuke Kaneko, produced by Nippon Television, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures Japan.

Plot
The series is about Light Yagami, a young man and college student whose 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 person's name is written within it while picturing that person's face, that person shall die. Light is initially skeptical of the notebook's authenticity, but after experimenting with it, he 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 "god of the new world" by passing his judgment on those he deems to be evil or who get in his way.

After months of killing criminals, Light is dubbed Kira by the public and some believe him to be righteous about killing criminals. Interpol is no closer to catching him, and is going to pass the case on to the Ministry of Health as some disease, until L steps onto the scene. Known as the best detective in the world, L has solved many cases with his assistant Watari. Working with them, L manages to confront Light, live on TV, and deduces he is in the Kanto region of Japan and he can "kill without lifting a finger." The race begins between L and Light to discover each other's identity, and a game of cat and mouse ensues between the two geniuses. Later Misora kidnaps Shiori and asks Light to come to the art museum and confess that he really is Kira if he wants to save her. He goes to the museum, but denies that he is Kira, and says that he is upset at seeing his girlfriend being taken hostage. Misora tells Light that unless he starts to write her real name, which was "Naomi" written in katakana, she would kill Shiori. Light adamantly insists that he is not Kira. Soichiro, upon seeing this, sends the police. Misora immediately becomes upset and distracted, allowing Light's girlfriend to break free and run away from her. Misora fires her gun and shoots Shiori, who dies in Light's arms shortly afterward, and then afterwards commits suicide by shooting herself.

Later, Ryuk finds that Light had actually engineered Naomi's death using the Death Note, as he had already found out her name by checking with the church since she revealed to him she was Iwamatsu's fiancée and he reasoned that nobody would use a fake name in marriage and written a scenario whereby Misora would commit suicide after shooting Shiori. Obviously, Ryuk is confused, as by doing this, Light would end up killing Shiori, but Light reveals that he had written her name in the Death Note as well.

Filming
Kaneko chartered an underground line to film a particular scene in the first film; this was the first time in Japanese film history that an underground line was used. Kaneko used about 500 extras throughout the first film.

Release and reception
The first film, simply titled as Death Note, premiered in Japan on June 17, 2006 and topped the Japanese box office for two weeks, pushing The Da Vinci Code into second place.

Death Note (死亡筆記) was released in Hong Kong on August 10, 2006, in Taiwan on September 8, 2006, in Singapore on October 19, 2006, and in Malaysia on November 9, 2006 with English and Chinese subtitles. The world premiere was in the UA Langham Place cinema in Hong Kong on October 28, 2006, the first Japanese movie to premiere in Hong Kong. The film ended up earning US$41 million in Japan, $1.9 million in Hong Kong. The film was released in the UK on April 25, 2008.