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When we talk about streaming culture, we’re usually enthusing about what’s new, but one of the best things about streaming is how it’s made old and obscure cult hits available to a new generation. Presenting Cult Corner: your weekly look into hidden gems and long-lost curiosities that you can find on streaming.
If you had a notebook that would kill any name you wrote down, how long would it take you to turn into a serial killer? No matter how you answered that question, there’s a good chance Light Yagumi has you beat. Death Note is more than just a gritty and supernatural epic set in high school. It’s a crime cat and mouse game that explores how quickly man can descend into evil, and it’s damn good.
Death Note is one of those properties that seems to stick with viewers and creators alike. Originally a manga written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata, it was first released in 2003. Since then, the title has spawned a 2006 anime series, a 2006 live-action film, a 2015 live-action series, and a 2017 American live action film adaptation, which will be released on Netflix. The upcoming film will be directed by Adam Wingard and will star Nat Wolff, Margaret Qualley, Keith Stanfield, and Willem Dafoe. That’s a lot of time, energy, and money spent on telling what is essentially the same story between two unforgettable characters.
There is a some argument over which onscreen adaptation is best, but the first 26 episodes of the Death Note anime will always have my heart. The series follows Light Yagumi, an exceptionally smart high school student who finds a supernatural object that grants him the power to kill anyone by writing their name down — the titular Death Note. There are several more rules involved, and the Death Note comes with a helpful demon (or Shinigami) attached to it, Ryuk, who explains some of the spiritual complexities. It takes Light all of about 20 minutes to go from innocent high schooler to demi-god obsessed with cleansing the world how he sees fit. The police catch wind of these mysterious murders almost immediately and bring in their best agent to solve the case — the mysterious and pointedly weird L. The rest of the series is a battle of wits between Light and the police that’s predicated on lies, manipulation, and overthinking. It’s a deeply introspective series, which is unusual to see presented both onscreen and in anime, but it’s one that works.
Light’s battle with L is one that’s complicated to watch, both intellectually and morally. Death Note’s protagonist is certainly not a hero, but he’s not really an anti-hero. He’s a villain with an agenda that sometimes seems reminiscent of a dictator. It’s painfully difficult to root for him, but it’s also hard to root for the jaded and cynical L. Sure, L is on the right side of the law, but he is such a guarded and manipulative character, he can never be completely trusted, both by the characters in the series and by viewers. It’s through this rivalry that the anime explores its complicated central battle between good and evil. Death Note takes the well-worn roles of criminal and officer and warps them almost beyond recognition. Our criminal is a heartless murderer, but he starts by killing for good. Likewise, our officer of the law is morally in the right place, but his methods often threaten everyone around him while he remains safe. The series’ relationship with morality is as warped and perverted as Light and L’s fascination with each other.
Hopefully Wingard’s take on the property will nail the twisted and twisting game of cat and mouse Light and L have perfected. In the meantime, the series is a must binge. Even if you hate anime, give it a shot and try to focus on the story. It’s by far one of the most disturbing modern morality tales to ever hit the screen.
