Light Yagami is one of the more popular male characters in the anime/manga world right now (especially when paired with L in some yaoi doujin) but I wonder people should be rooting for an anti-hero that quite frankly acts like a bastard. I think that anyone who is familiar with Death Note is well aware about Light’s arrogance so I would like to write a little bit about his actions in relation to ethical theory.
I’ll start by highlighting an important part of Death Note’s premise in that there is a combination of objectivity and subjectivity. The notebook itself follows strict rules in carrying out deaths such as the person needing to be visualized by the Note user for the death to occur and the option of specifying the cause of death and details relating to it. It doesn’t care who is being targeted because it views each person as equal to the next one – a person is a person is a person. The person who writes the names and details into the notebook, however, will always be influenced in some way by their feelings, whether they be anger, fear, frustration, or greed. (Shinigami are assumed to impartial mainly because they don’t particularly care about human affairs and simply use the Death Notes for entertainment.)
Death Note in Theaters: A Lost Opportunity
May 21, 2008 in Commentary by Tom Langston (calaggie) | 1 comment
I’ve been reading the past couple days about the live-action Death Note premiering in theaters across America in a two-day limited run and while the effort garnered a fair amount of press, I feel it was a lost opportunity of sorts. The “unique theatre event” (from the press release) likely increased the appeal of Japanese film and anime-influenced productions given the brand attraction Death Note has. However, the fact that the film was shown dubbed and forced viewers to experience that instead of experiencing the original cast’s voices makes me shake my head in shame as a film purist first and an anime fan second. (I suppose it shouldn’t be called ‘forcing’ since attendees are willingly paying $10 per ticket but still.) Regular readers know that I am more forgiving than others with regard to dubs but why didn’t Viz think about bankrolling subtitles on their prints?
What’s odd about this is that in the next couple months, Bandai is going to be screening The Girl Who Leapt Through Time in limted release in three different locations: Los Angeles, New York, and Seattle. The two West Coast cities will be getting the subtitled version while those in New York will see the English dubbed version. While it’s good that there are different options, it seems like New Yorkers are getting the shaft in a way.
I would prefer anime films be screened domestically the same way foreign films are shown in arthouse theaters – with minimal alterations and subtitled so the audience can understand as best as possible. Alas, this is not likely to happen in the near future with financial interest tied in with these promotional screenings.
Tags: Death Note, Movies, theaters