Ranked #292

Death Note Rewrite 2: L wo Tsugu Mono

Due to this being a review of the second of two specials which condensed the entire 37 episode TV series into roughly four hours, I'm going to skip describing the story and covering what all semi-decent reviews of the TV series should by default, such as art/animation and sound. If I covered those aspects, I might as well be typing a review for the TV series instead. As I type this, I'm assuming the readers will already by familiar with Death Note, though I will hold back in order to avoid revealing all to those not in the know.

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First of all, don't assume I hate Death Note because of my 5/10 score. The reverse is true - I love Death Note, it being one of very few titles to receive top marks from yours truly. Madhouse did a wonderful job of fitting 50+ chapters into 11.5 episodes with the last half of the story. The sappy 'original ending' marathon aside, it's the best manga adaptation I've seen to date, it actually improving on the manga by removing the content that slowed down the second half of the story needlessly. However, when they tried to fit the entire second half into 90 minutes - INCLUDING an introduction and two minutes of credits - the writing was already on the wall.

Right from the start, I had a feeling it wasn't going to be very good.. or, to be more precise, I had a feeling I'd be here, trying to express why I hated it. It started with L making a 'surprise' return, summarizing the first half, with new... animation. But there were only two shots of L - one with him standing at a distance and one from the side of his face - and only his lips moved. At that moment, I couldn't help but think of how little effort went into this special. And this turned out to true in the case of nearly all of the 'new' footage created in a failed attempt to connect a butchered version of the story, with a lot of awkward looking facial art and limited animation.

...Oh, yes, I mentioned 'sappy' above. If you happen to approve of the Madhouse ending and are in desperate need of something else to complain about, Madhouse delivered with one of the few truly new scenes added - one not added to simplify the story. The scene in question involves L, via a TV screen, explaining to the kids at Wammy's House how he's an idiot (I'm quoting him here) and, because he's an idiot, how he's afraid of being lied to. He rambles for awhile, pointing out how he loves the human race for their idiocy (the kids all pay attention because of this dramatic speech), and then it was over. I'm unsure if the Japanese > French > Engrish translation improved this scene or not, but it added nothing of value.

Anyway, moving away from sappy goings on and onto inconsistencies. Because of the huge amount of content that was cut (removal > rewrite), there are numerous inconsistencies present. The most bothersome inconsistency occurred towards the end, when Aizawa entered THE warehouse. In the full story, he goes in to confirm the identity of those inside, him having seen them all already beforehand... but the scene where he saw those people prior to that wasn't included in this special. How in the name of God could he have known if they were the real deal or not when he'd never seen them before? Was he upgraded to a psychic in order to further shorten the length? HOW!?

Maybe even worse yet, Near knew right from the start the identity of Kira. Death Note fans should be aware that Near, though suspicious, only became certain of the identity of Kira after interacting with him for awhile and nearly getting burned as a consequence. But in this woeful attempt at shortening the story, he just knew.

There are many other points I could mention, such as Light acquiring the services of Mikami and Takada before Near came into the picture - the special not even showing why Mikami or Takada were selected - but I won't to avoid going on forever. Just believe me when I say it's as much of a mess as you'd expect an attempt at condensing an already condensed last half of a story to be.

Fear not, though, as we aren't done yet. Not even close. I've saved the best for last.

Remember Light's dad? You know, that guy you never remember the name of and instead just refer as Light's dad? Yeah, him. Did you like the drama involving him in the TV series, where the climax of his story resulted in Light showing his true colours, and later played a key part in Matsuda's anger towards the end? Well, too bad - he isn't even mentioned in this... you know what, I'm tired of calling this a friggin' special. He isn't even a part of this SHIT. No shot of him, no explanation, no nothing. Madhouse remembered to get re-voiced Light dialogue to work around Matsuda's rage, but they couldn't be bothered to explain why Light's dad vanished into thin air. If it was me, and I wanted to butcher one my favourite things in existence, I'd at least have the decency to pull a sudden retirement out of my arse.

Linking into this wonderful omission is Mello, also known by the name of a certain Al Pacino movie in certain circles. But, clearly, Madhouse are not fond of his other name because, like with the poor old father of Light, they forgot to mention how he got his scar. He enters the picture without a scar, the ENTIRE mafia story is removed and then he re-emerges with a surprisingly more attractive face. Why even bother explaining such things? It isn't as if a Death Note newbie is going to be unlucky enough to watch only the... not-so-special-specials and wonder why such an illogical story is so loved. No siree bob!

...You know what, enough of this. All you really need to know is that this is garbage, with a high average rating only because of fanboyism beyond even my Death Note loving understanding. Even the music placement is off, Light's marathon being made worse as a result. If you like Death Note, stay the hell away or you'll more than likely end up imitating me, maybe with a slightly lower paragraph count. If you hate Death Note, by all means watch it - you'll find a lot to moan about and fulfillment. But, whatever you do, don't make the mistake of judging the manga and/or TV series based on this or its slightly less disappointing but by no means special prequel.

Rating: 5/10 read more

This review contains spoilers from Death Note.

The second Death Note Rewrite is meant to be the same concept as the first one, a summary of the story of Death Note. This time the focus is on the Near and Mello arc from episodes 26-37. They decided to give some brief background information on what happened before that though. They do this by making L the narrator. He introduces the characters and states some significant events that took place. This takes about 10 min., and it actually does a pretty good job setting up the story in that amount of time.

Unlike the first Rewrite though, this one has a lot more new material to notice. Right off the bat, we are treated to a new scene that shows Near thinking about how L could have died and piecing together information and predictions about the Kira investigation, before he even leaves the orphanage. We are also shown a scene where L is talking to the orphans back at home. One particular question is the highlight, and that would be what L fears. He gives them various answers, like being made fun of, but the important answer is when he says he does not like to be lied to. It's a bit ironic and symbolizes the reason for L's death nicely.

Another new scene that I noticed was when people on TV were debating over Kira and his methods. Mikami kills them all and the whole thing is broadcasted. It was very twisted and violent, but it was a good way to introduce Mikami. They also have another killing scene and this time it has to do with SPK (Near's team). Mikami kills many of the members, and while we are told this in the original series, we actually get to see it this time. Once again, it was violent and twisted, but I enjoyed it. It's scenes like these that are the icing on the cake and make the series more memorable than it already was.

Unfortunately, the new material becomes nonexistent in the second half of the Rewrite. Not only is there nothing new to look forward to, but they also cut out some very important chunks of the story, like Mello's retrieval of one of the Death Notes. What were they saving this time for? To show the final episode. Now I know the final episode is important, but they didn't have to show basically the entire thing. That's a big space of time to be on the same subject, especially in a summary show. After the credits, they take 1 min. to show the final result of each character, just in case somebody wasn't sure Mikami died and Ryuk left, I guess .

Death Note's second Rewrite is another trip down memory lane, and I liked it a bit more than I did than the first, but the disappointing second half leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. Perhaps if they didn't raise my expectations with all the new content, then I would see it as the same as the first. I guess just the thought of showing a whole episode in something like this has me feel uncomfortable. The second Rewrite doesn't replace the second story arc, but the beginning is something people should definitely check out. Just feel free to stop watching after you see the final episode start.

Overall Grade - 7.5/10

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to send me a message.
Thank you for reading ^.^
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