Earlier today, Netflix introduced fans to a new god when a new trailer for its live-action Death Note movie dropped. The film, which is based on Takeshi Obata’s acclaimed series, is set to hit the Internet later this August. But, if social media has its say, Netflix should just keep the film to itself.
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Hollywood has a notoriously terrible reputation with adapting anime into live-action projects, and the fandom is a bit jaded. Films like Dragonball Evolution and Ghost in the Shell showed how difficult it can be to do anime right. Death Note‘s director has stressed his live-action take is not meant to be an exact mirror of any manga or anime; In fact, Adam Wingard has said his goals for Death Note were to distil its fundamentals and make character changes given the film’s Americanized setting.
However, when it comes to fans, they don’t see too fond of the alteration. Sites like Twitter have been flooded with upset otakus who don’t quite get why Death Note needed to be changed for an American market. The recently released trailer features shots of L and Light doing things which their anime counterparts would never dream about – and these fans are ready to go to war for the characters.
You can check out some of the most visceral reactions to Death Note below. Hit us up on Twitter @ComicBook or @MeganPetersCB to let us know how you really feel about the live-action movie!
GarethLDesigns
Basically what the producer of this movie is doing to Death Note… #DeathNote pic.twitter.com/KzGpp9BJBF
โ ใฌใฌใน (@GarethLDesigns) June 29, 2017
Alright, it may be a bit much to say that Death Note will kill the franchise as it stands. Obata’s manga has a diehard following worldwide, and they won’t be persuaded to ditch the series if not for Ryuk alone.
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iamlaurenp
What did we do to deserve the Inhuman AND Death Note trailer in the same day? pic.twitter.com/6RwCzu7okx
โ lauren warrenโข๏ธ (@iamlaurenp) June 29, 2017
Earlier today, Marvel’s Inhumans dropped its first trailer as well, and the clip did not go over great with comic book junkies. The footage’s unpolished CGI had netizens buzzing, and then the Death Note trailer dropped – yikes!
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Fourthchan
/tv/ thoughts on the new Death Note movie pic.twitter.com/1pYpUvla2x
โ Best of 4chan (@Fourthchan) June 29, 2017
Clearly, this user’s reaction to Death Note couldn’t be contained by a simple 140-character message. The netizen mined the Internet for this golden comment!
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ScawlettFeather
Just saw the Death Note trailer for Netflix.
โ Bunmi Jones (@ScawlettFeather) June 29, 2017
Eww. That was not Death Note.
This user is right; Death Note will be very different from – well – Death Note. Director Adam Wingard has stressed his film’s characters will be different from how Obata depicted them. So, yes, Wingard’s is not the Death Note fans already know. Does that mean they shouldn’t give it a chance though?
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Genesiskerr068
Death note has been whitewashed and Americanized. He shouldnt even be called light anymore but mike or chad. pic.twitter.com/Zk3afQhWTK
โ Genesis (@Genesiskerr068) June 29, 2017
When it comes to Americanized media, anime and manga always seems to suffer. Light and L may seem like throwaway names to English-speakers, but the names do have double-meanings in Japan. Some fans aren’t quiet sure why Netflix’s Death Note chose to retain the name Light since the series has been transported to Seattle. But, you know, whatever floats your boat!
More Death Note News
UP NEXT: Death Note Virtual Reality Is Hereย /Netflix’sย Death Note Director Debunks Film Rumors &ย Dragonballย Evolution Comparison
You can read up onย Death Noteย below thanks toย Vizย Media’s Synopsis:
“Lightย Yagamiย is an ace student with greatย prospectsโandย he’s bored out of his mind. But all that changes when he finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by a rogueย Shinigamiย death god. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. But will Light succeed in his noble goal, or will the Death Note turn him into the very thing he fights against?”
What if you had the power to decide who lives and who dies? We suggest you obey the rules. Based on the famous Japaneseย mangaย written byย Tsugumiย Ohbaย andย Takeshiย Obata,ย Death Noteย follows a high school student who comes across a supernatural notebook, realizing it holds within it a great power; if the owner inscribes someone’s name into it while picturing their face, he or she will die. Intoxicated with his new godlike abilities, the young man begins to kill those he deems unworthy of life.
Death Noteย will be available to stream onย Netflixย beginning August 25, 2017.