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All the latest information about Death Note: reports, gossip, releases, analyses, speculation and discussion.

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Monster Designer Shinji Nishikawa at California's Monsterpalooza

25/2/2016

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Godzilla concept artist Shinji Nishikawa will be at California con Monsterpalooza, at the Pasadena Convention Center, from 22-24 April 2016.

Why do we care?  Other than he seems to be a lovely and rather talented gentleman?

Because Shinji Nishikawa was also responsible for setting production on the Death Note anime back in 2006-2007.

Our guess is that he'd much rather be asked about that, rather than all this Godzilla stuff he's become quite famous for in the meantime.  So we're counting on you, Californians, to nip along, question him and report back on our behalf. 

If only to find out what 'setting production' is.

Billed as a manga artist, illustrator and Godzilla series creature designer (with Death Note setting production strangely omitted), Shinji Nishikawa will be at Monsterpalooza taking fan requests for art, whilst sketching some original monsters too. 

More about the convention at Monsterpalooza's website; and check out their announcement re Shinji Nishikawa via the Monsterpalooza Facebook stream.
Shinji Nishikawa at Monsterpalooza, CA, April 2016
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Did Kira Fail by Punishing not Preventing Crime? Leila Lawliet M Thinks Not

25/2/2016

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Opinion piece written by Leila Lawliet M for Month of Light Yagami on Death Note News.  The rest of this post is given over to and penned by her.
Not long ago, I watched a video by YouTuber Onision. In this video, Onision basically says that Light Yagami's mistake is not considering PREVENTING crime, as opposed to punishing criminals who've ALREADY done bad things.

And by preventing crime, I mean writing for example, "Anyone who THINKS of committing a crime will be killed by the power of this notebook, before they get to actually fulfil their intentions."

I disagree, because preventing crimes by killing anyone who intends to commit them makes deaths looks like coincidences or normal deaths. In other words, if you were to hear of the death of a certain person of which no one knows the intentions, it would've NEVER occurred to you there's someone out there "passing righteous judgement", which we all know is one of Light's ultimate goals, to make Kira famous and worshipped.
On the other hand, Light's method made people aware of Kira's existence, the existence of an entity playing the role of God, or a really powerful judge, now that the deceased are known to the public as criminals, therefore changing their mentalities and making them think twice before trying to kill/steel/rape...

Another valid argument,is the following: imagine if someone thought really hard about killing another person, even prepared for it and intended it deeply. But, this person has a final wake up from his conscience five seconds before stabbing the victim-to-be, and ends up not killing anyone.

Would Onision's method work here? Wouldn't this method have killed the future-criminal before his conscience stepped in?
Kira - Somebody passing righteous judgement - Death Note manga
I think yes, because all that sentence written in Death Note needs in order to be applied is a strong willingness to kill, which is present in the example.

But then again, that's just my wicked over-analysis and my own point-of-view to which you are free to reply.
Kira's Mistake Opinion piece by Leila Lawliet M

Posted as part of

Death Note News Month of Light Yagami
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To post one too, please visit our submission page
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Death Note Anime Comes to Netflix Italia

24/2/2016

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Netflix Italia


In an agreement between Italian manga and anime publishers Dynit and Netflix, the complete Death Note anime series will be available on demand from today (February 24th 2016).

All thirty-six episodes of Death Note on Netflix Italia are dubbed into Italian.

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Dark Tone for Death Note - US Movie Remake Sure to Get R Rating

24/2/2016

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We saw it coming, as soon as Adam Wingard was brought on board.  Now Warner Bros Death Note producer Roy Lee has confirmed it - the US Death Note live-action movie is going to be for adults.  A dark tone with lots of blood being spilled.

Speaking with The Collider's Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub, at the recent DICE Summit in Last Vegas, Lee stated that Wingard was just 'waiting for us to officially green light the movie, but we have a cast in place.'

Adding that Death Note is 'a movie we’re planning on making this year.'

Then came the vital bit.  Weintraub asked about the target audience and Lee answered,
“It’s definitely for adults. It is zero chance it will be below an R-rating,” and went on to say that the tone of the film “will be one of the first manga adaptations that feels very grounded but still has fantastical elements.”
~ Roy Lee, The Collider - Exclusive: ‘Death Note’ Movie Rating and Tone Revealed by Matt Goldberg (February 22nd 2016)
US Death Note producer Roy Lee

Death Note producer Roy Lee
Adam Wingard is known for his horror/suspense movies.  Lots of blood and guts, a touch of the old slasher genre, with plenty of gratuitous violence, should the script allow him to ninja some in.  Plus sex.  And expletives.  That's what we've come to expect from Adam Wingard, the man responsible for The Guest (2014), You're Next (2011) and segments of movies like V.H.S. and its sequel.  Hence Death Note was already promising to be a little gorily adult themed in amongst his oeuvre.

What Roy Lee had to say merely places a smile on several Death Note News staff-members faces, coupled with a 'obviously seen Deadpool and decided to risk it then' comment or two.

Meanwhile, editor Matti has already been trying to introduce Adam Wingard to the concept of filming the second arc too:

Just started watching 'The Guest'. 30 mins in: David is fundamentally an older #DeathNote Mello. Just saying. Enjoying so far @AdamWingard

— Death Note News (@MRSJeevas) February 23, 2016
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Death Note 2016: Movie Makers Reveal the Most Dangerous Death Note User Ever; JPop Idol Rina Kawaei to Play One of the Six New Kiras

24/2/2016

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2016 Death Note's Sakura Aoi (Rina Kawaei)

Described as 'the most terrible ever user of a Death Note'
Sakura Aoi, as played by Rina Kawaei
Warner Bros Japan has announced another new character for its live action movie Death Note 2016 (working title), currently being filmed in Japan.

Sakura Aoi is one of the six people set to possess a fallen Death Note.  However, in complete contrast to Light Yagami, she uses it utterly indiscriminately with no attempt at all at justification.  This makes her - we are warned - the 'most terrible Death Note user' that we've seen yet.

Bringing her to life on the silver screen is Rina Kawaei, formerly a singer in the Japanese idol girl band AKB48.  On Warner's official Death Note 2016 website, she proclaims herself excited because this isn't any kind of role that she's played before.  She's looking forward to the challenge.

Moreover, she's thrilled because this is Death Note! Though finding that a slightly strange feeling, on account of her excitement being about a story wherein lots of people die.  Oh, Rina!  Hang out with us. No-one will think you strange amongst this readership.  You're amongst friends and kindred spirits here! 
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Goddess of the Killer Kira Cosplay - Maru-Light on Making Light Yagami Gleam

23/2/2016

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Kira: Justice cosplay by Maru-Light

Kira: Justice cosplay by Maru-Light (DeviantART)
We're tracking the Kira cosplayers across the internet, and inviting them to shed light on creating great Death Note costumes.

Here to tell you how to do justice to
the God of the new world is someone who cosplayed Kira longer than Light Yagami did
~ experienced mass murdering deity
(and occasional doll maker)
Maru-Light.

For someone with an ego-centric, megalomaniac second self, Maru-Light is surprisingly succinct when talking about her non-psychopathic, ordinary New Jersey lady persona, "I started cosplaying in 2007 with Anda-Chan. We cosplayed Death Note together from 2008 - 2011. DN characters I've done include Light/Kira, L, Beyond Birthday, Mello & Matt."

She's being too modest.  You can view her Death Note gallery on DeviantART to see what I mean and judge for yourself.  (And yeah, we go back years - I'd not refer to every Kira cosplayer as a genocidal, God complex ridden lunatic. That would be rude.)

Death Note cosplay Light Yagami by Maru-Light

Death Note Kira cosplay - Light Yagami Maru-Light (DeviantART)
Maru-Light Death Note cosplay - Light: Divine Calling

Maru-Light - Light: Divine Calling (DeviantART)

Kira Cosplayer Maru-Light Explains the Fundamentals of Becoming Light Yagami

Kira Maru-Light Death Note cosplay

Kira Maru-Light (DeviantART)
Do you/have you cosplayed Kira now or in the past?
Yes - in the past

Any anecdotes about your experiences cosplaying Light?
I fell in love with Light the moment I watched the first (subbed) episode of Death Note. He was truly the first anime cosplay I really had a passion to do. More for who he was as a character, than his outfit, clearly. In my opinion, the core of Light/Kira cosplay is in the attitude.

(Funny story - It's amazing how many times I was asked if my red contact lenses were my real eyes. Normally, I'd answer "yes.")

(Extra question, ninja'ed in late - did you ever make a deal with a Death God to enable you to see people's true names and the date of their demise, for just the cost of half your remaining life span?   Oh!  She's gone...  Back to the questions and answers she left us with.)

How would you go about creating a costume for Light Yagami?

As a girl cosplaying Light, my principle concerns were always that the clothes looked good.

Many people tend to opt for men's styles, and I tried that at first, but decided it didn't look right on me. Light wears normal clothes essentially, the suits need to look crisp like he does, not oversized or not tailored. So I got dress wear that fit me well.

I've always felt that the core of a Light/Kira cosplay is in the attitude. You're the God of a New World. Act like it. ;)

What clothing and/or props do you feel are essential Light Yagami costume items?
Light's wig was always my most essential and challenging element. I went through so many wigs for Light, before I finally found the one I settled on, and it did involve dying to get his auburn color just how I preferred it (with more Kira redness than less.)

Props are pretty easy to come by and basic - the Death Note, the handcuffs, the watch, the apple, an L cosplayer.
Is there more to cosplaying Kira than the outfit? (Look/behaviour etc.)
It's not the most technical, but that's actually what makes Death Note cosplay so tricky. Especially with Light (or L) when the "costume" is really just normal clothes so to speak.

I've had so many people tell me it didn't "count" as cosplay because of the clothes. Whereas I think the lack of an elaborate costume makes it more challenging to pull off well. Yes, anyone can put on a suit, but you need an extra boost of arrogance, self confidence, ego and God complex to pull off a believable Kira.

Kira is in your presentation, not just your props and clothes.

What's your professional opinion about ready-made Light Yagami outfits, such as those in the Death Note News Cosplay Store? Any other pieces in there decent enough for a Kira cosplay? (Be honest!)
I don't have much experience with the ready-made stuff. I bought my clothes from normal places with the full intention they would f

it me properly and look good.That's a big part of the confidence element for cosplaying Kira, imo. I have too much social anxiety to not feel comfortable in something that may not fit well.

I don't have anything against anyone who buys the pre-made stuff. Whatever works for you. I hate the elitist cosplay attitudes, do what you want. Enjoy, have fun, don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

If not anything there, where would YOU source items to cosplay Light Yagami?
I bought all of my Light-wear at normal clothing stores. Dress pants and blazers, dress shirts. I ran up a bill at Express for a time (but I got to wear the same stuff to the office too, so it was worth it. LOL)

I scoured all sorts of wig retailers for the perfect Light wig, it was an endless mission. I went through 2 major wigs, before finding the one I loved the most at the end of my cosplay days. It made the whole look worth it.
Death Note cosplayers Maru-Light (Light) and NightmareNostalgia (L) - Jigsaw Falling into Place

Jigsaw Falling into Place - Light Yagami cosplayer Maru-Light
with NightmareNostalgia as L (DeviantART)
Any last tips for anyone reading, who wishes to create their Kira cosplay from scratch?
MAKE-UP. Really, don't neglect your face! All the clothes and wigs in the world won't seal the final touch like make-up.

In the end, I was using tape to change the shape of my facial features, I used female-to-male make-up techniques, I used eye-liner to make my eyes pop. Make-up is very important. Don't neglect it.

I personally did bind as well. I won't advise binding for health reasons, but I didn't cosplay without strapping down my D-cups. Just make sure if you bind, bind carefully and be mindful of technique. It's easy to cause serious injury if you don't bind correctly.
Guiding Light - Maru-Light cosplaying Death Note's Kira

Maru-Light Kira cosplay - Guiding Light (DeviantART)
Maru-Light cosplay Light Yagami: Forbidden Fruit

Maru-Light cosplay Light Yagami: Forbidden Fruit (DeviantART)

Cosplayers!

Would you like to have a go at answering these questions on your own behalf?

If you are a Death Note cosplayer - or indeed a cosplayer per se - and you're willing to share your tips, thoughts and advice with the fandom, then visit our cosplayer's questionnaire page to fill in the form.

Thank you in advance!

Posted as part of

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More Maru-Light

The Lady has been everywhere during the launch of this new Month long feature.

Years of creatively personifying Kira - though thankfully not with slaughter - gave her much to share and say.

Find more from her:
  • The eponymous Focus on a Fan;
  • Telling readers why the Redeemer Series was lost;
  • (Coming up) Crafting Kira BJDs.
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Time Running Out to Ask Questions - Death Note Anime Light Yagami Actors

23/2/2016

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Death Note News interview Kira voice actors
There's less than 24 hours left!  Have you got your questions in yet for our three Kira voice actors?

Brad Swaile, Sergio Zamora and Kim Hasper are waiting to receive them, so get in quick!


Deadline is midnight today, though that's been set right over on the Pacific coast timeline, so Europeans and those over in the East, you have slightly extra time.  Use it wisely.

Once the countdown clock - on the right hand sidebar - hits zero, the question forms will close. The Spanish and German translators will rush into action; and three Death Note anime seiyuu will hear a ping from their inbox.

Just eighteen hours and 42 mins remaining, at the time of writing.

To read profiles on each Light Yagami anime voice actor and find the form to ask a question (or ten), check out the links below.  Every question form is identical, and posts to the same place.  It's just that the one on Kim's page has been translated into German; on Sergio's, the form is in Spanish; and on Brad's, it's in English.  Just like the Death Note dubs that each man did.

So go ask Kira!   18 hours and 38 mins now...

Questions for Kim Hasper Death Note News
READ PROFILE
(and find GERMAN LANGUAGE
question form)
(Deutsch frage form)
Questions for Sergio Zamora Death Note News
READ PROFILE
(and find SPANISH LANGUAGE
question form)
(Forma de pregunta Español)

Questions for Brad Swaile Death Note News
READ PROFILE
(and find ENGLISH LANGUAGE
question form)
NB You can ask questions of any Light Yagami seiyuu from any of the forms, regardless of whose profile or language the form was in.
Questions in English, German or Spanish are being translated appropriately for each actor on your behalf.


More Articles about Death Note Kira Seiyuu

Posted as part of

Manuel Campuzano Kira voice actor Mexico
Casting Kira:
Light Yagami Actors
Across the Globe

Picture
Readers of Death Note News Interview
Kira Anime Voice Actors - Kim Hasper, Brad Swaile
and Sergio Zamora

Picture
Light Yagami Actors' Birthday Phenomena - Sorcery? No, Mathematics says Richard Mak
Month of Kira Death Note News
ARCHIVES
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On This Day in Death Note: February 23rd

23/2/2016

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February 23rd 1973 - Jack Neylon born - on this day in Death Note
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Shared Birth Date Phenomenon of Death Note Kira Actors - Mathematician Richard Mak Explains How Such a Thing is not Only Possible, but Inevitable

23/2/2016

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Six of the twenty-two actors who have played Light Yagami share their birthday with another in their rarefied group.  Had the Death Note anime's German dub Kira Kim Hasper been born a day later, he would have made it a triple whammy for one date.

To the untutored mind it seems like magic, or the greatest, weirdest coincidence imaginable.  But it isn't magic, it's mathematics according to Richard Mak, and he's a bit like Near when it comes to the old calculations.

Death Note Light Yagami Actors' Shared Birthday Phenomenon

Take a look at this list of birthdays for Death Note actors in the role of Kira across various adaptations.  Something remarkable soon comes to light:
  1. Unknown - Louie Paraboles - Philippines
  2. Unknown 1977 - José Leonardo - Brazil
  3. March 2nd 1977 - Leung Wai Tak - China
  4. March 20th 1975 - Manuel Campuzano - Mexico
  5. April 6th 1982 - Kwang-Ho Hong - Korea
  6. April 25th - - Andy Kelso, USA
  7. May 2nd 1964 - Sergio Zamora - Spain
  8. May 15th 1977 - Krisztián Kolovratnik - Hungary
  9. May 15th 1982 - Tatsuya Fujiwara - Japan
  10. February 21st 1990 - Flavio Aquilone - Italy
  11. June 8th 1983 - Mamoru Miyano - Japan
  12. July 13th 1979 - Alexis Tomassian - France
  13. August 5th 1975 - Kim Hasper - Germany
  14. August 6th 1981 - Kenji Urai - Japan
  15. August 6th 1988 - Masataka Kubota - Japan
  16. August 13th 1974 - Vadim V Prokhorov - Russia
  17. October 12th 1987 - Hayato Kakizawa - Japan
  18. November 30th 1965 - Li Tang Jing - Taiwan
  19. December 7th 1970 - Radoslav Poplonkowski - Poland
  20. December 17th 1968 - Yeong-Seon Kim - Korea
  21. December 17th 1994 - Nat Wolff - USA
  22. December 26th 1976 - Brad Swaile - Canada
To see where and how each played Light, consult:
Casting Kira: Light Yagami Actors Across the Globe
Krisztián Kolovratnik Hungarian Light Yagami dub actor
Tatsuya Fujiwara Light Yagami movie actor
Krisztián Kolovratnik and Tatsuya Fujiwara share a birthday on May 15th
Kenji Urai Light Yagami musical actor
Masataka Kubota Light Yagami TV actor
Kenji Urai and Masataka Kubota share a birthday on August 6th
Yeong-Seon Kim Korean Light Yagami dub actor
Nat Wolff US Light Yagami movie actor
Yeong-Seon Kim and Nat Wolff share a birthday on December 17th
So what you've got here is a well-known 'birthday problem'. If you're in a room with significantly less than 366 people, it turns out it's already very likely to have two people with the same birthday.

For the sake of simplicity let's assume that February 29th doesn't exist, which shouldn't affect calculations too much, but also that somebody is equally likely to be born on every day of the year. The latter is obviously not true because there are certain times of year where more babies are born than others for various reasons, but it still shouldn't take away the basic argument here.

Let's first think about the probability that *nobody* shares a birthday - after all, if you know the probability that nobody shares a birthday, you know the probability that at least two people share a birthday! Consider this:
  • Person 1 doesn't have anybody to share a birthday with yet.
  • Person 2 has a 364/365 chance to not be born on the same day as person 1.
  • Person 3 has a 363/365 chance to not be born on the same day as person 1 and 2.
and so on.  Following this and calculating it out, it turns out that you only need 23 people in a room to have a 50% chance of two sharing a birthday, and 70 people for a 99.9% chance!
Another way of looking at it which may be easier to understand is this:

Suppose you have a room filled with N people [Matti helpfully supplies image to illustrate point - see right], where N is any whole number (because you can't have half a person, unless it is a corpse...).  
  • Person 1 has N-1 people to check his birthday with.
  • Person 2 has N-2 people to check his birthday with (because we don't want to check person 1 again).
  • Person 3 has N-3 people to check his birthday with.
and so on.

That means that in a room of 23 people, or N=23, then person 1 (23-1) has 22 people to check his birthday with, person 2 (23-2) has 21 people to check his birthday with, and so on... You end up having 253 possible combinations of people, and so 253 possible birthday checks, which is a lot!

By these maths, it's actually pretty unexpected that the twenty-two aforementioned Light Yagami actors have three pairs of people sharing a birthday. 
Death Note Maths: A room filled with N

Supposed room filled with N
There is one important thing to consider here: it is probably fair to assume that these people are fairly unrelated. Because of this, one pair of birthdays doesn't make another pair more or less likely. Considering there are 7 billion people in the world and these actors were picked from that number, there is nothing to connect their birthdays unless their parents knew each other and agreed to have a baby on the same date (which would be impressive in and of itself!)

Actually working out specific numbers is quite difficult. I took a quick look at my university's digital library and couldn't find any research papers on anything beyond the canonical birthday problem (i.e. purely looking at the probability of two people sharing a birthday).

Nevertheless, the Kira Actors Birthday Phenomenon pings against a known mathematical problem, and the probability pans out.

Posted as part of

Month of Light Yagami
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Cash Prize Kira Crossword - Death Note Light Yagami Puzzle by Orangepunch

22/2/2016

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Death Note Kira Crossword Grid
Death Note Light Yagami peering
Across
7.   Light's opposition with L (6)
8.   Fantasize (5)
10.  Powerfully depraved said the Lord (7)
12.  Judge, jury and ? (hint Kira!) (11)
14.  Fair play (7)
16.  Delusions of grandeur (11)
21.  Creator behind an idea (10)
23. Not justice, just a ?  (8)
24. Light's envisioned perfection. (6)
Down
1.   Bored (10)
2.   Light's consumed tool of duplicity (11)
3.   Luck, or Fate (10)
4.  "I was the ONLY ONE who could have done it!" (10)
5.  Moore (or less...) of the New World (7)
6.  Kira (6)
9.  Soichiro Yagami's death (9)
11.  Light's ideology - belief in his right to righteously kill (11)
13.  Delirium (6)
15. "I will be the god of this new world!" (9)
17. Light's Fate (2)
18. Characterised by light (8)
19. Night god (6)
20. Reprehensible (6)
22. Light's glamour (4)
The difficulty level on this Month of Kira crossword puzzle might be called cruel; bordering upon impossible.  Hence we're offering a cash prize of ten whole pounds.  That's probably a barrel full of dollars at today's inflation costs.  At the very least, it's the price of a carefully bought, shiny, new manga. Which isn't a prize to be written off lightly.

See what we did there?   Soon as you've stopped chuckling to yourself, get solving your Kira crossword clues.

How to be in for a Chance to Win the Cash Kira Crossword Prize

You'll need to print off the grid, or copy it into GIMP or your own image manipulation software of choice. Photograph/screenshot the completed puzzle and send it to us via our Month of... content submission page - drop the file into the FileDrop or email us with a link to where it's lodged elsewhere on the world wide web.  Hell, send it by carrier pigeon if you must!  

You have until this time next month, and the publication of our Touta Matsuda crossword, as your deadline. Then we'll whisk all correct entries around a hat and pull out the overall winner.  Their tenner will wing its way to them forthwith via bank transfer or PayPal.

Remember to include your email for riches notification, should you be our lucky winner.  Everyone else, merely enjoy.
If you cannot win the game, if you cannot solve the puzzle, you are just a loser - Near, Death Note

Shut up, Near.
UPDATE:  Finally, here they are - the answers to the Death Note Kira crossword puzzle posted above.

Posted as part of

Kira Month Death Note News
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What If Light Yagami Wasn't Japanese? What Would Death Note Look Like Then?

22/2/2016

2 Comments

 
Would Kira have been Kira if he wasn't Japanese?  What if he'd been Welsh? Or Somali? From Uzbekistan or France?  Would an American Light Yagami have targeted criminals with such gusto? Would a Tibetan Kira's motivation have been the same?

Death Note is a Japanese story, whatever its global appeal, and much of what occurs within it is infused with Japanese culture, morality and mores. Certain stances of etiquette, expectation and projected outcomes could only have happened in Japan.

Would an Icelandic parent have stood by and let their home and family be subject to such surveillance? Could a Briton have been persuaded to volunteer themselves for torturous weeks of detention without charge? And would the perpetrators have been allowed to get away with it, if their victim actually agreed?  My cynical self says yes. But that's by the by.
Death Notes dropping globally

The Death Note really could have fallen anywhere in the world
It's wrong to generalize based on national stereotypes, but intriguing to surmise the outcome had the Death Note fallen anywhere else in the world. Or how much Light Yagami's inherent Japaneseness affected the manner in which it was used; the motivation, thought processes and justifications that he passed through along the way; and the profile of those he killed, however vague their points of commonality may be.

What if the shinigami's notebook of death had landed in Syria?  Would war crimes have factored much sooner in the programme than it occurred to Light to do so?  Would Mexicans have taken on drug barons? Or those in the Niger Delta started on the profit-ridden oil polluters of fresh water -  environmental evils trumping thuggish anti-social behaviour in the street?  Callous corporations and white collar criminality could well come first in many an Industrialised, Capitalist nation.  While localised gangs and small-time, blue collar crime would occupy erstwhile Kiras from other lands.

How about your own?   If the Death Note had dropped into your neighbourhood, how might Kira look then?  And would (s)he act anything like Light Yagami? 

The discussion is open.

Posted as part of

Death Note News Kira Month
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Relentless Tatting with the Death Note News Site Today

21/2/2016

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Death Note movie L typing
Anyone returning constantly to the Death Note News website today will have glimpsed hints that things weren't going well behind the scenes.

It all went pear-shaped with a little routine link checking found some leading the wrong way; coupled with the notion that it would be a lovely thing to have a countdown timer to the deadline for asking Light Yagami actors your questions. Exasperated by the fabulous idea to have a sidebar slider Highlighting Interesting Things, plus Stuff our Readers Want to Find Fast, with images.

Who would have thought that three simple, five second tasks could cause so much code to explode?

But we live and learn, with today being a particularly large curve for the latter, and normal service is now not only resumed, but greatly improved.

We hope.

And while we're here with site news,  a persistent issue with Facebook has finally been fixed too.  Until recently, all Death Note News articles linked on Facebook appeared stuck displaying an older news item's headline, though the URL itself was correct for whatever was being shared.

Now all Facebook shared links should feature the related headline instead.  Can I hear a cheer to cover the freaking hours spent pouring over code working out why and the forty seconds putting it right?  Thank you.

If anyone spots anything else going awry anywhere on the site, we'd be grateful if you don't mention it would give us the heads up.  Half the time such things remain broken simply because no-one here knows there's a problem.   Thanks in advance for any feedback and tip offs.

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On This Day in Death Note: February 21st

21/2/2016

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Feb 21st 1990: Actor Flavio Aquilone born on this day in Death Note

Flavio Aquilone in Action as Kira in the Death Note Italian Dub Anime

Related Articles:

Flavio Aquilone Italian Kira - Death Note dub Italy
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Light Yagami Anime Voice Actors
- Kim Hasper, Brad Swaile
and Sergio Zamora

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Death Note Month of Light Yagami
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Award-winning Mexican Artist Nell Fallcard Tells All About Drawing Light Yagami

21/2/2016

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Professional artist Nell Fallcard is the first to complete our Death Note Month of... questionnaire - aimed at advising Kira artists on perfecting their craft.
Death Note News: Light Yagami by Nell Fallcard
Nell knows what she's talking about. She makes a living from her art in her native Mexico.  Her portrait of Light Yagami (above) was lifted from her DeviantART portfolio.  Later (non-Death Note related) portraits netted first place prizes art competitions like the Photoshop User Awards (2008) - Illustration category and Royal Flush magazine's Portrait Illustration Contest (2008). More recently, Nell was short-listed for the Share One Planet Worldwide Illustration Contest Award.

You can find more of her art on her website. Be prepared to sit there going, 'Wow!' for the next few minutes, as you peruse its gallery.  We did.

Nell Fallcard on Portraying Light Yagami in Traditional Art

Detail from Nell Fallcard's Light Yagami portrait
Have you created Kira art now or in the past?
Yes - in the past.

Any anecdotes about your experiences as a Light Yagami artist?
I used a reference of a guy I found attractive back in the day for the piece, he stumbled upon it and now we are good friends! Going to massacre his sassy ass in Smash Bros this Sunday. :D

How would you go about creating a Kira drawing?
Find references, get a basic sketch for composition and values, then render out!

What attributes, clothing and/or scenarios, do you feel are essential to include in Light Yagami artwork?
The K-pop boy band member hair and the red eyes are a must.

Is there more to recreating Kira visually than the outfit?
(Expression/stance/slogan etc.)

His personality has to come across, so get a pose / body language that fits it!

What, in your professional opinion, are fundamental tips/advice in producing art that's recognisably Kira?
Using references is an absolute must in order not to get lost.

What are the common noob errors made in drawing Light Yagami?
Not using references! :'D  The general public tend to think anything that comes from your head has more value than anything you copy, and they are right to an extent. But if you are in your early stages as an artist, your mission is to be able to get your fundamentals right before jumping into relying entirely on the contents of your mind.

Professional artists usually do a mixture of both: they look for references and they change them in their head to come up with their own creations.

Any last tips for anyone reading, who wishes to start creating Kira artwork?
Nowadays there are tutorials for everything (what a beautiful time to be alive!), you just need to put the hours of work. So get yourself into training everyday and you will eventually be able to create anything you imagine!

Artists!

Would you like to have a go at answering these questions on your own behalf?

If you are a Death Note artist - or indeed an artist per se - and you're willing to share your tips, thoughts and advice with the fandom, then visit our fan-artist's questionnaire page to fill in the form.

Thank you in advance!

Posted as part of

Month of Kira on Death Note News
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Asked Kira Yet?

Three Light Yagami voice actors are waiting to take your questions in interviews for Kira Month on Death Note News.

ASK BRAD SWAILE
(English question form)


PREGUNTA SERGIO ZAMORA
(Forma de pregunta
Español)


STELLEN SIE KIM HASPER
(Deutsch Frage Form)


The deadline is closing in!
FEBRUARY 23RD 2016

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Squad Six Cosplayers - New Panel at Triad Anime Convention March 2016

21/2/2016

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Sewing, and Props, and Wigs... Oh My! Panel at Triad Anime Con 2016
Only generally related to Death Note this, Squad Six Cosplayers' Lara has given us the heads up that she'll be part of an ensemble costuming quartet hosting a panel at Triad Anime Convention this March.   Sewing, and Props, and Wigs... Oh My! is an all-encompassing cosplay advisory gig, with freely available tips on just about anything you ever wanted to know about dressing up as your favourite manga/anime character, plus a few things you didn't know to ask.

However, it is worth mentioning the panel here, because there are at least two known Death Note cosplayers on it.  Hence attendee questions in that direction are likely to be more than adequately answered.

Lara will also be joining the rest of Squad Six Cosplayers the following night for Blasting Off Again! Team Rocket panel, celebrating two decades of Pokémon. 
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