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Viz Media Talks Death Note Omega Blu-Ray Edition at Chicago Con C2E2 2016

21/3/2016

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Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo has just finished over in the Windy City.  It ran from March 18th-20th and Techaeris's Kyle Funk was there to catch what Viz Media had in store for fans of Death Note.

Turns out there's not much that we didn't already know or could guess.

In his piece VizMedia At C2E2 2016 #C2E22016, Funk confirmed that no add on to the Death Note manga is planned now or in the future.  That should answer the regular search terms leading people to this site, asking 'when will there be a new Death Note manga?' or 'is there a sequel to Death Note?'  Nope.  Sorry.

Mostly it seemed that Viz were in Chicago bigging up the Blu-Ray Death Note Omega Edition, which was recently released.  They showed a trailer demonstrating the difference in quality between the old bog standard anime and Blu-Ray.  Which is also on their YouTube Channel, so you may see it too, alongside an extended marketing clip unboxing the Death Note Blu-Ray Omega Edition, also by Viz Media.

Death Note Omega Edition Blu-Ray Official Trailer

Unboxing Death Note Complete Series Omega Edition Blu-Ray (Viz Media)

Blu-Ray Death Note Omega Edition

For those tl;dw people: it's the entire Death Note anime in high definition Blu-Ray, all 37 episodes plus both Relights.

The Relight films have commentaries from the makers, explaining what decisions and processes had to be completed to compress the whole story into two shorter movies.

There's also a booklet, which looks like a Death Note, containing the pilot manga one-shot story featuring Taro Kigami.  The content is pretty much copied from How to Read, but the cover looks fabulous.

Talking about covers, the box containing the Blu-Ray Death Note anime discs itself has a reversible cover. You can opt for Misa adorning your collection instead of Light and L.

Those are the highlights.

Death Note Omega Edition on Blu-Ray was released on March 1st 2016. 

There's more about it in our anime and movie gift section.

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Spin-Off Matsuda - Barely Known Canon Short Movie about Death Note's Matsuda

20/3/2016

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While we're all familiar with the movie L Change the World - even those who wish they weren't - even long-standing Death Note fans might have missed the fact that Matsuda got his own short film in relation to it.  As these stills from the ten minute movie attest:
Death Note Spin-Off Matsuda still
Sota Aoyama in Death Note Spin-Off Matsuda still
L Change the World: Spin-Off Matsuda still
Broadcast on Japanese television, initially on February 8th 2008, Spin-Off Matsuda was basically made up of scenes deleted from the movie itself.  It followed the fortunes of Touta Matsuda in a story which ran concurrently with those seen with L, Maki and Near.

It starred Sōta Aoyama as Matsuda, reprising his role from the other live-action movies in the trilogy (soon to be quartet).

As with the main movie L Change the World, Kiyomi Fujii wrote the screenplay. The spin-off covers Matsuda's issues with filing a final Kira case report, and a poignant meeting with L a fortnight before the latter's known and inevitable death.

Spin-Off Matsuda: L Change the World Special and Synopsis

The most common copy of Spin-Off Matsuda available on the internet is embedded here - in Japanese with Thai sub-titles.

There are no versions with English sub-titles on-line (or may not have even been made), but a brief synopsis runs like this:

Touta Matsuda's signature is required upon a document concluding the Kira case. He waivers over signing, because he's not sure that the case should be closed.  He can't get his head around what precisely Light believed with regard to justice, nor what L did to thwart him.

Soichiro Yagami pre-empted this and left a note for Matsuda stating, 'Go see Ryuzaki'.  So Matsuda goes to visit L, carrying with him a gift - a box of cakes.

L gratefully receives them with the comment, "A farewell gift to a person going for death. I shall thank you."

This incenses Matsuda, who can't understand why L continues to work, when he only has two weeks left to live.  "Stop working!" He rants, "Do anything you like, such as dating with a girl, or travelling anywhere you like, whatever. Why don't you spend the rest of your time for yourself! At least do not pretend dying is no big deal!"

Once he's calmed down, Matsuda is contrite about his behaviour. He calls Soichiro and apologizes for being mean to Ryuzaki.

Just on it, a delivery man brings a gift from L - a basket of crepes with the message, 'Sugar will improve your brain function. Eat lots of crepes to become clever - YOU IDIOT!'

Matsuda exclaims, "L, you Hyottoko guy!" (Hyottoko being the mask worn by L in the movies.) And stands there eating, crying and pondering on how L can bear knowing that he only has 23 days left to live, yet still carry on. 

The movie short ends with Matsuda crouched in the street, overwhelmed by the sentiment and his emotion, dwarfed by the architecture of the city around him.

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On This Day in Death Note: March 20th

20/3/2016

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March 20th 1975: Manuel Campuzano Death Note Voice Actor Mexican Light Yagami born
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Join Team Touta! Death Note Community Pinterest Board for Fans of Matsuda

20/3/2016

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Death Note Matsuda Pinterest Board banner
We're slowly but surely creating community Pinterest boards for all Death Note characters and Touta Matsuda is no exception.  There's a burgeoning community over there awaiting your Matsuda pins across the board.  Here is the story so far:
Follow Death Note News's board Touta Matsuda Death Note News on Pinterest.
No real rules about what you can and can't post over there.  As long as it's on topic and colludes with all mores on common decency and sense, then we're good.  It might be a nice way to big up your articles, art, photographs, cosplay, fan-fiction and whatever else Mr Matsuda inspires in you as muse.

Come and join us on Matsuda's Death Note Pinterest board.  Invite your friends.  In response, we'll do our best to get all invitations approved in a timely fashion for Month of Matsuda on Death Note News.

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Adam Wingard Talks US Live-Action Death Note Movie with Collider

18/3/2016

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Adam Wingard on Collider March 17th 2016

(Collider screenshot March 18th 2016)

It isn't a massive amount that US Death Note director Adam Wingard has to say that's of particular interest to us.

Nevertheless Collider's Perri Nemiroff asked about future projects, in an interview that was otherwise about Wingard's pilot TV show Outcast.

Wingard answered, "I'm doing an adaptation of Death Note. I'm in the process of doing that."

That's all!  Though it's nice to have random confirmation that everything is still happening.

The comment occurs around the 9.48 minute mark in the above embedded interview from ‘Outcast’: Adam Wingard on the Differences between Directing a Pilot & Feature Film, posted yesterday - March 17th 2016 - on Collider.
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Anime Fan Soulja Boy Names Death Note as his Favourite

18/3/2016

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Self-styled legend - and otherwise styled Father of Modern Rap Music - Soulja Boy has come out as an anime fan in an interview today with magazine Complex UK.

The US singer is known for classic hip-hop hits like Crank That (Soulja Boy) and Turn my Swag On; platinum selling albums such as Souljaboytellem.com; as well as films about his life Soulja Boy: The Movie, and television documentaries concerning the same, as in the current Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood.

He was in Complex UK discussing his new album Stacks on Deck, which came out on March 15th 2016.  Yet somehow the conversation turned to anime in general, and Death Note in particular.
“You ain’t ready for this,” Soulja Boy tells me. He’s wrapped in a tight white t-shirt, elegantly ripped Robin’s Jeans, and a small, tasteful chain. His blunt, thick and taut, resembles a pterodactyl’s leg in a land before man, modernity, and swag. We’re sitting in a Burbank studio, a few blocks from the Disney and Warner Brothers lots. I tell him I was born ready.

“We gon’ start it off like this. Bam!” he says, and begins rattling off his favorite anime films. “Naruto. Cowboy Bebop. Death Note. Full Metal Alchemist. Akira.” In Japan, there’s a word for rabid anime fans: otaku. I am not even a tenth the otaku that Soulja Boy is. “Death Note, that’s my favorite one. You ever seen it?”

“No,” I say, meekly. I’m certain that Soulja Boy is about to be upset with me pretending I was born ready for this. I was in no way, shape, or form ready to talk about anime with Soulja Boy. I have failed myself. More gallingly, I have failed Soulja Boy.
~ Soulja Boy is the Father of Modern Rap Music by Drew Millard (Complex UK March 18th 2016)

Soulja Boy Complex UK March 18th 2016

Soulja Boy is the Father of Modern Rap Music
- Interview by Drew Millard
(Screenshot March 18th 2016)
He actually sounds a little Kira-esque too in the back-story provided by the magazine feature.

There's talk of him starting out at seventeen and appearing Christlike to his followers.  Changing the world of hip-hop and rap forever. Writing his own Fate, at least on-line, via Wikipedia with his lines of destiny coming true as Soulja Boy hustled himself into mega-stardom through careful hacks and self-penned publicity.

Not quite a Death Note wielding God of this New World, but you can't help wondering who inspired him at 17 back in 2006.
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Casting Matsuda: All of the Actors Who Played Touta Matsuda in Death Note

15/3/2016

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They have played heroes and fools; given voice to the one and only Touta Matsuda in anime dubs, TV shows and movies across the globe.  We have collected them here in a roll call of ALL the Death Note Matsuda actors internationally.

Who for you brought to life one of the Japanese NPA's finest Kira task force officers? Who for you speaks the voice, holds the personality and/or wears the face of Touta Matsuda from Death Note?  Let's see, shall we?

Ryô Naitô

Death Note Matsuda voice actor Ryou Naitou Japan
Voice Actor
(aka 内藤玲, Ryou Naitou, Naitou Ryou)
- Death Note anime Japanese original
- Death Note: Relight: Visions of a God Japanese original
- Death Note: Relight: L's Successors Japanese original

Vincent Tong

Matsuda voice actor English dub Vincent Tong
Voice Actor
- Death Note anime English dub
- Death Note: Relight: Visions of a God English dub
- Death Note: Relight: L's Successors English dub

Gyeng Su Hyeon

Korean dub Death Note Matsuda Gyeng-Su Hyeon
Voice Actor
(aka 현 경수, Hyeon Gyeng-Su, Yong-Uk An)
- Death Note anime Korean dub
- Death Note: Relight: Visions of a God Korean dub
- Death Note: Relight: L's Successors Korean dub

Charles Pestel

French dub Matsuda Death Note actor Charles Pestel
Voice Actor
- Death Note anime French dub
- Death Note: Relight: Visions of a God French dub
- Death Note: Relight: L's Successors French dub

Roland Czetõ

Death Note anime Matsuda actor Roland Czető Hungarian dub
Voice Actor
(aka Czető Roland)
- Death Note anime Hungarian dub
- Death Note: Relight: Visions of a God Hungarian dub
- Death Note: Relight: L's Successors Hungarian dub

Leonardo Graziano

Death Note Matsuda Italian dub voice actor Leonardo Graziano
Voice Actor
- Death Note anime Italian dub
- Death Note: Relight: Visions of a God Italian dub
- Death Note: Relight: L's Successors Italian dub

Simon T Roden

Death Note Matsuda voice actor Simon T Roden German dub
Voice Actor
(aka Simon Roden)
- Death Note anime German dub
- Death Note: Relight: Visions of a God German dub
- Death Note: Relight: L's Successors German dub

Luiz Sérgio Vieira

Matsuda actor Luiz Sérgio Vieira Brazilian Death Note dub
Voice Actor
- Death Note anime Brazilian Portuguese dub
- Death Note: Relight: Visions of a God Brazilian Portuguese dub
- Death Note: Relight: L's Successors Brazilian Portuguese dub

Tang Jing Li

Death Note anime Mandarin dub Matsuda actor Li Jing Tang
Voice Actor
(aka 李景唐, Lǐ Jǐng Táng; Li Jingtang; Li Jing Tang; Tang Li Jing)
- Death Note anime Mandarin dub; Chinese (Taiwan) dub
- Death Note: Relight: Visions of a God Mandarin dub
- Death Note: Relight: L's Successors Mandarin dub

Vadim Vladimirovich Prokhorov

Russian Death Note Matsuda actor Vadim Vladimirovich Prokhorov
Voice Actor
(aka Вадим Владимирович Прохоров)
- Death Note anime Russian dub
- Death Note: Relight: Visions of a God Russian dub
- Death Note: Relight: L's Successors Russian dub
NB Both Tang Jing Li and Vadim Prokhorov also played Light Yagami/Kira in their respective Death Note dubs.

Anthony Steven San Juan

Death Note Matsuda actor Anthony Steven San Juan Tagalog Mello and Matsuda
Voice Actor
(aka Berto)
- Death Note anime Tagalog dub
- Death Note: Relight: Visions of a God Tagalog dub
- Death Note: Relight: L's Successors Tagalog dub

Masumi Mutsuda

Death Note anime voice actor Masumi Mutsuda - Matsuda (Catalan) and Near (Spanish)
Voice Actor
- Death Note anime Catalan dub
- Death Note: Relight: Visions of a God Catalan dub
- Death Note: Relight: L's Successors Catalan dub
NB Anthony Steven San Juan also voiced Mello in the Tagalog Death Note dub; while Masumi Mutsuda voiced Near in the Spanish dub.

David Jenner Husson

Death Note anime Matsuda Spanish dub actor David Jenner Husson
Voice Actor
(aka David Jenner)
- Death Note anime Spanish dub
- Death Note: Relight: Visions of a God Spanish dub
- Death Note: Relight: L's Successors Spanish dub

Alfredo Leal Rodríguez

Death Note anime Matsuda actor Alfredo Leal Mexican dub
Voice Actor
(aka Alfredo Leal)
- Death Note anime Mexican dub
- Death Note: Relight: Visions of a God Mexican dub
- Death Note: Relight: L's Successors Mexican dub

Chok Chi Chan

Death Note anime Cantonese dub Matsuda actor Chen Zhuozhi
Voice Actor
(aka 陈卓智, Chan Cheuk Chi, Chen Zhuozhi,
Can4 Cheuk3 Ji3, Dominic Chan, Domanic)

- Death Note anime Cantonese dub
- Death Note: Relight: Visions of a God Cantonese dub
- Death Note: Relight: L's Successors Cantonese dub

Unknown

Content Coming Soon
Voice Actor
- Death Note anime Polish dub
- Death Note: Relight: Visions of a God Polish dub
- Death Note: Relight: L's Successors Polish dub

Sōta Aoyama

Death Note Matsuda actor Sota Aoyama
Film Actor
(aka 青山 草太, Sota Aoyama)
- Death Note movie
- Death Note: The Last Name movie

Maeda Goki

Death Note TV drama Matsuda actor Maeda Goki
Television Actor
(aka 前田公輝, まえだ ごうき)
- Death Note TV Drama
All of these Death Note Matsuda actors are now also added in our calendar, excepting:

  • Simon T. Roden, whose birthday we cannot find, though we do know he was born in Cologne in 1972;
  • The Polish Matsuda actor, whom we've currently been unable to identify.

Also:
  • Chen Zhuozhi is missing a year of birth, though we do know he was born on June 1st.

Can anyone fill in these omissions?

We do hope that you enjoyed our round up of Touta Matsuda actors from around the world.


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Aerial Sky Shares Advice on Cosplaying Matsuda from Death Note

14/3/2016

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Death Note News - Aerial Sky cosplaying Beyond Birthday
For Month of Matsuda on Death Note News, we've looked long and hard across cyber-space for cosplayers to share their tips on donning Touta Matuda costume.

Here to start us off is Aerial Sky!

There she is cosplaying Beyond Birthday from Death Note's Another Note, as seen in older pictures on her Instagram account:  @dncosplayer25.

She's at pains to let us know that her cosplay has improved greatly since those days.  And further adds,

"I've been into cosplaying for about two years now, and it's my favorite thing to do when I have spare time. Currently I am finishing up my Matt cosplay, and I've cosplayed L and Beyond Birthday, all from Death Note. I plan to cosplay more when I have more time and when my parents accept this habit of mine XD."

So what does she have to say about Matsuda cosplay?  Read on!

How to Cosplay Death Note's Matsuda by Aerial Sky

Have you cosplayed Matsuda now or in the past?
No - never

Is there any reason that you haven't considered cosplay for Touta Matsuda?
I have considered it, mainly because he's the comic relief of the story, and because he's a precious little cinnamon roll XD I think I will stick with the characters I do best. Those being Matt, L, Beyond Birthday, Jeff the Killer, and maybe the occasional Kira/Light.

How would you go about creating a costume for Touta Matsuda?
I would go to Goodwill or some sort of thrift store and buy a suit. There's no need to spend a bunch of money for something you could find easily.

What clothing and/or props do you feel are essential Matsuda costume items?
A black or grey suit, and definitely a good sense of humor.

Is there more to cosplaying Matsuda than the outfit? (Look/behaviour etc.)
You have to have a good sense of humor, as well as a good personality. Don't be afraid to get really into character.

He acts like a goofball, and is about the average high schooler XD

What's your professional opinion about ready-made Touta Matsuda outfits, such as those in the Death Note News Cosplay Store? Any other pieces in there decent enough for a Matsuda cosplay? (Be honest!)
I would definitely go to a thrift shop first and see if I could get something cheaper. Custom made things are so much more expensive.

If not anything there, where would YOU source items to cosplay Matsuda?
Goodwill. And maybe your own closet if you have nice business clothes.

Any last tips for anyone reading, who wishes to create their Matsuda cosplay from scratch?
Get a good quality wig, and just be patient. Good things come to those who wait. :)
Aerial Sky as Ryuk Death Note News

Aerial Sky rolls out her Ryuk

Cosplayers!

Would you like to have a go at answering these questions yourself? 

A different Death Note character forms the focus each month.

If you cosplay Death Note - or indeed a cosplayer of any tale - 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!

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What I Like About Matsuda (Essay by Sakiko Rau)

12/3/2016

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Matsuda is a very honest guy, has a sense of justice, and is kind of clumsy. All he wanted was involvement in Kira's case with the rest of the team.

Matsuda kun is sort of behind his team members, everybody was easily ignored and annoyed with the young officer.
   The image of Matsuda is that he's a little clumsy, he ended up being called "Matsuda Idiot!"  Yet he seriously wanted help everybody. Matsuda felt himself an outsider, and wanted proof himself that he is a reliable man. At the end of the season, he dramatically proved himself as reliable he can be in front of his team members.
(Death Note) Matsuda Yellow Box Warehouse shooting Kira
January 28th.   One sound of a shot-gun broke the silence through the entire Yellow box storage facility. Touta Matsuda, NP task force, had shot at Light's right hand, as soon saw that Kira had tried to pull out a piece of Death Note. Kira made one critical mistake. He betrayed Takada, who had a piece of real Death Note and could kill Near, and killed her instead. However, Kira didn't know that the Death Note was switched with a fake note, and attempted to kill the rest of his team members, Near, and APT.

Even after Kira found out, Mikami contacted Takada and told her write down all their names. Before Kira found out it was fake, he claimed himself is winner. Near was waiting to see Kira's confident face  turn to panic. He hadn't anywhere to turn. He was like a mouse chased by chat into a corner. He couldn't  turn nor move.  Kira finally admitted that he was Kira.

Death Note Matsuda - Your father... wat did he die for??
Matsuda couldn't believe what he was seeing with his own eyes. He had a lasting hope that Light was innocent. All of sudden, his confusion turned to anger and he wanted revenge on Light for Chief Soichiro Yagami, who was father of Light Yagami. Light, the one who led him to death; if he didn't order the team, Soichiro wouldn't have had to die by the Mafia.

Matsuda couldn't understand why Light deceived own father. He was so furious, because Soichiro never had given up his hope that his son was not Kira. Matsuda asked Light what was meant by his father's death?  He hoped that Light might regret killing so many people.

But Light's ambition was only one thing. He wanted create a new world and became a god of new world. That's all. Whoever got in Kira's way was punished by this new god. He was the only one who could cleanse this rotten world. He killed too many people, and forgot about the importance of  human life.  Light lost his principles, particularly that about not killing innocent people. His hope was remembering his father's last words that he was so happy to see lives expand. He had never known his own son deceived him until he died.

Light was quiet for a moment, and replied to him with coldness, in an unemotional voice, that his father was one of a weak human race, and part of the reason this world has sunken to rock bottom - humanity was rotten as could be. Because the crime rate is so high, they were overwhelmed and unable to control all these crimes. It was just a matter of the time before the police adapted their system to suit criminals, who would change their perspective and control the police.  Rotten people only produce evil because of their deeds the world can only occur that way. As a result rottenness sprayed out across all the world.

Light continued saying that His father was a fool, because Light gave him a chance to use the Death Note.  But Soichiro was cowardly and couldn't use it.
Death Note Matsuda screams
Matsuda's blood pressure had risen up. He triggered his gun and shot Light again with teary eyes. He wanted to kill Light so badly.  He didn't  consider that Light had any value to stay alive.

Kira looked at Matsuda with no emotion, just cold eyes.  There was a mention that Light had been using his Death Note for six years, which meant Light had long since lost himself. Light underestimated the Death Note's power and the longer he used it, the more its power pulled him into the dark and took over his mind.

Remember Episode 9? When L was still alive, L showed up and gave Light a surprise at college? Light was so furious, because he got humiliated by L.  Ryuk was seeing his outrage from behind, and in astonishment said, "Light was usually a quiet guy, but I've never seen his rage like this. It got into him!"  Yet Light was just sneering about how weak his father was.

Again, Matsuda trusted Light; also Matsuda was fond of Light. Light was Matsuda's friend and he was also the last person to believe Light.

Death Note Matsuda held back after shooting Kira

Death Note anime: Matsuda held back after shooting Light Yagami
After Kira's death, Matsuda couldn't overcome killing Light. After the world noticed Kira's death, the crime rate went back to what it used to be. Matsuda was still regretful of killing his friend. Ide and Matsuda were talking about this society and Kira's society. Nobody knew which society was right, but if Kira had stayed alive, criminals would have continued being killed by him.

I think Matsuda made the right decision to take action. He connects with anyone, heart to heart. He was sort of clumsy, but that was his personality. I think his optimistic character had balanced with this dark story. He is one my favorite characters.

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Erika Toda: Original Movie Misa Amane Reprising Role in Death Note 2016 Sequel

10/3/2016

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Erika Toda - Misa Amane in Death Note live action movies

In addition to the announcement about Erika Toda returning as Misa Amane, the official Twitter stream for Death Note 2016 has provided us with an actual release date - October 29th 2016.
Erika Toda was the actress who brought Misa Amane to life in the original live action Death Note films.  Now she's back for the encore.

Glorying under the working title of Death Note 2016, the fourth in the Warner Bros. Japan Death Note movies takes place ten years after the clash between Light and L, which proved so fatal for them both.

But not for Misa, who merely lost her memories after renouncing ownership of her Death Note. 

A decade on, she's working as a top-ranked actress, still mourning the loss of Light Yagami, but with no conscious insight into the preternatural events that led to his demise.  As six new Death Notes fall upon the Earth, Misa Amane's memories will become key for those chasing and using them.

Erika Toda was just seventeen years old when she played Misa-Misa the first time around.  She's a stately twenty-seven now, likely to become the grand matriarch of Kiras everywhere.

Her casting has been met with much excitement in Japan, where her role was highly praised in 2006 and continued on into 'legendary status' since.

Here's a fan-made compilation showing Erika in action as Misa Amane:
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Death Note Profile: Who is Touta Matsuda?

8/3/2016

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Touta Matsuda is a character in the manga Death Note.  A young Japanese police-officer who volunteers to enter the task force investigating Kira.

The youngest and most cheerful member of the task-force, he often acts the clown. This led to a popular internet meme around the catchphrase, 'Matsuda, you fool!'

Sometimes this tomfoolery was acted out in favour of the investigation, for example when Matsuda played the role of talk-show host in a bid to trap the Death Note using Yotsuba Group.

A family friend of the Yagami family - of whom patriarch Soichiro is his direct supervisor at work - Matsuda loyally stands by Light, refusing to believe that the teenager could be Kira.

One of the key dramatic points of the climatic scene revolves around Matsuda's shock that this loyalty had been exploited. It is Touta Matsuda who shoots Light Yagami, thus saving Near's life.
Touta Matsuda Death Note

The Names of Touta Matsuda

This Death Note character is alternatively known as:
松田 桃太
Touta Matsuda
Matsuda Touta
Tōta Matsuda
Matsuda Tōta
Tota Matsuda
Matsuda Tota
松井 太郎
Taro Matsui
Matsui Taro
Tarō Matsui
Matsui Tarō
Matsu
Matsuda
山下 太一郎
Taichiro Yamashita
Yamashita Taichiro
Taichirō Yamashita
Yamashita Taichirō

Matsuda's Vital Statistics

Death Note Matsuda

Hair Colour:
Black

Height:
5' 7" (170.18cm)

Eye Colour:
Brown

Weight: 
9 stone 3lbs (130lbs; 58.9kg)

Occupation:

Police officer

Relationship Status:
Single

Key Dates for Matsuda

December 14th 1978:
December 14th 1981:
Touta Matsuda born
Touta Matsuda born
Manga
Anime

Matsuda's Lifespan Through Shinigami Eyes as Seen by Mikami

Picture
As Teru Mikami peeps into the Yellow Box Warehouse and glimpses each person with his shinigami eyes, the true name and lifespan of Matsuda is revealed.  He is Matsuda Touta, whose life dates are 5 4 8 1 9 2.  However those are within the Death God calendar to which mere mortals are not privy.  Nor is there any overt hidden meaning here from the creators.  By now, Tsugumi Ohba has just indicated that numbers should be present and Takeshi Obata has inserted those which seemed aesthetically pleasing.

Auguries of Matsuda

Sagittarius symbol
Born on December 14th, astrologically Touta Matsuda is Sagittarius
Earth horse
Matsuda's birth date of December 14th 1978 (manga) also factors into Shēngxiào. He is an Earth Horse in the Chinese Zodiac
Metal Rooster
However, the time-slip of the anime would have him born in 1981 instead. That means that now in the Chinese Zodiac Touta Matsuda is a Metal Rooster
Letter B
How to Read: Death Note 13 reveals that Touta Matsuda's blood group is B

An Unpredictable Clown? The Personality of Death Note's Matsuda

Touta Matsuda is billed as a fashionable young man; a typical mainstream individual excited by the latest trends in popular culture, however they manifest. This has led him to being viewed as shallow or fickle by those around him.  A man so caught up in the razzmatazz of events like the choosing of Kira's television spokesperson, that he doesn't seem to even register the distaste nor danger inherent in such a spectacle.

Tsugumi Ohba, in How to Read, states that Touta has an innocent heart (hence his loyalty and compassion in believing that Light is not Kira) and an inferiority complex. The latter is due to his constant exposure to quite brilliant people.

His excitable, hasty actions label him as somewhat of a trouble-maker within the Japanese Kira task-force.  However, these same traits may manifest as daring, courage and quick-thinking.  Matsuda is able to extract himself and others from dangerous scenarios by exploiting how others view him and through applying some of that daring speed of mind.

Also in How to Read, Matsuda's ability chart scores highly for unpredictability, with lesser scores - but still a mention - for creativity, intelligence, initiative, social skills and emotional strength.

Death Note ~ Matsuda from Zero to Hero (Matsuda Tribute by LemonxQueen)

The Faces of Touta Matsuda

Matsuda Death Note manga

Touta Matsuda Death Note manga
Touta Matsuda Death Note anime

Touta Matsuda Death Note anime
Matsuda Death Note game

Touta Matsuda Death Note official game
Death Note Matsuda thinking

Touta Matsuda Death Note: Relight
Touta Matsuda Death Note movie

Touta Matsuda Death Note live-action movies
Touta Matsuda Death Note TV drama

Touta Matsuda Death Note TV drama

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Welcome to Month of Touta Matsuda on Death Note News!

3/3/2016

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Death Note News - Month of Matsuda
Well that was a bit intense! 

Our launch Death Note Month of... event in honour of Light Yagami elicited FORTY-EIGHT posts to site, plus associated webpages et al.  When the three voice actor interviews come in, they'll make it fifty-one.

To say that we didn't except that is a bit of an understatement.

So, ready to do it all again?

It's Matsuda Month!  (Finally...)

If you're wondering what it's all about, then you really weren't here last month.  That's when we discovered it's about whatever mind, imagination, talent and inclination can produce, but this time with the subject changed.

In February, it was all about Kira.  Now it's March, and Touta Matsuda gets his moment in the spotlight.

What have you got for me, you amazing people?  We have a brand, new archive to fill.

Call Out for All Things Touta Matsuda from Death Note

What will we accept?  Anything really, as long as it's suitable for all ages and able to be posted in an article here.  Even if that's just a heads up on where it's lodged elsewhere.

There's more about that on the Death Note Month of... homepage, and the various ways in which content might be added is on the submissions page.

Of particular interest are essays, images, opinion pieces, whatever, which tell us something we may not have realised about Death Note's Matsuda.  A nuance in his name; a tell in the way he acts, dresses, speaks; a facet in his plot-line or history, which you'll only know if you have some obscure insight; or a detail of his characterisation which skips the masses by.

Because most people seeing Matsuda's event coming up were more than a little disdaining - what do you want a Month of a Matsuda for?  He's nondescript.  He doesn't do anything!

No, only shoot Kira and denounce Near.  So, what have you got to tell them they're wrong?  Or do you agree?  Write that instead.

As usual, we'd love to hear from Death Note fan artists, writers and cosplayers.  You each have your own page, with a questionnaire apiece, regardless of whether you do or don't cosplay Touta.  Or simply send us a photograph, gallery link or email of your Matsuda work, if you want to participate, but not bother with the sharing of secrets.

We'll post them roughly as they come in.  The last day for items to appear is March 31st 2016.

See how organised we are this month?   All the lessons learned, even if we are a bit late.

And on That Note...

Real life is happening in abundance.  In a good way for a change this weekend, but it means that no editor will be here to post anything until Monday.  Apologies for any inconvenience caused.   I'll look forward to perusing all that you've done and sent in then.

Also there is a slight backlog in Matti responding to emails etc, because of said real life inconsiderately intruding.  Thank you for your patience and all that.  No-one will have been forgotten, though again it may be early next week before anyone answers. 

But you'll be busy anyway, writing your Matsuda stuff.
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Death Note Tarot Tales 3: The Fool in Death Note Major Arcana

3/3/2016

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Teaching us the tarot's Major Arcana
with reference to Death Note -
its story-telling, plot and the symbolism
therein - here is
Death Note News columnist
Tarot Mikami

~ This time zeroing in on
the Trumps though Death Note
and The Fool tarot card

Death Note Tarot Tales Banner - Death Note News
The Fool is possibly the most interesting card of the Major Arcana (aka Trump cards). It's certainly unique - integral to all tarot based story-telling to follow, whilst simultaneously standing alone.

For a start, it is the only card to bear a Hindu-Arabic number - zero - if it carries one at all. The rest of the Trump cards are counted in Roman Numerals: I, II, III, IV and so forth. This remains true regardless of where it sits in the tarot deck - for The Fool has been known to wander from the prequel to the end of the Major Arcana (no. 22); or else in between.  Sometimes even drifting over into the minor arcana, where it sits outside any of the suits too.

The Fool is not numbered in Roman numerals with the other Major Arcana, because it doesn't really matter where it's positioned.  It's omnipresent; fitting in everywhere, and nowhere.

Even while seen as something apart, The Fool tends to play a part in proceedings, and can take a myriad of forms. This includes the environments, situations or states of mind that are nominally governed by any other card in the Tarot deck, but is especially true where the Major Arcana are concerned.

Many of which are found with Death Note's narrative.  But first...

What are Tarot Cards? What Do They Signify? Whom Do They Serve?

Words like 'arcana' and 'tarot' have been thrown around without me once delving into what they mean.  Thus you have no context for the folly to follow.  Let me fill in the blanks with explanation to define this world for you.

'Arcana' means 'secrets' or 'mysteries'.  It's plural.  One secret, one mystery, would be arcanum.  The Major Arcana are the big ones, known only to a select few.  The Minor Arcana is where the humdrum of ordinary things are hidden; far more accessible by the masses in society.  The latter make up the suits in common playing cards, which anyone can use.

This is where you'll find the minutiae of minor mysteries and everyday miracles - birth, death, love, hate, money, loss, friendship, family, long-time sickness, health, happiness, fear and all those other small things that may be found on any urban community sprawl.  They  make up reality, but they don't make it.

The former aren't in your average poker pack.  You can't use them to deal a hand in Blackjack or Snap.  They aren't a game for just anyone to play. 
That concealed in the Major Arcana is the domain of privilege - which means 'private law' - the preserve of rulers and the elite.  Their secrets and mysteries describe the process by which reality is formed; the building blocks for the creation and definition of a new world order.

For example, the commoners may have all the babies they like, and learn the arcana of childbirth. But it is their priests, law-makers, and leaders of the moral majority who tell them whether having that baby was alright.  Stepping out of line can mean social ostracisation, imprisonment, that infant taken from you or anything else which asserts control by those who have dominion over this particular realty; who own the domain or real estate.

Who shape this realm's reality. 

'Tarot' means 'colour' or 'illustration'.  Collectively, these cards paint a picture of the human world in which we live, its society, hierarchy and all the rest. While the minor arcana tells the story, the context is made from the major.  That's the arcana to illuminate the blocking blocks; point out the strings to pull; and fill in the fine detail with colour.  Those privy to the ways of the Major Arcana get to become Gods of the New World - or at least try.

Which is pretty much the story at the heart of Death Note too.

New God Challenges the Death Note World's Current Arbitrator of Reality

However, there is one to transcend arcana - one of the Trump cards, but also present in an ordinary deck of playing cards.  The wild card going wherever it will; difficult to pin down, yet with the potential to bring about the downfall of emperors and saints.  The hidden force behind it all.  The alpha and omega of any given tale - jester to some; joker to others; and in tarot, The Fool.
The Fool in Death Note Tarot card frame

The Fool and the Fall in Death Note

The story begins and ends with the fall.  Or Fool. It's the same word really to describe a similar state of being.

To know that we are ignorant, we first need to topple from our lofty ideals; our sense of understanding all the world about us has to shatter, or be shaken enough to make us grasp for more. Otherwise, we'd simply continue in our comfort zone,  never seeking to fundamentally alter reality and not once straying from our safe, secure domain into the great unknown.

We create Fools of ourselves.

Stepping out to seek our fortunes (even if it's simply starting on our first day at work); striving to educate ourselves (though that may merely be attending classes at school), in acceptance of the fact that we don't yet know what we don't know, and things once learned cannot be unlearned, they will change the way we view that sphere of universe forever; searching for truth, or enlightenment, or definition, or the results of lab experiments, whatever we research or seek to find out might change the nature of reality, not only for ourselves but all others too. 

As Newton discovered, when he foolishly pondered the meaning of that falling apple.  Do you know Gods of Death love apples?

We choose to become the Fool, blindly stepping off the cliff-edge precipice into the discovery abyss, whenever we willingly risk the changing of our reality.  We fall asleep; we fall in love; we fall for temptation; make landfall; fall out of line; fall down the rabbit-hole into a land where everything seems crazy.

And that takes courage; it makes us fool-hardy ('hardi' from the old French meaning 'bold').

The Fool at the beginning of the tale knows nothing, but bravely walks turns away from the mastered and familiar anyway, though it means the loss of his (or her) world.  The Fool at the end of the tale does the same, but this time with a smile.

It was worth the tomfoolery enough to do it all again.

There's No Fool Like an Old Fool

L hearing that shinigami are real

Too clever to ever be called a Fool, nevertheless L knew nothing
about the existence of shinigami, until he did and fell
from his chair in the shock of having to broaden his world view
Death Note Ryuk and the portal to the human world

Ryuk at least had the overview, but in boredom sought out something new; he let the Death Note fall, determined to follow wherever it may land - trusting to random chance that it would divert him at least, if not actually teach

Death Note's Royal Road Tarot Journey

The most famous part played by The Fool is as the subject in The Fool's Journey Through the Major Arcana, also known as The Royal Road.

This is a theme, or plot device that is so ubiquitous in popular culture - Death Note included - that it will need be tackled separately next time. The Fool's Journey fuels most major block-busters (plus sequels, and trilogies; rinse and repeat for a series). It certainly warrants a whole article devoted to it here! 

Yet in synopsis, it may be read like this:  a person ignorant of the world, or at least the bigger picture affecting their lives, encounters somebody/something which broadens their horizons, or else knocks them out of their comfort zone.  Forced to face that reality changing thing, our protagonist embarks upon some kind of quest, journey, mission and probably a steep learning curve as well.  Their story touches those states of being or realms governed by each of the other Major Arcana cards in succession. They arrive at the end changed utterly.  No longer unknowing, nor innocent, and certainly not ignorant, they are likely to be the masters/mistresses of this new world.  The one great expert to whom everyone else refers.

We're all looking at you, Luke Skywalker.  Frodo Braggins.  Harry Potter.  Light Yagami.  Mello.  Matsuda.  And a dozen other Death Note characters.

Every time an individual in the manga is shaken from their foundations, made to alter their perception of reality and/or diverted from their ordinary lives, they have stepped upon The Royal Road of the Fool.  They are entering the unknown and everyone they meet will have a profound effect upon changing them in some way - teaching, empowering, feeding, directing or sending them into untold danger.

Some, like Near, take the path laid out before them to cover the eventuality that they may one day have to take it.  That's still a Fool's Journey of sorts, but its purest essence is more fully concentrated in those who forge new paths.  Not only not taken by others before, but pathways which previously never even existed.

The true Fools are those who disdain the known to step out over the cliff's edge into uncharted territory. That first step is how they ultimately gain mastery over this domain, becoming its foremost authority with that single first cry of doing this 'my own way'.
Death Note Tarot Mello - The Fool's Journey Through the Major Arcana

Light Yagami and the Fool's Descent into Unreality

Death Note Light and Ryuk - didn't think the Shinigami's Notebook was real
Death Note Kira can act with certainty
The most obvious Royal Road undertaken in Death Note is that by Light Yagami.  When he first picked up the fallen notebook of death, he had no idea what it was nor what it might mean.  He was curious enough to find out. 

His ignorance was blunted with a perusal of the rules written inside.  After about three seconds worth of dismissing it all as a foolish prank, he decided to be that Fool.  Testing out the pages to see if someone really would die.  I mean, what's the worst that might happen?  Yep, what it said on the packet, or in this case, fly-sheet.  So Light continued using it, stepping foolhardily into the dark unknown, though he had no idea what it might mean for himself personally.

In fact, his best guess was that the shinigami would come for his soul, like the Death Note's usage was some Faustian pact.  Not at all literally - though it might as well be - Light was willing to sign a contract with the Devil, in order to journey yet further into the reality shaking conventions of this strange new book.

Did it send him insane?  That's another reading of The Fool - the madness inherent in losing all sense of that otherwise universal conviction that all share the same reality.  We don't.  Nurture, nature, the quicks of physicality and all those myriad personal influences, not to mention perspective, mean that none of us receive the same data, nor interpret it simultaneously and in the same way.   Nontheless, pretending that there's one dominion of the real (or royal) shared by all keeps us from straying onto such foolish pathways.

Light Yagami typifies the Fate of those who do.  With no-one to bounce his new reality off, but a semi-divine being who previously had no data to exist, Kira slips ever further into unreality.  Until he can't even see what everyone else judges to be real.  In his arrogance, he over-reaches his own domain and the resultant mistakes lead Mello and Near right to him, lending proof to their case.
Light Yagami - The Fool

The Foolish Light Yagami reacts to being outed with evidence that he is Kira

Until finally, ranting without sight of any objective reality, Light attempts  a secondary fall - this time from grace, as espoused by his task force, and from secrecy, in letting his veil of truth slip.   As he made his confession - I am Kira! And also God of this New World! - he sparked a seismic shift in the perceptions of most there present.  Confirming not only the reality of the Death Note, shinigami and all, but also his prolonged part its usage.

No wonder they shot him.  Thus precipitating his third and final fall, from existence and being into Mu.

The Fool in the sense of 'an empty-headed Fool' now embodied nothingness.  Back to the beginning again.
Death Note Tarot - Sayu The Fool as l'Excuse

The Fool as L'Excuse or Reason - Tricking Reality as a Game Changer in Death Note

There's a state of play involving the Fool which only turns up in the French Tarot.  It's called l'excuse - the excuse, the reason or the trick.  Herein the usage of the Fool forces a move to be made (or a previous move to be cancelled out).

This Fool exerts momentous influence over the contours of the game, or the shape of its reality; causing major players to act or else nullifying whatever the powerful just inserted into play.  Rendering their move meaningless; nothing.  Yet personal power remains elusive for The Fool in l'excuse.  They don't have to be ignorant, wise, mad, sane or anything.  The force they impose emanates from the mere fact of their existence.

Think Sayu Yagami in the desert.  Taken and held by the Mafia, her stance as the helpless Fool causes Soichiro to relinquish the Death Note, thus nullifying power in its possession for the Japanese Task Force.  It forces Kira to have to contend with Mello - recognizing him as a challenger for a start - whilst giving Mello more in his hand to play.

Yet Sayu herself never has a say in this.  She is played as the foolish excuse, her presence shifting the balance of power, thus opening up the potential/actuality of a new reality.  But she personally - as with The Fool card in French Tarot - never gains dominion over her world.  She remains the property of whomever holds her.  First herself/her family/Japan; then Mello and his Mafia family; before returning to her father's custody, a traumatized shell of the lady she was before.

Sayu as l'excuse becomes the Mad Fool - or in her case shell-shocked fool - by the end.  Yet ironically, that puts her beyond the reach of influence.  She's too catatonic to take any media on, thus cannot be swayed into any reality by those who would delineate it for her.

By becoming lost inside her own head, Sayu finally controls her own reality, but not that of others.  Excepting her Mother, for whom Sayu continues as l'excuse - the powerful Fool's tricks recreating Sachiko's life as one wherein she has to now care for a mute and unresponsive daughter.

Death Note and The Fool's Unreal Road

There's an inverse Fool's Journey in the tarot too.  A shadow path equally prevalent in stories around the world, yet rarely recognized as such.

The Fool should be silly, ignorant, innocent or insane in Western perception today.   Though we talk blithely of the Wise Fool, and pass about adages concerning the 'wisdom of babes and fools', the mainsteam imagination shrinks from what that might imply for the Journey. 

All-knowing Fools become sinister in our stories instead. The horror movie clown, or the supernatural smiling thing, no longer allowed to simply be.

In a typical Tarot deck, The Fool is usually depicted as a young man or a jester, walking near the precipice of a cliff with a dog alongside.

Frequently he is holding a haversack over a shoulder with one hand while the other holding a rose aloft.

The haversack is a symbol of the Wise Fool. It  represents wisdom acquired in a past life or on a previous journey, which are carried along to new experiences.

The Wise Fool can be viewed as an underlying driver of a narrative. In this aspect, he would not be considered the protagonist or main character. Instead, the role played is one which knowingly impacts one or more of the other 21 roles represented by the Trump cards as he encounters them.

Ergo the sage, old Fool has more control over the direction a narrative takes than might be readily apparent.

In Death Note, The Wise Fool is represented by Ryuk. The only reason we have this story told is because Ryuk was bored. Without much logic, planning or reasoning, Ryuk decided to follow his desire - represented by the rose held by the tarot card Fool - just to be entertained.

He was along for the ride, and for him, everyone else involved were incidental.  
Death Note Tarot - Ryuk the Wise Fool
Death Note Tarot The Fools in the Yellow Box

Jester in a Pack of Cards; The Fool One Step Removed

Some old tarot packs still refer to The Fool as The Jester.

Ordinary playing card decks certainly do - The Fool in the guise of The Jester being the only trump card to make it into an otherwise clean sweep of just the minor arcana.

Jester may incur visions of a silly man in dual coloured clothing, prancing around a medieval court with a bladder on a stick, and bells.  That's how he's presented in most playing cards, and often how The Fool of the Major Arcana dresses too.

Tarot cards tend to be based on those images fixed during the medieval period.  That's what jesters had become.  But it wasn't always thus.

Jester means 'to tell a story'; one who 'recites'.  Earlier medieval definitions matched the minstrels or troubadours more closely.  A jester then was just another name for someone who travelled about singing the epics and romances.  Informing the people of their history; reminding the mighty of their past.

The noun form is 'gesten' - 'recite a tale' - or 'geste' - 'exploit, inspire action'.  Suddenly he seems less innocuous, doesn't he?  Good job he was reduced merely to telling jokes.

Oh yeah!  The alternative name for The Jester or The Fool is The Joker.  Often the name that sticks in poker packs and other such gaming decks.

Joker is a shortened version of 'joculator', aka a professional jester or minstrel.  And 'joke' originally meant 'to speak, utter or express'; it gained its later connotation via satirical songs, those which ridiculed powerful individuals. People laughed in derision and that veneer of power was dented. The laughter stuck, and so did the danger, though no longer necessarily in the hands of professionals alone.

The Jester/Joker card in the minor arcana teaches us that we can all be Fools now.  We too get to tell the story and judge the mighty.  Why so serious?  Because we can.

The Role of The Fool in Tarot, Life and in Death Note

The Fool is the thorn in the side of reality; ergo those who own its real estate too. 

As wild card, it has partial immunity to the wiles and ways of the Major Arcana. Standing aside, yet also part of the minor arcana, so unable to be dismissed out of hand.  Despite the fact that the Fool will not, can not, or else alone decides when and where to, view the world as written by its creators of reality.  And that is dangerous insofar as it places a crack in the veneer of the real, which could fracture the picture entirely. Or else may breed revolution or dissent.

It has always been the province of kids and Fools to tell the Emperor that he wears no clothes.

Unwittingly or not, the Fool commands the story.  Acting as its fail-safe, in madness, ridicule, wit or slap-stick, this card can bring about the fall of all pretenders to power.  Worse still, the Fool could simply walk away, consigning the disregarded erstwhile God to nothingness.  Dissolving into the essential arcana that which allowed him/her/it to arise.
Any tale or testimony needs two fundamental elements to stick - someone or thing to tell it; another to hear and take it on board.

The Fool may be both, sometimes simultaneously.  In one guise story-teller; in another an audience member to be convinced to enter this new reality; buy into its vision and scope, then keep coming back for more.  To embrace a novel (or manga) universe, as if it was real and what happens within it matters.  And that, in itself, may be the story too, as Death Note proves.

Can Light Yagami regale those worldly Fools with enough bravado, soaring rhetoric and righteous judgement, for them to accept him as their God? 

Or will the natural river flow of his listeners decree, 'no, you're just a murderer' instead?

Thus sounding a death knoll on all credibility and demolishing Kira as no arbitrator of reality.  The denunciation far more fatal than a mere gunshot fired from Matsuda's gun.  That act itself a Judgement, signifying that Near's vision of what's really going on now trumps that of Light Yagami.

Finally, Ryuk as Death God steps forward in his secondary position as Wise Fool within the limitations of this world.  Here to trigger the fail-safe on Light's folly, and to initiate his Fall.

Wiping the slate clean for a new contender to come and fill the power vacuum.  To turn the cards and begin their bid to rewrite reality according to their own lights.  A new chapter, with a new Fool setting out to traverse the Royal Road, erecting a brand, new house of cards. 

An old story, retold in endless repetition, as so many movies, books and real life tales attest, for the hope of world dominion always lures the foolish onto a journey through the Major Arcana.

While The Fool as Joker watches from the audience masses of the minor arcana; and awaits the penultimate moment, wherein Judgement lies in the whim of those fools still paying attention.  Anyone can lead, but without those prepared to follow, their pretensions fade to Mu.
Light Yagami reality speech Death Note Manga
And the great cosmic joke seems ever historically to be that the watchful masses follow more gladly those with the power to entertain. They will dismiss any who leave them bored.

Why else do you think US presidential candidates spend $40m and more on their campaigns?  Those spellbound foolish Americans demand their spectacle, just like everybody else, and those seeking to impress them need to pay enough entertainers to ensure that everybody sing their song.

Never Trust the Story-teller, Only the Story: Fools from the Bardic Tradition

Death Note Sakura TV Kira's Kingdom

Kira's Kingdom on Sakura TV - Showmanship to raise or reduce a ruler
Of course back in the day, no millions were needed to make rulers stand tall before their reality's subjects.  Only a good deal of generous hospitality, or a tame bard or two.

Tarot cards arose in their modern from the medieval period, when Jesters and Joculators (Jokers) represented all that remained of the once proud Bardic System.   A branch of Druidry subsumed under Christianity; the staple of the old, crushed, Celtic courts.  Much of this tradition - tarot and bardic alike - came from France, where the groves of the Bretons and Gauls once dotted the land, and the great Romances bloomed.

An elite then who knew the dangers inherent in bards - who wove better stories then them in songs and recited tales, who could speak on behalf of people and spread dissent - hence doing all to reduce their power.  Edward I, for example, had over 500 Welsh bards killed, when they refused to sign praise-songs to him on their harps.   Others across the old Celtic lands of Europe followed his lead, if not his scale.

Most simply froze them out.  Not giving them a platform to sing at their hearth.  Give or take those who could be trusted to toe the line.  The rest wandered about as minstrels, denounced from throne and pulpit alike, and the foolish congregations by and large turned against them.

Skip forward a century or so, and the drip-drip of reduction in stature has allowed courts to keep 'jesters', who tell 'jokes' that are simply ridiculous instead of pointing ridicule at their sire.  Thus the Fool became silly, idiotic, without the power to sting.  Sort of.  The harp of my country survived - how about yours?

And this, I think, is the final point about the Fool.  He exists everywhere because he is legion.  He's included in the tarot, because he - or the idea of him - is still a threat.  All who tell and hear stories are the Fools, and that power could never be reduced.  All hail the story-tellers.  Bards and Fools all.

The True Fools of Death Note

They were there at the beginning.   They remain irretrievably linked at the end.  We feel their influence in every nuance of the story, and reference them whenever any other version is told.  They were there every step of the way, yet never once appear in it at all.

Of course, the Fools we talk of here are the story-tellers:  Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata; and those who heard their tale:  you, me and the whole Death Note fandom.  We fell for it big-time and wouldn't let them fail.  Within the confines of this story, we judged them Gods of this manga universe; instigators and arbitrators of canon. In our minds and imaginations at least, their Death Note domain became real; its creators had (re)written reality.
Death Note Tarot Tsugumi Ohba The Fool

Ohba

Death Note Tarot 0 - The Fool Takeshi Obata

Obata

Death Note Fans - The Fool Tarot

Us

Yet even the author and artist of Death Note, widely acclaimed and heralded as the best in their genre, could fail in the final judgement.  Even there, the fandom retained the potential to walk away as bored Fools lured into watching the spectacle elsewhere.

For evidence, just see the widespread rejection of the belated canon-directed colouring for Matt.  He's got brown eyes and brown hair, Death Note fans were informed, a decade after the fanon colouring had been fixed.  You're wrong, a few louder Fools yelled back at the Mangaka Gods.  But most simply said nothing at all.  Just pretended they hadn't heard a thing, and continued to colour Matt with blue/green eyes and bright red hair.  The shift denoted nothing and faded into nothingness. 

But on balance, the reality Ohba-sensei and Obata-sensei wrought remained.  It was enough to win them The World.

Posted as part of

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Beginning.

Death Note
Tarot Tales

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Midst.

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Death Note Month of Light Yagami
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Finis.

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Thank you to Everyone Who Made the Month of Light Yagami so Epic

3/3/2016

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Orangepunch does the honours here at close of play, in this Month of our Lord Kira
Death Note Month of Light Yagami
Wow.

That was freaking amazing. Thank you all so much for making the Month of Light unforgettable.

We had hoped this Death Note News Month of... feature would be received well, and hoped even more that the Death Note, and Light Yagami, communities would contribute...

I have to admit, I never expected anything quite this huge. The event absolutely exploded, and we wanted to take the time to thank everyone who contributed something to the Kira Month.

All Due Thanks to All Involved with the Awaited Kira Voice Actor Interviews

As a part of our Month of Light Yagami, three of his anime voice actors agreed to answer questions from fans. Our thanks are duly owed to Brad Swaile, Sergio Zamora, and Kim Hasper for agreeing to the interviews.

Also to Nia for designing the banner used to announce their participation.

The questions so many of you submitted have been collated. Our undying thanks are owed to Jojo, who translated questions and content into German, and to Lua, Silvia and Madelyn, who translated questions into Spanish for Sergio.

The voice actors have been passed (or are in the progress of receiving) the questions you submitted, and we will post the interviews when we receive their responses.  This may take a short amount of time, as there were quite a few of them - well over 100 for each of the three - and two sets have to be twice translated by our saintly volunteers.

Thanks Owed to Those Who Contributed This Month

Our applause and acclaim are directed to:

Cayanna Carma, who prepared a cosplay just to help launch the event, and then later submitted advice on cosplaying Light.

All who joined (previously or during this Month of Kira) the Light Yagami Death Note News Pinterest Community, and who continue to pin all manner of related finds to our board.

Nathaniel Brown, who had his Light Yagami Month musing in - as part of his regular Philosophical Overthinking Death Note column - before anything else had been written by anyone.  The first bit of content, in a hitherto hectic community Kira event, ready weeks in advance of being needful.

Tate Forkel, who contributed a striking Kira illustration - an artist's love letter to the anime. Tate gave the site owner, Matti, the confidence to keep working to get the word out about the event. He was the first reader to submit content for i (though he didn't know that at the time!) something we're additionally thankful for.

The Squad Six Cosplayers, who sent updates on their activities at conventions and gave Kira cosplaying advice.  Then, behind the scenes, their founder and leader Lara has been an absolute rock in support, getting the word out and sourcing random content.
Picture
Amaryllis, who submitted a guest post on Light's name and was always on hand to translate various bits of Japanese writing (along with Ethereality, Renchan and Chiroptera).

Maru-Light, who penned a Focus on a Fan feature piece, and also participated in the event with gusto over three separate contributions:  a piece on cosplaying Light; a guest post on the Death Note fan-fiction Redeemer Series; and finally a unique guest post on making Death Note dolls.  Plus she said that we could raid her gallery of Light Yagami cosplay photography, whenever we needed to illustrate a page.  Seems rude not to.  (See below.)

Renchan, who not only wrote a guest post on why Light was called Kira, but also quietly covered many of the actual Death Note news updates for a period in the middle there.

Lua, whose contemplations led to a guest post on the philosophies behind the deification of Light (as a break from writing her Philosophy dissertation); whose research found the Russian Light Yagami voice actor, the identity of whom had eluded three EHC members; and who still found time to step up to the plate as a translator for Sergio Zamora, and a bit for Kim Hasper's profile, and random Spanish, Portuguese, German, French...

Lucas King, a composer and musician who interpreted and played Light's theme on Piano, and sent in a video so we might listen and enjoy.

Light Yagami, who submitted a guest post on cosplaying Light Yagami.  You are Kira, aren't you?

Riconius, who read all so far, became enthused, stayed up all night musing, recording and otherwise creating a guest vlog and submitted it next day.
Maru-Light Steampunk Light Yagami cosplay

Death Note Steampunk: Light
cosplay featuring Maru-Light
Jennifer Fu, for opening up the archives of her academic Death Note website and giving us carte blanche to reproduce relevant excerpts, then liaising with each essay's author on our behalf.

Andrew Capuano, via Jennifer Fu, for placing Kira's ethics in a Kantian context, then giving us an excerpt to publish here.

Lhinnor Kuro, who contributed tips on cosplaying Light.

LaymanIX, for his comic genius in sending Light Yagami in to play SuperMario and Silent Hill.

Nell Fallcard, not only for letting us feature her quite famous Light fan-art, but also being the first to complete the artist questionnaire - effectively beta-ing it for us on behalf of all once and future Death Note fan-artists.

Richard Mak, for being a mathematician and illuminating us regarding the Kira actors' shared birthday problem.

Leila Lawliet M, who voiced her opinion concerning Onision's theorising vis-a-vis the fatal mistake of Light Yagami.

Lei K, who not only allowed us to republish her popular Kira fan-art, but also answered questions on drawing Light in the medium of graphic pencil.

Fausto the Endless, who opened up all her galleries of intricate Kira cosplay and permitted us to plunder as we will.  I think we nearly got it all.

ProcerdeCrepusulum, shared his Light Yagami fan-art.

PresaBranca, who gave his Yagami Raito fan-art.
(Matti ninjas in to thank) Orangepunch, for exploring the astrological cosmos; writing all other thank you notices; getting us caught up with the Miyano Mamoru news; translating much Spanish for Sergio's profile page; helping create the Kira gift store; general admin., coding, contacting, researching and proof-reading; putting up with becoming a Month of Kira widow while I'm editing it, plus - most importantly of all - bringing copious refills in cups of tea; and finally, for compiling the world's most difficult Light Yagami crossword puzzle for Death Note News.  In the words of Leila Lawliet M, that was brutal!  (Matti ninjas out again.)

Serria, via Jennifer Fu, who let us include an excerpt from her Psychology essay discussing why Light Yagami is not a sociopath.

blAIRbender, who finally handed in her cosplay advice and gave us a good laugh (we happily trolled right back).

Samuel Ruiz, for voice acting Light Yagami in an audio version of Matti's drabble, and making her day in the process.

Tarot Mikami, for knowing when and how to play the Joker in this overview of Light's great story.

Finally - Thank You to Matti for Making This All Possible

There is one more thanks owed here. Matti, the creator of Death Note News, who made the Month of Light possible.

A few years ago, Matti started this blog for teh lulz. And then it grew into something more.

Regular readers had started appearing; a few here, a few there. Then more.

Matti, the adorable person that she is, freaked out a bit over it. Her sense of Celtic hospitality kicked in... if readers were going to be visiting a place of hers, then it had better be nice! Matti wanted to create a site that was a visual equivalent to being offered a nice cup of tea offered as soon as you entered her domain. A proper welcome.

Over the past year she has put in countless hours of work into creating a site she deemed presentable to her readers. She mithered over shades of red, and font and spacing, and cried that she was a writer not an artist. And then put more work into the site.  

As 2015 came to a close, after months of grappling with design and countless hours devoted to tatting with code to make the site as accessible and accommodating as possible, Death Note News readership had grown higher than ever.

The staff at Death Note News had also grown. From one blogger amusing herself whenever the whim took, to a whole suite of regular columnists.

Now backed by a team of brilliant writers, the new Death Note News site was ready, all shiny and nice.
Death Note News Matti (Editor)

Matti like Tsugumi Ohba
Artwork by AquaCola
All that remained was to properly invite the Death Note community to join in. Thus the idea for a community feature was born: Death Note Month of... The Month of Light Yagami was introduced on Death Note News by Matti in the hopes that readers here would contribute some things throughout the month. She waited, anxiously, to see how the idea might be received. She really, really wanted this to be a thing.

Then it happened, artist Tate Forkel appeared from the wild, and from thereon, there was no stopping the rest of you.

Thank you Matti, for bringing us together with such a fun event.


                So.

Are you all getting ready?

Death Note Month of Touta Matsuda
Contribute Touta Matsuda Content
2 Comments

On This Day in Death Note: March 2nd

2/3/2016

1 Comment

 
March 2nd 1977: Light Yagami Cantonese Voice Actor Wai Tak Leung born
1 Comment
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