News about Death Note

Viz Makes Takeshi Obata's Hikaru no Go Anime English Dub Free to View Online

30/9/2015

Hikarau no Go

Takeshi Obata had only just finished working on Hikaru no Go, when he received the call to say he'd been hired as Death Note's artist. Working with author Yumi Hotta, the manga ran to 23 volumes and inevitably spawned an anime adaptation. Including a version dubbed into English.

Now Viz Media has made its Hikaru no Go English dub anime available on-line, as free viewing on its own Neon Alley, plus Hulu. Previously it could only be legally seen on DVD.

Hikaru no Go tells the story of a Japanese six grader, who finds an old, bloodstained Go board and is possessed by the ghost of an ancient game-master. The phantom Fujiwara-no-Sai cannot rest until he's played the Divine Move.

Much top class competitive playing commences against players who have devoted their entire existence to being the best Go strategist around. Can a mere High School boy beat them all?

Light Cast in US Death Note Live Action Movie; Filming Begins Spring 2016

29/9/2015

Nat Wolff

"Nat Wolff TIFF 2012" by Tabercil
Uploaded by MyCanon - Nat Wolff.
Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Commons

Wow! You daren't take your eyes off the latest Death Note news for an instant today. It's all go! Major stories cropping up everywhere!

Right now, it's the turn of the Adam Wingard directed US Death Note movie. Showbiz magazine Variety has just (September 29th 2015) run a story claiming the the long awaited Hollywood adaptation of Death Note is close to casting its Kira.

Californian singer/actor Nat Wolff will play Light Yagami in the USA - as long as 'final negotiations' with the film-makers continue just as planned.

This is going to get confusing fast, as it seems the Death Note US film is due out in 2016. At least production is purportedly starting Stateside during next Spring.

That's in addition to Death Note 2016, which is the Japanese Warner Bros./Nippon TV movie, directed by Shinuke Sato. As the working title suggests, we're expecting that to hit cinemas (or theaters, if you prefer) sometime in 2016.

Yep, you wait years for a Death Note live action film and two turn up at once.

How Would You Like to be an Extra in Death Note 2016? Recruitment Begins!

29/9/2015

Mello and Matt Death Note 2016 extras

Extras for Death Note 2016 are currently being signed up by NTV and Warner Japan. Fancy giving it a go?

The live action movie only has a tentative working title at the moment. It will be the latest in the Japanese saga; a sequel to the previous films: Death Note (2006), Death Note: The Last Name (2006) and L: Change the World (2008).

Though the main cast has been assembled, their names remain strictly confidential.

However, we can now reveal precisely where filming will take place - mostly Kobe with some scenes shot in the middle of Tokyo, plus suburbs - and when - from early November 2015 through to the end of December.

Death Note 2016 extras may also expect:

provision for a friend or other travel companion;
food and drink supplied;
photography (still or video) strictly prohibited;
sharing details in blogs or any other medium also strictly prohibited;
'strictly prohibited' means legal action taken and your backside dragged to court;
no stealing props or costumes;
applications accepted based on age, gender etc appropriate for each scene;
right to refuse an application retained with regard to the above;
shooting dates may be altered at the last minute due to weather conditions etc;
contacting the companies involved regarding your application is a no-no;
personal information provided in the form will not be shared with third parties.

These are all details given on the Death Note 2016 extra registration form.

For prosperity's sake, accept my screenshots of that form, as linked from the film's official website, captured on September 29th 2015.

So, are you signing up to be a Death Note 2016 extra?

Standard and Omega Death Note Blu-Ray Box Sets Delayed for Three Months

29/9/2015

Death Note: The Omega Edition

Fans hoping to find an exciting new limited edition Blu-Ray Death Note box set in their Christmas stocking this year are about to be disappointed. Death Note: The Omega Edition was due for release on December 1st 2015. It's now been put back until March 1st 2016 with no explanation as to why.

Details of this rather expansive Death Note Blu-Ray collection were recounted a couple of weeks ago. However, we managed to completely overlook the fact that a second Death Note box set in Blu-Ray format was also coming out the same day.

Death Note Blu-Ray Anime Collection

Blu-Ray Death Note: The Complete Series box set cover art

Death Note: The Complete Series collects all of the Death Note anime in Blu-Ray format for the first time.

This is without the bells and whistles accompanying the limited edition Omega Edition.

It's merely all thirty-seven episodes awaiting an almighty binge watch.

Fans can hear the dialogue dubbed in English, Spanish, French or Portuguese, or hear it in the original Japanese, with all four of those alternative languages provided with subtitles.

As with Death Note: Omega box set, those looking for Blu-Ray Christmas gifts for Death Note fans are being thwarted here too. The Complete Series has also seen its release date postponed until March 1st 2016.

Though Welsh Death Note fans could always exchange Blu-Ray gifts for St David's Day, if that ever became a thing.

In the meantime, there are more Blu-Ray Death Note Christmas gift ideas over in our store, though they tend to towards the live-action movies rather than anime.

Dead Kira in Death Parade? Reference, In-Joke or Mere Coincidental Look-Alike?

27/9/2015

Death Parade Anime

There's a poignant, sick scene in the anime Death Parade, which might include an extra-curricular glimpse of Light Yagami.

Fandom noted and not confirmed by the show's creators. But with enough there to make us all wonder if it could actually be a thing.

Death Parade takes place in a strange outpost of the Afterlife.

Individuals dying at the exact same time may find themselves in bars, where they are forced to participate in games to determine their everlasting Fate. Arbiters doubling as bartenders judge the outcome.

In episode 11, Memento Mori, a character named Mayu is given the option of condemning a complete stranger to eternity in the Void. If she complies, then she may retrieve her lover Harada's soul, that he might regain it and they can continue on together.

But look at the stranger...

Kira lookalike Death Parade stranger

Mr Yagami, is that you?!

That Mayu does in fact send this Kira lookalike Death Parade stranger into the Void is actually consistent with the canon Death Note storyline.

According to Ryuk - and indeed Death Note Rule 2.3 - no-one owning and using a Shinigami's notebook may continue on to Heaven or Hell upon their own demise. Instead the like of Light Yagami will end up in Mu (Nothingness).

Which sounds very much akin to Death Parade's Void, or even the bars themselves. Those hospitalities end up acting like reception rooms for those about to be lost to that infinite nothingness. It's a rare soul who manages to escape that eventuality, no matter how many games they play.

Not even Mayu and Harada really get away.

Official Reference Kira in Death Parade?

Could a post-Death Note Kira be sitting in a bar, as a final addendum to his own story? Not such an unlikely proposition as you might think, when you factor in that Death Parade is produced by Madhouse.

Madhouse was also behind the production of Death Note as an anime, adapted from the manga.

It's a company for which Nippon TV owns a 95% share. NTV recently utilized its own rights to the story and characters. It was behind the live-action Death Note (2015) television drama.

Actor In-Joke for Death Parade's Kira?

Light Yagami voice actor Mamoru Miyano

Kira voice actor
Mamoru Miyano

Hold on, it gets weirder - or more inclined towards an in-joke, if that really is canon Kira in the Afterlife.

Look again more closely at what is being said at the time that the lookalike Light Yagami is shown in Death Parade. Harada may only live if Kira dies. So who do we (or, to be fair, Mayu) choose to survive this storyline?

It may illuminate or amuse you to note that Light and Harada are both voiced, in their respective anime, by Mamoru Miyano.

The voice actor would struggle to bring Harada audibly to life, if recording lines for Kira was a current pre-occupation of his career. One would imagine that he'd be pushed for time, taking on such a main role.

So yeah, Harada's unmuted anime soul really was quite dependent upon Light being lost to the Void.

Or a random stranger, whomever he might be.

L/Light's Heirs - Plot-line Details Leaked for 2016 Death Note Live Action Movie

26/9/2015

Death Note 2016 Trailer screenshot

The key points revealed about Japan's Death Note 2016 film are as follows:

It's not Light Yagami and L per se who are returning for the fourth movie in this saga. It's their 'heirs' or 'successors'.
DNA plays a part in passing on this inheritance. Whether that's metaphorical or actual, we don't yet know. Just that certain traits and characteristics of Death Note's main protagonist and antagonist are handed down to a new generation.
Nor do we yet know whether it's L's successor or Light's in possession of said Death Note this time around.

Beyond that, it's simply all confirmation that the project has been green-lit; Shinsuke Sato is directing it; and the 2016 Death Note movie will indeed be released in 2016.

But is this real information or merely rumour grown wild?

On the Trail of Truth and Conjecture in Death Note 2016 Storyline Leaks

Death Note 2016 Film

I've been watching news, regarding the newly announced Death Note live-action film, spread out across the globe. This has been replete with much speculation about the plot.

Nevertheless, I thought that all we genuinely had to go on was what we learned from the trailer after TV's live-action Death Note adaptation. All else had to be Chinese whispers with each journalist and blogger building upon the rest, mistaking conjecture for fact and finding more in that trailer than had actually been there.

I was wrong.

Following a trail back from sites like iSchoolGuide, through the massively influential GameZone and Tokyo Otaku Mode, I eventually tracked an apparently pure strand of extra information back to Japanese website AnimeAnime. The Otaku Mode article is pretty much an English language translation of the latter.

Therein, under the unprepossessing title Production Announced on Death Note 2016 Movie (September 16th, 2015), the narrative seemed to separate information from the trailer and that gleaned from official sources elsewhere. But no source.

AnimeAnime linked back to the Warner Bros. website for Death Note 2016 (still very much a working title by the way).

I've scoured the site and cannot find much more besides the trailer that we've already seen, plus a rather nifty second index holding screen.

Official website Death Note 2016 holding screen

In short, it might all still be Chinese whispers, but they seemed quite adamant on the point over at AnimeAnime!

Focus on a Fan: MihaelJKeehl, Erstwhile Death Note Vlogger, ex-MangaBullet

25/9/2015

As part of this blog, I promised to highlight those Death Note fans who scattered when MangaBullet went down.
Welcome to our monthly(ish) Focus on a Fan feature!

The rest of this post is in the very capable hands of Mr MihaelJKeehl!

Well...hmmm. Where to start.

Hey everyone... this is MihaelJKeehl. Long time no see. I guess MRSJeevas wasn't too thrilled with me being gone and insisted I check in. Whelp... hmm

The last I spoke to most of you was after Orangepunch did my interview on Guns and Games.

Sure do miss that site.

At the time I was working as a pizza delivery guy and going to school for welding. Seems like just yesterday but damn... it was a while ago.

Well let's recap from there.

I had lost touch with pretty much everyone except MelMat. That's right NicotineUke and I had parted ways and I lost touch with the rest of my MLife Family. Mostly because of my own inability to contact them.

I got lazy... I dunno...

I completed my studies as a welder and was hired by the school I graduated from as a Welding Shop Technician.

MihaelJKeehl

MihaelJKeehl and mascot

I had the opportunity to teach the students and repair machines, while working on special projects.

I was commissioned to build the school's mascot after the old one suddenly fell apart after a storm.

That's the nearly 10 foot tall Oakey Doke and his 15 foot tall lance. He took me about 6 months in between doing other work around the shop. Yeah that is me standing by him.

He is my pride and joy.

When most of you knew me I lived in California and, minus the 3 weeks MelMat and I lived in Connecticut, I have pretty much always been there.

After working for my college and other shops around the area, my older brother moved to Texas. He was also a welder, so he instantly got involved with the welding community.

After a couple weeks he finds out that the local Technical College was in need of welding teachers. By this point I was already a certified welder, inspector, graduate of the American Welding Society's leadership symposium, assistant instructor and professional fabricator. I applied for the job and to my surprise I got it.

On January 1st 2015, I moved to Texas and began my career as a welding educator. Pretty sweet considering just 3 years ago I had no damn clue what I was going to do with my life.

I love my job and everything about living in the Great State of Texas.

MihaelJKeehl Welding

Some other things...

Yes, my YouTube Channel went out the window. One of my subscribers filed a complaint about me using a word they deemed inappropriate. YouTube shut me down. I just let it go at that point.

I guess you could say I still write fanfiction, but I hardly have the time to anymore. I still have my account on fanfiction.net and AO3 Zachary Finnius Oleary. I try to write, but I feel I can't compare to the greats so it discourages me and I give up a lot.

I did however get a sweet tattoo:

MihaelJKeehl anime character tattoos

Basically I had this idea that I wanted all of my favorite anime to be coming out of a pokeball. Pokemon being the anime that started it all for me.

So we have: Alakazam (Pokemon), Death the Kid and an OC I created for a story (Soul Eater), Sailor Neptune and Uranus (Sailor Moon) Matt and Mello of course, Levi and Erwin (Attack on Titan), Washu and Ryoko (Tenchi Muyo) and Duo Maxwell and Death Scythe Hell (Gundam Wing).

These anime all mean something deep down in my heart, so I had to give them a spot on my arm.

My recent inception into Attack on Titan has filled the void left by the nearly dead MxM fandom. Levi and Erwin take a very VERY close second place in my YAOI desires. Matt and Mello will always be my main squeeze.

Let's see... anything else? Aside from practically being married to my work I live alone. I have actually been single ever since June of 2013 when NicotineUke and I split paths. It's been bitter-sweet. I have no one to distract me from work, but also no one to snuggle with at the end of the day. :(.

I will say that I am incredibly excited about the news regarding Nintendo releasing the new POKEMON GO app coming out next year. If you haven't heard about it YouTube it like right now!

All in all I have been pretty happy. My students keep me incredibly busy and my life goes at a million miles a minute.

Thanks, MRSJeevas for thinking about me and suggesting I do this. I don't think I am going to be super active on the forum, but I will do my best.

If you want to reach me just shoot me an email - ckmo2010@gmail.com, or Skype - mihaeljkeehl. I also have Snapchat, which is mihaeljkeehl as well. Lastly you can kik me at zfinn2014.

Thanks for reading and keep living the MLife. I know I do.

You're very welcome, my love. Thank you for bringing us up to date with your life. So when are you going to weld a 10 foot Mello?

If you'd like to feature in Focus on a Fan, then please let me know via the contact form on this site. It would be great to know where we can find the old gang!

Platinum End - New Angelic Collaboration Between Death Note's Ohba and Obata!

24/9/2015

Platinum End Announcement in Weekly Shonen Jump

Platinum End manga announcement
in Weekly Shonen Jump No 44

This should be of interest to Death Note fans - Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata are teaming up again, and the bare hint from the tag-line implies the plot will be right up our alley.

PLATINUM END
This is the story of a human and an angel.

Well, we all seemed quite taken last time, when it was a human and a shinigami!

The announcement will appear in the next edition of Weekly Shonen Jump, issue 44, due out on September 28th 2015. It will be followed by a Platinum End première feature the following week, in the October 5th Weekly Shonen Jump No 45.

However, it will be another Shueisha title - Jump Square - wherein the actual serialisation will begin.

Our Death Note creators' brand new manga Platinum End launches on November 4th 2015, dated the Jump SQ December 2015 edition - thus is the way of the world.

Tsugumi Ohba: Angels and Humans

Mello Death Note

Angels featured subtly in Death Note too

I don't know about you, but I'm quite excited about this! Given Ohba's propensity to mess around with angels - vis-a-vis Light's lifting of Lucifer quotations from Paradise Lost and Mello's alignment (made explicit in the recent televised Death Note drama) with the archangel Michael - I feel that the groundwork has already been forged. And that was quite fabulous.

What are your thoughts on the matter? Please do leave your comments below in the usual manner, but I'm also going to insert a poll about this. Mostly because I've only just noticed I've got a pre-coded poll module that I can insert, and I want to find out what it does.

Death Note GEM Flagship as NTV/Sony Launch New Asian Television Channel

24/9/2015

Death Note will be the main attraction for GEM - a brand, new television channel launched across Asia on October 1st 2015.

GEM marks a collaboration between Nippon TV (NTV) and Sony Pictures Television (SPT), each of which are bringing their biggest shows to air to Asian audiences.

NTV chose its television Death Note drama, recently broadcast in Japan and streamed on-line around the world, to act as its flagship for GEM's launch. Also on offer to viewers is another drama entitled Angel Heart; season two of Hanasaki Mai Speaks Out; and a Chinese romance series called Lady & Liar.

A hallmark of the channel will be its emphasis upon Asian content.

At a press conference to announce GEM's opening content, NTV's International Business Development divisional President Yukiko Kimishima told reporters:

Nippon TV already has a proven track record in our country as the first and most watched commercial broadcaster, so we are extremely delighted at the opportunity to launch GEM in partnership with SPT Networks to deliver Nippon TV’s captivating fresh line-up of dramas and variety entertainment shows along with the finest programs from the rest of Asia.

So, do you reckon Asia is going to like Death Note? Wry smile.

Though I suppose there might be the odd one or two who haven't heard of it. Under their rock. And perhaps a handful more who never saw Death Note's 2015 TV dramatisation. They're all in for a treat.

Indonesian Death Note Fans - Would You Like to Read Death Note News in Bahasa?

23/9/2015

Mayagami's Death Note News in Bahasa

Screenshot of Death Note News
Bahasa version

The intrepid Mayagami contacted me recently to ask if it was possible to translate Death Note News into Bahasa.

Well, when I say recently, what I mean was she asked ages ago, but her email got caught up in my blocked contact form system. Hence I only read it recently.

Naturally I gave the nod and Mayagami wasted no time in translating Death Note News for her Indonesian readership.

You can read Mayagami's Bahasa Death Note News here.

Weekly Shonen Jump: Two Part Bakuman Prequel and More Ahead of Live Action Movie

22/9/2015

Weekly Shonen Jump No 43 21st September 2015

Weekly Shonen Jump No 43
September 21st 2015

Only tenuously Death Note related, it's all about Bakuman in their creators' world this week.

While we might consider Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata in terms of OUR manga, they have collaborated much more recently than that on the semi-autobiographical Bakuman.

It's a series which chronicles the rise of an author and writer within the manga industry.

The current edition of Weekly Shonen Jump (September 21st 2015) includes the first in a special two-parter prequel to the main Bakuman chapters.

It tells what happened with main characters Moritaka Mashiro - pen name Saikō - and Akito Takagi - later known as Shūjin - before the pair joined forces to produce a wildly popular manga series. Like, you know, Ohba and Obata did in real life with Death Note.

Spanning 23 chapters, the first part of this Bakuman prequel has boosted the manga magazine to a hefty 315 pages! Featured as an added bonus is a full colour Bakuman centrespread.

The original Bakuman manga ran in Weekly Shonen Jump from 2008-2012. Those chapters were collected into twenty volumes published by Shueisha, which have sold over 15 million copies worldwide. An anime based upon the story was televised over three seasons, aired in Japanese television between 2010-2013.

Viz Media and Media Blasters reproduced English language versions of the manga and anime respectively, primarily for North American audiences.

A live action Bakuman movie is due to be released on October 3rd 2015, hence the two part prequel beginning in Weekly Shonen Jump this week. It acts as a tie-in special event and incidentally helps boost publicity for the film.

Bakuman 1 manga

Bakuman Manga Volume 1
Buy at Amazon US

Bakuman 1 Anime

Bakuman Anime DVD 1
Buy at Amazon US

Fictional Bakuman Manga Becomes Real

In the story, Muto Ashirogi's third manga is entitled PCP -Kanzen Hanzaitō- (trans. PCP - Perfect Crime Party). Now that fictional manga is due for release as a real world novel.

It will bear Ashirogi's name as the first author, though his co-author Sei Hatsuno (HaruChika) probably did much of the work here.

Another blatant tie-in, the novel will hit bookshelves on October 2nd 2015, one day ahead on the Bakuman movie.

New Takeshi Obata Artwork for Bakuman OST

Takeshi Obata artwork for Bakuman CD

Takeshi Obata draws the artwork for Bakuman's soundtrack CD

A new live-action Bakuman film means an original soundtrack to accompany it. For fans of Takeshi Obata's art, this is an unexpected avenue in which to discover some.

Obata has created the artwork for the Bakuman CD soundtrack, including that for a CD single Shin Takarajima (pictured above) lifted from the OST. Due to be released in a limited edition format, the song has been recorded by rock band Sakanaction and features in the movie.

A DVD of the Bakuman OST is also scheduled.

Nippon to Take Death Note to Cannes - Drama Shown at MIPCOM for International TV Reps

21/9/2015

NTV drama Death Note 2015

MIPCOM - the world's entertainment content market - will be held at the Palais de Festival in Cannes this October, and Death Note will be there.

Nippon TV will be showing their live action television drama Death Note to international media industry executives, in the hope that one or more will snap it up.

If successful, then Death Note (2015) may be subtitled or dubbed for native viewers in other countries.

NTV will also be taking Matsuko-Roid - a show wherein a cross-dresser presenter and his android companion explore a future where robots have become mainstream in society - and The Kindergarten - a mix between a game show and reality TV, wherein young children are filmed completing quizzes, reacting to the appearance of monsters and confessing all on-camera.

But mostly the broadcasting corporation is pinning its international syndication hopes upon Death Note.

Confidence is already running high that the show will be picked up in the USA and Europe. A press release from NTV stated that the company were inundated with expressions of interest from television companies worldwide, as soon as their dramatic live action Death Note series was announced in June.

One buyer from Italy seemed especially keen. Hence it may turn up on terrestrial television there sooner rather than later.

MIPCOM runs from October 5th-8th 2015.

Death Note the Musical Available on DVD?

19/9/2015

Death Note News reader Emily Eboudreau has asked us a question:

I would really love to watch Death Note the Musical on DVD. Do you know if one is available?

Or if there are any plans for a Death Note Musical DVD in the future?

Insofar as I know, there are currently no plans to release the musical Death Note on DVD.

HOWEVER, there does appear to be much milking of it by HoriPro, so I wouldn't be surprised if that isn't a thing sooner rather than later. Particularly since two live shows have been recorded and are due to air on Japanese television.

They will be the ones transferred to DVD, in my humble predictive opinion. I will certainly blog about it as soon as I know.

In the meantime, go and hunt on YouTube, as there are plenty of official rehearsal videos from both Japan and Korea, plus English language versions from Frank Wildhorn's New York pre-performance sessions. In addition, there are plenty of amateur videos filmed by folk in the audience.

You will have some joy checking out the posts in my Death Note Musical category, as I sometimes embed good ones there.

And what do you know? I've just found a full-length recording of the Korean Death Note Musical Showcase on YouTube - see it embedded below.

Death Note Musical poster from Japan 2015

Anyone else got an answer for Emily, or something to add to mine? Please do comment with your thoughts/knowledge.

And if any other reader has a question for us all, then just ask! There are plenty of ways to contact me, or simply leave a comment on any blog entry and I'll pick it up from there.

Thank you for this one, Emily!

Meanwhile to check out the Death Note DVDs which currently do exist, our store is a great place to begin.

Viz at Hyderabad Comic Con: Hindi Death Note Paved the Way for More Manga into India

18/9/2015

More manga will be coming to India, Viz Media top exec. Kevin Hamric confirmed during his recent talk at Hyderabad Comic Con.

Anime like Death Note has made it possible, simply by proving to be so popular.

Death Note Misa Cosplayer at Comic Con Hyderabad 2015

Death Note Misa cosplay at Comic Con Hyderabad September 2015
(Courtesy of MKM Communications/Comic Con India)

Japanese manga and anime has struggled to make much headway into the vast Indian market. Despite a growing number of aficionados, like those packing out Hitex Exhibiton, September 12-13, for Comic Con Hyderabad 2015.

Not to mention those thronging into Bangalore Comic Con last April, or the hordes expected to descend upon Mumbai Film & Comics Convention and Comic Con Delhi, both in December 2015.

The fact that so many events are now teeming with Indian fans of anime and manga is only the visual face of how the genre is gathering pace in the country. But it's been slow going.

Two factors have been credited with making such headway as exists.

The first being first day guest speaker at the Hyderabad gathering - Kevin Hamric, Senior Director of Sales and Marketing at Viz Media. He might be merely the human face for a company increasingly making manga available in India, but he's quite a active one.

Returning time and time again to the sub-continent determined to make manga appear approachable to Indian readers.

<br>Viz's Kevin Hamric Hyderabad Comic Con 2015 talk

Viz Media Kevin Hamric as Hyderabad Comic Con guest speaker

His session at Comic Con Hyderabad was described in the schedule as 'get a behind the scenes look in to your favourite anime & manga series', then went on to name-check Death Note, amongst the other usual suspects - Naruto, Bleach and Dragon Ball Z.

These are the fore-runners forging a route into the Indian entertainment industry on behalf of all other Japanese manga to follow.

Hamric himself highlighted the second major factor, in an interview with Hans India newspaper (We are Bringing More of Manga to India: Kevin Hamric, Sept 14th 2015).

“One of the reasons why there are more takers to manga is because, most of the time when these animes were screened on TV, it was dubbed in Hindi and even Telugu. This helped a lot.”

In short, more manga is now being introduced to the country - plus being printed there, as demand grows to justify it - because Hindi dubbed Death Note et al made the genre popular enough. Through the anime laying the groundwork, Hamric was able to build a market for manga too.

Thus does the Death Note fandom grow, and all others too, eventually.

Subbed Hindi: Death Note Opening Theme

L Voice Actor Supermbro Exclusively Casts Light Upon Shelved Death Note Project

17/9/2015

Death Note L letter

Finally, we have news about Death Note's lost audio-visual project, with information graciously shared by one of its major participants.

Testimony straight from the horse's mouth, as it were, which would have been fabulous to pass on last April, when we were all talking about it. No-one can blame Supermbro, L's voice actor in this licensed Death Note fan-based telling. He had his side of things typed up and sent to me exactly when he said he would.

Then it waited, and waited, and waited unseen by me and therefore neither was it relayed to you. My apologies to you and Supermbro too. His email got caught in the almighty mess up described before. Better late than never, eh?

This particular Death Note project was mentioned back in January 2015, when Beyond the Voice Actors listed a casting call for voice actors.

It all seemed very exciting - a fan directed Death Note production, which had been already been given the official nod to proceed. Through the comments on our blog entry discussing it, news filtered through that Light and L's actors had been cast. Others too.

Then nothing. The project had been scrapped, without a word in explanation.

If that seemed sudden to us lot looking on, it was nothing to that experienced by the cast. Many of whom had already recorded their lines, promptly upon receiving the script, and had spent the the intervening weeks expecting to hear that the project had now gone live.

L Voice Actor Supermbro

Screenshot taken from Supermbro's playful DN Outtakes footage

Here's how Supermbro told it at the time:

The whole thing started when I signed up for a website called Casting Call Club. I had been interested in giving a crack at voice acting for a while and saw it as an opportunity to start my career.

I had a discussion with a friend at work, talking about Death Note, which I hadn't thought of since my middle school days. It stirred in my mind for a while and I told him - and myself - that if the role of Light Yagami or L should pop up I would go for it.

The day after making that promise I saw the roles of both L and Light come up.

I noted that it expanded across Behind the Voice Actor and Casting Call Club, so I went for both. A week had gone by since the audition and I get an email stating congrats you've been cast as L. I was excited!

I talked with the person developing the show and she told me that I would be receiving the script, and we need the lines in a week. I felt obliged so I had them done and turned in the day after.

I got a thank you, then the rest of the cast and I waited for an update.

A few days went by; then a few weeks (this being late Feb to March). For a while there was nothing but silence.

On Friday April 17th, we finally received an update, stating the actor voicing Ryuk was not contactable and they would be replacing him. I thought that was odd but these things happen.

I woke up Saturday morning to a sad message on Skype, left to all associated to the project. The production was cancelled due to the creator dropping out of it.

I was saddened to see this, due to me already having most of volume 1 recorded. In all, it was a fun time that had a tragic and early end.
- Supermbro, in correspondence with Death Note News, April 28th 2015

That not all was a complete loss, his voice acting for Death Note's L was uploaded onto YouTube. You may hear his lines below.

I was rather impressed by his audio likeness to Alessandro Juliani, L voice actor for the official English dub of Death Note. What do you think?

This telling seems rather after the fact now, with Supermbro kindly accepting my explanations and apologies for the lateness in response.

He's already moved on to bigger and better things - currently providing character voices for Clan of Daedryth, aired as abridged adaptations on YouTube's Lord Daedryth channel.

But he agreed that I could still pass on his experience in the Death Note project, when, for a time, Supermbro was L.

Though I have to add some of his delightful comments in much more recent conversation with me:

Wow! It has been sometime since I have even thought of this role and it's actually cool to think about again... With L being the first thing I was ever cast for it kinda hurt...

There are moments when I look back and go, man, it would have been awesome.

... Anyway if there is ever anything you need, or have an idea for an L appearance, I'm always open to it!
- Supermbro, in correspondence with Death Note News, September 2015

Anyone need an L? We've got one going spare! And a wonderful one at that.

Thank you very much, Supermbro, and once again sorry it took so long to get your information out!