It may be the tenth anniversary of its initial publication, yet manga editions of Death Note sales remain evergreen in the US, Canada and Mexico. In fact, this far down the line, Death Note manga volumes are still one of the Top 10 best-selling titles within the c0ntinent for the genre. It pretty much seems lodged there; camped in all perpetuity. That's according to ICv2 - the North American pop culture news magazine for retailers - reporting in the April 4th 2016 issue of Publishers Weekly. While Death Note may lack the current mega-sales of latest releases like Attack on Titan, Tokyo Ghoul and One-Punch Man, that's because they are new and trending fashionably. But that's more than made up for by the steady drip-drip of continued Death Note manga editions purchased throughout the last decade. It even survived well during the overall manga slump in North America, which saw the trade in Japanese titles fall from a high of $210m in 2007 to a mere $65m by 2012. The market had bounced back up to $75m by 2014 - mostly on the back of Tokyo Ghoul and One-Punch Man - with early figures suggesting that North American manga sales rose by another 13% again during 2015. Yet even during the down days in manga consumerism, interest in Death Note there never really wavered. ICv2 stated that it, along with Dragon Ball, went on 'selling well'. So why should Death Note stand out so much amid all the rest? ICv2 CEO Milton Griepp has an answer for that too. "I think it all comes down to quality," He said, comparing Ohba and Obata's epic manga with iconic graphic novels of the West, like Alan Moore's Watchman or Batman: The Killing Joke. "Death Note is a good series." And sometimes it really is as simple as that. From Kira to Genking, take a good look at the two images above. Can you see a direct causal link between the styles exhibited by God of the New World Light Yagami there on the left and that of Genking, the fashionista gentleman in the right-hand picture?
The Hindustan Times can. Moreover, it's citing the like of Light Yagami as the reason why current fashions for men in India are becoming ever more 'girly', or at least 'genderless'. In an article entitled This Japanese guy and more are adopting women’s style because why not? (March 14th 2016), it was pointed out that determinedly unisex clothing is not a new thing in Asia. Items like the ubiquitous sarong can adorn the hips of anyone without eliciting passing comment in regard to the wearer's chromosomes and anatomy. Meanwhile ladies have been happily blurring the previous gender fashion divide for ages, as trousers become reasonable and respectable female attire. Once such outfits were the sole preserve of men. So why shouldn't the shift in style go the other way too? To the Hindustan Times writer, Japanese cultural influence has helped oil the path towards increasingly androgynous wardrobe options for Indian men. It's all come on the back of the onset of anime, which has only recently exploded as a popular entertainment genre across the nation. Of them all, Death Note is the biggest, leading the way with the vision of Light Yagami one of the more readily recognizable Japanese anime characters. His is the new stylish look and male fans throughout India are turning to cosmetics to ape that wide-eyed, 'feminized' look with the tussled hair. Add into the mix the aspect of KPop idols, whose music has leap-frogged into the same arena from the rearguard of Japanese manga and anime. No-one questions the masculinity of Korean men singing pop anthems with boyishly styled physiques and hair and make-up perfectly fixed. A fact not missed by those viewing them openly, perhaps for the first time, as something new within Indian mainstream culture. So is 'feminine' the new 'masculine' amidst the Indian fashion conscious? And is Kira really to be credited with its cosmetic start? That's where the Hindustan Times writer doesn't really make the case, continuing instead into the example of Genking - Instagram self-made star and model, now opening at the Tokyo Girls Collection catwalk - whose name on the birth certificate is Genki Tanaka. With his flowing bleached blond locks and carefully articulated make-up, he appears more traditionally female than, well, probably half of the women reading on right now. Yet Genking is known primarily for his fierce advocacy of 'genderless' fashions. Wearing what pleases you, not what the label - seen or unseen - dictates is appropriate for each sex to don. It's all very interesting, though the issues raised seem more akin to LGBT and transgender debates than touching anywhere near Death Note and Light Yagami. Genking certainly didn't mention Kira as a guiding force in his decision to 'stop pretending' at the age of twenty. Light Yagami didn't grow those lovely, flowing locks. In fact, maybe I misread it, but the two hardly seem linked at all. Thoughts? Prepare to rifle through the zany gallery of Ziferonan, a Russian Touta Matsuda fan with an all-rounder's talent in expression for his Death Note idol. He said we could take what we wanted. So we did. Matsuda on a Rainbow Jedi-Matsuda Dark City
Puppet - Death Note Matsuda Fan-Fiction by Ziferonan
A Kira-ish Matsuda Cosplay by Ziferonan And if all of that wasn't enough, then Ziferonan also cosplays Touta Matsuda from Death Note. Albeit apparently accidentally. He was aiming for Mikami at the time. Kira-ish Matsuda with a Note Originally published on DeviantART Reproduced with permission from Ziferonan What do you reckon? The scariest Matsuda ever envisaged? Or much scope for thoughtful contemplation about what the Death Note world would have looked like, if it HAD been Touta Matsuda who picked up a shinigami's notebook? Way more fan-fiction in the plot bunny right there! ~ Thank you for the pick of your gallery, Ziferonan. Didn't use nearly all that we would have liked to!
Moreover, Chapman contextualises Kira within the wider auspices of justice. Making me happy, he also alights upon issues of human rights, which Light Yagami certainly never goes near. Though he never elaborates upon the point, the columnist does demonstrate quite clearly how easily society will accept the wicked and insane, if the justification is presented gradually and enticingly enough. In this regard using Kira apologists amongst the Death Note fandom as an example, rather than, say, Donald Trump's supporters. Seen from a long view, their pro-Kira arguments are denigrated as 'commonly insane'. Can't argue there! Everyman Matsuda - The Reader's Representative Within the Death Note Plot?
His ultimate dismissal of Light Yagami as God - or Kira as a force of justice and good - pretty much serves as the Japanese populace turning its collective back upon such grandiose pretensions of divinity. Or as Chapman puts it: Matsuda's emotional breakdown is one of the best parts of the show's finale because it just feels so right. Over time, without anyone noticing, Matsuda came to represent the everykid: all those normal Japanese millennials just trying to live their lives, maybe secretly posting defenses of Kira online, maybe just keeping their conflicted feelings to themselves, but open enough to the incredible change Kira had caused to feel like maybe condemning him wasn't fair. Of course there's something attractive about the idea of people who hurt others getting universally punished to create a more peaceful humanity. But it's just an idea, and when Matsuda is confronted with the reality of Kira—an egomaniacal brat who even killed his own dad to further his self-righteous empire—he feels more betrayed than anyone else. And though Chapman doesn't go so far as to say it, doesn't that make Matsuda our representative in the Death Note universe too? The Everyman serves as spokesperson for the readership, as we get seduced by the rhetoric of Light Yagami and symbolizes our own slap in the face by reality, as Kira's descent into insanity becomes way too obvious to support. Then we too, like Matsuda, get to retrace our own allegiances back through each worsening compromise to that first loosening of all common sense and good morals. Instead, Chapman sees in Matsuda a proxy for Tsugumi Ohba's own secret views on the matter, which itself makes fascinating reading and compelling food for thought. It's definitely worth the time to check it out.
Affording an intriguing glimpse into the persona of Ryūzaki (Sousuke Ikematsu), two more picture stills have been made public from the filming of Japanese live-action movie Death Note 2016. We already knew that Sousuke Ikematsu's character Ryūzaki was created genetically from the DNA left behind by L for this purpose during his own lifetime. (The scientists here are straining at the bit to discuss that titbit in due course!) Today's information adds just that Ryūzaki was raised at Wammy's House.
It seems the regime there went a step further even than the scenario warned by Beyond Birthday (and Mello) in Another Note. The notion of a 'back-up' not so much a brainwashed boy, as an actual clone. So did they keep DNA of them all? Will the next baby squalling from a test-tube be Mello or Matt? This is getting to be a bit of a habit! But we have made the executive decision to start our next month's focus slightly later than advertised.
Unavoidable personal issues here meant that there was a bit of a bottleneck in posting Month of Matsuda articles and other submissions. While we had a spurge yesterday, there are still some left over. Hence a couple of days grace will benefit us all. Plus it wouldn't be fair to not include reader contributions, just because Matti disappeared off in an ambulance and couldn't publish their stuff! Month of Watari will therefore begin on Monday April 4th 2016, and hopefully we can keep on track thereon. Filipino cosplayer Deacon, aka DorkyDea, portrays the perfect Matsuda. Proving once more that it's not so much the costume, but the stance, expression and becoming your character, which make the most successful cosplay. Deacon is part of a collection of cosplaying friends as The Tuxedo Team, who are based in the Philippines. By all accounts, he even aped Matsuda's personality there at the Death Note photoshoot, brimming with energy and enthusiasm; keeping everyone in laughter with his joking antics. Deacon has been inactive for a good while as a cosplayer - Death Note or otherwise - and has made all of his social networking private. We had to get permission from his friend Jin - aka BeyondInfinity - to republish the above. Nevertheless, you can still view his DorkyDea profile on DeviantART, as well as reading BeyondInfinity's account of the Death Note cosplay shoot by the extended Tuxedo Team. Even the group's 'reject' Death Note Matsuda cosplay photographs are amazing! Photographed by Sandra Dans and colour edited by BeyondInfinity, this picture of Deacon's great Matsuda cosplay was scrapped for having a blurry hand. Together with fellow Tuxedo Team cosplayer China as Misa-Misa ~ this photograph of Deacon's Death Note Matsuda cosplay was scrapped for being 'too busy'. Perfectionists all! The whole lot of them!
Personality Traits Associated with Blood Type B for Touta Matsuda in Death Note
Anything there sound like the blood type personality of Matsuda in Death Note? The Convention of Blood Type B in Anime Genki Characters like Matsuda However, it may behove us not to seek too deeply through that list of Blood Group B personality traits for Tsugumi Ohba's inner thoughts about Matsuda. It may be enough to know that Touta Matsuda was intended to be a genki character in the Death Note manga and anime. There is a tradition within the genre that a) there is at least one genki persona and b) that individual is categorized blood type B. Genki is a Japanese word which simply means 'energetic' or 'enthusiastic'. These anime trope personalities are often (to the point of usually) female, hence the label 'genki girl' being quite prevalent amongst fans. We're looking at the kind of person who squees and bounces through scenes with an over-abundance of cheerfulness, enthusiasm and energy, that should tag them as blood type amphetamine and e numbers, rather than a mere B. They run where they could walk; they wave their arms wildly around when they speak; they gabble incessantly, with a gushing regard for the subject of their speech. Their confidence is unparalleled and their determination absolute. They're often the comic relief in any given story, inserted when the narrative is in danger of becoming way too dark. For most given points in the Death Note story, we should be looking at Misa Amane as the archetypal manga/anime genki here. But maybe Tsugumi Ohba is unconventional too. As she was assigned blood type AB instead. Is Matsuda for you the Death Note genki personality? And if so, is that why he was given blood type B in his characterisation?
However, we might all be jumping the gun here somewhat. After all, Viz Media has a rather large anime, manga and gaming portfolio, which includes many more big names than merely Death Note aside. There's Bleach for a start, and One-Punch Man, Naruto, Tokyo Ghoul, Pokemon... in fact, you name it and Viz probably has the US rights to hand. Ready to turn it into a live-action project with new business pals UTA. Meanwhile, each company's respective executives are coming up with broad sweeping soundbites, which look good in print but tell us nothing of real import at all. Like if there will be a Death Note US TV show? We are excited to start this partnership to push the boundaries of storytelling, innovation and character through VIZ Media's prolific portfolio. The UTA partnership represents an important new direction for VIZ Media and our colleagues in Japan. Bringing the rich stories of manga and anime to life in new ways is an exciting opportunity with tremendous potential. UTA is an innovator that shares our vision, and their proven track record and strong relationships throughout the domestic and international entertainment sectors will be important factors as we move forward. But what, if anything, are you doing to Death Note?!
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