Death Note 2: The Last Name

Death Note 2: The Last Name
Poster
Directed by	Shūsuke Kaneko
Screenplay by	Tetsuya Oishi
Starring	Tatsuya Fujiwara Kenichi Matsuyama Erika Toda Shunji Fujimura Takeshi Kaga Shigeki Hosokawa
Cinematography	Kenji Takama
Edited by	Yosuke Yafune
Music by	Kenji Kawai
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures Japan
Release date	October 28, 2006 (2006-10-28)
Running time	139 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese
Box office	¥5.20 billion (Japan)

Death Note 2: The Last Name (デスノート the Last name, Desu Nōto the Last name) a 2006 Japanese detective supernatural psychological thriller film directed by Shūsuke Kaneko. The film is the second in a series of live-action Japanese films released in 2006 based on the Death Note manga and anime series by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata. The film primarily centers on a university student named Light Yagami who decides to rid the world of evil with the help of a supernatural notebook that kills anyone whose name is written in it. The film was produced by Nippon Television, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures Japan. It was licensed by VIZ Pictures. A spin-off, L: Change the World, was released in 2008. A sequel, Death Note: Light Up the New World, is scheduled for release in 2016.

Plot

Misa receives a second Death Note from Rem, another Shinigami. As Light joins the task force after Shiori's funeral, Misa becomes the second Kira and forces a TV station into broadcasting her tapes. Through her TV screen Misa, using her Shinigami eyes, kills a critic of the original Kira, as well as Detective Mogi and two policemen who tried to break up a makeshift Kira supporters' rally. Light's younger sister Sayu is almost killed for not supporting Kira until Soichiro crashes into the festival wearing a motorcycle helmet. Light later arrives to comfort Sayu and Soichiro but is spotted by Misa as the family leaves the area. Misa correctly identifies Light as the original Kira.

Misa confronts him near his home, wishing to be his girlfriend and aid his quest for a crimeless society. Seeing that she has Shinigami eyes, Light accepts her help to eliminate L. Light sets up a meeting between L, Misa and himself at Light's university so that Misa can learn of L's real name. However, Misa is arrested for being the second Kira and is detained. Fearing that she might crack, Rem asks Light to free her. In an elaborate plan, both Kiras lose their respective ownership of the Death Notes, and thus lose their memories of possessing them. Light orders Rem to give Misa's Death Note to Kiyomi Takada, a reporter covering the Kira case, while he buries his own Death Note elsewhere. Light would then "prove" he is not Kira by also being detained while Takada continues Kira's killing spree.

Light and Misa are released but still watched by L. Light finds a clue leading to Takada and the task force sets a trap to arrest her. As the team discover the Death Note in Takada's possession and Rem's existence, Light kills Takada using a piece of the Death Note inside his watch to regain ownership of the Death Note and not be incriminated. When Misa is allowed to leave, Light asks her to find his buried Death Note and use it to kill L. After being told that the task force is flying to the United States to research the Death Note, Light tricks Rem into killing Watari and, seemingly, L; Rem herself dies for intentionally killing someone to help Misa, due to the fact that Shinigami cannot help other humans live by using their Death Note, as it is a violation of their law. To tie up loose ends, Light tries to use his original Death Note to kill his father, much to Misa's horror.

It is revealed that L is alive and wrote his name in the Death Note with the intent to die almost a month in advance, thereby fooling Light. The task force did not leave for the U.S. but instead surveilled Light from another location, therefore hearing and observing Light's confession as Kira and replacing Light's Death Note with a decoy, and Light's attempt to kill his father with this decoy has exposed him as Kira. Cornered by the investigators, Light pleads for Ryuk to kill the task force. Instead, Ryuk writes Light's name in the Death Note as he is not on anybody's side, telling Light that any human who owns a Death Note is banned from Heaven and Hell and will instead spend eternity as Nothingness. Light dies in his father's arms, begging him to believe he acted as Kira to carry out justice.

Knowing that supernatural events were involved, the official line put out by L and the investigation team was that Light was killed by Kira. Twenty days later, Soichiro and L meet one last time before L dies peacefully. One year later (on Light's birthday) Soichiro keeps telling this version of the story to Sayu and his wife, as Sayu adores Light but did not support Kira's actions. Misa also celebrates Light's birthday, still loving him but having no recollection of the Death Note. The film ends with Ryuk flying and laughing around Tokyo Tower.

Theme songs

• "Dani California" by Red Hot Chili Peppers
• "Snow, Hey Oh" by Red Hot Chili Peppers (Closing)

Release

The film was dubbed into English and released in American theaters for two nights only, October 15 and 16. It was released in Hong Kong on November 3, 2006, in Taiwan on November 24, 2006, in Singapore on December 28, 2006, and in Malaysia on January 25, 2007, with English and Chinese subtitles. The film was released in Canada on December 3, the DVD was released on February 10, 2009.

Reception

The film premiered on November 3, 2006, and instantly topped the Japanese box office, remaining at number one for four straight weeks, and grossed 5.5 billion yen in Japan by the end of the year, making it one of the year's highest grossing Japanese films.

Christy Lee S.W. of The Star, in her review of the film, stated that Kaneko "did a good job" in pacing the film, adding that the increased pacing towards the end made some of the content difficult to understand. She also said that screenwriter Tetsuya Oishi made sure the characters were "well fleshed out" and easily empathized with.

Sequel

A sequel, Death Note: Light Up the New World, is scheduled for release in Japan on October 29,2016.And a three-part miniseries entitled Death Note: New Generation was announced as a part of the Death Note live-action film series. It bridges the 10-year gap between the previous films and the 2016 film.

External links

• Death Note: The Last Name at IMDb