Ninjas And Video Games

I love Japan....
A lot of my very favorite stuff comes from there, and I still believe that the Japanese will one day rule us all. I mean, c'mon -- it's obvious that they're brilliant. All of the greatest and most interesting things this world has to offer were invented on the magical island of Japan: Nintendo, Godzilla, instant noodles, small electronics, psychological horror, those weird cartoons that give you seizures, martial arts, digital media, vending machines that sell underpants, and...uh, Nintendo. What a fun, vibrant and fascinating place! I would totally abandon everything I own and just fly to Japan for a new life if I thought that the people there would accept me. Sadly, however, I must admit that they would not. At first glance, it would be painfully obvious that I'm not worthy of setting foot in Japan, and any visit I'd pay to the Master Land would end in disaster. They'd tar and feather me before shipping my pathetic carcass back to North America. But you know what? That's OK. I'll just wait for them to come here.


Mark my words, folks -- the second the world lets its guard down and allows Japan to rebuild a strong military, we will all be finished. In fact, I'll bet they're just biding their time and waiting for that to happen. You know how it'll play out -- we get kind of complacent...everyone's feeling distracted...the UN (or whatever) finally says one day, "OK, Japan. You can do whatever you want again, " and then BLAM!!! Mankind meets its new master. After all, the US tangoed with the Japanese once before, and they really gave us a serious run for our money. Heck, the only way we could win was to nuke them...TWICE! Imagine what 50-plus years of rethinking that lesson could have done to prepare them for Round Two. I'll bet they've already developed a nuclear bomb repellent or something, and can't wait to try it out. Japan could totally take us in a rematch.

(Get used to it, friends. You can run, but you can't hide.)

And I'm OK with that. When the big showdown comes, I'll give in to the Japanese right away. You'll see me hanging out in front of American military installations, jotting down messages into little notebooks, and generally acting suspicious. Maybe I'll even be caught snooping around water and power plants, taking microfilm pictures. With a shortwave radio and complex network of carrier pigeons, I will forward all of this intelligence on to our Eastern invaders to aid in their mission. Then, when the planes do come, I'll be right in the middle of it -- standing on my roof, signaling to enemy pilots which buildings are hiding critical infrastructure. When the fighting's over and the Japanese hoist their flag over the rubble of the White House, perhaps they'll go easy on me for having assisted them. They'll spare my life and I'll get preferential treatment in the work camps -- like maybe an extra bowl of ramen each day and some free video games. That would be sweet!


Anyway, here are two movies that come from Japan. They're part of the Death Note series, which is apparently also some kind of manga deal (I dunno). I guess there are three films in the Death Note franchise, but I screwed up and rented numbers one and three, rather than one and two. It doesn't matter. The movies are still awesome.

Death Note (2006)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0758742/


Netflix description:
When he discovers a mystical notebook that grants him the power to kill anyone he wants by merely writing their name, a brilliant student named Light (Tatsuya Fujiwara) develops a god complex and attempts to create utopia. Now, it's up to ingenious detective "L" (Ken'ichi Matsuyama) to stop the supernatural vigilante. Directed by Shusuke Kaneko, this eerie thriller also stars Asaka Seto, Erika Toda and Shigeki Hosokawa.

Death Note is about a law student named Light who one day obtains a magical notebook that has the ability to kill anyone. See, you write someone's name in that book, and they die soon after. Pretty neat, eh?

Light notices that the modern justice system is getting too soft on those who are truly deserving of punishment, allowing murders and rapists to go free, and that kind of bothers him. In fact, it bothers him so much that he decides to take matters into his own hands, and use the Death Notebook to kill off society's worst criminals personally. Terrorists, mobsters, and other lowlifes mysteriously start to drop dead, and as the bodies mount, the public notices. No one's really sure who, exactly, is killing off the criminals, but it's obvious that SOMEONE is behind this bizarre phenomenon, so the media labels Light's vigilante alter ego as "Kira" (or something). He turns into something of a cult hero, as the public debates whether this mysterious peacekeeper is really doing the right thing. The police, of course, don't think so, and bring in an internationally-known genius investigator by the name of L to figure out Kira's identity.

The moral questions that arise as Light goes further and further overboard with wiping out criminals and other enemies are the real substance of Death Note. Is it safe for ANYONE to have that kind of power??? Clearly, it isn't, even if the individual is highly intelligent and well-meaning. Suppose he takes it so far that he uses the supernatural Death Notebook to kill the investigators trying to catch him? These complications arise as L gets closer to identifying Light. Meanwhile, there's a CGI demon of some kind who follows Light around, offering cynical and sometime amusing commentary as the story progresses. Our hero is the only one who can see him, and apparently, this demon understands the origin of the notebook. The first time he appears, you'll laugh; but by the end of the movie, the demon's become a perfectly believable part of the story.

(Shut up. The demon rules.)

Death Note is written a lot like countless Japanese video games that I have played (think Resident Evil cut scenes, only much better). That is, the narrative forsakes subtlety, and dialogue can at times come off as "corny." Still, if you can get past that (as well as the fact that there's dubbed voices), this picture is a remarkable experience. It's stimulating, original, and stylish. I liked its slick, dark visuals, and the plot contains enough twists to keep us engaged all the way through. Plus, the nuanced character of L is ultra cool.

If you're going to watch any weird Japanese film, Death Note should be it. This compelling experience should be able to win over just about anybody with a modicum of imagination. Give it a rental.

4 out of 5.

AND....

L Change The World -- Death Note 3 (2008)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0912597/


Netflix description:
Fresh off the heels of the Kira case, detective L (Ken'ichi Matsuyama) finds himself on the hunt for a group of bioterrorists that's plotting to release a powerful virus -- 100 times more virulent than Ebola -- on Washington, D.C. With the help of fledgling scientist Maki Nikaido (Mayuko Fukuda) and enigmatic young boy Near (Narushi Fukuda), L races against the clock to find the antidote to the virus and save mankind from catastrophic attack.

So, I MEANT to rent the direct sequel to Death Note but, because I'm an idiot, I screwed up. See, L Change the World is actually Death Note THREE, so it starts off, like, a few years after the events of the first movie. That's OK, because apparently, this one is supposed to become a totally new spin-off, anyway. Plus, it's not hard to follow. I'll get around to watching the second installment some other time.

L Change the World focuses on the REAL hero of the original Death Note -- the boy genius, L. I tell you, this guy is interesting: he's like some emo Gollem; a socially-backward, sugar-addicted computer mastermind. He's somehow obtained control of the Death Notebook, and writes his own name into it early in the film. See, L is on a mission to wipe out several criminal organizations once and for all, and gives himself 23 days to do it (when you write someone's name in the Death Notebook, you can specify how long you want it to be before they die). He goes on a crime fighting bender, bringing down several terror networks, and digging deep into a wacko environmental group that aims to destroy mankind. CAN he thwart the terrorists' plans to unleash a supervirus on the world before his own Death Note takes effect???

L Change the World is a much bigger production than Death Note, taking us from America, to Thailand, to Japan, and offering more advanced special effects than the first film. Are these good things, though? Well...kinda...but the experience still lacks the magic of its predecessor. The complex story in this installment deals with the above-mentioned supervirus, and a little girl who may have the secret to stopping it from wiping out humanity. There's also a kid math wiz and some stuff about evil scientists.


This film is GOOD, but it has little to do with the whole Death Note concept. I mean, L burns the dang notebook in the first ten minutes! No Death NOTEBOOK, no Death NOTE. Know what I mean?

Still, L Changes the World CAN (and does) stand on its own as an action-thriller. It's reasonably fast-paced, and production values are surprisingly high. We get to see our pal L save millions of lives, and some elements of the plot will keep you guessing. I'm curious about where the Death Note series could possibly go from here, but since this is a popular fanboy franchise, I'm sure the producers will find a way to squeeze out more sequels. L Changes the World is a fine enough movie, but it's nowhere near as compelling as Death Note. Hopefully, in the next picture, they can get things back on track.

3 out of 5.

b.