Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8012 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-10-13
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Formats: Box set, PAL
• Original language: Japanese
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 141 minutes

Video Description
'The last name to be written in the Death Note... Whose name will it be?'

Light and L's psychological duel enters a new phase; whoever is careless for even a split second will lose! To complicate things further, Rem, another shinigami brings the second notebook and Misa Amane, a Japanese pop star and Kira worshipper, comes into possession of it.

Now becoming a Kira herself, she accepts an offer to have the Eyes of the Death. With the Eyes of the Death one can know the name of any person without being told. Misa and Light begin to work together to find the true name of L...

SPECIAL FEATURES:
24 page book
Trailer
Making of Death Note: The Last Name
Production Diary Video
Death Note Press Conference
Original Japanese Trailers
Image Gallery

Synopsis
Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata's bestselling manga DEATH NOTE, has already spawned an internationally successful anime series, and a hugely successful live-action feature film. In its sequel, THE LAST NAME, the plot follows on from the previous film, with Light Yagami (Tatsuya Fujiwara, BATTLE ROYALE) still attempting to evade suspicion for the 'death note' killings. DEATH NOTE II: THE LAST NAME continues the blend of action, thriller, and horror that the first film began.

Customer Reviews

The Last Name. Whose Name Will It Be?
This DVD set sees the release of the second live action death note movie.
Story wise, The last name is a direct continution from the previous film, as it sees Death Notes protagonist Light Yagami aka Kira (Tatsuya Fujiwara) continuing his killings in order to create his ideal world. This time round however, he has teamed up with the genius, yet eccentric detective known as L (Kenichi Matsuyama) in the hopes of revealing his true identity so he can finally defeat him. However, things are complicated when a second Kira arrives on the scene, the Japanese pop idol Misa Amane (Erika Toda) who also happens to be a Kira worshipper.

What ensues is yet more, tense, supernatural thriller brilliance full of twists and turns at every corner, that will leave you glued to your TV screen for the 2hours plus that it lasts. Like the first movie, is pretty loyal to its original source manga, however, it does differ quite a bit in parts as only half of the entire Death note story was converted to live action film. So some bits had to be changed in order to bring a satisfying conclusion without messing up the story too much. I think it is a good idea that the movies were made this way, because it means that even if you know the death note manga inside out, there are still plenty of surprises in store for you with the movies.

This movie is constantly backed up by some truly suberb acting. Kenichi Matsuyama ultimately shines as he portrays his character L. As well as being an intriguing character, L also provides some comedy in the movie with the ridiculous amount of cakes and sweets he eats in every scene, as well as one superb bit where he is wearing a hilarious mask over his face while out in a public place. Tatsuya Fujiwara, best known for his role in the Battle Royale movies, pulls through with another solid performance. This time, we get to see an even more maniacal side to Light's personality which is briliantly acted by Fujiwara.

This DVD set contains a plethora of extras such as the making of, production diary video, press conference, premiere at Tokyo Forum as well as some trailers and an image gallery.
The first thing that I noticed about this set is the lovely presentation, which is the same style as what the first movie looked like. Once you remove the outer sleeve from the case, you will notice that the cases design looks like a miniature death note. On the inside there are a few pages with character profiles and death note trivia on them, as well as the rules of death note and some blank pages. Behind these 24 pages are the 2 discs that contain the movie and the special features.

If you are looking for an intense action packed movie, then you should look elsewhere. Death Note instead focuses on the intricate battle of wits between two genius minds, while bringing forward the themes of morality and what really defines justice. So if you have seen the first movie, there is no reason not to check this one out as well. If you are new to death Note its worth watching the first movie as it is somewhat more accesible and easier to digest than the manga or anime. If you enjoy the movie you may be glad to know that the 3rd death note movie entitled 'L change the world' is coming out on DVD over here towards the end of 2008, but before that you need to check out the manga and anime (if you havent already) as they are absouteley essential.
So Death Note 2: The last name, is an excellent adaptation of a Japanese Cult Phenomenon as well as a superb sequel and is truly great addition to the franchise and to your DVD collection.

The best Japanese films I've ever seen (and yes I have seen others)
Death Note and its sequel (more accurately a continuation) Death Note: The Last Name are not just the best Japanese films I have seen, but amongst the best and most intelligent science fiction films I've seen.

I haven't seen much Manga though, and to help those who may be reading this who aren't too keen on Manga, I'll admit that I found it difficult to take the computer-generated character of Ryuk seriously at first (Ryuk is a god of death only the human Light Yagami can see). I soon got over that - very quickly in fact - and came to appreciate the skill involved in creating him. So my point here is that you don't have to be fan of Manga to enjoy this film.

The story that stretches across both films is highly ambitious in what it covers - morality, the corrupting influence of having power over life and death, tension and an intricate plot worthy of the best detective films - but it pulls it all off spectacularly and with an originality and freshness that keeps you watching and wondering all the way through.

Even though my knowledge of Japanese comes entirely from listening to Hiro Nakamura, I could tell that the actors - particularly those playing the main characters of Light, Light's Father and L - are exceptionally talented. I saw the films originally on FilmFour and they were subtitled. I would never enjoy a dubbed movie, and I think that far more people should be willing to give subtitled films a go, as if you don't you miss out on so much.

I've seen these films once, but am sure will want to see them many times again, which is what drew me to this page on Amazon. One day, I'm sure, they'll remake this very badly in English - so if this review is still around in cyberspace then, please don't buy the remake - buy this.

Even better than the original
The second Death Note movie picks up immediately where the original left off, but tweaks the death-by-scribbling-a-person's-name formula just enough to avoid it becoming repetitive.
This time a second death note is introduced, along with a new killer in the form of bouncy talk show host Misa Amane. She's given a potentially intriguing backstory - after her family were horribly murdered, a chubby little demon sacrificed himself to prolong her life. But as soon as she runs into Light, Amane becomes a pretty pathetic character who purely exists to do his bidding. It highlights the problem that both movies have with creating strong, complex female characters, perhaps hinting at a squarely male adolescent target audience.
The Last Name also features a new demon in the form of the floppy haired, earring-wearing Rem, who watches over Amane. The late scenes in which Rem mooches around the police station after the cops obtain the power to see him is entertaining, but he's far less morally ambiguous (and therefore less fun) than the apple-munching Ryuk. Thankfully Ryuk is also back, and though he doesn't get quite so much screen time, he still nabs the best scenes - the strange sequence in which Amane presents him with an apple and he goes wild to a sudden burst of rock music is hilarious.
At the heart of the film is the continuing battle of wits between Light and L, which follows in the tradition of the best detective fiction. Although the Death Note movies initially seem to involve a fairly simplistic battle between good and evil, the line is often blurred. After all, both Light and Amane initially start off with the aim to rid the world of criminals and murderers before power corrupts them, and in one sequence the police employ a form of torture to try and extract information
The movie manages to weave complex ideas about justice and power into its bright comic book plot, and cleverly makes both L and Light equally engaging so that your allegiances are constantly torn. At 141 minutes, it's quite long, and many of the intricate death note rules are rather difficult to follow, but this is another highly entertaining supernatural thriller.