History YMMV / DeathNoteSeries

* MagnificentBastard: [[Characters/DeathNoteLLawliet L Lawliet]] is the world's greatest detective and, as always, the [[ArchEnemy one man standing in the way]] of [[Characters/DeathNoteLightYagami Light Yagami]]. Introduced by tricking Light into revealing his location by using a body double, L originally seems to buy Light's excuses for joining the Task Force, only to quietly reveal that he is well aware of Light being Kira. Quickly deducing Misa's identity as the second Kira, L has her arrested upon their introduction, and when Light unleashes his MemoryGambit to clear his name, L remains convinced of his guilt. Upon learning of the existence of the Death Note, L [[HeroicSacrifice purposefully writes his own name in it]] to inoculate himself against Light's attempts to kill him, faking his death and tricking Light into outing himself to the Task Force. With that final gambit, L succeeds where his original counterpart failed and defeats Kira before [[FaceDeathWithDignity dying on his own terms]].

* CompleteMonster: [[Characters/DeathNoteLightYagami Light Yagami]], once a college student frustrated at the perceived failures of the Japanese justice system, proves that absolute power corrupts absolutely. Upon getting his hands on the titular [[DeadlyBook Death Note]], the narcissistic Light quickly declares his designs of [[AGodAmI becoming the god of a new world]]. While he starts off by simply killing criminals, he eventually expands his targets to include the FBI investigators attempting to catch him, and anyone else he sees as a hindrance to his ascension. Light kills his girlfriend Shiori Akino at the end of the first movie to gain sympathy from [[ArchEnemy L]], using Naomi Misora, whom he also kills. His disinterest in the fate of anyone other than himself is shown most clearly when he gives the note to someone who he knew for certain would use it for selfish and evil purposes just so that he can throw the authorities off his trail and [[MemoryGambit kill his rival]]. Once he believes himself to have won, Light wastes no time in writing the name of his own father in the Death Note, an act that horrifies even his most loyal follower Misa Amane.

* CompleteMonster: [[Characters/DeathNoteLightYagami Light Yagami]], once a college student frustrated at the perceived failures of the Japanese justice system, proves that absolute power corrupts absolutely. Upon getting his hands on the titular [[DeadlyBook Death Note]], the narcissistic Light quickly declares his designs of [[AGodAmI becoming the god of a new world]]. While he starts off by simply killing criminals, he eventually expands his targets to include the FBI investigators attempting to catch him, and anyone else he sees as a hindrance to his ascension. Light kills his girlfriend Shiori Akino at the end of the first movie to gain sympathy from [[Characters/DeathNoteLLawliet L]], using Naomi Misora, whom he also kills. His disinterest in the fate of anyone other than himself is shown most clearly when he gives the note to someone who he knew for certain would use it for selfish and evil purposes just so that he can throw the authorities off his trail and [[MemoryGambit kill his rival]]. Once he believes himself to have won, Light wastes no time in writing the name of his own father in the Death Note, an act that horrifies even his most loyal follower Misa Amane.

* AuthorsSavingThrow:
** Many readers were upset by how [[spoiler:Naomi Misora gave her name to Light in the manga/anime when he lied about being on the task force, because she knows Soichiro and trusts that his son is cut from the same cloth. To make matters worse, L notes with horror that she's probably dead when her parents report her missing]]. That is fixed here. [[spoiler:Naomi suspects Light from the start because she knows that Raye was tracking him, and doesn't give out her real name when interacting with him. Light has to do some detective work to figure out how to kill her and clear himself in the process. To ensure that Naomi isn't StuffedInTheFridge, L reveals himself to Light and eats from the same bag of horrible chips to make it clear that he will avenge one of his friends]].
** [[spoiler:L dying after he finally exposed Light's secret identity as Kira was unanimously seen as a welcome change by many, who believed that his victory through self-sacrifice was more in character for him, rather than him dying before Light was outed]].
** While there is a BrokenBase for the manga and anime's different respective endings, ''Death Note: The Last Name'' [[spoiler:combines both the endings: Light Yagami dies a squirming mess, not wanting to die like the manga, as well as him having an AlasPoorVillain moment like the anime. This was welcomed by fans of both]].
** Unlike in the anime and manga, [[spoiler:Soichiro is not only SparedByTheAdaptation, but gets to find out definitively that his son is Kira, both of which were seen as welcome changes from the source material where he dies believing that he has proof of his son's innocence]].

* VindicatedByHistory: When these films came out, they received SoOkayItsAverage reception within both critics and fans (at least within North America): as film adaptations of manga series, they are decent at best and has an improved ending, but the [[SpecialEffectFailure special effects didn't age well]]. However, shortly after the release of {{Creator/Netflix}}'s [[Film/DeathNote2017 American adaptation of Death Note]], fans enthusiastically put the Japanese live-action movies onto the high pedestal. Not only they consider these as the superior adaptation, but also among the best live-action adaptations of comic books or manga series in the past few decades. It also helps that for those who are more closer to the ''Death Note'' anime dub, the voice actors from the anime dub reprise their roles in this film series' English dub.
* WhatAnIdiot: In the first movie, Naomi Misora deduces that Light Yagami was the student Ray was investigating and accuses him of being Kira after giving him an alias.\\
'''You’d Expect''': She would leave without another word. If her deduction is accurate, Light would try to kill her and assume she’s dead. That wat she could investigate him and stay one step ahead.\\
'''Instead''': Naomi tells Light that the name she gave him was an alias.\\
'''To Make Matters Worse:''' She told Light she was Ray’s fiancée.\\
'''The Result''': [[spoiler:Light finds her church and gets her name from the ordained minister who was going to marry her to Raye. Light then uses this information to conduct a hostage situation where Naomi kills Light’s girlfriend Shiori so he can gain L’s sympathy.]]

** [[spoiler:The Investigation Team finally catch Kiyomi in a trap, who has assumed the ''Kira'' persona. This means that they're one step closer, right? Unfortunately not. All members touch the 'Death Note' she has, allowing them to see Rem. That includes Light, who finally gets his memories back of Kira. The first thing he does with this knowledge [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness is to secretly write Kiyomi's name on a 'Death Note' scrap in his watch's secret compartment]], while everyone is distracted by Rem's introduction. And although we do see the heart attack coming for her just seconds later, think about it from her perspective: she is [[BoundAndGagged bound and blindfolded]], only hears Rem declaring himself as a Shinigami, until he informs the Investigation Team to try and write down Kiyomi's name as proof of authenticity. Kiyomi can only express her disbelief by pleading Rem not to, before experience a sharp, burning pain at her chest. Since she can't use her limbs to try to ease the pain, Kiyomi can only writhe in agony until she passes away]].

** The first teaser trailer released to announce ''Film/DeathNote2006'' and ''Film/DeathNoteTheLastName'' (Only available on the ''Death Note: Movie Collection'' DVD). [[NothingIsScarier It doesn't use any footage from the film at all. Instead, all you see is a black screen, with the first rule of the Death Note being written.]] The pen strokes can induce fear to those who are unaware of the source material, as does the brief hesitation before writing the last horrific word. And then, when the title of the movies and credits are shown, all you hear is a slow, repetitive heartbeat... until it stops at the website link. That can be a reminder to fans who know how each Death Note victim normally dies.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: In the climax of the second film, Soichiro delivers the ultimate message of the series: [[spoiler:human justice systems are imperfect because they are made by imperfect people, but they are a culmination of trying to define such a concept. What's more, he accurately pegs Light as being self-serving in how he kills people and that divine murder isn't the answer because murder is not justice. Heavy-handed? Yes. Necessary to combat those RootingForTheEmpire? Also yes]].