"Death Note," written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata, is one of the most well known manga in the psychological thriller genre. And it ended up getting not only an anime adaptation but a Japanese film adaptation as well. There is often debate amongst fans on which version of the story is better. Those who argue in favor of the anime say its closer to the original source material while those in favor of the films say the changes that are made to the story are welcome. I myself have varying opinions on which elements I think each adaptation excelled at over the other, so I will go over each of my points and conclude which version I personally feel is superior. For this, I will be going over which adaptation had the best of each major character and finally which one had the better overall story. And please note, THERE WILL BE SPOILERS! So, let's begin.

BEST LIGHT YAGAMI

Light Yagami is the intelligent student who looks at the world around him and sees nothing but corruption. One fateful day, he finds the Death Note and discovers that it has the power to kill anyone simply by writing that person's name into it. With this new power at his disposal and taking on the alias of Kira, Light makes it his sole mission to kill criminals and create a world filled with people he personally deems as good.

The two interpretations of this character couldn't be any more different. The anime version of Light is played more like a plotting villain. He laughs, he delivers monologues, everything good villains do. And when he has to kill an innocent person to further his plans, he doesn't hesitate to do so. The only exception to this are members of his family, which shows the guy has some standards.

The movie version of Light, on the other hand, is played more from a sympathetic angle. He kills criminals without much remorse, but we see he does feel at least some pity when it comes to killing an innocent individual. It doesn't make what he does right or forgivable, but we see he's at least human. And we do see moments where this power to kill people does kind of mess with him.

So which one is better? The more villainous or the more human?

Personally, I like the movie's version of Light a little more. We see him as a calm, rational individual who once had hopes that the law could prevail against the wicked, but soon lost hope. We see Light slowly become more and more like a madman as the story progresses. In the anime, Light already gives off the vibe that he's out of his mind. So when he's finally caught and arrested at the end, his freak out doesn't feel like anything we haven't seen from him before. So close call, but I am going to give the point to the movie.

BEST L

A detective who hides in shadow. Before now, no one has seen his face. But when the case to find the mysterious killer known as Kira calls for desperate measures, he reveals himself. Showing that he's actually a very awkward and silly individual. But while he gives off this impression, he is among one of the most intelligent minds in the world and is determined to figure out Kira's identity and put him behind bars.

These two interpretations are actually pretty similar to each other. Both shroud themselves in mystery at first and both are very socially awkward, but have a great level of intelligence. However, there's one important difference between the two. L in the anime, while a bit awkward, was still grounded to reality. He doesn't want to believe that someone can kill using only a face and a name, but when he thinks about everything logically, there can't be any other explanation. And as he figures out more about this case, he finds it difficult to really understand anything.

L in the movie on the other hand is a bit more of the oddball. He's completely out there and has absolutely no problem believing any of the facts in this case. When he figures out Kira only needs a face and a name to kill people, he does not hesitate to believe it. However, because of this, he's not nearly as interesting.

What makes L in the anime (and manga for that matter) work is that he doesn't want to believe half the things he's seeing in this case and it's only after he thinks about it from every possible angle will he finally believe it. It also helps that we hear his inner thoughts and understand how he's able to come to these conclusions. Because of all this, I find the anime version of L to be superior.

BEST RYUK

Shinigami, the gods of death, all sit around in their realm with nothing to do. Ryuk, bored of all this, drops his Death Note to see what will happen. What he gets is better than he can imagine.

These two interpretations are actually pretty identical. Both show a very impatient and comical take on the character. However, there is one difference. The visual.

Since everything is animated, Ryuk in the anime allows for more visual humor. Whether it be twisting his body up and writhing in pain for an apple or just floating there, Ryuk's silly behavior is shown more from what he does rather than what he says.

In the movie, Ryuk is shown through some admittedly outdated CGI. Because there are limits to the effect, Ryuk's humorous moments come more from what he says.

Both do well in getting a laugh, but I have to say I find the movie's version of Ryuk a little funnier. While Ryuk in the anime does get a laugh, I admittedly laugh harder at the stuff the movie Ryuk says. So the point goes to the movie.

BEST MISA AMANE

The second Death Note user, Misa Amane, saw her family killed by a madman. After Kira eliminated him, Misa wished only to meet him and serve him as best she could, becoming the second Kira and love interest to Light Yagami.

I will admit right here. I do not like Misa in the anime. Why? She's annoying. While I think the groundwork for the character had promise, it doesn't help when the character's only purpose is to unintentionally throw a wrench into Light's plan. And yeah, that's basically all she does. She has occasional moments of brilliance, but other than that, she's just there to be the ditz of the cast.

The movie, on the other hand, underplays Misa's ditzy nature and gives her more of a purpose. She serves as a more optimistic character and voice of reason to Light. We also get more moments where we understand the pain she goes through after witnessing her family's murder. This feels more like a character than the anime's version. So this may not be all too surprising, but I'm giving the point to the movie.

BEST INVESTIGATION TEAM

After many detectives abandoned the Kira case in fear of their lives, only a few remained. They formed a team led by Detective Superintendent Soichiro Yagami to find and arrest Kira.

I'll keep this one brief. The biggest problem I have with the movie's interpretation of these characters is that they aren't very interesting. In fact, many of them aren't really established or named. Because of this, it's harder to identify with them. The anime made sure to give each of them their own character and personality so we care about seeing them make it out of this case alive.

When it comes to Soichiro himself, I also think the anime does better. Soichiro isn't just a strict detective, he's also Light's father. And we get to see moments where these two roles are clashing and this man is going through hell knowing his son is a suspect. In the movie, I definitely believed the detective side of the character, but there wasn't much to him as a father. It felt really downplayed which made this character less identifiable. So in the end, I give the point to the anime.

BEST NAOMI MISORA

Any Death Note fan reading this is probably scratching their heads as to why I'm including Naomi Misora of all people as a subject. This is because while she wasn't a major character in the anime, she was important to the first movie.

In the anime, Naomi Misora was a former-FBI agent who was in Japan while her husband was on a mission related to the Kira case. However, after Kira killed him, she decided to do her own private investigation and figure out who killed her husband. This leads to her meeting Light, not knowing he's actually Kira, and him fooling her into revealing her real name and writing it into the Death Note before she could become a serious threat.

The movie plays the character much differently. After her husband dies, Naomi figures out right away that Light is Kira and is obsessed with proving his guilt. Even to the point of directly confronting him. So Naomi plays more of an active role. Wouldn't that mean the movie version is superior? Not necessarily.

Yes, Naomi is much more active here. However, what they increased in activity, they decreased in intelligence. In the movie, Naomi makes a lot of obvious mistakes like telling Light she's using an alias when he tries to kill her for the first time. Oh yeah, that won't backfire in the slightest. So her getting killed off is less of a shock and more an inevitability. In the anime, while she didn't figure out Light was Kira before it was too late, she was cautious. She gave Light a fake name at first without telling him and it took a combination of Light's charm and wit to get her to reveal herself. So based on this, I find the anime's version of Naomi to be a bit better.

BEST STORY

While there are plenty of minor differences between the anime and movie, the one that will be the deciding factor is the ending. Mainly because I think that's where the biggest difference lies.

In the anime, as well as the manga, L is killed before he can solve the Kira case and it's up to his successors, Near and Mello, to finish what he had started. They emerge victorious and Light is killed by Ryuk. In the movie, however, L manages to solve the case by writing his own name in the Death Note. He proves Light's guilt, but at the cost of his own life.

I can give the anime and manga credit for doing the more risky move by killing L before the case is solved. However, risky doesn't always mean better. For one thing, after L is killed off, Light seems to be a bit stupid when facing off against Near and Mello. He makes obvious mistakes that seem inconsistent with the character that was previously established. Also, maybe it's just me, but proving Light is Kira always seemed to be L's role and giving it to a character as uninteresting as Near just feels off to me. I also like how the movie shows exactly how Kira's death affects the world. They do state that the crime rate went right back up, keeping with the theme of the moral gray area Death Note is known for. The anime just kind of ends after Light dies and we don't see any real big consequences to this. So, in that regard, I have to deem the movie version superior. Is it perfect? No. Are there elements that are better in the anime? Absolutely. But when it comes to which one gave a more satisfying story by the end, the movie is the better adaptation.

The winner is the movie version.