VIZ Mediahas announced the release of Death Note Black Edition, an oversized version of the acclaimed supernatural crime thriller. Volume 1 hits stores on December 28th and includes the first two editions of the popular manga (graphic novel) series as well as added full-color pages. The Death Note Black Edition ill be offered under the Shonen Jump Advanced imprint for $14.99.

Light Yagami is an ace student with great prospects—and he’s bored out of his mind. But all that changes when he finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by rogue Shinigami death god. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and now Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. But when criminals begin dropping dead, the authorities send the legendary detective L to track down the killer. With L hot on his heels, will Light lose sight of his noble goal…or his life?

Death Note took the manga world by storm and became an international bestseller with its sinister plot and captivating artwork,” says Beth Kawasaki, Sr. Editorial Director. “The Black Edition is an ideal way for those who never read the original series to finally see what the buzz is all about in six volumes versus the original 12-volume run. For established fans or anyone that might have missed later Death Note volumes, the new version also presents a great opportunity to revisit the series with its larger trade paperback size, new cover design, and bonus color pages.”

The original Death Note series, a 12-volume mystery created by writer Tsugumi Ohba and artist Takeshi Obata, continues to be a must-read among legions of ardent fans, having sold over 1.2 million copies in the U.S. to date. DEATH NOTE has spawned not only a fanbook (Death Note: How to Read 13) and two novels (Death Note Another Note: The Los Angeles BB Murder Cases and Death Note: L, Change the World), all published by VIZ Media, but also a 37-episode animated series (available streamed online for free at VIZAnime.com and on DVD from VIZ Media), three live-action feature films and a plethora of related posters, toys and action figures.

L CHANGE THE WORLD (C) 2007 M / 2008 "L" PLOT PRODUCE

L Change the World is now available in book format.

This unwritten chapter following  end of the Death Note manga tells the story of how L lives out his final 23 days after destroying “Kira”. In these final days, L finds himself trying to take down a group of bio-terrorists who threaten the world with a deadly and seemingly incurable disease, as well as saving the lives of two children who are in need of help.

VIZ Pictures have announced the release of “DEATH NOTE: L, change the WorLd” (and no, that is not a typo!) on DVD!

To celebrate the release, VIZ Pictures will be holding an screening of the movie at their brand-new VIZ Cinema in San Francisco. As well as the screening they will be giving out an exclusive L gift-box that includes a copy of the DVD, a poster and more. For ticket info, and any other cinema info, you can visit www.vizcinema.com.

The story behind “DEATH NOTE: L, change the WorLd” is inspired by the previous “DEATH NOTE” films, but follows a new and original storyline, while the others are based on the manga series. The film was directed by Hideo Nakata, who directed the original Ringu trilogy and also directed the US version of The Ring 2.

In this particular movie we see what happens to L and how he spends the last 23 days of his life. His final case consists of facing a bio-terrorist group and save the lives of 2 children who have nobody to turn to.

“DEATH NOTE: L, change the WorLd stars Kenichi Matsuyama, an up-and-coming Japanese actor who has also appeared in acclaimed films such as DEATH NOTE, LINDA LINDA LINDA, NANA and DETROIT METAL CITY,” says Seiji Horibuchi, president and CEO of VIZ Pictures. “He reprises his role as the ace detective L and audiences will be riveted to their seats as his character once again works to save society from a monstrous new threat.”

The DVD will be available on August 18^th and has an MSRP of $24.95 US or $35.99 Canada.

For more info on any of the DEATH NOTE films you can visit www.deathnotefilms.com, and for info on the manga or anime you can visit deathnote.viz.com. If you would like to see what other films VIZ Pictures have in their catalogue you can visit www.viz-pictures.com.

Today Viz Media announced that they are bringing some of their most popular anime titles to the Playstation Network for US gamers. These titles include the first 13 episodes of Naruto Uncut, the first 20 episodes of Bleach, and the entire series (all 37 episodes) of Death Note. All of these animes will be presented in Standard Definition and with English dubs.

“NARUTO, BLEACH and DEATH NOTE are compelling additions to the PLAYSTATION Network and an ideal complement to the dynamic library of content, games and applications available for the PS3 and PSP,” says Ken Sasaki, Vice President of Strategy & Business Development, VIZ Media. “Together, these series have set a new standard for anime throughout the world and the ease of download, combined with portability and interoperability between many media devices, will allow fans to watch their favorite ninjas in training, Soul Reapers and Shinigami Death Gods whether at home or on the go, wherever and however they want.”

The episodes will cost $1.99 each and are available through the Viz Media Channel page.

Thanks to the wonderful people at Fathom Events, we are once again graced with a theater screening of one of the Death Note live action movies. Wednesday, April 29th, the original Japanese movie was shown and the English dub of the movie was shown on the following day. The Japanese version of the movie was first released to an English audience back at last year’s Anime Expo convention in downtown Los Angeles, California, where I had previously seen it in it’s original form. Because of this (and the fact that I love the English dub cast) I opted for the Thursday screening of the show.

Intro

L: Change the World is a prequel/sequel to the end of the Death Note live action movie series. How can it be a prequel AND a sequel? Easy. The movie takes place after the climax of the second movie, Death Note: The Last Name, but before the tragic final scene. The plot includes the events during the final 23 days of the life of our favorite detective, L Lawliet after he writes his own name in the Death Note.

Synopsis

The movie starts off, interestingly enough in Thailand where a viral outbreak has brought a small village to the brink of it’s demise. Secret Wammy House agent F has been undercover investigating the situation when a hazmat group shows up to cleanse the villaige which ends up being bombed. Thankfully F was able to escape and take a small Thai boy with him. Sadly, F has contracted the deadly disease and sends the boy off with a necklace and a phone number to contact Watari. Coincidentally, later in the movie it is revealed that the said virus is a mix of INFLUENZA and ebola. *rolls eyes* This unbelievably bad timing caused quite a reaction from the crowd in the theater, needless to say.

Focus shifts to L and Watari back at headquarters with the actual scene where L decides to write his own name in the Death Note in order to get the better of Kira while taking control of his own fate by writing “dies peacefully of a heart attack 23 days later.” Watari is killed by the shinigami Rem (which they don’t fully show) and L is left to mourn. He informs the rest of the lettered agents, reluctantly including to send a message to one by the name of “K.”

Focus shifts again and we are introduced to two new characters original to the movie. A young girl by the name of Maki Nikaido and her father, a scientist,  are going over some mathematical problems in her room. Then enters a third character named Kimiko Kujo, a doctor at the facility where Maki and her father are living. Shifting yet again, the movie jumps to the headquarters of an organization named Blue Ship. We are then introduced to one of the minor villains of the movie, a man with a giant scarred left eye. He has a brief argument with the leader of the organization, then after being accused of trying to sell the virus that they were developing to the highest bidder, murders the leader in front of his associates. The associates join him (for no good reason) and they become one big evil super psycho-squad team.

This is the slowest plot development I have ever had to sit through. It was enthralling the first time I watched the movie, but only because I am a fan of the show as a whole. The movie picks up after the initial character and plot introduction. Dr. Kujo is joined at the lab by Mr. Eye Scar so they can steal the virus and antidote that Maki’s father had developed. Maki shows up at the lab just as her father destroys the antidote and injects himself with the virus so that it can never fall into evil hands. Maki hightails it out of the lab without looking back. Luckily, Maki’s father has entrusted to her the antidote, unbeknownst to Maki.

Maki had been instructed to find Watari if anything were to happened to her father. She eventually finds L and Kujo tracks her down. Trying to exact her revenge on Kujo, Maki injects herself with the viral agent. Cue L to the rescue as he, the boy and Maki escape with a hurriedly introduced Japanese FBI agent in a pink crepe truck. They eventually travel to see a doctor who can hopefully cure Maki of her infection. When they reach the doctor, Maki makes a terribly scripted attempt at revenge once again by luring Kujo to a “secluded” dock somewhere. She tries, and fails and is captured by the enemy.

A climactic final scene begins in which Kujo and crew, aboard a flight bound for America, attempt to hijack a plane with Maki on board. Maki’s symptoms begin to show, infecting everyone on board the plane. Suddenly, L charges the plane on his crepe truck and saves the day, arriving with an antidote for all of the passengers and the infected evil team. He averts disaster by steering the out of control plane out of the way so it can do no harm. Once again averting disaster and bringing peace to always chaotic Japan.

The movie ends with L dropping off the boy at Wammy House (which, in the anime/manga, was used as a tool for finding candidates to become the next L.) Apparently, he is too busy to ask the boy his real name, so he decides to give him a name. He looks at the boy and says, “Near.” And then says something about how they’ll always be near or something cute like that.

After the Movie

Following the film, the fans were treated to a special behind the scenes of the Japanese making of the L movie. One thing that was extra special was that it was DUBBED by the English voice for L, Alessandro Juliani over a normal Ken’ichi Matsuyama (the Japanese actor for L in the movie.) It was strange, but well done and I feel that it helped the American audience really connect.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I feel that this was, like most anime-to-film flicks, just a thrown together plot that solely exists to please the fans. It sure did it’s job though. Although the English dub was extremely well done as always, I personally feel that the movie is best experienced in Japanese. Ken’ichi does a masterful job of bringing out the true essence of the character of L in this movie, especially because this unique version of L that we have never really seen before. It also flows much better as well as there are some things that are just mistranslated or simply omitted in the English version from the original.

L: Change the World is a must see for diehard Death Note fans that is both an entertaining and unique experience in the Death Note saga. If you’re looking for more content to feed your Death Note addiction, this is the movie to see.

You’ve lost the game. (A favorite Death Note quote) ^_^

~Meg

How would you react if one day you came home and found a box of money waiting for you? With nothing more than a suspicious looking letter accompanying this box, Nao Kanzaki finds herself part of the Liar Game Tournament. And at the very bottom of the case containing the mystery money there is a video cassette outlining the rules for the First Round. She is to face off against a former teacher to see who can gain the 100 million yen, or even part of this huge sum, from their opponent and win the first test.

Nao has no dishonest bone in her body, and her money easily falls into the hands of her former teacher. Completely distraught and acting upon advice from a very suspicious police officer, Nao seeks out a young swindler just released from a short jail sentence. Shin’ichi Akiyama brought down a fraudulent company that saw his mother kill herself out of despair. In Nao, he sees the same innocence that ruined his mother, and he does not want to see the same thing happen to her.

In general the rules are quite simple, if you win the game, you keep your winnings, and the LGT will collect the original amount of money given to you. If you lost your money to another player, then you are in debt and the LGT will collect that money by whatever means necessary. You can also withdraw from the tournament by paying back a specified amount of money to the LGT, and keep the balance of your winnings.

Liar Game explores the deceitful side of human nature while also showing the honest alternative. While Nao is the only person in the Liar Game Tournament who demonstrates such honesty, you get to witness how her positive attitude and her desire to see no one hurt by the game affects those around her. Shin’ichi’s past as a swindler is put to good use as he helps keep Nao out of trouble, but also helps her manipulate the game in order to see as few people hurt as possible.

Liar Game is based off a very successful manga series in Japan of the same name. This first season of the show covers the first three rounds of the Liar Game Tournament. It was recently announced that a second season of the show will be in production this year. The show stars Erika Toda (Misa Amane in the Death Note films) as Nao Kanazaki, and Shota Matsuda (Sojiro Nishida in Hana Yori Dango) portraits Shin’ichi Akiyama.

Currently the manga is not licensed in North America, and dates for the second season and the following movie have not been announced.

So here is where it can get a little expensive. It’s $2 an episode. If you are a fan of Death Note like me, you want to get all 37 episodes. That is about $74. This may seem like a lot, but let’s say there are 6 episodes on a DVD. That would make 6 dvds (about). The average price of an anime DVD is $20 so you end up with a final price of $120. Which makes the download to your Xbox 360 a great value!

“We are very excited to team with Xbox LIVE to feature episodes of BLEACH and DEATH NOTE,” says Ken Sasaki, Vice President, Strategy & Business Development, VIZ Media. “The combination of the hottest television and movie programming, video gaming and social networking interaction makes Xbox LIVE a compelling platform to present these smash hit animated dramas. As the convergence of digital technology presents an innovative new way to access and download a wide array of content, we look forward to fans across the United States turning to Xbox LIVE for the latest in online animated programming from VIZ Media.”

I love the Death Note manga and have not been able to see the anime yet, which makes this perfect timing and a perfect solution to my already thin wallet.

[img]http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y171/Riversdark/ENI/DeatNote2VIZPicposterL.jpg[/img]

Just buy any Death Note DVD or T-Shirt after October 1st at any participating Hot Topic store. Unfortunately for those of you who bought the movie before Oct. 1st (… like me…) the promotion will not apply.

In such a case, you can visit www.fathomevents.com to pre-order your ticket today! They run about $10.00 each with a $1 service fee if purchased online. Also make sure to check out the [url=http://www.fathomevents.com/details.aspx?eventid=752]English dubbed trailer[/url] for the event. It will rock your world!

[url=http://enewsi.com/anime/index.php?itemid=10520]ENI News[/url]

See you at the movies!
~Meg

Based on the hit supernatural action mystery manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata, DEATH NOTE was released in Japan in 2006 and mirrors the manga’s story of Light Yagami, an ace student with great prospects who is bored out of his mind. All of that changes when he finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by a rogue Shinigami death god named Ryuk. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and now Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. But when criminals mysteriously begin dropping dead, the authorities send the legendary detective L to investigate, and he is soon hot on the trail of Light, who must now reevaluate his one noble goal. Both Light and L believe themselves to be on the side of justice, and the two match wits trying to show exactly which of them is “good” and which of them is “evil.”

“Fans across the country have eagerly anticipated the release of DEATH NOTE on DVD following a very successful series of nationwide theatrical engagements that VIZ Pictures staged with NCM FATHOM earlier this year,” says Seiji Horibuchi, President and CEO of VIZ Pictures. “Fans now have a brand new way to enjoy this riveting story as a live-action DVD and for those who have yet to witness what the buzz is about, this film serves as an exciting introduction. DEATH NOTE follows a fine tradition of crime thrillers including Silence of the Lambs, Seven, and Sea of Love and we look forward to audiences discovering the thrilling experience that is DEATH NOTE.”

The DEATH NOTE manga and animated series have become extremely popular across North America. A 37-episode animated series is seen by millions each week on cable broadcast and the animated series is also distributed on DVD by VIZ Media (rated T+ for Older Teens). On the print side, DEATH NOTE 13: HOW TO READ, a companion volume to the successful manga series, also published domestically by VIZ Media, was recently ranked in USA Today’s Top 150 list of America’s best-selling books.

For more information on DEATH NOTE and other VIZ Pictures films please visit www.viz-pictures.com. For more information on the DEATH NOTE manga and animation, please visit deathnote.viz.com.

The two night event will be at almost 400 theaters nationwide on October 15 and 16th at 7:30pm.

“The first DEATH NOTE event was a tremendous success, enjoyed by thousands who were given a glimpse into the making of this visually phenomenal series earlier this year,” said Dan Diamond, vice president of NCM Fathom. “Fathom is excited to again partner with VIZ Pictures to bring DEATH NOTE II: THE LAST NAME to the big screen and invite fans nationwide to enjoy this wonderful event at their local movie theatre.”

Death Note II: The Last Name is a sequel to Death Note and takes place when Light Yagami joins the investigation team as Kira. He is trying to find, with L, the second Kira before he becomes a target.

At the theater event you will get an exclusive behind-the-scenes look about how the live action movie was made, an in-depth interview with the director and a profile of the cast. To see how much tickets are and if the movie will be showing at a theater near you, you can visit www.FathomEvents.com for all the details. Currently FathomEvents.com does not seem to have information on Death Note II:The Last Name, but keep checking and I will also let you know in the forums when the details are posted.