REVIEW: Death Note

Death Note

By Ohba Tsugumi and Asami Yuuko

 Published 2003-2006

Death Note

·         Light is a noted individual of good grades and social standings, which may indicate his use of the Death Note may indicate his disdain of criminals and humanity as being beneath him.

·         Light as the main character is like having Moriarty in Sherlock Holmes as the protagonist, which is fitting given that L is the Holmes character throughout the series

·         The nature of the Death Gods indicate that killing people with the Death Note is boring under normal circumstances, though in the hands of a person it becomes more violent than need be

·         The realistic style of the humans next to the surreal demon style of the death gods contrasts well though it makes the whole series feel surreal also

·         The fact that each chapter or chapter arc adds more rules to the Death Note does give noted plot expansion for the series, though this could also be interpreted as the author making up restrictions and such for the series as he goes along

·         The fact that the Death God Ryuk bothered to make the Death Note in English and Japanese subtly indicates the nature of the series’ demographics, as it was expected for Japanese audiences to pick up yet it also indicates the foreign nature of the English language to the Japanese. It also could be a bid to see if American audiences would enjoy it as well.

·         There is more noted drama in between the deaths as opposed to the constant massacre of characters, which is unusual for a Shonen Jump manga as series by Shonen Jump are known for over the top violence and the breaking of physics. This in turn binds the series of Death Note to the laws of physics despite the existence of Death gods.

·         Light’s willingness to kill his father if he becomes a threat shows his adamant look on his ideals.

·         The creation of Kira notably reduces crime, so although the acts of Light could be seen as bad they do indeed serve the greater good

·         A good noted part of the beginning was dedicated to the means to which Light was to protect his identity as Kira, such as the possible burning of his Notebook should the house be raided

·         Light notably doesn’t make the deal with the Ryuk, or the devil, himself to gain the power to look at people’s names and lifetimes. This is a good contrast to Faust as though Light has the powers of a devil with him he prefers control for himself as opposed to gaining knowledge or powers.

·         The series is notably more of a drama as opposed to a conflict comic, a rare thing in Shonen manga.

·         Light notably does experiments with the Death Note to see if people will die in specific ways if he writes with a specific instruction in mind

·         Light’s use of the Death note makes him notably like the Spectre in DC comics.

·         Given the nature of his attacks, Light becomes more like the criminals in ruthlessness as the series progresses

Bibliography

Ōba, Tsugumi, Takeshi Obata, and Pookie Rolf. Death Note. San Francisco: Viz Media, 2005. Print.

REVIEW: Dredd 3D

Dredd 3D

Directed by Pete Travis

Released 2012

Dredd 3D

·         The film notably has only Judge Dredd and Judge Anderson as characters from the comic book series. The other noted characters Ma-Ma and Kay were drug dealers made specifically for the film.

·         The setting is that of a modern metropolis on the East Coast with giant new structures for people to live in, as opposed to the forced CGI future of the previous Judge Dredd film.

·         Dredd notably doesn’t proclaim his own title as “The Law” every scene like the previous movie.

·         Anderson’s background as a mutant with psychic powers is not delved into much in the movie.

·         The film notably ends without a romance between the dual protagonists, a noted deviation from other cinema

·         The amount of blood of violence and depictions of mutilation was notably high in the movie; given the R rating it was surprising that a comic book movie would be allowed such treatment.

·         People seem notably used to violence all the time in the Dredd universe as people are dying in a mall and literally thirty minutes later it is allowed to open again despite the traumatic shootings and killings

·         The use of 3D for the narcotic scenes was well used, as 3D was used with hallucinations in a way that emphasized the surreal nature of the drugs compared to the gritty nature of the Dredd universe. The drugs also made the base colors of the movie much lighter as opposed to the gray dark scheme of the metropolis.

·         Dredd notably doesn’t take his helmet off in the film, a gripe people had with the other film. He also can run out of bullets with his gun and can be wounded.

·         The common people are notably mistrusting of Judges as much as criminals, as with the example of the Medical facility’s ward not helping Dredd out.

·         (Spoilers) Apparently no one knows the DNA rule of the Judge guns as one guy gets the consequence of trying to use a Judge gun.

·         (Spoilers) Anderson’s PSI powers are quite in flux in the film as they range from God-tier psychic memory drains to not being able to sense people who are right next to you

·         (Spoilers) Ma-Ma treats her gang like lambs to the laughter yet notably doesn’t allow Anderson to be mutilated or violated save for execution.

·         (Spoilers) The Judges seem to not be able to tell of others of their kind go bad as corrupted Judges do appear in this film.

·         (Spoilers) The execution of a gang member and Anderson’s meeting with the member’s wife seemed a bit forced to bring out drama to make Anderson question being a Judge.

·         Apparently no one tried to make an inspection of the Peach Tree living complex as Judge Dredd going there made a big deal of things

Bibliography

Dredd 3D. Dir. Pete Travis. Lionsgate, 2012. Film.

REVIEW: Judge Dredd The Complete Case Files 01

Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files 01

By John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra

Published 1977

Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files 01

·         The series notably has a positive, if not conservative, view of judges (police) always being in the right throughout the series

·         Judge Dredd never took his helmet off once, unlike the Judge Dredd film adaptation done by Stallone

·         Judge Dredd had a sidekick in the series in the Robot Walter and a side character in the stereotypical Italian Maria

·         There is notably a whole story arc dedicated to a robot war and the Wild West being on the moon

·         The panels are notably clump together in some situations, though this is common in late 70’s comics that were limited to less than ten pages per issue. (Issue 3, Page 2)

·         There are a noted lack of females being killed or kidnapped in the series, as the ladies that are not Maria are notably idealized and objectified

·         The Soviet Union apparently existed up to the year 2099 in the Judge Dredd series. This reflects the seeming adamant nature of the USSR to the USA in the late 70’s.

·         There are noted side stories in the back dedicated specifically to Walter

·         Robots are seen as slaves in the series despite the sentience of some of them. In fact, Kenneth the robot initiated the Robot War story arc that immediately takes place several issues in.

·         Rico, the clone brother of Dredd in the film by Stallone, is notably just a corrupted Judge in his origins. He notably lets himself be killed in the comic series and doesn’t appear again.

·         Comic books in the Judge Dredd series are ironically contraband in the year 2099 that hooks kids to addiction. Fittingly, 2000 AD comics made themselves the comics that are the contraband in the series

·         The bullets the Judges use serve as dues ex Machina as they seem to hit the targets literally with heat seeking

·         Bigotry in the Judge Dredd series exists with the Neon Knights, which serve as clan members to persecute robots and the people they serve under

·         Judge Dredd notably has but one personality type: lawman. While there could be development with him later in the series, for Case Files 01 and the noted first issues provided Dredd has little personality.

·         It seems that no one administratively seeks to question the Judges in the series, as the “judge, jury and executioner” nature of the Judges that subjectively could be corrupted easily is never questioned in the series and its beginnings.

·         The style is notably edged and more realistic in its art design

·         The backgrounds notably establishes only in several panels per page, a quite advanced technique.

Bibliography

Wagner, John, and Carlos Ezquerra. Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files 01. Oxford: Rebellion, 2010. Print.