Comments on: Death Note (aka: Desu Noto) — movie review

By: GoldenEyeRa

GoldenEyeRa — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 13:37:28 +0000

Hi again everyone, sorry I never returned, I just kinda forgot I’d been here… think I originally came here looking at a Grindhouse article or something, no idea why… :D

Anyways, I’ve looked into the reasoning behind my believing that the character’s name was actually Hikari rather than strangely being named Light (through katakana).

Basically, the only Death Note-related thing I’ve seen outside of my limited viewing of the film was the first ever fan-subbing of the first episode of the anime, more than a year ago… for some reason, the subber decided he would list Light’s name as ‘Hikari’ in all the subtitles, so from there I just assumed his name was Hikari (although I thougth this weird, as it is traditionally a girl’s name…)

So I went back and checked the film, and it is indeed Light (ライト). Sorry for my ignorance everyone! :D

By: raiki

raiki — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 21:56:58 +0000

((Er… I do believe the protagonist’s name was simply ‘Hikari’, and should be left that way when translating to English. The literal meaning is indeed ‘Light’, but as it is a name it’s left in the original Japanese form.

From what I can tell most subtitles and translations wrongly call him ‘Light’ in English. Just thought I’d point this one out. ))
name: raito
say raito fast enough and it sounds like light
you just need to say it in the right way
sort of like. . .lah – ee – to
the Lah is like how people who speak spanish pronounce their Rs

By: Remy

Remy — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 01:27:06 +0000

I like the series because the story is intriguing and the illustration is amazing. I am pleasantly surprised at how great Ryuk looked in the movie and am looking forward to the sequel.

By: Kris Kobayashi-Nelson

Kris Kobayashi-Nelson — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 18:38:05 +0000

Thanks Kinpatsuchan! The concept of his name “Light/Raito” is as fascinating as his character. At first I just thought that his name was an embodiment of honesty and faith in justice, but like you said, how he carries out his justice is a bit screwy even though he can justify its benefits, so a play on the word “moon/moonlight” would be quite fitting actually.

Will get on the sequel review soon.. thanks Greg!

By: Greg

Greg — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 16:44:44 +0000

great summation of this one.

my interest is piqued for the sequel!

By: Kinpatsuchan

Kinpatsuchan — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 03:08:52 +0000

Well, the name of Kira is Yagami Raito. That’s what he himself says in the second volume (chapter 12): “I’m Yagami Raito. Kanji of Yoru (Night), Kami from Kamisama (God) and Raito is written as Tsuki (Moon). Weird name, eh?”

However, that’s what I read in the note of a translator, I think, in the 5th volume:

As you will surely notice the name Raito will be
replaced with Light (Laito). That’s the only name if I remember
correctly which will be altered. So why the change?

Well, apparently there was some confusion with the japanese
language and Raito always sounded cool, till one found out it
was actually Light (Laito).

::: In short…. RAITO is now known as LIGHT! :::

Personally, I prefer the name Raito, it sounds better…
Raito, then, is my favourite character, I love his sense of justice, even if it is a bit… ehm… deviated! XD And then he’s so cool!!! ;p

That’s all, kisses from Italy… ^_^

By: rRYUKK

rRYUKK — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 03:21:18 +0000

I love your description of L, he is by far my favorite character. Enjoyed this very much!

By: Kris Kobayashi-Nelson

Kris Kobayashi-Nelson — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 20:52:40 +0000

Thanks Goldeneyera.. I think "Yagami Hikari" is actually a Digimon character.

I recently read somewhere that Raito's parents used the romaji pronunciation of "Tsuki" (moon) but throughout the movie everyone called him "Raito", so I didn't know how his name was written (not like I could correctly translate it anyway, haha). Interesting stuff. Are you a fan of the Death Note Manga?

By: Chris Nelson

Chris Nelson — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 16:04:58 +0000

Hey Goldeneyera,

Actually, I’m pretty sure Ryuk and Misa Misa were calling him “Laito” in the two films. I can go back and check, just in case.

By: GoldenEyeRa

GoldenEyeRa — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 09:02:03 +0000

Er… I do believe the protagonist’s name was simply ‘Hikari’, and should be left that way when translating to English. The literal meaning is indeed ‘Light’, but as it is a name it’s left in the original Japanese form.

From what I can tell most subtitles and translations wrongly call him ‘Light’ in English. Just thought I’d point this one out. :)