This blog post examines how the movie Death Note blended fantasy, mystery, and thriller genres to craft an original and suspenseful story.
Characteristics of the Fantasy Genre
Hearing the word ‘fantasy’ often brings to mind films like The Chronicles of Narnia or The Lord of the Rings, featuring new worlds, elves, and other races. However, the fantasy genre is not limited to these elements alone. Furthermore, much of the fantasy literature and film prevalent today only showcases a small part of the vast realm of fantasy.
Rosemary Jackson approached fantasy through the concept of ‘illusion.’ She categorized fantasy into the marvelous, the mimetic, and the fantastic. The marvelous possesses a different time and space from the real world, presenting a new worldview like The Lord of the Rings, where elves and hobbits dwell. Readers and audiences see, believe in, and identify with this worldview. That is, they must acknowledge and follow the worldview created by the author. In contrast, the fantastic, unlike the marvelous, is described as a state of ‘hesitation’. It refers to a state that is difficult to accept as reality at face value, yet too ambiguous to dismiss outright as unreal. While the marvelous presents an alternative world, a new world, the fantastic blurs the boundary between reality and unreality. This ambiguity of the fantastic indicates that parts of reality are incorporated into the worldview and can also signify an eruption of the repressed.
Fantasy possesses several key characteristics. First, there is a difference in worldview. Whether it’s a new worldview or one that modifies reality to some extent, it always presents readers and audiences with fresh wonder. It offers pleasure and amazement by presenting something new. Second, there is a catalyst at the story’s beginning. The narrative structure often involves entering a new world by chance or encountering an unfamiliar object. Though the start may be accidental, this encounter forms the core of the story. Third, modern fantasy inevitably incorporates fantastical elements. Fantastical elements are essential to present a new worldview, and CG is frequently used to depict them more effectively. Finally, fantasy often contains criticism of reality. This criticism is more evident in fantastical worlds connected to reality than in purely wondrous ones. By progressing events through a transformed reality, it highlights real-world problems and prompts reflection on reality.
Mystery and Thriller
Mystery and thriller are often compared. The difference between the two genres begins with the progression of the events. Mystery films often feature a detective as the protagonist driving the story, while thrillers center on specific characters like innocent civilians. Mystery films focus on the reason behind the incident and its resolution, whereas thrillers focus on how the protagonist survives. Second, mysteries emphasize interpreting the solution to the crime, while thrillers induce nightmarish tension. Mystery films encourage audiences to deduce clues about the crime, whereas thrillers focus on startling the audience. Third, there’s a difference in information disclosure. Because mystery emphasizes tension and deduction, it hides a significant portion of information. Conversely, thrillers build tension by revealing information.
However, in modern times, the distinction between these two genres has become increasingly blurred. Theoretically, they can still be distinguished, but in contemporary cinema, the boundary between them is fading. Thriller films often contain mystery elements, and mystery films frequently incorporate thriller elements. However, in the past, thrillers were more closely associated with suspense than with mystery. For example, if four people enter a room to play poker and die when a time bomb explodes, it ends as a simple shock. Conversely, if the audience is told beforehand that a time bomb is planted in the room and then shown the four playing poker, they feel sustained tension and become curious about how events will unfold. This is suspense. While mystery and thriller have differences, they share a commonality with horror films in that they provide sustained tension rather than momentary shock, and they induce thought about what will happen next.
The Fantasy Elements of Death Note
The beginning of Death Note is accidental. The protagonist, Light, was an ordinary student. He possessed top-ranked national academic ability and lived with his police officer father, mother, and younger sibling, dreaming of becoming a police officer himself. Then, by chance, he picks up a ‘Death Note’ lying on the street. Initially, he didn’t believe the absurd claim that writing a name would cause death, but when a criminal whose name was written actually died, he realized it was real. The story unfolds as he begins killing criminals with his own hands, dreaming of becoming a god in a crime-free society. The story begins quite coincidentally: the Death Note was discarded on the street, and a boy burning with a sense of justice happened to acquire it.
Death Note presents a modified worldview. The temporal and spatial settings mirror the society we live in today. However, this world contains elements distinct from reality. Separate from the human realm, a new domain emerges: the ‘Shinigami,’ who manage human life and death. Yet, it’s difficult to call this a completely new or entirely replaced worldview. For example, in The Lord of the Rings, not only the protagonists but all inhabitants of that world acknowledge and live within its new worldview. In contrast, in Death Note, no one except the protagonists knows that Shinigami exist. They merely believe some entity punishes criminals. That is, people other than the protagonists live in a reality similar to ours today. In this respect, the film Death Note presents a fantastical worldview rather than a wondrous one.
Death Note features Shinigami. As beings that do not exist in reality, the film uses CG to depict the Shinigami Ryuk and Ram, making their presence recognizable to the audience. This use of CG facilitates an interaction that helps the audience accept the new worldview.
Death Note reconstructs reality. It makes us reexamine our world. It poses questions: Is it justified to kill murderers? Can an individual become the standard for judging crime? Can humans arbitrarily control life? The film presents the dangers inherent in individuals judging crime and the reasons why murder cannot be justified, all while being entertaining.
Death Note’s Mystery and Thriller Elements
Death Note possesses elements of both mystery and thriller. The film’s narrative progresses through the conflict between Light and the detective L who pursues him. While the protagonist is Light, the owner of the Death Note, Detective L’s role is also crucial. Though L cannot be called the protagonist, he plays a role as significant as Light’s and occupies a large portion of the story.
From Light’s perspective, the film becomes a thriller. Much of the narrative unfolds through his viewpoint, showing how he advances his plans without being detected. Details like the process of killing FBI agents and the methods used to eliminate criminals are information known only to Light. Therefore, viewing the events centered on Light focuses on how he evades the investigative net, lending it a thriller quality.
Conversely, from L’s perspective, the film becomes a mystery. While L suspects Kira might be Light, he lacks significant information known only to Light. He focuses on narrowing down Kira’s scope, gathering information, and deducing to solve the case. Viewing the film from L’s perspective, much information is blocked, and the focus is on the process of solving the case, making it a mystery film.
Death Note possesses suspense. The film doesn’t aim to shock audiences with sudden appearances of Shinigami or abrupt deaths of protagonists. Instead, a battle of wits unfolds centered around the premise that writing a name causes the person to die. Light must know L’s real name to eliminate him, but L uses an alias, making elimination impossible. L considers Light a prime suspect but cannot arrest him without definitive evidence—the method of killing. This standoff between the two creates instability and tension, with suspense forming the core of the film.
Exploring Genres Through Death Note Characters
Light is an extraordinary being. The setting of him being the top student in the nation lends significant plausibility to the film’s premise as a battle of wits. He is portrayed as quick to improvise based on the situation, possessing outstanding deductive reasoning and judgment. As the son of the National Police Agency’s Commissioner, he is in a position to easily access the agency’s investigative processes. Wanting to become a police officer himself, he feels disillusioned by the belief that existing laws cannot punish criminals. It is at this moment that the Death Note is given to him, leading to incidents where he kills criminals to establish his own order of justice. This setup reinforces the serendipity of the Death Note being given to Light and heightens the plausibility of the events.
L is a unique entity rarely seen in reality. From his first appearance, he is depicted through peculiar habits like his sitting posture, phone manner, and exclusive consumption of sweet foods. The dark circles under his eyes are his signature image. Beyond being a brilliant detective skilled in deduction, almost nothing is known about L. His very existence blurs the line between reality and unreality. Though a realistic character as a detective, his abnormal behavior and background lend a fantastical feel. Through this existence, the battle of wits with Light unfolds, creating a confrontation between a character possessing a fantastical Death Note and a fantastical character himself, emphasizing the fantasy elements.
Light and L drive the thriller and mystery genres. Both are characters with fantastical elements, yet they simultaneously possess exceptional intellect and character to drive the case forward. If one were too weak or too strong, the tension of their battle of wits would diminish, but these two are evenly matched. Their deaths at the conclusion demonstrate this equal footing. Their brilliant minds serve as a key element heightening the tension. Furthermore, their emotional responses heighten the urgency of the events and provide suspense.
Genre Analysis Through Film Scenes
Let’s examine the final part of Death Note: The Last Name. Light puts Misa, whom the Shinigami Ram favors, in danger of being captured by L in order to kill L. If a Shinigami uses a human’s lifespan for a specific cause, they die, and Light exploits this. To save Misa, Ram writes L’s name in the Death Note and vanishes. L appears to die, but he had previously written his own name in another Death Note, preventing his death. This allows him to successfully arrest Light, who ultimately meets his end. L also meets his death because he had written his own name in the Death Note.
This scene incorporates elements of fantasy, thriller, and mystery. The fantastical element of the Death Note establishes a new worldview and demonstrates the absolute power of the name-writing death. The Shinigami, Luke and Ram, who intervene in the events, are also fantastical beings not present in reality, adding to the fantasy element. Within this fantastical framework, the thriller and mystery elements of the story unfold. This scene contains a twist. The process of L dying and then being revived strongly emphasizes the thriller elements. However, this twist itself functions as a mystery element, as it involves withholding information from the audience. In this way, the film maintains tension until the very end through the combination of thriller and mystery elements. In this regard, the film Death Note can be described as a fantasy mystery thriller.
Concluding the Film Genre Analysis
Long ago, you may have heard the superstition that writing someone’s name in red ink causes their death. Of course, this isn’t true, yet many people still view writing names in red negatively and avoid it. You might have even tried it yourself as a child after hearing this story. Death Note begins with this childish notion. The story unfolds around the fantastical notion that writing a name in the Death Note leads to death—a childish, absurd tale. Yet Death Note is compelling enough to pique our curiosity. It takes that childhood fantasy and expresses it through fantasy, unfolding it as a thriller and mystery. Through this narrative, the film makes us reflect on reality and delivers enjoyment in a unique way.
What kind of change can endless effort and passion bring to life?
