Singapore would have to wait until 28 December 2006 before the second movie premieres here, but thanks to the people at Animesuki, I have managed to read this ending. Credits to Kinny Riddle for this movie summary (which actually details everything right through the ending).
My personal opinion is that this ending is very satisfying and like I said before when I was commenting on the first movie, the Death Note movie have a seriously good scriptwriter, maybe I have to say even better than the author Tsugumi Ohba herself. I understand her desire to finish the manga in 108 chapter - 108 being the number of worldly desires in a Japanese teaching, but if she cannot manage to do it well then I’d say better don’t do it at all. The manga falls after the first arc and the ending is not quite good for some of us, but this movie’s ending has managed to do unexpectedly well and I have to praise the movie team for that. Can’t wait to see this in the movie with my own eyes.
Movie Summary
The movie begins with where the first one left off, with Misa obtaining the second DN and meeting the second shinigami, Rem. We are then shown the funeral of Light’s girlfriend, whose death was staged by Light to make people sympathize with him. Light is then brought to L’s underground investigative HQ, where when playing a game of chess, L reveals he still suspects Light, despite all that’s happened.
The movie then closely follows the manga in introducing the “second Kira”. Misa sends a tape announcing that she wishes to meet Kira, and gives a demonstration of her powers by killing people live on TV. The difference this time is that all this happened while there was a anniversary party in front of the TV station, where Sayu, Light’s sister was there as well. After the commotion with Light’s dad coming to the rescue and forcing the transmission to be terminated, Light came to pick up a devastated Sayu. Unbeknownst to him, Misa, who’s a celebrity herself in the TV station, happens to see Light, and notices that she could not see Light’s lifespan, she now knows he’s the owner of the DN - Kira.
As in the manga, Misa pays Light a visit, gives Light her DN. She then visits Light at college, and bumps into L, where she figures out his name, but L had her captured at once. Rem erases Misa’s memories of the DN and urges Light to rescue Misa. In the manga, Rem, under Light’s instruction, gives the DN to Higuchi, a greedy corporate executive. In the movie, Higuchi’s role is taken over by Takada Kiyomi, a junior reporter who’s resentful that she isn’t the anchorwoman. (In the manga, Kiyomi was Light’s classmate in college. )
Upon receiving the DN, she decides to do more coverage on Kira in a positive way, this allows her career to elevate. She also kills off the current anchorwoman who only got to her position by sleeping with the producer along the way to becoming the new anchorwoman. Yet by making this petty revenge and the increase in media coverages concerning Kira, both L and Light (who has temporarily lost his memory as he relinquishes control of the DN for now) are able to track her down very quickly. Upon recovering the DN and its memories and killing off Kiyomi, Light asks Misa to recover the other DN which he has buried in a nearby forest, and asks her to begin killing criminals again.
This is where the ending deviates from the manga.
L suspects Misa right away, and has Watari bring Misa over. At the same time, he says he wanted to test the (fake) 13 day rule, and arranges for Light’s dad to bring the DN they have with them to test it on death row prisoners. After sending everyone else away, it’s just L and Light left in the HQ. L says he knows Misa would bring her DN along as she has forgotten L’s name and wouldn’t want to miss this chance to write down his name this time.
Rem realizes Light is forcing her to save Misa. She disappears behind the wall and reluctantly begins to write down some names. Rem slowly disintegrates to dust, but before doing so, she destroys her own DN in a burst of blue flames as she did not want Light to obtain her DN. (Unlike in the manga, where Light retrieved her DN from her ashes). L collapses and goes into a spasm, he realizes Light is really Kira, but says it’s too late and closes his eyes. Misa exits the elevator - while witnessing Watari dying of a heart attack - and meets Light, who declares that they have won.
Or have they?
Misa gives Light her DN, and the first thing Light does is write down his father’s name - to the shock of Misa. Light has his father hand over the DN to him before dying of a heart attack. He says sacrifices needs to be made if a new world is to be born. Light’s father returns on cue and carries the briefcase containing the DN. Light says how sorry he is and that he has always respected his dad, but says what he did is necessary for the world. Light’s father remained silent, and opens the briefcase - to show there’s nothing inside.
The rest of the investigative team appears and has Light at gunpoint while Misa is handcuffed. Light is baffled, only to be confronted by none other than……L, who is STILL well and alive. After the first day when Misa has recovered her DN, L confirms the deaths of the criminals and has locked down Misa as his prime suspect. He secretly has Misa’s DN exchanged for a fake one. L has the real DN with him.
How can he still be alive? There’s a rule in the DN that says once a person’s cause of death is written, it cannot be changed. So L decides to put his own life on the line and wrote his own name down (though the audience still could not see his real name), where he will “die peacefully 23 days from now”. As he has already written his own death, what Rem wrote on her DN would not be applicable on L, and thus L is guaranteed to live for another 20 days. Though L is saddened that he could not protect Watari.
He convinces Light’s dad to take part in this set-up, Light’s dad was shocked at L’s determination to go so far, and in the end agreed. Light’s dad is saddened to see his son fall to such depths, and he has no choice but to have him arrested. Light tries to write some names on the DN paper inside his hidden watch compartment (I’d like to get my hands on such a watch), but is shot by Matsuda the marksman.
As a last resort, he urges Ryuk to kill everyone in return for showing Ryuk even more interesting stuff, but Ryuk isn’t buying that, and writes Light’s name down. Light writhes in pain as he dies in the arms of his father, who came rushing to him, while Misa was devastated, falling on the ground sobbing. L says he would burn the remaining DN, much to the disappointment of Ryuk, who then goes home.
20 days later:
Interpol says they did not believe anything about the DN, and has decided that this matter has come to a close and they will leave it as that. L sits alone in the HQ eating candy, Light’s dad comes in and commends L for his sacrifice. He then salutes L and leaves. L then “dies peacefully”, at his side is a photo of the late Watari.
One year later:
Yagami’s mom and sister Sayu both lament at the death of Light one year ago. As it’s snowing outside, Sayu, carrying an umbrella, goes to the station to pick her dad up. She says it’s been a year since Kira “disappeared”, and that the world has gone back to the way it’s been. But she’s not disappointed, as she believed that it was Kira that killed her brother, and that his death was not in vain as he had managed to bring Kira down before dying. Light’s dad hopes that she would never know the truth.
The final scene shows Misa, who lost all her memories concerning the DN and thus could not be prosecuted, mourning for Light’s death a year ago. She senses that she’s missing something important, but could not remember what it was. The camera then pans outside the window on Tokyo Tower, where Ryuk is seen flying towards the audience, laughing away.
Step One
I have heard about Sarah Brightman maybe more than five years ago, but just now I finally listened to her and I’ve fallen in love with her singing. Truly one of the best sopranos in the world, maybe even the world’s best, though some fans of Celine Dion and others will argue.
Artist: Enya
Hmmm, my bottom line really took a hit this week…
Have been thinking a lot about my future lately and truthfully I become uneasy every time I have to think about it…. 
Today, the second Death Note movie, “The Last Name” is released in Japan and Hong Kong.
