Death Note Fanfic Outline

03/23/15

Spoilers for Death Note will follow.

Do fan rewrites or adaptations count as fanfic? Because that's what I want to make when it comes to Death Note.

Death Note is a really interesting manga. The anime adaptation is also really good. Usually, I can't stand the slowness of anime adaptations compared to manga, but it really fits the tone of Death Note, it really adds to the tension.

But that's not the point of this post. Although I really enjoy Death Note, I feel it has considerable weaknesses that I would like to attempt to correct. Being an inexperienced storyteller, chances of success are low, but trying is how I gain experience, I think.

Anyways, the problems with Death Note are:

• Really boring amnesia arc
• Poorly executed final encouters
• Some poor scenes post-L

The amnesia arc is the worst offender. It pulls all sorts of cheating so that Light can once again look like he isn't Kira. Now, the arc has some redeemable qualities, like showing Light's honest personality pre-Death Note, but really that's making up for a lack of showing the transition from pre-Death Note to post-Death Note when that transition was happening.

Also, being the kind of person I am, I freaking love three-way battles, which adding the business-person Kira helped to achieve. Unfortunately, he was a weak third player, and Light and L teaming up to catch him just made it so completely one-sided, it was ridiculous.

So, one of the more important things I would do in my adaptation of Death Note is make business-person Kira a separate Kira not created by Light, whom exists much earlier on. In fact, she (could be a she this time, the character will be completely different) would be the deciding factor in the Light vs. L battle.

This is a part of showing Light's transition from pre- to post-Death Note. Part of the problem is the time-skip that is fairly necessary, but it just shows him being all "I'll be God of the new world." I mean, I think that it's fine for him to have this attitude, I just think the transition could be a bit slower.

So, the scene where L broadcasts his intentions to capture Kira for the first time, I would execute it slightly differently. It shouldn't be cockiness that drives Light to try to kill L in this instance. It should be an implusive fear. This is the world's greatest detective, and Light has shown incredibly normal responses to extraoridinary things happening to him up until this point.

And so he should fearfully write L's name without thinking. He will maybe have some misgivings about this in the five minutes it takes for L to die (five minutes instead of 60 seconds, because 60 seconds is honestly just way too short). Except it doesn't take five minutes. It takes slightly less. And Light notices.

And in the time it takes for the real L to appear and announce that the on-screen L wasn't the real L, Light will have realized there is another Death Note user out there. One that doesn't want to be found.

At this point, Light, still not quite completely arrogant, may have chosen to hide. But hiding is irresponsible now. There's another Death Note user out there who isn't on the side of justice. Further, if that user is found, who knows whether or not there'd be enough information to catch Light.

Thus, a three-way battle ensues. Light must avoid detection while finding the other Death Note user and L. He must do what he can to keep them from finding each other, as well.

Most of the beginning story up until amnesia will be the same. I mean, I'd still change lots of important plot details (including the characteristics of the gods of death), but the plot would go much in the same direction: Light getting closer to L by drawing L closer to him. Light killing the various people investigating him, and Light exploring properties of the Death Note.

There would also be Light trying to find the other Death Note user, but more-or-less getting nowhere. Things will really change once Misa gets caught. Induced amnesia will not be an option. The death god Rem killing L will not happen. Light will not confess the possibility of being Kira, but will agree to being locked up for some similar reason.

His plan at this point will be a desparate gamble. With Kira killings having stopped, the unknown Death Note user will take over. Light would anticipate this because it basically happened with the killing of fake L in the beginning. And then Light can go through the process of actually trying to catch the unknown killer without amnesia, and still work on convincing L he's not Kira.

Thus continuing a 3-way battle.

That's the most major change I'd make.

Other, minor changes to come later, I think. I need to figure out how to communicate my ideas better.