DEATH NOTE Director Admits American Setting Made Them Change Elements Of The Story

In perhaps the most triggering statement an opponent of the Americanized Death Note could read, director Adam Wingard says that sections of the plot have been changed to better cater to an American audience. Check out his quote (via CBM) below: 

"In the early stages of the film I was rereading all of the manga, really just looking at how does any of this translate to the United States. Ultimately, Death Note is such a Japanese thing. You can't just say let's port this over and it's going to all add up. They're two different worlds completely. Ultimately, whenever I say it’s about America, I’m looking at it like, what are the main kind of core issues going on in America? What are the things that people chalk up to conspiracy theories? What kind of weird underground programs does the government have? How do those work in the world of Death Note?”

Perhaps the question no one is asking, why was the decision made to create an Americanized Death Note before script writing even started? The move seems incredibly bizarre given the anime and manga's widespread success in the United States. It's a good story, and regardless of setting people will enjoy that right? The fact that Wingard says that they essentially cherry-picked elements and inserted it into their world definitely gives me pause. Even if you're completely against the whole "white-washing," argument, it seems like more people than not would agree pulling parts of the story to pepper in your larger new story seems a little concerning. 

Then again the anime was pretty different than the manga, so maybe this retelling will outshine all previous versions. We'll know for sure when it releases. Check out some new photos from the film below.