Death Note: The Art of Anime | Decode with ‪@dhruvrathee‬ ft.‪@The_MotorMouth‬| Netflix India

Tonight, at exactly 11.59 pm, in the comments below, whoever has made fun of my grey t-shirt will get loose motions. Yes, I know that Death Note doesn't work like this. People die in it. But the concept is a bit morbid. By the way, how is this cartoon for adults? Cartoons are for kids, right? In which there is violence as well. So, only minor injuries are inflicted. No blood loss. So, what is this? What are these cartoons made for adults? What are they? Why are there no such cartoons in India? And are anime shows better than live action shows? Friends, before talking about Death Note, let's understand the meaning of Cartoons, Anime, Manga and Comics. And what is the difference between them? Look, the full form of Anime is Animation. It's simple. But in Japan, this word has no special meaning. All the animated shows there are called Anime. But in the rest of the world, the meaning of Anime has become Japanese Animated Shows. Especially those shows whose themes don't cater to kids but are made for adults. This concept becomes a bit complicated in India because here we consider animation to be just a cartoon. Which is made for kids. Anime itself is not a genre. Anime can be of any kind. Comedy, Romance, anything. Like Bollywood itself is not a genre. And as far as Manga and Comics are concerned, there is a big difference here. Manga means Black and White Comics. Which is very famous in Japan. It is artistically very different from Marvel and DC Comics. All the popular Anime shows of today used to be Manga only. Death Note, Naruto, Pokemon, Dragon Ball Z, Attack on Titan, all these Anime shows are very popular in India. But due to public perception, Anime channels couldn't stay in India for a long time. The Anime on TV was never able to remove that cartoon image. In India, there are no examples of such adult cartoons. And now, Japanese Anime can only be found on OTT platforms. Along with Japanese Animated Shows, there are other Adult Animated Shows on Netflix. Like Rick and Morty and Bojack Horse. But what was so special about Death Note? That some schools in China had to ban merchandise related to Death Note. Because the kids of the school started writing their enemies or teachers' names in Death Note books. Death Note's TV show was released in 2006. And Manga was launched in 2003. But right after the launch, creators Sugumi Oba and Takeshi Obata came to know that they've got the horse of a long race. Sugumi Oba himself is an interesting character. He's like Death Note's reclusive genius, Lead Investigator L. He doesn't know much about it. And Sugumi is a man whose revelation was recently made. It was recently revealed. Maybe he doesn't want to reveal his real name so that no one can write his name in Death Note. Along with the concept, the story is quite unique. Some elements of the story, like Shinigami, which only Death Note's owner can see, are inspired by Japanese mythology. Death Note is a crisp and tight show If you look at it deeply, it's a story of power and power's addiction. Both characters consider themselves the guardians of justice. Light, who is an ordinary student, gradually becomes a criminal himself to justify his ends. And in classic Japanese anime fashion, Shinigami's motivations and desires are shown in an elaborate manner. This is something that Japanese anime can do very successfully. They know how to give a complicated and rich backstory to even the smallest of things. Maybe that's why in Naruto or Dragon Ball Z, one fight scene can run for 20-30 episodes. Because every fight has a tragic backstory. With great power comes great responsibility. Along with such dialogues, Death Note and Spider-Man-Batman have a common thing that their lead character is a vigilante. Looking at superhero movies, we also think that all these vigilantes are good people. But those who beat the law with their hands, they also think that they're doing the right thing. In Death Note, Light feels that whatever he's doing, he's doing it for good, no matter how wrong it is. Everything is justified because his ultimate goal is to make the world a better place. This is the same ideology of his counterpart, L. Both of them feel that they're justice. Greek philosophers also say that the veil of justice remains only when we're afraid of getting caught. When Light leaves Death Note and his memory is lost, he becomes a better boy again. But as soon as power returns, his God Complex returns and in the end, everything becomes justified Along with these comic books, one more thing is very similar in animes and that is their full-length live-action Hollywood adaptations. Attack on Titan, Dragon Ball Z, all these major anime hit shows have definitely become a flop Hollywood movie. All these Hollywood adaptations have never been able to capture the essence of anime or manga. Maybe because of the stylized nature of anime, it becomes very difficult to do it in live action. In Death Note, even the scene with the camera cuts and direction has been shown to be so dramatic that even Ekta Kapoor will feel shy. Such powerful sequences in live action look boring because to make them realistic, the style becomes weak. But such adaptations have never been liked by Japan's otaku and fans all over the world. Otaku is a term in Japanese culture that describes those people who love their computers more than people and are experts in some areas of pop culture. Those who don't like going out, those nerds and engineers are called otaku. The personality of the main characters and the puzzle-solving nature of the show is perfect for otaku culture. All the twists and turns of the show are based on the rules already set. Light makes his plan with the rules already set. For example, after killing Naomi's fiancé, to find out Naomi's real name, he lies and takes a page of Death Note with him. Anyone would doubt the book but a paper is a normal thing. This death scene of Naomi is also a good transition point of Light's transformation towards Kira. It started with the book but as it progresses, Kira hides a page of Death Note in his watch as well. There are no shocking twists, but brilliant moves which are mind-blowing because despite knowing all the clues, it is not straightforward to know what happens next. These obsessive characters are the lead characters Light and L think a little differently. L can never sit on a chair properly. Earlier, the term otaku was used as an insult but today, the popularity of these people and this term has increased a lot. It's not like all the Japanese anime shows cater to adults only. Shinchan has been watching Indian kids for years and even adults can enjoy the humor of this show. Anime is a tool of storytelling which helps in showing extraordinary stories because you can draw in any way you want. You don't have to follow any laws of physics or gravity. You just need the artist's imagination. By the way, in Japan's animation industry. There is a lack of talent and money in the industry. Entry-level animators get 200 yen for a drawing which is only 2 dollars or 150 rupees. It takes a lot of time to make a drawing and it's not like by increasing your level and experience, your returns and salary will increase. At least, in the world and in Japan, the artist's struggle is very common. To know more about this, we spoke to an expert. Friends, today we are talking to Somnath Pal who is an animator and director. He is the writer and director of Death of a Father and he has worked on Amar Chitrakatha's Sons of Ram. There are animated shows that cater to adults. Why don't we have such shows in India? In Japan, obviously, they were inspired by American animation. Definitely, it is like that. But at the same time, if you see in the West, it started with appealing kids. When the animation consuming audience was growing, they were craving for animation and they were creating animation that they could watch. Our previous generation, our fathers, they never watched animation. We have been privileged to get exposed to, say, India's first animated series which was Gaya Baya. Then there is, we got exposed to Cartoon Network, Dexter, Samurai Jack, we watched all of them. I feel that it is just a matter of time that this switch will happen. The end product that the consumer consumes, suppose there are a lot of less budget shows in America, like BoJack Horseman, or South Park, whose production value is not that good. The content was intellectually catering to a certain kind of audience, which is not offended by offensive humor. To explore all these things in India, I feel that there should be enough experiments. The success of any medium depends on having enough failures so that you can understand that these are failures, these are laggings. Personally, I would like to ask you, you must be watching anime shows, what do you prefer? Subtitles or dubbing? Oh, I am a sub guy. Especially, Japanese content is culturally very rich. Not just Japanese, pick any content from anywhere, pick Polish films, Estonian films, Russian films. So, the cultural nuances emerge when it is in the original language. It doesn't emerge in dubbing. Along with animation, Japanese anime shows have to be translated for Western audiences. And here comes the biggest question for an anime fan. Do you watch anime shows with English dubbing or with subtitles? Are you team subs or team dubs? There is a lot of discrepancy in the anime community. Purists believe that shows should be watched in the original language. And if you don't find it difficult to watch shows with subtitles, you won't like the voices of characters dubbed in English. In fact, in South India and North India, the dubbing of Pokemon and such cartoons is shown on TV. In South India, there is English dubbing and in North India, there is Hindi dubbing. Today, the industry of dubbing has grown a lot. Big Bollywood film stars like Shahrukh Khan, Anil Kapoor, etc. have dubbed for big Hollywood movies. To understand the art of dubbing, we spoke to an expert. So, friends, today we are talking to Sonal Kaushal who is a dubbing artist and YouTuber. And he has given his voice in shows like Doraemon and Chota Bheem. And he also makes content So, when you do dubbing, do you literally translate everything? Or sometimes there are some jokes that only work in Japanese? Sometimes you have to adapt. And our scriptwriters play a very big role in this. Sometimes it is literally written and we change it on the table, on the mic. Many times we change the dialogues. The dubbing directors, we change it together. So, according to India, you bring a little Indian touch in the dialogues and jokes. Yes, we have the liberty and we do it. Nowadays, you must have seen that Bollywood stars have also started dubbing. As a dubbing artist, do you know when a dubbing artist is dubbing or when a Bollywood star is dubbing a Hollywood film? Voice acting and acting are very different. I think voice acting requires a different push because you have only one medium to reach your audience. When you are on camera, you are visible. So, you can express with your face, body and voice. For example, there is a Bollywood hero and he is dubbing a Hollywood superhero, let's say. So, he does it in his own style. He can't sit in the character. A voice actor can create different characters with his voice. We are so trained that it is easy for us. But if there is a hero, he can't do it. This is true. Some people prefer dubbing and some prefer subtitles. Who do you prefer? Personally, I prefer dubbing. I haven't watched many subtitles. I tried once but I didn't like it. So, I think dubbing is better for me. Nowadays, many anime fan clubs want dubbing in India. Recently, I dubbed Chihiro in Written Away. I got so much love for it. So, I think dubbing is better for me. As we saw, there are many anime fans in India. But majority still prefer cartoons. Hence, there is no adult-oriented animated show in India. Anime and manga have a different meaning in Japan and the rest of the world. It is surprising how many innovations have spread on a small island. Hollywood hasn't learned the original's success. One Punch Man, Naruto, One Piece will have live action movies. Naruto is an iconic series for me. So, I hope they can do it justice. I hope you liked this episode. Tell me in the comments which show should I talk about next week. Till then, thank you.