The pen is quite literally mightier than the sword in this Manga-inspired crime thriller. The plot centres on Light, an undergraduate who slays criminals across Japan by writing their name in a notebook imbued with supernatural forces. As the police investigation mounts, our hero (or is that villain?) begins to relish the power in his pencil.
It’s an interesting premise that dwells on the idea of justice and power, but for all the homicidal hoopla, the action remains sporadic.
Manga fans will enjoy the brief dips into the book’s mythology, and the animated antics of flying god of death Ryuk - a sort of Goth Joker - are fun, but the story still plods.