The anime scene is no stranger to live-action adaptations, though they have always had varying degrees of success both with the original fans as well as the western audience. One of the most recent of these adaptations came in the form of a live-action, westernized version of Death Note exclusive to Netflix.
Taking the Japanese setting of Death Note and placing it in the US was bound to result in some changes to the characters, including the main character himself, Light Yagami. However, there were some aspects of his character that survived the transition to live-action, though not all of them were his best character traits.
10 Changed: His First Kill
The first major change to Light's character came very early in the film, where Ryuk goads Light into testing out the Death Note on one of his classmates. In the anime, Light instead takes it upon himself to test the Death Note after seeing a hostage situation on TV, with that particular kill being used to prove to Mia in the film that he is, in fact, Kira. This first kill is somewhat similar to his second kill in the anime, where he confirms that the Death Note is real and is capable of killing, but he is smart enough to not kill one of his classmates despite contemplating doing so for a brief second.
9 Stayed The Same: His Desire To Kill Criminals
Although the reason why Light wants to kill criminals is different, the desire to cleanse the world of evil and create a new world is still there. In the film, he wants to make sure that no one else will go through the same pain as he and his father did after his mother was killed, which is a much more relatable reason that anime Light's, where he is driven virtually insane by the idea of having the power of a god. Despite the difference in reasons, the intent was always the same for both versions of Light, though shown a little differently between the two.
8 Changed: His Intelligence
Netflix Light is shown to be smart by a regular student's standards with him forging several test papers to make sure he and his classmates get decent scores, but this is nothing compared to the prodigious intelligence shown by anime Light. The original was not only gifted by high school standards, but was generally the smartest person in the room no matter where he was.
While bringing Light's intelligence level down makes him more relatable, it also means that he can't plot with anywhere near the same level of success as anime Light, meaning most of the successes Netflix Light has is down to dumb luck.
7 Stayed The Same: His View Of Criminals
Like anime Light, Netflix Light has a very low opinion of even minor criminals, and his main focus seems to be on criminals with a violent past. Even in the anime, Light focuses much harder on more dangerous criminals who go out of their way to hurt people rather than petty criminals trying to get by. This changes as the series goes on, particularly after the time-skip, but this side of Light is shown more with Mia than Light in the film.
6 Changed: His Relationship With Mia/Misa
Anime Light had no time for relationships in his eyes, as his goal to reshape the world in his image was his first and only priority. This changed when Misa, the Second Kira, came into his life somewhat forcefully and locked him into a relationship he didn't want. In contrast, Netflix Light pursued Mia, Misa's counterpart, while Mia seemed to use Light for the sole purpose of having access to the Death Note so she could kill whenever she wanted to.
5 Stayed The Same: Access To Police Files
A big part of how L was able to track down Kira in the anime was the fact that Light had access to his father's police files at home, allowing him access to the names of criminals that weren't released to the public. Although only shown briefly, Netflix Light also does this in his early days of being Kira, accessing his father's files to find names to add to the notebook which ultimately leads L to believe Light is Kira fairly quickly.
4 Changed: He Doesn't Hide The Death Note
One of the biggest problems presented to Light in the anime was how to hide such a powerful item as the Death Note since it would be catastrophic if anyone else got their hands on it. This was solved fairly early by Light booby-trapping his desk to ensure the notebook was destroyed if anyone found it, but Netflix Light had no such worries.
Instead of hiding the Death Note, Light openly uses it in public and is what leads Mia to find out what Light is capable of. Had Netflix Light hid the Death Note like his anime counterpart, Mia might not have been involved in his killings and he may have never had to kill her at the end of the film.
3 Stayed The Same: The Convoluted Plotting
One of the most interesting parts of Death Note is watching both Light and L come up with convoluted plots to try and draw each other out. While Netflix Light doesn't reach anywhere near the convoluted plots of his anime counterpart, he does manage to use the Death Note to its full potential by the end of the film, using the ability to control people before their deaths to ensure he isn't seen as Kira as well as removing Mia from the equation altogether.
2 Changed: His Unwillingness To Kill Innocent People
One huge change in Light is his unwillingness to kill seemingly innocent people who threaten to capture him. In the anime, Light had no issue in killing many members of the FBI and anyone else investigating the Kira killings, but Netflix Light was adamant that he would only kill criminals who he felt deserved to die. Mia takes up this side of anime Light for the most part, even recreating Ray Pember's death from the anime rather than Light doing it.
1 Stayed The Same: His Willingness To Kill Mia/Misa
Although Netflix Light had some real attachment to Mia, anime Light had no such attachment to Misa and only kept her close to make sure her antics didn't get either one of them caught and convicted as Kira. Both versions of Light, however, were more than willing to kill Mia or Misa when given the chance, though only Netflix Light actually had to kill his love interest as Misa was one of the only surviving characters at the end of the anime, with no memories of her time as the Second Kira.