[wodenokoto]

I would highly recommend the 2006 deaths note films.

I found the manga and anime to have too many side stories. Fans of them love these near miss stories, but I found them like a bunch of dead ends.

The double feature is well made and much more focused on the core story, imho

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Note_(2006_film)

[Andrex]

They're not dead ends per se because their purpose is growing the characters and revealing more of them to the audience. The movie streamlines and speed runs all that, for better or worse.

[throwatdem12311]

I also thought the the L spin-off was pretty good.

[throwaway314155]

Couldn’t disagree more. Both the manga and the anime are masterpieces.

[kadoban]

Ehhh, they're masterpieces and then a second half happens. Still ends up quite good.

[throwaway314155]

Indeed the first half is supreme. I really enjoyed watching Light's downfall though.