Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
When rogue shinigami Ryuk leaves his Death Note in the human world, he has no idea how far the one who finds it will take his new-found power. With the Death Note in hand, brilliant high school student Light Yagami vows to rid the world of evil. A recap of Death Note episodes 1–26, with alternate footage.
Death Note Relight 1 is a compilation film recapping the first 26 episodes of the Death Note anime series, covering the iconic cat-and-mouse game between Light Yagami and L. The plot itself — drawn from one of anime's most celebrated psychological thrillers — is genuinely compelling and well-structured, though its presentation here is condensed and somewhat truncated compared to the source series. The voice acting retains the quality of the original series performances, which are strong, particularly for Light and L. Cinematography and animation direction are solid TV anime quality with some added footage, but nothing cinematically groundbreaking. Novelty is the clear weak point: as a compilation edit of an existing series with minimal new content, it offers little that is distinctive or singular — it is fundamentally a recap product rather than a creative work in its own right, even if the underlying story is exceptional. The ending covers the resolution of the L arc, which is dramatically satisfying within the condensed format.