How do the movies differ from the series?
Or is it the same story told in movie form?
Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by rulers as useful.
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It follows a similar path for the majority of the movie. Near the end it has an absolutely brilliant twist that would have made the fantastic series even better. I would suggest watching the whole series completely first so you can appreciate the twist even more. I saw the movie in theaters when it came out in limited fashion in the states and everyone who hadn't seen the movie was blown away by the twist and it's execution.
By the way, the acting is superb and the characters translate into live action perfectly, even the Shinigamis. If you see the dubbed version, you are also in for a treat. They use the same english voice actors as in the series so you know the quality is going to be great.
A lot of people complain about Misa being too silly and dumb in the series. This is toned down for the movies and makes the character even better and more realistic. The biggest difference in these two movies is that it doesn't follow the Mello and Near storyline. I would still recommend watching the entire series first.