Look what my kid got me for my birthday! Soichiro is my absolute favorite character ever, in every single version of Death Note. I love and cherish him so much! She gave me the signed photo by his voice actor, Christopher Britton. I already had the figure ❤️

I wonder how the world would act if criminals just started dropping dead without reason, but maybe having the deity type presence in the world was something that was necessary for Light’s goals. I’m aware that he was just arrogant though and wanted to be known. Makes me think tho.

Hello, I remember when I first posted my Mikami cosplay there is was I think 3 years ago, now I actually how to cosplay with more than a simple shirt and glasses ✌🏻

He starts out saying that the likelihood of Light being Kira is only 7% and later says "There's no "might be" about it YOU ARE Kira" when Light requests to be detained. So at what point in between these events did he go from suspicious to knowing?

Wasn’t sure what tag to add, I’m only on episode 12, safe to say I‘m immediately attached to L, hope he doesn’t die or end up traumatised or depressed like EVERY OTHER CHARACTER I LIKE DOES :)

(no idea if this post is even allowed, lmk if not but I think I read the rules correctly 🥲 no spoilers please)

I think it is interesting how Mikami worked as a prosecutor which he described as “an ideal job” for him and nonetheless supported Kira. I know that there is a connection between the justice system and Kira since they both have somewhat the same morality principles as in for example it is wrong to kill someone and so on. Mikami working under the justice system as its helper in representing convicting the criminals was properly an ideal job for him since he loved working under Kira to help him in the same way and therefore is obedient to their morality. But there is a clear difference between the justice system and Kira. Kira does not only kill people who were already convicted but also people who were only accused of a certain crime. Misa’s parent’s killer for instance was not yet convicted before Kira decided to kill him. I cannot really understand Mikami’s moral compass when Kira and the justice system works in complete different manners. As it seems he is likely just happy that criminals are getting killed that easily. But as a prosecutor should he not be interested in letting a person come to trial and state their case before someone decides to kill them that easily?

Suppose you needed to kill multiple people in a specific way that involved a specific action and the death needed to occur in a specific time.

Now, instead of tediously writing such instructions for every person you intend to kill this way, could you just declare a function in the Death Note by writing something like fx = "Walks to x location in x time in x day and does x thing and then dies" and tehn just write the name of the person and for the cause of death just follow it up by writing fx? This way, it would be easier to kill multiple people in the same specific way.

I'm having a hard time deciding if I want to get the black edition or the complete box set. The complete box set seems to be really cool with all of the covers and also the extra volume 13. Its a little bit bigger than the other volumes tho so I don't know if it will look good when you place them on a shelf. I also like how clean the black edition looks and its also a little bit more expensive to get all the black editions than the box set. I don't know what to pick if anyone has any advice I would appreciate it.

According to Ohba, similar to the anime, each main character has a color assigned to them, which also helps make it easier getting the atmosphere/vibe right when drawing color images.

He also shared the ones of the main trio, with Light being a lack of color or clear, L being gold, and Misa being either pink or black.

What colors would you assign to the rest, and is there any particular reason for your choices?

Like I don’t think he’s a saint, but I don’t recall him doing anything bad. He just kind of had an ego. But he still genuinely wanted to solve the Kira case.

1. Light yagami

2. Teru mikami

3. Lawliet

Just got the DVD complete series, Im shocked how they added the insanely painful crt whine whenever Light's tv is on. I dont remember it in the Netflix version when I watched it however many years ago.

An odd detail Ive never seen mentioned before

Once he killed Lind L. Tailor and put himself under suspicion, instead of the magazines and stuff he listened to music, would right down cheat sheets, and just acted as a student who is smart then actually is smart. Even seeming dumbfounded and unbothered by the kira stuff because it wouldn’t involve him.

(and I know lights ego could never, he needs to win and prove how smart he is but what other issues would come of it?)

-What if light didn't kill Lind L Taylor

-what if light started killing 1 criminal every hour of every day from the start instead of mostly at night after school so they wouldn't know hes a student, also they wouldn't find out he has access to police info cause he wouldn't have to switch up the times of the killings when they suspect hes a student.

-what if he didn't kill the fbi agents (if it even comes to that)

I dont see how L could even find out he's kira if light didn't make those mistakes that helped L narrow in on him. Look I get it, light also wanted to get close to L so he could kill him and he did, but he still ultimately lost and died in the end. What if he didn't make those mistakes and didn't try to kill L. Would he have survived? Or would L eventually find him and convict him?

One thing I've been thinking about with the way Kira kills people is that the most common way he does it is with giving people heart attacks.

Surely that would mean that in the world of Death Note any person that has a regular heart attack is pressumed to be a victim of Kira and therefore they won't bother trying to save their life since, unless I'm mistaken, they can't save people affected by the Death Note

I just watched episode 36 and I can't believe light killed kiyomi. I low-key thought he liked her

I'm a big fan of fan comics that put Death Note characters in funny and/or wholesome situations (like Light not wanting L and Misa to see his baby pictures, or Light and L interacting as kids). There's a scenario I've been imagining that could fit this theme, albeit with a slightly more serious tone.

What if, while L and the Task Force are investigating the Yotsuba Group, they were visited by teenage Near and Mello? The two would be sent by Wammy's House as part of some kind of traineeship, allowing them to learn firsthand from L himself how a top-tier detective works.

On the comedic side, I can imagine the Task Force members getting annoyed at having to work while dealing with two kids, one of whom is addicted to eating noisily, while the other is always leaving his toys lying around on the floor. They might even start suspecting that L is much older than he looks and that Near is his illegitimate son, considering how similar they are.

I can also picture Light, during the events of Episode 25, mentally savoring the fact that he's finally about to get rid of L, only to suddenly step on one of Near's LEGO bricks. Misa would probably treat both boys like stuffed animals, much to their annoyance.

On a more serious note, I can imagine L occasionally asking Near and Mello for their thoughts on the Yotsuba case, with each of them making both good and bad deductions about who the third Kira might be. Light would appreciate how smart they are and recognize their potential. However, once he regains his memories, he would think that, for the time being, they pose no more of a threat than any other member of the Task Force, so Rem wouldn't write down their names.

I think L would let them accompany the team during Higuchi's arrest, under his protection. Both boys would be sitting in the back of the helicopter alongside L and Light. Once they arrived at the scene and L got hold of the Death Note, Near and Mello would be the next ones after their mentor to touch the notebook and see the shinigami. Light would then snatch the notebook, regain his memories, and kill Higuchi while everyone else was still in shock.

After L's death, I can imagine Near and Mello returning to Wammy's House and going their separate ways not long afterward. Since no one on the Task Force would have asked for their real names, the story would continue more or less as it does in canon.

What other funny or serious situations can you guys think of for this scenario?

Okay, I've watched Death Note a couple of times, and I still don’t understand this. Before I even get to the bag of chips... there were MANY surveillance cameras in Light's room. How did he really manage to look inside the bag of chips and read the criminals' names without being noticed????? I'm assuming the mini TV was muted since there were wiretaps, so he was obviously relying on video feed only. Couldn't the cameras behind or above him have at least caught him trying to look inside?? 😭

Two, why didn't ANYONE else like Sayu or his mom eat that particular bag of chips? Could it be that he was the only one who liked that brand and was sure no one else would earth them?

I think at least everyone in Death Note has some characteristics that are inspirational to us , so let's try to dive deep and find a good thing to say about everyone. I'm going to try to find something I love about literally everyone , even the ones who seem to be irreedemable and secondary characters, until I run out of ideas. Suggest me some, too. I'll try to keep it as much spoiler free as I can. Warning: very LONG POST ahead.

• Light Yagami: He has amazing long time planning abilities and deep knowledge of people's minds and also his own functioning in depth. He can deduce what others are probably going to do, and he never fails to predict what similar-minded individuals like him are going to do, because he knows himself really well. It's not obvious that one knows in details how their own brain works and weaponize it. I'd love this. Planning things 100 steps far ahead and almost never failing. And also, having a clear goal and dedicating all his life to pursue this, giving away everything mundane just to achieve this goal that is so far ahead in time and that involves the whole world. Impressive. I personally have sh*t planning abilities, and I struggle to plan things that don't provide me instant dopamine to be honest.
• Ryuk: He's the best bystander ever. He doesn't have a single care in the world, except his apples addiction. He's only there for the vibes, doesn't give a F about anything and he doesn't fall for any manipulation or drama. That's the trait that I think would benefit me a lot, since I'm a sensitive a**.
• Soichiro Yagami: this is a Man with a capital M. His honour and integrity are enviable traits. He's definitely someone who chose that job because of his own ideals and he really wanted to pursue true justice. Nowadays these traits are so rare. People only care about the money. Pol*ticians should take example.
• L : It might be obvious, but I truly "envy" (in a good way) his exceptional logical and deduction abilities, especially when understanding people. L is simply outstanding. Figuring out this much about people's real motives and reading through BS even without meeting them face to face is truly a God given advantage in life. I also love his master manipulating skills. He's just so good at it that he managed to manipulate the whole Death Note cast and fandom, too. And manipulation isn't always meant to be malicious.
• Naomi Misora: I love her dedication to her job, similar to Soichiro. She pursues true justice, due to her own beliefs and love for her fiance, and doesn't let apparent misoginy stop her. She doesn't care that her "role" is to be a wife and a future mother. No, she's born to be a detective. The IT woman, to be honest. Beautiful, professional and intelligent.
• - Misa Amane: she is not named Light, but she sure is the true ray of light. She's so bubbly, positive and pure-looking. She can make the most grueling and tragic story funny and lighthearted. She's also super cute and she looks like a fun person to be around because she doesn't take herself seriously. Man, I'd love to live life like she does, she's always smiling and saying stupid things even when she's in the most dangerous situations.
• Rem: I love her maternal love towards Misa and her curiosity about human nature. She will never understand it, but she always tries to figure out these interesting or rather disgusting creatures that are humans. She's like a big sister or a supernatural mother to Misa, and that's so cute. Having someone you're willing to protect and to life for is honestly beautiful. As long as it doesn't turn into tragedy, of course. Not going there.
• Mello (Mihael Kheel) : Mello is truly a force of nature. His abilities to plan many steps ahead and his dedication to a long term goal are almost equal as Light's, so i'm not going to repeat all that. I love how he's driven by normal emotions, he's raw, human and struggles with an impossible and inhumane societal system where he was raised. Also, I love his fashion sense. He doesn't care about societal expectations about what a masculine man has to be. Heels, long hair, slender figure, gothic style . He's not a typical manly man, so what? I'd love to have such a distinct style and aura. Err, maybe not the hairstyle. That's a no for me.
• Near (Nate River) : This character has always inspired me calmness and tranquility. He's got aura. His patience and ability to stay calm and never ever crack under pressure are truly outstanding. Solving monochromatic white jigsaw puzzles and building giant tarot cards towers down to the millimeter are extremely grueling tasks that would make anyone ragequit, unless you are Near with his apparently infinite patience. Also, I admire the fact that he never sees a problem separated from its solution. Really inspo especially for me, who I am a impatient and impulsive person who constantly panics under the stupidest things. Near is also my favourite character, but that's just a small detail.
• Shuichi Aizawa: I love how he's so balanced and professional ALL the time. He loves his family dearly and he prioritizes them above everything. That's so valuable. The time spent with a young daughter is irreplaceable and absent father are extremely damaging, so good job Shuichi.
• Touta Matsuda: He's the ultimate underdog. He's courageous and puts his life on the line without thinking twice. He's constantly underrated and that caused his motivation to demonstrate his value to increase. I admire that of him. I would have lost it if I was in the same place as him, constantly feeling humiliated and demined.
• Teru Mikami: I love how he's so meticulous in life. He has every single step scheduled. I'd love to have that sense of order. I love how he stands up against bullies and harassers. His gym schedule is impressive, he even goes in festive days, I need to take example instead of being a couch potato.
• Kyosuke Higuchi: He's a real one. He does everything for himself and his company. Billionaires are a nuisance anyways, so whoever kills rich CEOs has a pass for me. (Don't take me too seriously). He has a pretty good car. Lmao. It's hard to find good things about this guy.
• Watari: He's an outstanding genius. He managed to create an empire with his inventions, he's also a badass sniper and lastly he's also a good father or handler or whatever you want to call it, figure to L. He lets his "son" shine. He created a place where the most amazing minds of Earth can thrive and express themselves, but remained humble about it. Sometimes you just need to let your actions speak.
• Stephen Gevanni: He's the most outstanding professional I've ever seen. He not only managed to do his job perfectly, he also did something that went beyond his job, to secure something way more important than his paycheck. I honestly would've just escaped the country. This also applies to the others SPK members.
• Halle Lidner: She's a diva. Like Naomi Misora. She's a hardened professional woman who doesn't give a F and just goes forward with her goal. She works apparently behind the scenes, but her contribution is vital.
• Kiyomi Takada: She's polished, pristine and high class, and also a top student. Something that I'm definitely not and I truly "envy" is that she's loved by everyone and can sway opinions in her favour. Her bodyguards' loyalty is...impressive. Her voice in English is so beautiful. Although I don't align so much with her character at all, I love how she carries herself.
• Matt (Mail Jeevas): He radiates cool and chill guy energy. I'd love to spend a day talking to someone like him, when he's unarmed of course. He loves Nintendo Switch and that's a plus. I love Nintendo. I also love his loyalty to his former schoolmate and his humbleness. He's a human character and like Misa he doesn't take himself so seriously.
• Reiji Namikawa: he's so intelligent, pretty and he's the only decent person in the Yotsuba group. His hair are goals. I love how he's an important person and a rich business man but he doesn't look like the stereotypical white masculine male either. I know that's not a inherently positive trait but I happen to admire characters who stand out.
• Sayu Yagami: I love how bubbly and cute she is, and how she knows her values and standards and doesn't settle for an older man flirting with her.

If I forgot someone feel free to tell me!

Hello.

Today makes an entire year since I originally posted my analysis of Misa Amane. I know I said that after I finished my trilogy of posts regarding the ending of the series, I was going to be finished with Death Note discussion, but given that this momentous occasion was right around the corner, I felt that I should at least do one last thing, and that is to make good on my promise to revise that post.

The original was comprised of two older comments of mine, simply mashed together, and while I stand by what I said, I wanted to go through and do a bit of editing and expand on a few things to better present my thoughts.

So with that in mind, here we are again to examine Misa’s character, her circumstances, and why I personally feel that she is one of the most tragic characters in Death Note.

So here goes.

—

For a long time, Misa Amane has been one of the more divisive characters in Death Note. Many people see her as annoying, which is understandable. Others have sympathy for her situation, which I think is also understandable. However, what originally prompted this analysis was the (at the time) commonly held opinion that she’s somehow worse than Light.

Misa’s actions are, of course, extreme and morally condemnable, but I believe there needs to be an asterisk involved here. I, like many others, feel horribly for Misa, because there’s a very strong chance that her life would have been very different had she never seen Kira’s rise to power. The same can of course be said for Light, if he’d never gotten the Death Note then he’d be a good and upstanding citizen. However, when it comes to Misa, it’s a little different.

People criticize her for killing news anchors and police officers for speaking against Kira and trying to stop him. They criticize her for being so willing to kill her friend to cover her tracks. They criticize her for murdering anyone in general. Yet these same criticisms can apply to Light.

Light killed Lind L. Tailor, who was presented as an innocent detective just doing his job, and whose only crime as far as Light was concerned was calling Kira evil. Light kills Takada to cover his tracks. Light murders innocent people pretty regularly. Light is a hypocrite.

But going further, you can also explain Misa’s actions by examining the way Kira had an impact on society. During the Lind L. Tailor broadcast, we see people already engrossed in what’s going on, people commenting on the showdown happening before them. When L tells Kira to try to kill him, some guy shouts “Do it Kira!”

That is something I find particularly striking. Incidents like this, and the websites Light talks about early on, all stem from a shift in the morality of society. It’s exactly as he describes. Away from prying eyes, people’s thoughts come out. And if the man cheering him on is anything to go by, it’s no longer just contained to the internet. Instead, we see that Kira is having a profound impact on morality.

So we then come to Misa, whose introductory act is to kill two news anchors for speaking out against Kira. Why would she do this if the news anchors have done nothing wrong? Well, look at the example Kira set himself. Lind L. Tailor spoke out against Kira. Kira responded by killing him. Kira doesn’t have a voice, so he cannot say why he killed Lind L. Tailor, so it can only be assumed that it was done to silence a vocal opposition to his mission.

Misa’s logic would have very likely been “if Kira kills people who speak against him, then I will too” which is what leads to her actions. And Ukita? Well, how about 12 FBI agents? The same explanation applies.

The only one that Light has not done before Misa is contemplating killing her friend as a cover. This one, I do not excuse her for. But again, I do feel an explanation can be achieved by the same shift in morality I spoke of earlier. Everything I’ve described so far can be traced back to this shift. Kira has publicly killed innocent people. Kira has made it clear that criminals are not the only target, just the primary one. So Misa is not only subject to this morality shift, but she’s also following Kira’s example as a killer. To act as though she in any way arrived at these conclusions independently of Kira is to misunderstand how Light wanted to enact his will as Kira.

We see in Misa the culmination of what Light wants. People who will follow him and are willing to do anything he asks. But she’s impulsive, and does what she thinks he wants. Light’s problem stems from his inability to control her, and the situation. He objects to her recklessness because it threatens his plans, rather than because he has any moral objection to her killings. I think there’s a certain irony in the fact that Misa is precisely the sort of devoted follower Kira encourages, yet Light finds her devotion so inconvenient when he cannot control how she acts on it.

Furthermore, we can examine her obsessive infatuation with Light. It’s often said that she only loves Light for Kira. I agree with this. Light is, by all means, an attractive young man. But he has the outward personality of a slice of burnt toast with no butter. I believe it’s quite clear that Misa’s adoration of Kira is brought about by him killing the man who killed her parents. So in a time when she was depressed and dejected, Kira came along and gave her absolution. Kira essentially, in her eyes, gave her something to believe in. Something to live for.

But I don’t believe it’s really as simple as saying that she’s into Kira because of the killing, because her character (at least to me) is so clearly structured as someone who is still trying to cope with the loss of her parents, which wouldn’t be surprising since their killer was killed by Kira less than a year after they died. Not only that, but the stalker that Gelus kills to save her attacked her a month after that other guy died.

So in the span of less than a year, her parents were murdered, Kira shows up and starts killing criminals, one of them happens to end up being the man who killed her parents, then a month after that, a stalker tries to kill her. That’s… a lot of emotional trauma in less than a year. So I think that it isn’t so much that she loves Kira, but rather she’s been so mentally broken down that Kira became a symbol of the bad things in her life going away, and she latched onto that as an emotional support.

She views Kira as a savior and is drawn in by that. And when she received her Death Note, she felt that she had a purpose in life. Her goal was to thank Kira, and seeing that he’s Light, a young guy with aspirations and going to university, her devotion became directed toward an actual person. Light being canonically attractive is the part that pushed it further into infatuation.

So psychologically speaking, I don’t believe she ever truly loved any part of him at all. That doesn’t mean Misa doesn’t genuinely believe she’s in love with him. I think Light’s physical attractiveness compounded with Kira’s symbolism to her life to form into what she believed was love for Light. In other words, I think she’s mistaking an intense infatuation for genuine love. But if it were only Light, and Kira had nothing to do with it, I think she’d find him hot, but would otherwise not be interested in him.

This is, at best, a very unhealthy setup for her. She hasn’t been able to properly recover from her parents’ death, and has latched on to something that she thinks is good when it leads her to do evil. Before she actually finds Light, Misa is trying to be useful to Kira. She wants to thank him, support his mission, and demonstrate her devotion to the person she believes gave her something to live for. But once she actually meets him, her desire to prove herself useful becomes intertwined with her desperation to be loved by him. For Misa, being loved by Light would mean that the person she’s built her entire sense of purpose around actually wants her in his life.

It’s also worth acknowledging that Misa isn’t entirely passive in this situation. She’s the one who seeks Light out and actively pushes for a relationship with him, even going so far as to threaten to kill other women who might come between them. That’s possessive and deeply troubling behavior, and her trauma doesn’t excuse it. However, that doesn’t change the fact that Light recognizes how desperate she is for his affection and deliberately takes advantage of it. Her willingness to pursue him, however aggressively, doesn’t mean she deserves the treatment she receives from him.

All of that said, when you really boil down Misa’s character, she is deeply traumatized. Light, as Kira, represents to her a new meaning and reason for her to go on living. So much so that she’s willing to do anything to show her devotion, even submit herself to his abuse if it means he will accept her. Before Kira came into her life, she’d lost her parents, and a major pillar of her life collapsed. Whatever else she had going for her, none of it seems to have given her the happiness or peace she needed. It’s just her poor luck that Kira turns out to be Light Yagami, who couldn’t possibly care less about her.

But she’s useful to him, and so he strings her along, making her believe that if she does enough that she’ll earn his love, all the while treating her like garbage. Misa accepts his treatment because she believes that proving herself worthy of his affection will finally earn her the love she wants from the person who has become her reason for living. But once he’s gone, she’s back to having nothing. If she believed she could earn his love, that chance was torn away from her in her eyes.

I feel bad for her because she didn’t deserve what happened to her, and Light led her on to do his evil when she could have lived a much better and more fulfilling life, away from this evil. What she needs is a therapist and people who genuinely care for her. Light does not represent either of these. Instead, she fell into a toxic abusive relationship. I stand by that statement, and that she didn’t deserve what she got.

I’m not saying she wasn’t a willing accomplice. She was willing to commit murder before she ever met Light, and nothing about her trauma or her devotion to Kira absolves her of responsibility for those decisions. But handwaving Light’s abuse by essentially saying “well she was asking for it” is honestly disturbing to me, especially when it’s so clear that Misa is mentally unwell due to her own trauma.

Yes, she is the one who put herself in that position by offering herself to Light. But acting as though that suddenly absolves Light of abusing her is just morally detestable to me, and I feel that it misses the point of her character.

People tend to think that she’s worse than Light or that she’s inherently evil and malicious, but from a purely analytical standpoint, that isn’t the case.

All of this to say, Misa deserved better, and Mogi would have been the best partner for her.

Misa x Mogi for life.