Death Note/Analysis: Difference between revisions

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'''''Unmarked Spoilers'''''

 

 

 

Some things to debate: Capital Punishment, Character's Morality, are L and Light really [[Not So Different]]? [[Pay Evil Unto Evil]] - is it ever really "okay?"

 

 

Light shows no interest in girls and only uses the assumption of sexuality to cover his criminal activities.

* [[Ship Tease]] - Light and Misa and Light and L

** It's not that uncommon to find other characters displaying feelings for Light, but both the manga and the anime give subtle hints about Light having feelings for them, leaving the audience to wonder what's really going on here...

** In one of the bonus strips, admittedly oriented towards a more humorous and light look at the series, in the thirteenth volume, Misa tells Light that she wants to give up the Death Note. Light's reaction is to grab her shoulders and protest that they're going to create a new world together, and that he needs her.

 

** L is Light's [[Not Love Interest]]. L evokes feelings in Light that he feels for no one else. L is the most important person in Light's life {{spoiler|even after he is dead. And in the anime L is the only person on Light's mind when he's ''dying.''}}

** However even if Light has feelings for L he would never act on them because his crusade comes before anything else. If Light wants to be God of the New World L has to die. Simple as that. Though it's telling that '''''has to remind himself''''' of this after L invokes [[The Power of Love]] and [[The Power of Friendship]] against Kira with [[Word of God|his lie]] of "I feel as if you are the first friend I've ever had." For a moment it almost seems to sway Light-he gets a very shocked look on his face and [[Does This Remind You of Anything?|in the anime the same music that played when Gelus died for love starts playing.]] (The only way to kill a Shinigami is to get it to fall in love with a human and as Ryuk joked earlier Light is "already a ''worthy'' Shinigami.") L doesn't have many other cards to play other than [[Manipulative Bastard|emotional manipulation]]. He probably hopes to catch Light off-guard-if he gets Light riled up enough he might make a mistake so that L can catch him and have him executed. L certainly succeeds in getting under Light's skin as Light continues to obsess about L as he walks home up until he's [[The Glomp|glomped]] by Misa, sounding very much like a [[Tsundere]] all the way as he curses L's name (or rather his alias). Ryuk mocks this development in a very suggestive tone:

'''Ryuk:''' Friend. *snicker* He's your '''''friend'''''. But that's a ''good thing'', isn't it, Light? }}

Yeah, that ''DAMN'' Ryuuzaki, saying he's my friend. It's not like I like you or anything!

** It is interesting to note {{spoiler|when L is dying}} Light gets teary-eyed about it for about two seconds before displaying that memetic rape face.

 

* L and Near Autism and/or Avoidant.

* Mikami - Borderline

Light has plenty of other problems though such as [[Black and White Insanity]], [[Narcissist|Narcissism]], and [[Lack of Empathy]].

 

Among the causes of narcissism are listed: being praised for perceived exceptional looks or abilities by adults, excessive admiration that is never balanced with realistic feedback, and unpredictable or unreliable caregiving from parents. Although these are never explored in depth, Light has definitely experienced praise for being exceptional: a great athlete, a great student, a great son, intelligent, handsome, and so forth. And even Soichiro himself admitted that his work as a policeman kept him away at odd hours from Light and Sayu.

* Pathological narcissism is considered to result from a person's unconscious belief that they are flawed in a way that makes them fundamentally unacceptable to others. Light does indeed have a flaw (he is a serial killer out to rule the world) that would make him fundamentally unacceptable to others, and he has to live with this, both consciously and unconsciously, for years. His classification of those trying to expose and condemn him as evil ("They're the evil ones!") can be seen as a defensive mechanism, protecting his view of himself ("I am righteous! I protect the innocent!").

* Light is unable to see any flaw in himself, which is the main thing that separates him from L and what devoids him of any empathy. It is probably the fact that L is [[Not So Different]] that makes him consider him a [[Worthy Opponent]]. Light usually sees positive traits in L ("L will probably figure out this", "L is too smart to fall for that") because those are positive traits he sees in himself. L on the other hand is pretty aware of his own flaws, he immediately assumes Kira is childish and hates losing because L himself is like that, and admits that even if Misa had carried on with her threat of the police to make them expose L, he wouldn't have appeared on tv because he isn't that noble. This is reflected upon each's plans for the world, Light believes in a perfect world filled exclusivelly with good, respectful, working people, where everything is perfect just like him. L, and later Near, see the world as flawed and seem pretty ok with it, since they're pretty ok with their own flaws. Ironically, is the awareness of their own flaws what keeps them in the gray of the [[Black and Gray Morality]] while Light's vision of himself as perfect is what leads him to become a [[Complete Monster]].

 

Despite being a dark crime thriller with a megalomaniacal mass-murderer for a protagonist, when you get down to it it contains all the basic elements of a typical shonen series, albeit in forms twisted nearly beyond recognition: a young, justice-loving Chaste Hero (a narcissistic Knight Templar with delusions of godhood) who discovers magical powers (a notebook that can be used to instantly murder anybody) and gains a Spirit Buddy (an amoral embodiment of death), makes a Worthy Opponent rival (a detective trying to apprehend him for his crimes) [[Arrogant Kung Fu Guy|who knows martial arts]] ([[Capoeira]]) and picks up a persistent Genki Girl love interest (a vapid pop idol who's fanatically obsessed with him and, despite barely knowing him, is instantly willing to kill for, die for and marry him). If the satire was intended on the part of Tsugumi Ohba, he/she sure hasn't let on.

* Or even a stealth parody of [[Comedic Sociopathy|happy fun]] kids' movies. Specifically, remember that one about the bullied kid approached by a [[Little Monsters|goofball monster wearing punk accessories]]? The one from a [[Monster Town|world of monsters]] that preys on humans. Now remember the pilot chapter. Take a good look at Howie Mandel's [http://img801.imageshack.us/i/ryuukuwamaurice.jpg/ eyes and mouth].

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[[Category:Death Note]]