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* [[Actually, I Am Him]]: L. Light also pulls this a few times, most notably, {{spoiler|and with the worst sense of timing, at the end.}}
* [[Adaptation Distillation]]: The [[Live Action Adaptation]] streamlines the series a lot in order to fit the entire story into two movies, and in doing so jettisoned a fair amount of the excessive plot-and-counterplot (-and-countercounterplot-and-[[I Know You Know I Know|countercountercounterplot]]...) that made the struggle between L and Kira look less like a series of carefully played [[Xanatos Gambit|Xanatos Gambits]] and more like [[Xanatos Roulette]]. Particularly by removing entirely the matter of {{spoiler|L's Heirs Near and Mello}}.
* [[Adaptation Dye Job]]: Misa has black hair in the live-action movies, while Naomi Misora goes from having black hair to brown hair.
** And then there's [[Ensemble Darkhorse|Matt]], whose hair came out dark greenish brown in the anime, was never established in the manga, was blue in the official game, and is bright red in most [[Fan Art]].
* [[Adaptation Expansion]]: The series is based on a short story about a schoolboy who finds a Death Note and mistakes it for a diary. As a result, {{spoiler|he accidentally kills his friends, until Ryuk helpfully gives him "The Death Eraser", which grants him the power to bring people back from the dead}}. Somewhere along the road to adapting it into a full series, the schoolboy became a mega genius with a [[A God Am I|god complex]], the boring [[Film Noir|Film Noirish]] detective became a freakish mega genius with a sweet tooth, and the [[Deus Ex Machina]] ending was replaced with [[Xanatos Gambit|Xanatos Gambits]] by the bucketload, and the rest is history. The short story, however, appears as the prologue to the manga it sprouted.
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** Powerful rich people like those of the Yotsuba corporation using the Death Note to kill off rivals for no other reason than personal gain.
** How about this, parents? Light finds the dangerous notebook ''in the schoolyard.'' And the guy who left it lying around so that someone - here, Light - would find it? ''He followed Light home.''
** Another one for the parents: imagine having to seriously sit and consider that all the evidence indicates that ''your teenage son'' is the terrifyingly merciless mass-murderer you've been hunting all along, and that he will get the death penalty if sentenced. Now imagine thinking about having to go home and explain this to your wife and daughter.
** The revelation that people who use the notebook can neither go to heaven or hell. {{spoiler|At the end of the manga series, a flashback to Light and Ryuk's first meeting reveals that all people go to "mu" (nothingness) when they die and that, after death, nothing can be done to bring someone back to life. In the anime, this is only shown in one of the eyecatches revealing the rules of the Death Note.}}
** Everyone who uses the Death Note tends to have their personal worst fears become true. {{spoiler|Misa ends up completely alone without anyone loving her, Mikami realizes he became what he hates so much, the vain Takada burns to death naked, Higuchi is humiliated in public and then dies like a dog and "god of the new world" Light has his philosophy coldly rejected by Near while the latter squashes an ugly doll of him and dies without his dignity and or a shred of respect.}}
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** Both L and Near direct this principle towards Kira himself and refuse to acknowledge him as a hero.
*** Justified given the above.
** Mikami plans to start killing people for "crimes" such as laziness and being disrespectful. [[National Stereotypes|How Japanese of him]].
* [[All Deaths Final]]
* [[All Love Is Unrequited]]: Played 100% straight with Sayu, Misa and Light, and later with Kiyomi Takada and Light.
** Averted by Raye and Misora, who did genuinely love each other.
*** Also Soichiro and Sachiko, and Aizawa and his wife Eriko.
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* [[Alphabetical Theme Naming]]: Kira, L, Light, Mello, Near ...
* [[Alternate Character Reading]]: The kanji for Light's name is "tsuki", meaning "Moon", but his parents opted for it to be read as "Light" (pronounced, in the Japanese version of the anime, as "Raito") instead. Misa, at least, thinks it's [[Awesome McCoolname|cool]].
** {{spoiler|This is actually used by Light as a mechanism to attempt to gain the real name of Detective Raye Penber's girlfriend.}}
* [[Always Save the Girl]]: {{spoiler|Played straight with [[Hostage for Macguffin|Sayu]]. Rem forces Light to do this for Misa. [[Averted Trope|Averted]] ''hard'' with Takada and with [[Twist Ending|Shiori in the live-action movie.]]}}
* [[Ambiguous Disorder]]: L and his similarly brilliant/socially awkward/obsessive-compulsive/emotionally immature brethren, especially Near.
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* [[Antagonist in Mourning]]: In the anime, Light even goes so far as to hallucinate {{spoiler|L sitting next to him and talking to him. Or, well, mouthing words in his direction.}}
* [[Anyone Can Die]]: Seriously, all bets are off.
* [[Anywhere but Their Lips]]: Misa kisses L on the cheek.
** Averted, when Light kisses Misa on the lips.
* [[Apathetic Citizens]]: In the anime, Light's second victim was about to rape a woman in full view of a crowded street, and no one else seemed likely to do anything about it. Other instances include a man dying in a subway station and a woman being harassed on a train.
* [[Appeal to Audacity]]: When Mello tells Near about the killing notebook and the shinigami, the SPK asks Near if he could really believe such a story. He says that if Mello were lying to them, he wouldn't tell such a ridiculous story, so it must be true.
* [[Arbitrary Skepticism]]: Various characters initially refuse to accept the existence of Shinigami even after accepting the existence of a magic notebook that kills people. And even before discovering the notebook, you would think people would be a lot more open-minded after it's been established that the killer can remotely induce heart attacks simply by learning the target's name and face.
* [[Arc Number]]: [[Four Is Death]]. The manga has [[108|108 chapters]]. [[Thirteen Is Unlucky|Thirteen]] chapters in ''[[Another Note]].''
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*** Near and Mello are more competing [["Well Done, Son" Guy|WellDoneSonGuys]] to the extreme. They'll fuck anyone over as pawns, Mello more likely to than Near because of the type of company he keeps, but in the end {{spoiler|Near even says he needed Mello to take Light down, and Mello was only killed off because the writer thought he was more intelligent than the other characters}}.
* [[Armor-Piercing Question]]: "Tell me, Light, from the moment you were born, has there ever been a time where you've actually told the truth?"
* [[Art Evolution]]: In ''How To Read'' Obata discusses how he got better at drawing Light as an evil bastard as the series progressed but then had to forget everything he'd learned during {{spoiler|the Yotsuba Arc.}}
* [[Artifact of Death]], [[Artifact of Doom]]: The Death Notes.
* [[As Long as It Sounds Foreign]]: The [[FBI Agent|FBI Agents]] all have names that few Americans would have. Raye Penber is the one that is the most arguably normal, and even that tends to raise eyebrows. In [[Death Note]] #13 (which is basically an encyclopedia about the series), the creator says this was intentional, as she wanted to use names that ''sounded'' realistic, but wouldn't actually exist. Apparently, she doesn't know that the names s/he picked ''don't'' sound realistic in the least...
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* [[Awful Truth]]: Light is Kira, and no one who finds out [[Mass "Oh Crap"|takes it well]]. {{spoiler|Especially not Matsuda.}}
* [[Ax Crazy]]: Pretty much all the Kiras qualify when they're at their worst, but especially Mikami when he gets into "sakujo" mode.
* [[Backhanded Apology]]: {{spoiler|at the culmination of Light's memory gambit, he has manipulated events so that not only do Light and Misa look innocent but then in order to maintain good standing with the police L has to apologize to Light, which he does. This trope comes into play when he arguably gets even later during the infamous rooftop scene where he [[Passive Aggressive Combat|insists "let me atone for this"]] [[Foe Yay|with a painful "foot massage."]]}}
* [[Badass Mustache]]: Soichiro Yagami. (Except in the movie.)
* [[Bad Powers, Good People]]: Misa and Mikami believe this. Misa once scolds Demegawa with something along the lines of, "You can't buy peace and love with money, you know!" when he {{spoiler|falls for Near's trick with the money}}.
** Matsuda struggles with this idea a bit.
** Sochiro begins to believe this from the third volume onwards. L's response underlines it very well.
{{quote|'''L:''' If Kira is an ordinary human being who somehow gained the power, he is a very unfortunate being. }}
* [[Bad Powers, Bad People]]: L and the investigation team definitely believe this.
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* [[Beware the Superman]]
* [[Big Bad]]: Light. He just also happens to be the [[Villain Protagonist|protagonist]].
** [[Big Bad Friend]]: At one point, [[Hero Antagonist|L]] says he would be disappointed if Light turned out to be Kira, because Light is one of the best friends he's ever had.
* [[Big Brother Is Watching]]: "It is important to teach our children that Kira is good."
* [[Big Damn Villains]]: {{spoiler|B.B. is one of Kira's judgments.}}
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* [[Bittersweet Ending]]: {{spoiler|The ending is one of these because Light's defeat cost the lives of most of the people investigating him.}}
* [[Black and Grey Morality]]: L, a detective who takes on cases because they're interesting and who is all too willing to use coldly ruthless tactics to win, goes up against Light Yagami, a serial killer acting as an avenging god on a mission to smite the world of all its sinners. It's arguably a matter of scale; Light is willing to kill those who oppose him (in the name of a better world, of course), regardless of their innocence (and to [[Evil Gloating|gloat]] about it, too); he is also willing to kill those of his supporters who fail him, and those whom he no longer needs. L, who had called Light's murder spree "unforgivable," is not willing to go to such extremes, although he ''was'' willing to let the Yotsuba Group's victims die for evidence against them and to have Misa tortured (in the name of catching Kira, of course).
** Whether Near and Mello fit this or [[Evil Versus Evil]] is another arguable matter. Mello is a ruthless mob boss willing to kill his underlings and those opposed to him, such as the SPK, and also to threaten innocents, {{spoiler|like Sayu Yagami}}, with murder. [[Word of God]] has stated that Near is the "more evil" of the pair. So make what you will of their battles with Light and each other.
*** Made even more ambigous as crime rises back to the level it had before Light entered the picture.
*** This is more a matter of a perspective - previously Kira had monopolized murder. It just didn't show in the criminal statistics.
* [[Black and White Morality]]: How Light and his supporters view the world.
* [[Bland-Name Product]]: "Fanasonic."
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* [[Blond Guys Are Evil]]: {{spoiler|Mello, [[Mafia]] terrorist extraordinaire in his debut, described as having brought in the head of a mob boss to join the group, all while he was still in his teens.}}
* [[Blood From the Mouth]]: {{spoiler|In the anime, Namikawa, during the Yotsuba Group's mass heart attack.}}
* [[Blue and Orange Morality]]: Whoever wrote out the rules that the shinigami live by believed that killing a human out of necessity, boredom, or malice was 100% acceptable, but to kill a human to extend another human's life out of love for that human was the ultimate offense, worthy only of death.
* [[Bluffing the Murderer]]: L tries this frequently with Light; later, {{spoiler|L, Light, Misa, and the task force do this to Higuchi}}.
* [[Board to Death]]
* [[Bond Creatures]]: The shinigami in the sense that they grant humans powers and may reject (i.e. kill) a human if they don't like them.
* [[Book and Switch]]
* [[Book'Em Danno]]: Light volunteers for this as part of his plans.
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* [[Bully Hunter]]: Teru Mikami, as a kid.
* [[Bullying a Dragon]]: L's main tactic to reveal Light as Kira seems to be to just keep annoying him until he slips up...
** Near has no problems with this strategy.
* [[Bunny Ears Lawyer]]: L writ large: he is the world's greatest detective (in fact, he's three of them), despite being a teenager who almost never sleeps, constantly eats sweets, and will only "sit" by crouching on the balls of his feet. Later, Near is almost as bad, equaling L's deductive abilities while spending almost ''all'' his on-screen time sitting on the floor and playing with toys.
* [[Burning Building Rescue]]: A skeptical Light tests the titular notebook on a criminal holding the children in a nursery school hostage.
* [[Butt Monkey]]: Matsuda
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** [[Xanatos Roulette|"Just as planned."]]
*** And conversely, (with a screenshot of him smiling upside down) "Not as planned".
* [[Cavalier Consumption]]: L seems like he's doing this, but it's actually necessary to maintain his energy and intelligence.
* [[Cessation of Existence]]: "Don't think that anyone who uses the death note can go to heaven or hell." {{spoiler|In the manga, Light figures out this means there is no afterlife for anyone and all humans are equal in death. In the anime, this is only revealed in a short incoming-commercial-break image in the last episode.}}
<!-- %% NOTE: The above is all that needs to be said. Please do not insert YOUR personal opinions about religion, or the religious significance of these words into this article. This article is about Death Note, not an invitation to introduce your opinions. -->
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** Oh, and {{spoiler|Ryuk's personal Death Note in the climax. He only uses it once.}}
** A strangely large number of potential guns, mostly involving the [[Magic A Is Magic A|rules of the Death Note]], never get used. We're probably lucky that the rule about [[Kudzu Plot|six different notebooks all in the human world at once]] was never invoked.
* [[Chewbacca Defense]]: Especially in the early interactions between Light, L and the Taskforce where Light deliberately stumbles on L's name: "Ryuuga, I’m sorry I mean ''Ryuuzaki''" to broadcast look L's using an alias, he's an outsider, he's not trustworthy. But Light as the [[Nepotism|Chief's son]] and popular golden boy is. Therefore you lose.
** Later Light and {{spoiler|Near}} when Light says to the Taskforce " {{spoiler|Near}} [[With Us or Against Us|really seems against us, doesn't he?"]] Light also points out how {{spoiler|Near}} associates with a known criminal [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|and he's rude.]] This strategy works in discrediting his opponent-even when the Taskforce is at their most suspicious of Light they still don't trust {{spoiler|Near.}}
* [[Child-Hater]]: Roger the Director of Wammy's House, [[All There in the Manual|according to the manual.]] [[Informed Attribute|This is never shown anywhere else.]]
* [[Children Raise You]]: Maki and [[No Name Given|"Boy"]] do this for L in ''L: Change the WorLd'' although he doesn't get to find true love.
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** In the final couple of episodes, Near's hair turns a light blue, {{spoiler|probably in emulation of his precursor, the deceased L.}}
** The [[Live Action Adaptation]] features similar color coding: at the end of the first movie, as L and Light face each other in person for the first time, L is standing in a shaft of blue light, while Light is standing in orange.
** The live action movies have another, subtle example. In the first film Light for the most part wears casual brown clothing, switching to all black in the sequel as he has fully embraced his Kira persona. He goes back to wearing brown once he loses his memory, then starts dressing in black again once it's back. Takada also starts wearing all black once she actively starts using the death note.
* [[Comes Great Responsibility]]: So in the first episode Light has an interesting moral dilemma. What's worse? To use the evil dark power to kill people or [[Refusal of the Call|refuse the call]] and let the [[Bus Full of Innocents]] get killed when he has the power to stop it?
** Subverted when he decides that letting innocents die ''is'' his responsibility. [[Utopia Justifies the Means|In the name of a better world, or course.]]
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* [[Couldn't Find a Pen]]: {{spoiler|Light at the end. He gets shot in the attempt}}.
** {{spoiler|And he actually pulls it off before then, too, writing Higuchi's name in blood}}
** [[People Puppets|And earlier when Light is testing the powers of the notebook and makes prisoners write messages in their own blood.]]
* [[Crapsack World]]: Light certainly thinks the world is one. And thus he feels that he needs to clean it up. One criminal at a time...
** Misa and Mikami believe it, too, willingly joining Light to "make the world a better place."
* [[Crazy Consumption]]: L's sweets, Mello's chocolate, Ryuk's apples, and Light's potato chips.
** On a kinda-related note, has anyone else besides me noticed a shot of Sayu eating potato chips? Guess [[It Runs in The Family]].
* [[Crazy People Play Chess]]: [[A God Am I|Light]] and [[Properly Paranoid|L]] in the live action movie.
* [[Crazy Prepared]]: Light's three different ways to tell if someone was in his room, not to mention his [[Porn Stash]] just in case someone happens to be watching.
** The rigged desk has got to count as well.
** Near kept millions of dollars ready to be dropped from the top of a skyscraper at the press of a button, just in case a [[Torches and Pitchforks]] mob attacks his secret hideout. [[Fridge Brilliance]] in that the SPK are a proscribed terrorist organisation by that point, so their bank accounts would have been frozen.
* [[Creepy Child]]: Near. He gets extra points for being able to pull off [[Creepy Child]] despite [[Older Than They Look|not actually being one]].
* [[Creepy Cool Crosses]]: Misa's necklace and earrings, Mello's crucifix. The anime adaptation of the series, however, [[Bowdlerize|changed Misa's crosses]] to [[Fleur-de-Lis]] symbols while Mello's crucifix became a nondescript red stick, and the crosses on the knees of his pants were taken out.
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* [[Criminal Mind Games]]: [[Subverted Trope|Subverted]] -- the messages are solely to trick/irritate L. On the other hand, Kira does tend to take risks to show his superiority to a defeated opponent.
* [[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass]]: Misa, who can be quite devious.
** Matusda. Compare his inane comments early on with the time he {{spoiler|practically blows Light's hand away and then riddles him with bullets}}.
* [[Cruel Twist Ending]]: {{spoiler|"All humans, without exception, eventually die. When they die, they go to Mu (Nothingness). Once dead, they can never come back to life."}}
* [[Cry for the Devil]]: Deserving or not, {{spoiler|Mello, Takada, Light, Mikami, and Misa all had very sad deaths.}}
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* [[Cute Monster Girl]]: Averted. Female Shinigamis are just horrifying as their male counterpart and just as unsexy.
* [[Cutting the Electronic Leash]]
* [[Mama Didn't Raise No Criminal|Daddy Didn't Raise No Criminal]]: Soichiro's reaction to L's suggestion that Light or Sayu could be Kira.
* [[Dangerously Genre Savvy]]: Light. He manages to anticipate and avoid just about every common villain pitfall.
* [[Darker and Edgier]]: Than most [[Shonen]] series, some even confusing it with [[Seinen]].
* [[Dark Messiah]]: Light Yagami means to save the world by cleaning it with blood ...
* [[The Dark Side]]
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* [[Debate and Switch]]: The series avoids answering the morality of ''Kira's'' actions by making ''Light'' [[Jumping Off the Slippery Slope|leap off the slippery slope]].
* [[Defective Detective]]: Everyone from Wammy's House.
* [[Denied Food as Punishment]]: In the manga {{spoiler|during confinement the Taskforce comment on how Misa being denied water for three days was too much for a young girl to take.}}
* [[Deuteragonist]]: L, Near and/or Mello are the opposing deuteragonists to protagonist Light.
* [[Did You Just Scam Cthulhu?]]: {{spoiler|It's established that if a Shinigami uses its notebook to deliberately prolong a human's life by killing someone else (i.e. the human's murderer,) that Shinigami will die. Knowing this, Light manages to manipulate events so that Misa is about to be caught by L, forcing Rem to write L's true name in the Death Note along with Watari's in order to save her. This is even [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded]] by Rem just before she writes their names in the Death Note and she curses Light for it.}}
* [[Didn't See That Coming]]: How {{spoiler|Light met his end}}.
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** Light and his father: "Guns aren't allowed in Japan."
** Matt: "Since when are the Japanese allowed to carry such nice guns?"
* [[Do Not Do This Cool Thing]]: Getting away with murder and [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|eating potato chips]] has never looked so cool.
* [[Does Not Like Women]]: Light doesn't really like ''[[Hates Everyone Equally|anyone]]'', but he explicitly doesn't like women because he thinks they're overemotional and weak.
* [[Does This Remind You of Anything?]]: Putting aside the religious and biblical context of it, the dialogue and quite a few of the actions during the foot massage scene between Light and L sound ''awfully'' kinky (and only existed in the anime).
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* [[Dysfunction Junction]]: Wammy's House, though it's hard to find a character who ''[[There Are No Therapists|doesn't]]'' have some sort of obvious [[Hollywood Personality Disorders|mental disorder]] or [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzZGqtqW5DQ&feature=related traits thereof.]
* [[Early-Bird Cameo]]: Takeda, Mikami, Near, and Mello showed up in the 2nd openings even though it would be quite a few episodes (plus a timeskip) before their arc started.
* [[Easily Forgiven]]: during the Yotsuba arc {{spoiler|L confines Light for over fifty days and then fakes having his father shoot him in the head. In the manga Light forgives L in the very next panel.}}
* [[Eat the Evidence]]: In the manga it's explained that {{spoiler|Light swallows the Death Note scrap he used to kill Higuchi.}}
* [[Eiffel Tower Effect]]: At one point in the anime, the Eiffel Tower and the London Eye are used as visual shorthand for Paris and London.
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* [[Empathic Environment]]: The aptly titled episode "Overcast" features a brilliant and chilling example. {{spoiler|The year's first snowflake floats into frame and past Naomi Misora's drivers license a split-second after she lets it go, handing it to Light, thereby sealing her fate. Light reads the license and jots down her name in his Death Note. Less than a minute later, when Light reveals to Naomi that he's Kira -- and thus that she's about to die -- the snowfall is already heavy.}}
* [[End of an Age]]: Depending on your views on Kira, {{spoiler|Light's death}} definitely counts.
* [[Enhanced Interrogation Techniques]]: Used by L.
* [[Environmental Symbolism]]
* [[Episode Title Card]]
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* [[Even Evil Has Standards]]: Ryuk, an absolutely pitiless Death God, is still sometimes astonished by the depths Light will sink to; it's remarked several times that Light is worse than any Shinigami, something that amuses Ryuk to no end.
** In the second live action film, Misa stops her terrorist broadcast when Sayu calls her out for being a murderer (though she goes right back to killing once [[Mad Love|she meets Light.]] Toward the end of the film, she's horrified and begins to cry when Light {{spoiler|writes Soichiro's name in the Death Note}}.
** Light is also dismayed when {{spoiler|Mikami's}} killing spree extends to {{spoiler|even elderly and sometimes innocent people}}.
** The Death Note doesn't work on people [[Infant Immortality|younger than 3 years old]].
** Rem is apparently fine with Light and Misa killing people so long as it makes Misa happy, but she's disgusted by Kyosuke Higuchi.
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** Ryuk is [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTBXvhUgKVE no slouch in the evil laugh department.]
** Misa gets in a few giggles.
** {{spoiler|Beyond}} too, [[Overly Long Gag|for like half a page...]]
** Not to mention {{spoiler|Higuchi's}}, which is enough to scare ''Shinigami''.
* [[Evil Tower of Ominousness]]: The secret headquarters that L has built that towers over everything around it.
* [[Evil Versus Evil]]: {{spoiler|Mello going after the Death Note under Light's control.}}
** [[For Want of a Nail|The Twin Towers are still standing in the Death Note universe]] [[Fridge Brilliance|presumably because of Kira's judgments.]]
* [[Expy]]: L's character is largely based on [[Batman]] and Watari on Alfred Pennyworth - making Yagami Light a typical supervillain in the story.
** Soichiro Yagami's character is very much like that of Commissioner Gordon from ''[[Batman]]''.
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** {{spoiler|Though Light probably had the hardest thing to face with dignity. Heart attack or a [[Rasputinian Death]], which takes longer and gives more time for a breakdown?}}
* [[Face Framed in Shadow]]: Light gets many of these moments.
* [[False Innocence Trick]]: {{spoiler|Exploited when Light asks to be confined, gives up his memories, begs to be let out and then the Taskforce gets mad at L for imprisoning him.}}
* [[Fandom Nod]]: The interstitial factoids in the manga.
* [[Faux Action Girl]]: Halle Lidner.
* [[Filk Song]]: "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxK5cw0_2Go Shinigami]" by [[Machinae Supremacy]] is about Ryuk and Light.
** Also [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEXaNgn_wR4 Watch Out, You're Being Watched] by Rachel Macwhirter.
** And from the not-actually-a-celebrity side of things (and with much more overt spoilers), [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xzt3y1qIb8k The Tower Bells' Toll] by Oriana Cope and an anonymous writer.
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9kpmDexmEc "I Killed A Guy and I Liked It"] Kate Perry parody.
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOpOKe8d9Oc "Filling Out My Death Note"] parody set to [[Eminem]]'s "Cleaning Out My Closet" Whole series spoilers and amateurishly done but the lyrics are funny as hell.
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXt5Q4PCfUo Won't give the title], but it's a humorous song intended to take the edge off the events of Episode 35/the beginning of Volume 12, to the tune of the [[Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog|Bad Horse Chorus.]]
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2R-rrn1O2hY The Omega Kawaii L Song], based on [[Final Fantasy VII|The Omega Kawaii Cloud Song]]. Contains spoilers for the whole series.
** [http://www.youtube.com/user/kpts4tv#p/u/1/6fu2nykadfY This song] from one of the [[Abridged Series]], a parody of Ke$ha's "Tik Tok." Immature, yes, but also quite amusing.
* [[Five-Man Band]]: The Japanese taskforce from part 1.
** [[The Hero]]: L
** [[Number Two]]: [[The Obi-Wan|Soichiro]]
** [[The Lancer]]: Aizawa, and later Aiber and Wedy
** [[The Big Guy]]: Mogi
** [[The Smart Guy]]: L (again)
** [[The Chick]]: [[Idiot Hero|Matsuda]]
** [[The Mentor]]: Watari
** [[The Sixth Ranger]]: [[Mauve Shirt|Ukita]] and [[Ineffectual Loner|Ide]], and later {{spoiler|[[Big Bad Friend|Light]]}} and {{spoiler|Misa}}
* [[Fleur-de-Lis]]: In the anime, Misa has her cross motif changed to this ... but it's upside down.
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* [[For Want of a Nail]]: {{spoiler|The Live Action Movies shows how events would have played out if L defeated Light.}}
* [[Foregone Conclusion]]: In ''The Los Angeles BB Cases'', the mysterious stranger who follows Naomi is obviously L because we've read the manga or watched the anime. {{spoiler|Except it isn't. In one of the best subversions of this trope ever, its not L but BB, the murderer suspected of the killings.}}
* [[Found the Killer, Lost the Murderer]]: {{spoiler|At Higuchi's arrest.}}
* [[Four Eyes, Zero Soul]]: Mikami.
* [[Four Is Death]]: The Death Note kills in 40 seconds, and if a cause of death is written, the user has 400 seconds to add details.
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*** The {{spoiler|hidden piece of paper from the Death Note in Light's wristwatch can be accessed by Light pressing the dial nub four times}}
* [[Freak-Out]]: {{spoiler|Light at L's grave}} in the Director's Cut. Also {{spoiler|Light and Mikami}} in the finale.
* [[Friend to All Children]]: L and Watari are examples.
** Watari creates an orphanage for intelligent and gifted children. He is also L's assistant and [[Parental Substitute|father-figure]]
** L, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1uSCnuCzwM in Relight 2, spends some time talking with the Wammy orphans, answering any questions they might ask] and in L: Change The World [[Team Dad|L has to take care of two children]] [[Papa Wolf|and is very protective of them.]]
* [[Friendless Background]]: [[Word of God]] says L has no friends. Light too, despite being very popular, is often seen eating his lunch alone. [[Word of God]] says he thinks he's above most people.
* [[Friendly Enemy]]: Light and L. L calls Light his first ever friend and Light tells L he really missed seeing him at school. However [[Word of God]] suggests that they're ''both'' faking.
* [[From Nobody to Nightmare]]: Light and Mikami.
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** L claims that he stays thin by burning calories by using his brain.
* [[Genre Savvy]]: Light: "I'll be killing her eventually. I can't develop feelings. That's how most idiots screw up." Sort of inverted since {{spoiler|he screwed up anyway. The genre-savvy knowledge did him no good.}}
* [[Geodesic Cast]] - Several patterns keep cropping up:
** [[Action Girl|Action Girls]] / women that take risks for the sake of the [[Non-Action Guy]] male [[The Chessmaster|Chessmasters]] - Naomi and Wedy for L, Misa, Rem, and Takada for Light, Halle for {{spoiler|[[Double Agent|Mello and Near]]}}.
** [[Defective Detective]] that hides behind a computer screen - L, Near, and Matt.
** [[Not So Different]] [[Evil Counterpart|Evil Counterparts]] - Light and L, Light and Misa (at first she is portrayed as Light's eviler counterpart), Light and {{spoiler|[[Complete Monster|Higuchi]]}}, Light and Mikami ([[Even Evil Has Standards|it's too early to go to such extremes!]]), Light and [[Replacement Scrappy|K]] in the [[L: Change the World|movieverse]], L and BB, Mello and Near, Light and Mello, Light and Near, BB and Mello.
** [[Leeroy Jenkins]] – Mr. Yagami, Matsuda, Matt.
** [[Morality Pet|Morality Pets]] - Sayu to Light, Matt to Mello, {{spoiler|A}} to B.
** [[The Rival|Rivals]] Light and L, BB and L, Light and Mello and Near.
** [[The Renfield]] / {{spoiler|[[Spanner in the Works]]}} - Misa and Mikami to Light, Matsuda to L.
** Slightly creepy older companion that watches a protagonist's every move - Ryuk with Light, Rem with Misa, Watari with L.
** [[Kid with the Leash]] where the human is actually scarier than the monster: Light and Ryuk, Misa and [[Token Good Teammate|Rem]], {{spoiler|Mello and Shidoh}}.
** Stalkers / Obssession - BB and Light for L, Mello for Near. Misa and Mikami for Light ("useful" stalking) and L, Mello, and Near for Light (dangerous stalking).
** [[Tyke Bomb|Tykebombs]] - the Wammy's kids are all very similar.
* [[Getting Crap Past the Radar]]: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLFer9zfYRQ The second opening] was also carried over to the English release, [[Refuge in Audacity|with no censors on the]] [[Cluster F-Bomb]] [[Crowning Music of Awesome|during the chorus]].
* [[Ghost Planet]]: The Shinigami World.
* [[GIFT]]: In-story, Kira becomes an instant sensation on the Internet and ordinary citizens start making hit lists. ([[Subverted Innocence|Like that sweet-looking little girl texting "Kira, please kill them all."]])
** This applies to Light as well with the anonymous power of both the Internet ''and'' the Death Note.
* [[Gilligan Cut]]:
{{quote|'''L:''' ''...And most importantly, we must ensure that the Yotsuba Group doesn't discover that we are investigating them.''
''* cut to Matsuda getting caught by the Yotsuba Group* ''
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* [[Gorn]]: Not in the original manga, but present in the anime's series finale. {{spoiler|Mikami attempts some kind of poor man's [[Seppuku]], either out of [[Despair Event Horizon|despair]] or to distract the police so that Light can escape. Unfortunately for the audience, it works a little too well. Then again, if gore is your thing...}}
** In the Director's cut, the deaths of {{spoiler|three Yotsuba Group members, featuring a [[Gross Up Close-Up]] of Midou lying on the sidewalk after falling or jumping from a tall building}}
* [[Grail in the Garbage]]: Light finds the Death Note in the [[Adult Fear|school yard.]]
** Light tosses out his expensive mini-TV with nary a wince.
* [[Gratuitous English]]: The Japanese title "Desu Noto" (Death Note), and "Kira" (Killer).
* [[Green Lantern Ring]]: The Death Note, once Light figures out imaginative new ways to use it.
* [[The Grim Reaper]]: Ryuk and many other shinigami.
* [[The Guards Must Be Crazy]]: [[The Ditz|Matsuda]] [[Epic Fail|sneaks right by the Yotsuba security guard.]]
* [[Gullible Lemmings]]
* [[Hacker Cave]]
* [[Ham-to-Ham Combat]]: {{spoiler|Light and Mikami's shouting match in the [[Grand Finale]].}}
** In the second episode / first manga, L's and Light's shouting match (directed, in both cases, to electronic screens) concerning Justice.
* [[Harassing Phone Call]]: A certain anonymous individual {{spoiler|Near}} keeps calling up this one guy {{spoiler|Kira}} in the middle of the night promising that he has a very unpleasant fate in store for him. Alas there is no caller I.D.
* [[Have You Told Anyone Else?]]: Light asks these exact words of Ray Penbar's fiancée Naomi, who is investigating Kira. {{spoiler|Unsurprisingly, she doesn't live much longer after answering no.}}
* [[Hearing Voices]]: Anyone "possessed of a God of Death".
* [[Heartbeat Soundtrack]]: Expected in a series where many people die of heart attacks.
* [[Here We Go Again]]: {{spoiler|The end of ''Relight'' has a bored Shinigami ([[Epileptic Trees|that is possibly Light]]) headed down to the human world to alleviate his boredom for a while...}}
** Matsuda and the taskforce when L deduces that there are other notebooks and other Kiras out in the world, {{spoiler|after Higuchi's death}}.
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** {{spoiler|Mello, whose sacrifice ultimately saves Near, his crew and the NPA from death while confirming Near's suspicions of Light.}}
* [[He's Dead, Jim]]
* [["Hey You!" Haymaker]]: When L is complaining that he's depressed and unmotivated with the Kira case now that {{spoiler|[[Memory Gambit|it looks like Light isn't Kira]]}}. [[Hilarity Ensues|The following Ensues]]: Light gets L's attention, L turns around, Light punches him hard in the face.
{{quote|'''Light''': [[Soft
'''L''': "Huh?" <br />
'''Light''': *''PUNCH''* }}
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* [[How Unscientific]]: When L finds out shinigami are real, he has [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEz78HwS7S4&feature=related an uncharacteristically] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSMtT5rQeQU&feature=related loud freakout.]
** In the manga this was just him falling out of his chair. [[Word of God]] says that he was startled because of the way things came together, and that the manga-ka wanted to see L fall over.
* [[Humanity Is Insane]]: As viewed by Ryuk's perspective... but that's what makes us interesting.
* [[Humans Are Bastards]]: "What's up people?!" [[Jumping Off the Slippery Slope|When you start judging where exactly do you draw the line?]]
* [[Humans Kill Wantonly]]: This is why Ryuk decides humans are fun.
* [[Hypocrite]]: Most characters, at some point. However, a notable example is when Light berates Misa for killing innocent people. In the manga, she meekly points out that: "To defeat evil, sacrifices have to be made. That's what you've done, right? I was only doing the same..."
* [[Hypocritical Humor]]: Any scene like this:
Line 467:
** Sayu catches Light reading a dirty magazine (it's a long story...) and Sayu says, "Hey, isn't that a dirty book?" Then, she picks it up and begins reading it, while smiling.
** [[Stalking Is Love|"Mr. Stalker?"]]
** [[Manipulative Bastard|"Exploiting another person's feelings like that is unforgivable!"]]
** "[[Not So Different|Those people making lists for Kira...]] [[Completely Missing the Point|those are the people]] [[If You Kill Him You Will Be Just Like Him|who should be killed...]]"
** and:
{{quote|'''Light:''' I can't take it anymore! How do you think it feels to be accused of being Kira!
'''L:''' It was the worst feeling ever. (Light suggested that L might be Kira earlier in the episode...) }}
** Leave it to Light to explain it:
{{quote|'''Light:''' Remember what I told you [Ryuk]? Humans are foolish, two-faced creatures. }}
** Light's comment about Near's confidence in episode 28 fits this, considering his own ever-escalating arrogance and confidence.
** Misa tells Takada that [[Blatant Lies|Light is deeply in love with her and that he's very clingy]]:
{{quote|'''Misa''': Light is way more affectionate than he looks, at least with me! [[Blatant Lies|In fact he starts clinging to me when I come in the door every night!]]}}
* [[I Am the Trope]]: "I AM JUSTICE!!!"
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* [[Inner Monologue]]: Yup. Light and L are the worst offenders.
* [[Inspector Lestrade]]: Aizawa and the rest of the police.
* [[Interim Villain]]: The Yotsuba executives. Explanation can be found on the trope itself.
* [[Interrogated for Nothing]]: When Light and Misa are cleared and released from surveillance towards the end of the first arc, the scene seems like this to the police. The audience, of course, knows better.
* [[Interspecies Friendship]]: Rem ([[Shinigami]]) and Misa (human). Rem develops a platonic love for Misa and is even willing to die for her. Light (human) and Ryuk ([[Shinigami]]) also fall under this having a few [[Villains Out Shopping]] moments together, though they are of a more [[Vitriolic Best Buds|vitriolic]] type.
* [[Interspecies Romance]]: How to kill a Shinigami ...
* [[Ironic Echo]]: Used in the [[Grand Finale]] (twice in the anime. One from Ryuk and one from Aizawa to Near.)
* [[Irony]]:
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** and (from the Director's cut):
{{quote|'''Light:''' I swear right here and now-- {{spoiler|[[Hilarious in Hindsight|I will send Kira to his execution!]]}} }}
* [[I Take Offense to That Last One]]: in the live action movie:
{{quote|'''Lind L. Tailor:''' Kira you yourself are a hypocritical, vile, and immature criminal.
'''Light:''' Immature? }}
* [[It Amused Me]]: Ryuk set off the ENTIRE PLOT [[For the Lulz]]. More information on the trope page.
* [[Jerkass Gods]]: Again, Ryuk.
* [[Jerk with a Heart of Jerk]] – Light (he really cares for his family... and really hopes he doesn't have to kill them), L.
* [[Judge, Jury, and Executioner]]: "I AM JUSTICE!"
** All of the Kiras take this role.
* [[Jumping Off the Slippery Slope]]: Light, Oh God Light.
** Light brought a ''sled'' so he could get down the slope faster. Second episode he decided an innocent man should die for calling him a murderer and declaring his intention to stop him. Oh, and most unforgivably for outsmarting him.
** Technically, Lind L Tailor was a death row inmate scheduled to die that day, which is why L used him. Light, however, didn't know that; to the best of his knowledge, the person he killed was innocent. That first episode, you could make the case that Light was a [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]] waging his crusade against evil for the benefit of the world; his murder of Tailor, done to appease his pride, marks the point where he moves from [[Anti-Hero]] to [[Villain Protagonist]].
* [[Jurisdiction Friction]]: in the second arc between the Japanese Kira taskforece and the SPK.
* [[Just Between You and Me]]: Subverted -- Whenever Light reveals his identity to a rival, he is very sure they are already in their death throes or otherwise under the effect of the Death Note.
** Used by L to mock Light in his introduction. For being so "[[You Just Told Me|helpful]]", L lets light in on a "secret", and proceeds to mock Light's arrogance in front of the entire Kanto region of Japan on live television.
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* [[Kill'Em All]]: How many major characters in a cast of around 20 survive? {{spoiler|Three of the original police task force, plus Misa, Ide, and Near.}}
** The companion book ''How To Read 13'' reveals that {{spoiler|Misa dies a year later from suicide.}}
* [[The Killer in Me|The Kira In Me]]: {{spoiler|Light bluffs this in order to convince the taskforce that he needs to be confined (for the sake of his [[Xanatos Roulette]].) ''[[Crowning Moment of Funny|"Another me could be killing while I sleep!!!"]]''}}
* [[Kirk Summation]]: Near does this in the manga's final chapter.
* [[Knight Templar]]: Any of the series' protagonists.
* [[Laughing Mad]]: {{spoiler|Light, when he is cornered by Near and revealed to be Kira.}}
* [[Letter Motif]]: L, M, and N.
* [[Life Drinker]]: When a Shinigami kills a human, that human's lifespan is added to the Shinigami's. Shinigami who don't kill regularly will eventually die.
** Conversely, a Shinigami who uses their Death Note to ''save'' a human loses what's left of their own life to extend that human's time.
* [[Light Is Not Good]]: [[Incredibly Lame Pun|Well...]]
* [[Likable Villain]]: Light Yagami, Misa Amane, Teru Mikami, and Kiyomi Takada all have their fans, both in-universe and out.
* [[Line in the Sand]]: Souichiro Yagami draws one of these. Most of the police do ''not'' stay on his side.
* [[Live Action Adaptation]]: Two main movies, and one spin-off, to be precise.
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* [[Lonely At the Top]]
* [[Loners Are Freaks]]: Subverted and played straight.
* [[Look Behind You!]] - In the manga Light walks out on a [[Oblivious Guilt Slinging|family meeting]] by [[Manipulative Bastard|railroading the conversation to]]:
{{quote|'''Light:''' Is that all the help you needed on your homework, Sayu?
'''Souichiro:''' Was your brother helping you with your homework ''again?''
Line 563:
** Moreso in the manga, but in a couple of [[Motive Rant|Motive Rants]] Light mentions that part of the reason he's doing the mass killings of criminals is to [[Knight Templar Big Brother|to make the world a safer place for his sister]] ([[Poisonous Friend|and stop the bad guys, just like daddy.]])
* [[Love Triangle]] (type 3 [[Triang Relations]]). Takada and Amane are both after Light. Light is just using both of them. Pointed out by Near in episode 33, who deduces that Light "has" a love triangle. That is, a love triangle is among the things he happens to possess. "Near, please be more serious."
** Also type 11, Misa is in love with and is obsessed with Light, Light is [[Subtext|obsessed]] [[Ho Yay|with L. L is obsessed with both Light]] [[Bi the Way|and Misa...]], Misa [[Subtext|teases (flirts?)]] with L.
** Another type 11 crops up later: {{spoiler|Takada is seeing both Light and Mikami, but Mikami is VERY loyal to Light...}}
* [[Ludicrous Precision]]: L and his constant revisions of the probability Light is Kira.
** Though in ''[[All There in the Manual|How to Read]]'' {{spoiler|it states that whenever he gives a percentage, he's lying; he actually suspects Light with a 90 to 100 percent certainty.}}
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* [[Make Room for the New Plot]]: How the Mello issue is resolved near the end of the story.
* [[Male Gaze]]: Yeah, that shot was definitely of a hidden sheet of the Death Note, not {{spoiler|Taki's breast.}}
** Misa's introductory shots feature an image of her breasts and waist on exhibit while she walks, before showing her face. This is definitely to show off her cutesy gothic clothing and therefore to establish her childlike-but-evil character. Definitely.
* [[Mama Bear]]: Rem to Misa. Also, Sachiko to Sayu: "no way in hell!" is Sayu marrying a cop.
* [[Man Child]]: L and Near, to varying degrees.
* [[Manipulative Bastard]]: Light, who treats all those around him as tools for him to use, therefore making manipulation the dominating characteristic of every one of his relationships.
** L, mind you, also has no problems manipulating, or asking others to manipulate, people.
** Misa is also willing to manipulate people to get what she wants; her childlike charm is particularly useful for this.
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* [[Mind Rape]]: {{spoiler|Light does this to himself if [[The Scream]] when he's regaining his memories is anything to go by... and then there's the ending of the manga when Near exposes him as Kira, knocking him off his pedestal and forcing him to face up to what he's done and what he's become; he is drawn as (symbolically) naked and traumatized.}}
** This could also be seen as what {{spoiler|Light did to Naomi. A bright woman driven to solve her husband's death - and in fact, uncovers information that could have stopped Light in the second chapter - has her mind force-shifted to suicide by the Death Note. Her abrupt change in speech from decisive and sharp to a [[Creepy Monotone]] drives this home.}}
* [[The Mirror Shows Your True Self]]: ''Relight'' features a scene where Light is walking along solemnly through a [[Hall of Mirrors]], pretending to {{spoiler|grieve for L}} while his reflection is smirking evilly.
* [[Mind Screw]]: The second anime opening. HOLY SHIT
* [[Money to Throw Away]]: {{spoiler|Near throws money out of the top floor of the SPK HQ to stop people from rioting.}}
* [[Morality Chain]]: {{spoiler|Two deaths [[It Got Worse|mark a visible decline to Light's remaining ethics and sanity.]] The first is after [[Antagonist in Mourning|he has L killed]]; the second is after [[Even Evil Has Loved Ones|his father dies.]]}}
* [[Moral Myopia]]: "[[This Is Unforgivable!|Crime is out of the question,]] even if it's done on Kira's request. [[You Have Outlived Your Usefulness|Now isn't that convenient.]]"
* [[The Movie]]: Two Japanese live-action movies based on the original comic (with [[Red Hot Chili Peppers|"Dani California"]] as the theme song) and one L spin-off.
** And [[Warner Brothers]] bought the rights to remake the Live Action movie in America...
* [[Multitasked Conversation]]:
** Shinigami can't be seen by anyone other than the humans who have touched their Death Note. So when Light is under surveillance by the police, he uses his homework as a cover-of-sorts to carry on a conversation with Ryuk by saying things ostensibly to himself, like "I got this question right!" to indicate a "yes" answer.
** When the Yotsuba group catch Matsuda, he takes cues from L over the phone to let them know he's in trouble while making it sound to his captors like he's just turning down an offer to hang out with his friend.
* [[Mundane Made Awesome]]:
Line 621:
*** "Ryuk, If Sayu were to see you, [[Double Entendre|she would have a heart attack]]"
* [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast]]: Light's alias Kira is "Killer" made to fit into Japanese phonetics.
** Light's last name, Yagami, is written with the symbols for "night" and "god." Additionally, Misa's name comes from "kuromisa", meaning "black Mass."
* [[National Stereotypes]]: Parodied, in ''L, Change the WorLd'', Suruga attempts to disperse a crowd surrounding the truck he's driving by showing his F.B.I. badge, but everyone thinks its fake because he's Japanese.
* [[Neat Freak]]: L and Light both exhibit mild OCD like tendencies.
Line 638:
* [[Noodle Incident]]: According to ''Another Note'', L claimed the names Eraldo Coil and Deneuve after winning "detective wars" against their original holders. We are never told what a detective war entails or how those two played out.
* [[No Sense of Humor]]: Light.
** [[Evil Gloating|But he]] [[Giggling Villain|loves to laugh,]] [[Laughing Mad|doesn’t he dear?]]
* [[Not Me This Time]]: {{spoiler|[[Even Evil Has Loved Ones|When Light's dad]] [[Irony|has a heart attack brought on by the stress of the case.]]}}
** Also {{spoiler|at the first appearance of the second Kira.}}
Line 646:
'''Taskforce Member:''' How do you know this?"
'''L:''' "I am also childish and hate to lose." }}
** It's actually lampshaded several times in the series, and a particular example is {{spoiler|L's true name: Lawliet, which is pronounced like "low light."}}
* [[Not Worth Killing]]: {{spoiler|the Taskforce for most of the second arc.}}
* [[Nothing but Skulls]]: On the manga coverart.
Line 663:
** Also, Soichiro says this when the handcuffed Light and L begin their second fist fight.
* [[Old Cop, Young Cop]]: Sort of an aversion. Chief Yagami and Matsuda were first introduced like this, but were developed very differently, especially since Matsuda became a mere Comic Relief character.
* [[Older Hero vs. Younger Villain]]: L is about seven years older than Light. Also Team Kira may [[Rule of Empathy|garner a certain amount of sympathy]] from certain casual viewers who just see the [[Draco in Leather Pants|pretty teenagers]] {{spoiler|being imprisoned}} by the middle-aged cops.
* [[Ominous Latin Chanting]]: Dies Irae being the most prominent.
* [[Ominous Multiple Screens]]: All over the place in L's tower, and Near's HQ seems to be ''wallpapered'' with them.
Line 670:
{{quote|[[Crowning Moment of Awesome|"As much as I fear for my own life in saying this...this is right. Alright, my name is..."]]}}
** Don't forget Matt's epic scene of Noble Self-Sacrifice. 16 panels in the manga, less than 2 minutes of screentime in the anime, and yet his character is one of the most popular in the fandom.
* [[Only Friend]]: L tells Light "I feel as though you're the first friend I've ever had" though [[Word of God]] says [[Manipulative Bastard|it's a lie,]] [[Friendless Background|that L]] ''[[Friendless Background|has]]'' [[Friendless Background|no friends.]] This hasn't stopped the fandom.
* [[Ordinary High School Student]]: Light is a perfect example of this trope, until it's [[Playing with a Trope|derailed]] by the fact that he's both incredibly smart and megalomaniacally insane.
** A better example would be Sayu, although she's in junior high in the first arc and college in the second.
* [[Outlaw Couple]]: Light and Misa, much to Light's chagrin.
* [[Overshadowed by Awesome]]: To hear the fans talk, Misa is quite stupid. People seem to forget that ''she's only stupid from L and Light's perspective'' and outmaneuvers both Light and Higuchi quite easily when she sets her mind to it. In any other anime, Misa Misa could have been the ''iconic'' [[Genius Ditz]].
* [[Overt Rendezvous]]: Misa is trying to find Light, so she sends a diary page to the task force saying that they should "show off their notebooks in Aoyama" on a certain day. On that day, Light goes to Aoyama with Matsuda and meets friends whom he hangs out with expecting to perform this trope. Misa, however, finds him first and leaves before he can see her.
** L first reveals himself to his Kira suspect at the Entrance Ceremony and L frequently meets with Light to discuss the Kira Case in public places on the university campus.
* [[Paper-Thin Disguise]]: Light wears a hoodie and bennie when manipulating Raye Penber, which renders him unrecognizable to both Raye and the investigators that view the surveillance cameras.
* [[Partly Cloudy with a Chance of Death]]: The episode appropriate titled "Overcast" comes to mind.
Line 687:
** D'awwww. Light takes a break from committing mass murder to help his little sister with her homework.
** Light gets a few of these, usually with his family. He volunteers to run an errand for his sister and compliments his mother in the first arc, and attempts to talk his father out of resigning from the police in the second arc.
* [[Phosphor Essence]]: A subtle example which crosses with [[Red Oni, Blue Oni]]: when Light and L confront each other, or meet each other on the street, Light shines a deep, blood-like red, and L an almost naval blue. Sometimes it appears as a tiny aura around their bodies, other times their [[Kaleidoscope Hair|hair]] and [[Kaleidoscope Eyes|eyes]] glow that color.
* [[Pieta Plagiarism]]: Naomi with Raye, in the first intro.
* [[The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything]]: In many scenes with the Taskforce HQ in the second arc, {{spoiler|''Light'' is the only one even ''pretending'' to work... So is it any wonder the Kira case stalled?}}
** [[Justified Trope|Justified]], as the whole plot basically boils down to [[I Know You Know I Know]] mind games between L and Kira; the rest of them are drastically out of their depth, and are mostly there to do the legwork.
* [[Playing Drunk]]: {{spoiler|Matsuda, after being caught by Yotsuba, pretends to be drunk so he can fake his death via falling.}}
* [[Pragmatic Villainy]]: [[Knight Templar|Light Yagami]] who was willing to kill tens of thousands of criminals and other undesirables to further his ambitions. But he doesn't approve when his [[Bumbling Sidekick]] Teru Mikami announced that Kira was going to kill lazy people as well. Light doesn't object to killing the lazy, he just hasn't decided yet if it's an effective method of imposing his reign.
* [[Plot Induced Stupidity]]: Not one of the detectives, including L, could figure out that {{spoiler|the last two rules were fake. Despite the fact that unlike the other rules, they sound like they were written from a human's point of view.}}
** To be fair, the first thing L wanted to do was test them. {{Spoiler| Unfortunately, Light's back-up plan, in the form of Rem, derailed that harshly.}}
** Possibly justified due to his escalating insanity, but Light's plans seem prey to this in the second arc.
Line 699:
** Mikami counts somewhat, although he doesn't actually work with Light in person until the very end, he is VERY fanatically devoted to him.
* [[Police Are Useless]]: The public believes this more and more when Kira emerges and takes over.
** Which is kind of ironic once you realize that without the police investigating crimes and arresting suspects (or at least coming up with them), Kira wouldn't have any names or faces to use with the Death Note.
* [[Politeness Judo]]: So, so much. "Let’s do X, is that alright, Light-kun?" and of course Light has to agree or he'll look like he's avoiding L, which makes him look like Kira.
* [[Polite Villains Rude Heroes]]: Light himself is usually soft-spoken, courteous, and reserved, and to an extent Misa, Mikami, and Takada all share this. L and Near, however, are brutally honest and openly manipulative; Near in particular earned quite a lot of annoyance from Mogi and Aizawa for the way he treated them. Compare some of Light's and Near's conversations, where Light is accommodating and non-confrontational while Near says ''exactly'' what's on his mind in the most blunt manner possible.
* [[Poor Communication Kills]]: {{spoiler|Part of Light's downfall, Mikami was told not to make a move before the showdown with Near. When Takada was kidnapped by Mello, he decided to be assertive and write her name down two minutes before Light did. It comes back to bite both of them in the ass later, to say the least.}}
* [[Porn Stash]]: Light, in order to provide an explanation why he locks his door all the time, ''gets'' a porn stash for his father (and the detective team) to discover.
Line 737:
** If the strongly implied rule that a shinigami must follow the owner of the Death Note was observed throughout the series, pretty much nothing after the Yotsuba arc could have happened.
* [[Retirony]]
* [[Revealing Coverup]]: {{spoiler|When Light kills Raye Penber and Naomi Misora, it comes to L's attention to focus the investigation on the people Raye Penber was tailing.}}
** Also when {{spoiler|Yotsuba Corp [[Screw the Rules, I Have Money|buys off the police and key government officials]] to stop chasing Kira.}}
** Also comes into play at the end. {{spoiler|The immediate cause of Light's downfall was Mikami going to write Takada's name in the Death Note. He only did that to prevent information from leaking, either to Mello (by Takada telling him) or Near (if SPK got ahold of her, Death Note pages and all.}}
Line 752:
{{quote|'''Light:''' ...to be L and have control of the police while being Kira in secret. It's ideal.
'''L:''' Well, it would be pretty stupid of you to do that after you told everyone your plan. }}
* [[The Scapegoat]]:
{{quote|''' {{spoiler|Near}}:''' Actually {{spoiler|"L,"}} I'll let you have full authority on this... }}
* [[Scare Chord]]: Light's psychotic [[Nightmare Sequence|daydream sequence]] in ''Relight 2''.
Line 764:
** Averted, however, when Light uses his brain as opposed to gizmos to analyze the Death Note and determines what it can or cannot do. Ryuk wasn't even aware of some of these things.
* [[Screams Like a Little Girl]]: L. {{spoiler|"Shinigami? Am I supposed to believe that they really exist?"}}
** Light is no slouch in the girly scream department either.
* [[Screw the Rules, I Have a Nuke]]: Or a Death Note.
* [[Screw the Rules, I Have Supernatural Powers]]
* [[Screw the Rules, I'm Beautiful]]
* [[Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right]]
* [[Secret Circle of Secrets]]: The Cult of Kira
* [[See You in Hell]]: Used effectively in the episode "Execution" (at least in the English dub).
* [[Selective Obliviousness]]: Misa never seems to get a clue that Light hates her guts and just pretends to love her in order to use her. At one point, she even says she won't kill the girls Light has dated in the past because she knows "he was just using them and didn't really love them." [[Hypocritical Humor|Er, Misa...?]]
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{{quote|'''Ryuk:''' ...then you'd be the only bastard left.
'''Light:''' I have ''no'' idea what you're talking about Ryuk... }}
* [[Self Destructing Security]]: Light goes to great lengths to protect the Death Note. Not only is it hidden in his locked bedroom in a secret panel of his desk drawer, but opening the panel without first deactivating the failsafe will incinerate the notebook before it can be found. After all, if someone else takes it he's unlikely to get it back, and it links him to hundreds of murders.
* [[Senseless Sacrifice]]: {{spoiler|President David Hoope}} kills himself pre-emptively when he believes that {{spoiler|Mello will manipulate him into launching a nuclear weapon}}. What he didn't know was that the rules of the Death Note would have made this impossible anyway, making his noble self-sacrifice a pointless waste. Just to rub salt in the wound, {{spoiler|his replacement is a sniveling coward who surrenders the United States to Kira.}}
** Though it's teased at that Kira might have killed him.
* [[Sensible Heroes, Skimpy Villains]]: Naomi and Halle dress sensibly whereas Misa is [[Ms. Fanservice]].
* [[Serial Killer Killer|Serial Killer Kira]]
* [[She's All Grown Up]]: Sayu after the [[Time Skip]].
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* [[Sibling Yin-Yang]]: [[media:sayu.jpg|Light and Sayu.]]
* [[Sidekick Ex Machina]] And how!
* [[Side-Story Bonus Art]]: The [[Omake]] in the manga includes a [[Beach Episode|day at the beach]] and a [[Christmas Special]].
* [[Sinister Scythe]]: Light on the cover art of the manga {{spoiler|and as a Shinigami in the ''Relight'' movie.}}
* [[Sinister Subway]]
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* [[Smart People Play Chess]]: Light and L in the live action movies.
* [[Snow Means Death]]: {{spoiler|Naomi Misora}}
* [[Social Engineering]]: Most of the main cast are Social Engineering masters-Light, L, Mello, and Near. Aiber as well.
* [[Sociopathic Hero]]: Light Yagami, with Misa Amane as his sidekick.
* [[Somebody Else's Problem]]: As pointed out in ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1g5C0EvT01k&feature=PlayList&p=03389DC24AABE458&index=6 Death Note Abridged]'' "in this footage you can see various pedestrians who clearly don't give a $h!t that somebody near them just collapsed and died."
* [[Someone's Touching My Butt]]: Of course, in classic L fashion, {{spoiler|he was pretending to cover up for touching Misa's butt by saying it was an outrage, when in actuality touching her butt was a cover so she wouldn't notice him taking her phone.}}
* [[Stop or I Shoot Myself]]: {{spoiler|Higuchi}} after having been cornered as the current Kira, does this to keep himself from being caught. At some point he realizes it is hopeless and tries to pull the trigger. [[Badass Grandpa|Watari]] [[Blasting It Out of Their Hands|snipes it out of his hands]].
* [[Spanner in the Works]]: Teru Mikami.
** Misa.
** Shidoh.
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* [[Strange Minds Think Alike]]: Light and L tend to finish each other's thoughts / inner monologues between cutaways.
** Light and Mikami.
* [[Strawman News Media]]: Type IV. You'd think that after the emergence of Kira that there would be a massive clampdown on broadcasting suspect's names... '''''WRONG!''''' Trial by media becomes execution by media: Here's the names and faces of people [[You Bastard|our viewers want to die in a fire.]] [[If It Bleeds, It Leads|Let's hope they die on live TV!]] This is especially exemplified with [[Attention Whore|Demegawa]] and [[Intellectually Supported Tyranny|Takada.]]
** The cops actually consider a media clampdown as soon as L points out that Kira is killing by reading names of criminals out of the newspaper; however, L shoots the idea down, on the grounds that he reads Kira as a [[Psychopathic Manchild]] who would just start killing anyone he ''thinks'' is guilty, and blaming any innocent deaths on the police for instigated a media clampdown. He's probably right.
* [[Strongly Worded Letter]]: Not explored in depth, but one of these might be something to fear if it's out on the Internet and Kira agrees with the writer. In a way, Light and Mikami used the Death Note as this.
* [[Sufficiently Analyzed Magic]]: Light's experiments with the Death Note.
* [[Surprisingly Good English]]: In [[The Movie]], an actual American played Lind L. Tailor ( {{spoiler|L's decoy}}). The news broadcast had a Japanese voiceover, but his [[Deep South|Dixie]] accent was still clearly audible.
** The rules are written in English because it's a "universal" language. 95% of the time, it's near perfect, with minor exceptions like "looses" and one "bictim". Then again, Ryuk doesn't seem like the type to have pefect spelling
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* [[There Are No Therapists]]: Grief counseling for Misa could have solved a lot of things. Also, Light comes across in that first episode as rather depressed.
* [[There Is No Kill Like Overkill]]: {{spoiler|Happens to Matt and Light.}}
* [[They Fight Crime]]: Yep, [[Light Is Not Good|they all do.]]
* [[The Thirty-Six Stratagems]]
* [[This Cannot Be!]]
* [[This Is Unforgivable!]]: {{spoiler|Matsuda}} has had enough of {{spoiler|Light}} at the time of {{spoiler|the final confrontation with Near}}. The results are quick, well-deserved, and quite scary. {{spoiler|Ryuk}} almost couldn't keep up with him.
* [[This Is Your Brain on Evil]]: Happens to Light, Misa, and Mikami, and to a lesser extent Takada and {{spoiler|Higuchi}}. The differences between their non-Kira selves and their Kira selves are striking.
* [[Threesome Subtext]]: First arc: Misa-Light-L and Second arc: {{spoiler|Misa-Light-Takada / Light-Takada-Mikami}} and in the prequel novel ''[[Another Note]]'' Raye Penber-Naomi Misora-Ryuuzaki
* [[Time Skip]]
* [[Tomato in the Mirror]]: [[Memory Gambit|Kinda]]... [[Xanatos Roulette|sorta]].
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* {{spoiler|[[Treachery Cover-Up]]}}
* [[Trope Overdosed]]
* [[Trouser Space]]: In the second arc, Light's new Death Note hiding place. [http://deathnotefansite.deviantart.com/art/Death-Note-Lights-Hiding-Place-257199331\] He did it in an earlier scene in the manga too...
** And in the manga [[Pants-Positive Safety|this is where Mello keeps his pistol...]]
* [[Try Not to Die]]
* [[Tsundere]]: It's mentioned in ''Another Note'' that Naomi tries not to be seen as one during her time in the FBI. The definition given in-text matches up with Type A.
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* [[Tyke Bomb]]: Arguably, the Wammy's kids.
* [[Ubermensch]]: Light is a textbook case. ''Or'' nothing more than a sociopath with a serious god complex, [[Alternate Character Interpretation|it all depends on your viewpoint]].
** In the first [[Live Action Movie]] he's seen reading Nietzsche's 'Beyond Good and Evil' shortly before being approched by Naomi Misora for the first time. In German even!
* [[Unflappable Guardian]]: Watari.
* [[Unholy Matrimony]]: Light and Misa, whether Light likes it or not. They were both villains in their own right before joining forces.
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** Soichiro's suits are especially this.
* [[Unreliable Narrator]]: {{spoiler|Mello tells the story in ''Another Note''.}}
** In the anime, Mikami narrates the flashbacks to his youth, as opposed to the ominiscient narrator in the manga. He thus has an unfavorable view of his mother's advice to stop fighting against the bullies, whereas the manga's narrator noted that she was motivated by genuine concern for his welfare that was largely lost on him.
* [[Unspoken Plan Guarantee]]: Usually we don't see Light writing his more complex death plans into his diary before they happen.
* [[Unwitting Pawn]]: {{spoiler|Higuchi}}, both to L's plan and to Light's master plan.
* [[Urban Fantasy]]
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** Mello and Matt are Type I, seeing how Matt is {{spoiler|the only person Mello shows remorse for having gotten killed}}.
** Mikami and Takada are Type I, but {{spoiler|Mikami kills her anyway because his loyalty to his "God" trumps any feelings he has for her.}}
** Light and Takada are very much Type III. {{spoiler|Takada loves and admires Light, but when Takada [[You Have Failed Me|has failed him]] by getting kidnapped, he [[Psychic-Assisted Suicide|makes her kill herself]] by [[Self-Immolation]].}}
** Light and Mikami are Type I. Mikami {{spoiler|swears absolute devotion to Light when Light entrusts him with the Death Note and in turn he was the only one Light [[You Will Be Spared|was planning on keeping around after he won.]] However, in the anime at the very end it turns into Type III. When his plan to kill Near and others fails, Light tries to save himself by sacrificing Mikami, claiming that he doesn't know him; Mikami, while broken by this rejection, [[Undying Loyalty|remains loyal to Light]] and responds to his call for help by killing himself, creating a distraction that allows Light to escape. In the manga it ends ups being completely subverted, as not only Light abandons Mikami, but also Mikami responds to Light's call for help by yelling at him that he's not a god.}}
** Light and Ryuk, on the other hand, are subversion: Light seems to see Ryuk as a buddy to brag to, and [[Go-Karting with Bowser|Ryuk likes playing with Light]], but in the end, Light only wants to use Ryuk as much as he allows it (e.g. making him find hidden cameras installed in his room {{spoiler|or add fake rules to the Death Note as a part of his [[Memory Gambit]]}}), while Ryuk just sees Light as a shiny new toy {{spoiler|[[You Have Outlived Your Usefulness|to be disposed of as soon as he gets bored]]}}.
* [[Villain Protagonist]]: Light.
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** {{spoiler|Although one is forced to wonder how true that number could [[Informed Attribute|possibly be]] when one considers there are at least enough names to fill the Death Note ''[[Crapsack World|every day]]!''}} Not to mention countless criminals who [[Karma Houdini|aren't apprehended for their crimes, and/or are able to evade police]] You'd think Light, of all people, would be aware of that possibility.
* [[Visionary Villain]]: Light.
* [[Voodoo Shark]]: In the second rewrite special, the mafia are cut and {{spoiler|Mikami and Takada kill the SPK in their place}}, with Light's meetings with them moved to earlier than occurred in the manga. This fixes a [[Plot Hole]] present in the original anime, wherein SPK member Ill Ratt is never realed as a spy for Mello (providing no explanation for Mello's crew {{spoiler|knowing their names and thus able to kill them with the Death Note}}), but with the mafia plot's removal, another is created: Soichiro Yagami {{spoiler|making the trade for Shinigami Eyes and his subsequent death}} are also omitted, leaving {{spoiler|his absence}} and {{spoiler|Light's knowledge of Mello's true name}} without explanation.
* [[Wall Slump]]: {{spoiler|Light, at the end.}}
* [[Walls of Text]]: The manga, partially because of the very nature of the story, partially because Ohba made sure it had [[108]] chapters.
* [[Weird Moon]]: It seems any time Light goes out walking at night the moon is always full.
* [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]]: Light who starts out with killing only prominent murderers, but then [[Jumping Off the Slippery Slope|jumps off the slippery slope]] and begins killing anyone who gets in his way. Though he ''does'' state his intention to get around to killing people who harass others or are 'immoral' in the first episode.
** Also applies to Kiras {{spoiler|X-, a lawyer who not only kills criminals but extends his punishment to people who have atoned for their crimes and "those who do not use their potential" -- that is, lazy people}} and {{spoiler|C-, the aforementioned unseen Death Note writer in the manga sequel who kills adults over the age of 70, later 60, in order to unburden the youth of Japan.}}
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** And then you have the debate over whether {{spoiler|Near controlled Mikami with the Death Note or not, based off of Matsuda's theory in the final chapter. [[Word of God]] also states that Near is a "cheater" and less innocent than he seems compared to Mello.}}
*** Near treats detective work as a game, and will try to "win" the game by any means necessary. He has no emotional attachments or morals to distract him.
* [[We Need to Get Proof]]: L and Near suspect Light almost immediately, and though they're both willing to play fast and loose with ethics to solve a case, Near says ''ex post facto'' justification (like killing Light and seeing if the murders stop) is intolerable for either of them.
* [[What Is This Feeling?]]
* [[When All You Have Is a Hammer]]: The Death Note kills people. Light quickly finds ways to make it do... [[Batman Gambit|more]].
* [[Who's Laughing Now?]]: This is {{spoiler|Mikami's}} [[Freudian Excuse]].
** In The [[Grand Finale]] {{spoiler|[[Beware the Nice Ones|Matsuda]]}} is done with being the [[Butt Monkey]]...
*** Some food for thought- Light was seriously considering the [[Jerk Jock|school bully]] for his second kill despite how it might implicate him to kill someone he knows.
*** And Taro Kagomi from the pilot chapter.
*** Kiyomi Takada in the live-action movie.
* [[Willing Suspension of Disbelief]]: Invoked by the Death Note. If a victim's description of death has them writing "death gods love apples" before dying, they'll just die of a heart attack without fulfilling the description, because the victim would have no way of knowing that. What they can do is write an ordinary suicide note that ''just happens'' to spell "death gods love apples" if you take the first letter of each line.
* [[With Due Respect]]: Aizawa says this to L {{spoiler|when convinced of Light and Misa's innocence.}}
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** Near, for his part, subverts this towards Kiras(s). In the final volume he tells {{spoiler|Light}} how it is: {{spoiler|[[Crowning Moment of Awesome|"You're just a crazy mass murderer."]] }}
** Also subverted in the oneshot chapter set after the manga, {{spoiler|when Near [[Driven to Suicide|drives cKira to suicide]] by telling cKira that he isn't worth Near's time.}}
* [[Would Be Rude to Say Genocide]]: Kira prefers the term "Justice."
* [[Written by the Winners]]: A discussed trope.
{{quote|'''Light''': ''If [[Hired to Hunt Yourself|we]] catch Kira, then Kira is evil. If Kira takes control of the world, then Kira is Justice.''}}
* [[Xanatos Roulette]]: Light.
* [[Xanatos Speed Chess]]: L is a master of it.
* [[Yandere (disambiguation)]]: Let's have Misa explain it: "If I see you with another girl, then I'll kill her!". Quintessential yandere.
* [[Yank the Dog's Chain]]
* [[You Are What You Hate]]: As [[Lampshaded]] by Ryuk when he first meets Light, no matter how many criminals Light kills there will always be one bastard left. Also Misa, who fears stalkers, becomes a stalker herself.
* [[You Cannot Grasp the True Form]]: The Shinigami King, [[All There in the Manual|so says the manual.]]
* [[You Didn't Ask]]: In the live action movie this is Ryuk's explanation for why he hadn't told Light why, if you have a Death Note, your lifespan is hidden from a human who has traded for Shinigami-sight (which allowed Misa to discover who he is).
** This is his explanation in the manga as well. In addition, one of the rules of the Death Note as presented in "How to Use" is that the Shinigami is not obligated to tell the holder of the Death Note anything, even if the holder asks.
* [[You Fool!]]: Light says it a couple of times in the English dub.
* [[You Get Me Coffee]]: L pulls this on [[Butt Monkey]] Matsuda when he asks how he can better pull his weight.
* [[You Have Outlived Your Usefulness]]: Light does this all the time, as does Mello. {{spoiler|Ryuk returns the favor to Light at the very end}}.
* [[You Have to Believe Me]]: Invoked word for word.
* [[You Just Told Me]]: ''Light'' of all people falls for this and accidentally {{spoiler|outs Higuchi as Kira to Namikawa.}} Made even funnier by the fact that he's using L's name at the time.
{{quote|'''Misa''': "Wow! {{spoiler|Namikawa}} is really smart to have figured that out!"
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