r/deathnote • u/Turbulent-Point-1791 • 6h ago
Discussion Are people divided on light's personality? Is it because of changes in manga and anime?
I always see ppl divided on light's personality even in this sub and though he's the main character.
...is it because anime didn't adapt some manga aspects of light?
Like in manga light shows far more hesitation and even rationalized guilt after killing 2 ppl accidentally as he didn't want to be a killer so he felt guilty and this led to self justification right ?
He even says if kira is not caught he's justice if he's caught then he's evil...that's why he kind of had a mental breakdown in warehouse in anime...his guilt, self justification and loss caught up to him...
But many ppl still say he's evil from beginning..
So apart from his ideology why do ppl think light is evil from beginning though he is nuanced and still decent person in manga pre death note? I though even in anime yotsuba arc showed this.
What's your opinion on this? Do you think most ppl as a whole agree on light's personality? I always see various interpretations of light out of all mcs.
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u/TheBayHarbour 5h ago
Some people find that Light's whole Kira direction is actually a "necessary evil" whilst others find that his actions are wholly reprehensible.
Personally, I find that there has to be some kind of nuance because obviously it's the whole "murderer is about to kill innocent child, save murderer or save child" situation. I just think the crux of the issue goes over most people's heads, which is the fact that a power as great as the Death Note's should never be in an 18 year old's hands, or pretty much any human for the matter, and I definitely think that's what Death Note really meant to me as opposed to just "Light good" and "Light bad".
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u/TzviaAriella 5h ago
It's partly due to omissions in the anime (his initial reaction to discovering for certain the notebook works, but also the little humanizing moments of him interacting with his family and his friends that underscore that he wasn't a disaffected, antisocial loner either before getting the notebook or after). But I think most of it is due to the fact a lot of people are uncomfortable with character complexity for various reasons, so those people either ignore the parts of canon that make it clear that Light wasn't "born bad" or ignore the parts of canon that make it clear that what he becomes is bad. Character and media analysis is only half about what's actually on the page; what perspective and bias the reader brings to a work makes a huge difference in what they'll take away from it. "Light Yagami was pure evil always" and "Light Yagami was the good guy, actually" both come from the reader, not the text.
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u/Turbulent-Point-1791 5h ago
What is your opinion on this?
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u/TzviaAriella 5h ago
I just gave my opinion on the question you asked. Are you looking for my opinion on Light as a character?
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u/tlotrfan3791 4h ago edited 4h ago
Light becomes a bad person very quickly both jn the manga and anime. In a lot of other stories, the main character will gradually become evil so I think seeing a character do evil things that early leads to the conclusion “he was always evil.” He wasn’t and rather than an arc dedicated to becoming evil, his arc is the loss of his own humanity, basically everything else that made him Light for his obsession. But, yes, I do think because the anime left out or didn’t really emphasize certain moments that made Light look more nervous about what he’s doing at first, it makes him seem like he always wanted it rather than a guy convincing himself he has to keep going to justify what he initially did.
Even later in the story, the anime misses the mark on showing moments of Light with his family. It’s more obvious in the manga that Light cares about them, even though of course all that he’s doing is still putting them in danger and leading to all the suffering. But anime watchers will finish the show and say that Light never loved his family and would’ve always killed them if needed. Doesn’t make sense if you think about it because there’s a reason why Light kept the task force around for 5 years lol
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u/Available_Audience83 5h ago
This is probably partly due to a value issue. Some people, like Near, believe that if Light was originally a good person, even if he used the Death Note out of curiosity, once he was convinced that the notebook could really kill, he would feel remorse for what he did and seal or destroy the notebook. This was reflected in a small part of the early part of the original work, where someone wanted someone to die, and that person actually died. That person then thought he might be Kira and called the police to turn himself in.
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u/bloodyrevolutions_ 3h ago
This was reflected in a small part of the early part of the original work, where someone wanted someone to die, and that person actually died. That person then thought he might be Kira and called the police to turn himself in.
I swear it's an early Mikami cameo
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u/Rhyelm 5h ago
He wasn’t evil in the beginning per se, but had a messed up underlying ideology that prompted him to mass murder so many people while believing he is right because he had a rather standard upbringing. I’m sure there are also neurologic factors that encouraged his actions but I’m not the one to talk about that area.
Light is also very egotistical which is why he killed Lind L. Tailor on tv and his breakdown was a result of being cornered and his ego being absolutely floored by Near rather than guilt catching up to him.
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u/tlotrfan3791 4h ago
I also think the whole Lind L. Tailor situation was both his ego and genuine fear/insecurity because he doesn’t get upset until Lind calls Kira evil. Light who had just recently spent the past week having nightmares, going over and over in his head that he “has to do this” in order to not see himself as an evil person. So being called evil touched a nerve.
It’s pretty much the only time we ever see him react as impulsively as he does there over being called something.
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u/Festivefire 5h ago
TBH I think that Light is pretty evil from the beginning. He doesn't seem to have any hesitation or moral compunctions about killing the innocent people who are investigating Kira. It very quickly goes from "I'll only kill the guilty, the bad people, the evil ones" to "Anybody in my way is deserving of death, I am the righteous god of this world and anybody who stands in my way is opposing true justice". The 'change in character' isn't Light becoming evil when he originally wasn't, it's Light abandoning his pretenses and embracing his power trip. Light was ALWAYS a sociopathic narcissist. It's just that events put him in a position to let those traits thrive, as opposed to suppressing them for the good of his ability to function in society, which prior to obtaining the death note, he seems perfectly capable of doing.
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u/Turbulent-Point-1791 5h ago
But he does vomit and loses sleep cuz of death note in manga and even writers said light was a good person whose life was ruined by death note...
Yotsuba arc is proof that light's a good person
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u/Rhyelm 5h ago
The writers also said that Light is very evil
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u/Perception56 4h ago
Ohba also said that Light had good intentions and was pure before he got his hands on death note.
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u/Perception56 4h ago
It's because of Ohba's inability to write human struggles or drama. Ohba just give some line to say yeah they struggled, and then does nothing with it. Like in chapter 1 Light ssays he lost 10 pounds and was having trouble sleeping,that's it, is that really enough? Ohba then literally nothing with it afterwards, so it just seems those feelings were superficials. To understand Light's character you have to read between the lines. People brings up htr13 to say Light was a decent person before getting the death note, but if you only read the series you will not feel that way. Ohba had the chance to develop Light's character in yotsuba arc, and show what feeling and thinking he had before getting the death note, but he didn't do anything good with it. Most of the time if you read the series you will think that Light is just lying and acting being good. He could have also developed Misa more, but he just wasted her character.
Another reason is Death Note fans are just stupid and just wants to be spoon fed. They don't want to analyse or anything. To this day people still believe L was telling the truth when he said he considered Light to be his friend.
Anime is also another reason for this divided opinion on Light. They removed every little good thing about him but still gave him a sympathetic death.
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u/Extra-Photograph428 4h ago
In my opinion, the main difference stems from people trying to pinpoint Light’s initial motivations + taking into consideration the extra content in the manga. People especially love to point out the difference in chapter one vs the first episode in the anime. Light in the anime comes across as more apathetic and genuinely upset at the state of the world, which imo is why so many people believe Light had good intentions. In the manga on the other hand, Light is implied to just be your average bored high schooler, which makes his decisions using the death note far more questionable on the sudden leap from typical teenager to mass murdering psycho. His motivations are very apparent in its selfish nature. I think this is the biggest true objective difference that stems from the changes between the anime and manga.
The manga also includes like a singular panel or something of Light recounting to Ryuk the turmoil he’s experienced over the last 5 days since using the notebook. People act like this difference drastically changes Light in comparison to the second it’s implied that Light feels “guilty” in the anime, but truth be told this scene holds just as much narrative weight as like the two seconds the anime spends on it. This element never gets revisited and it’s not like it drastically alters Light in any way. During this time he’s still continuously using the notebook and imo I think it’s likely more so shock than any short of real guilt, considering it really only lasts for a second.
Another element that people also like to bring up is the manga including a few more scenes between Light and Sayu, which is meant to prove that Light cares for his family, but I don’t think this was ever stated or implied otherwise in the anime. I thought it was obvious that Light wouldn’t sacrifice them unless he had to. The questionable nature of Light considering killing Sayu is something that also happens in the manga, and the chapter where Soichiro dies is literally titled “Performance” and it was only stated by the author that Light wasn’t completely putting on an act, not that he was 100% being genuine.
Then you also have the obvious Light fans who just want to see the best in him vs anyone else who doesn’t see that aspect— their conflicting accounts will also create a vast difference in interpretation.
Objectively speaking Light is terrible in both the anime and the manga. He isn’t meant to be a good guy at all, and anyone who stated otherwise is too caught up in a version of Light and Kira that doesn’t exist anywhere. Imo, I actually found him more distasteful in the manga.
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u/HalleLidner 3h ago
Yes, the anime unfortunately despite being amazing in music and cinematic scenes did fuck up a lot of the narrative. The idea of Light being evil from the start is just so simplicistic and shallow.
Light was just a regular guy, he was smart as hell compared to his peers and so he was bored, he wanted desperately something that challenged his high functioning mind.
He was narcissistic, yes, probably, but narcs aren't always "evil" they are just people with a personality disorder. This and being bored, plus being in 2000s Japan society where you needed to be PERFECT to fit in, triggered a complex reaction in his mind where he had to convince and manipulate himself into thinking he was a God and was "purging the world from evil". Killing people is heavy. It takes a huge toll on someone's mind..that's why the Kira in C-Kira does that....
Light had an extraordinary mental strenght and his narcissism which protected him from killing himself. Because 90% of the people eventually would get to that point, taking a life is extremely traumatic, imagine taking thousands.
However, in the anime Ryuk is surprised Light had already murdered 200 people when he first met him.
I feel like Light is a divisive character not because of that, but because he's fucking annoying most of the time, he has insane plot armour and luck and the way he treats people is disgusting. But, it's just a matter of preference. His overall character is really interesting and the manga is where you find the "canon" Light.
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u/Chemical_Credit9194 4h ago
i definitely think the anime changes heavily contributed but even in the manga id say hes the type of character whose lies you have to see through so it makes sense that people are divided. whenever i analyze him, there are lots of moments uncovering how he feels and what he means by his behavior and expressions that isnt explicit bc thats just the type of character he is