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Overanalyzing Anime
Blog Owner & Lead Writer
Be sure to read my thoughts on Episode 01 here!
The episode begins with Light in class, now accompanied by his new best bud, Ryuk, who, due to the contract binding them to one another via the Death Note, has to remain by his side at all times. This is much to Ryuk’s chagrin, given the fact that he finds hanging out in Light’s classes to be boring. When the two get home Light quickly begins writing names in the notebook, and when Ryuk complains about him working so much, Light explains that he still has to stay on top of his other responsibilities as not to draw undue attention to himself. After a moment Light’s younger sister, Sayu, enters the room, asking for help with her homework. It’s then that Ryuk casually mentions to Light that if anyone else touches the notebook, they’ll be able to see him – which, you know, would be extremely problematic for Light.
The scene cuts away from Light, Ryuk and Sayu to a meeting of the ICPO (or International Criminal Police Organization), who have begun to notice the fact that a significant number of incarcerated criminals around the world have begun to die from heart attacks. While there are some that think these deaths are mere coincidence, others believe that there is a person/organization murdering these individuals. It is then that someone mentions bringing in L; who is apparently this world’s version of Batman, minus the whole beating up the mentally ill thing (don’t @ me, you know it’s true). A man by the name of Watari then appears claiming that, “L IS ALREADY ON THE MOVE,” as he whips out a computer and the man known as L introduces (or, I guess, reintroduces) himself to the ICPO.
From there we switch to Light who’s busy coming up with a way to prevent anyone from getting their hands on his notebook; claiming that if he isn’t careful, he may end up having to murder his whole family to keep his secret. Yikes. We then flip back to the ICPO, where L has announced that, while he’ll need the assistance of the entire ICPO in order to catch the person/persons responsible for these murders, he specifically needs the help of the Japanese NPA (or, National Police Agency) in order to confront them. The representative of the NPA seems skeptical, but ultimately agrees to work with L.
Meanwhile, Light, now back at home, demonstrates his elaborate set up to Ryuk; showing him that he has made it so, in a worst case scenario, the notebook would be destroyed – removing any evidence that might hold him responsible for his actions. After this Light shows Ryuk a few websites and pages that are clamoring about the work Light has been doing, referring to him as “Kira.” Just then a Special Broadcast appears on Light’s Television, claiming to be a Worldwide Broadcast from the ICPO. A man named Lind L. Tailor appears on the TV claiming to be L, who urges Kira to turn himself in because his actions are “evil.” Hearing this sets Light the fuck off and he immediately writes Lind L. Tailor’s name down, killing him on National TV. Only, it wasn’t really L. Not only had the real L used someone else as his stand-in, he also managed to prove that Light needed a face in order to kill, as well as pinpointed Light’s location by having only broadcast this message in the Kanto region of Japan, not worldwide like previously stated. Ryuk takes note of the situation claiming that the two have to now find one another without knowing the others name or face, and the first to be revealed will ultimately be killed by the other. The episode then concludes by each of them saying that they will find the other because, “I AM JUSTICE.”
And, roll credits.
So, a few quick hits. I love the comment about the organization being responsible for this being either the FBI or the CIA; I love how annoyed Ryuk and Light sometimes are with their living/working arrangement; I love how Ryuk just casually mentions the crucial information about, how, when someone touches the notebook it allows them to see him; I love the way L just immediately puts Light in his place during their confrontation; and lastly, I love the way this episode showed us (rather than told us about) Light’s ingenuity. It’s funny that this kid is only seventeen; because when I was seventeen the most interesting thing I could build was a paper mache model of Pain from Naruto that looked… it just looked absolutely nothing like Pain from Naruto.
For a moment I want to go back to what I had mentioned in my previous article in regard to the idea of Justice in the world of Death Note. This episode had Light showing us that the world was excited about Kira; about the idea of someone or something murdering criminals en masse. The idea of Kira garnering a massive following makes sense, because, a lot of people support Capitol Punishment; as of November of 2019 80.8% of those polled in Japan by the Cabinet Office felt that the death penalty was sometimes necessary; while only 9.0% felt it should be abolished. So, the idea that someone is hastily dispatching criminals probably seemed like something worth celebrating in that region of the world. I also like Light’s speech about the morality of the situation; and the idea of a student being asked if bad people deserved to die. It’s interesting that, even though this anime took place over a decade ago, it still touches on the fact that people are more honest with how they feel when given anonymity online (which is not always the best thing, but, still.)
This episode also shows us that Light’s goals aren’t as altruistic as they may have seemed in the previous episode; we see that he’s not only willing to kill criminals, but also anyone who dares to get in his way. Not only that, but this episode also shows audiences Light can be rather cocky and is prone to bursts of anger – I mean, you need only look at the way Light wrote L’s name in comparison to others. Light’s definitely got a God-Complex, and it appears as though he’s a vengeful one, at that.
All in all, this episode was a great follow up to the first; it showed us the other side of this story – the side of the ICPO and how they view the situation; with some treating the deaths as murders, some wondering about whether they should really care one way or the other, and others who are skeptical of whether or not they’re murders at all. This episode also introduces us to L – who serves as the perfect foil for Light; with each of them claiming to be Justice, despite their different outlooks on the world. Just another great episode in this great series. Stay tuned for Episode 3’s analysis tomorrow!
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