Death Note (Drama)

Episode 6

As Death Note heads into its sixth episode, we reach the Third Kira Arc. That means the live-action series is going at over double the speed of its predecessor—maybe a little less if we count the longer runtime. Good job on getting straight to the point!

Some consider the Third Kira Arc to be the high point of the original Death Note series. It reveals the extent of Light Yagami's brilliant forward-thinking and planning, and it also does a lot to develop L and Light's relationship. They still have their headgames, but this time they're on the same side, since Light has lost his memories of being Kira, working to bring the new Kira down with the rest of the investigation team. It will be interesting to see how all this plays out in the new show's brave new world, where Light and L are different characters, greatly affecting the dynamic between them. L is more of a straight-up creepy jerk, and also less socially awkward. Light is more troubled and sympathetic, or at least started out that way.

As the live-action series veers ever closer to the source material, I'm starting to wonder if these changes were intentional, or just a misinterpretation of the original series. Obviously, decisions like making Misa a bigger character and giving her a more developed backstory are very deliberate. Still, I wonder how they could start these characters in such different places, and then expect them to go down the same paths through the same events as the original series. Light is not the person he was in the original manga and anime. But increasingly, he's becoming that way without much justification for it. Same with Misa. Only L remains truly different, but mostly as a condensed version of what he represented as Light's antagonist in the old story. This L feels closer to how Kira's fans saw him in the anime.

This is all especially important going into the Third Kira Arc, because this arc is all about revealing Light's character when he's separated from the Kira mystique he's built up for himself. This part of the story explores how much of Kira is intrinsic to Light's personality even when he doesn't have its God-like power to take lives with ease. I always disagreed with the idea that this arc proved Light to be a "good person" when not under the influence of the Death Note, because I thought it proved the opposite. The Third Kira Arc revealed that the original Light Yagami was an entitled jerk with an overly simplistic view of morality and how the world works—exactly who L had predicted him to be from the beginning. He could use his calculating powers to fight Kira because the Third Kira was more selfish and petty, using the notebook just to get rivals out of the way. This Kira-less Light obviously sees the police as the Good Guys for now, but that doesn't make him a better person. Throughout this arc, Light never showed any deeper understanding of why his adversaries were bad outside of how they fit into his limited understanding of justice and a black-and-white fealty to the law.

So that raises some important questions when bringing this more "human" Light into the same plot. This will be the moment that truly reveals to us who this version of Light is at heart. So what did this episode reveal so far? Well, Light does actually seem like a different person after he gives up the Death Note. He is good—very good—at feigning anger and frustration while he still has his memories. He seems completely deranged when L visits him in the cell. (It's also a huge testament to how well Masataka Kubota has grown into his character across the course of this series.) Light instantly changes after he relinquishes his power to Ryuk. He's scared, helpless, and confused in a way he never was before that, where it still felt like he had control of the situation. When Light says he "just wants to spend his days in peace and stability," we believe him because he did seem that way at the beginning of the story, before the note took hold over him. This Light resisted many opportunities to become Kira, so Ryuk had to con him into it. It's a sharp contrast not only to his anime/manga character, but also to Misa. She seems more freaked out after she gives up her notebook, but she's still fundamentally the same person. She's still acting like we would expect her to act.

Light's confrontation with his dad is the emotional highlight of the series, and really brings home how different this Light is. For one thing, he's screwed up enough, playing this all by ear instead of meticulously planning things, that he made it much easier for L and his dad to figure out that he's Kira. Soichiro suspects Light to an extent that he never did in the original story, and comes very close to killing him. It's much more tragic that this version of Soichiro is aware of Light's crimes, and seems horrified by them. It's a good thing it doesn't end there—this is Light's story after all—but it teeters close enough, and plays up this version's differences enough, that you are scared for a second.

The whole episode also makes L out to be a monster in a way that other versions of Death Note didn't. L appears to enjoy watching Light and Misa squirm. Despite his insistence to Light that they are friends, there's nothing friendly about how he keeps turning up the volume on their misery. This doesn't bode well if the anime sticks to the source through the Third Kira Arc, where Light and L constantly work together. Then again, it could give L a chance to discover if he does actually want to be friends with Light. It will at least be a very different friendship from previous versions.

With the cliffhanger, it looks like the Third Kira Arc will be in full swing by the next episode—maybe even concluding with the infamous "exactly as planned" twist. Since this show is still doing just enough different to distinguish itself, I'm still interested in how this will play out, but I'm not as eager as I used to be. It's good that this version is doing some things the same and changing others, but it needs to weave those together in a way that makes more sense. This arc gives it a new chance to do just that.

Rating: B

Death Note (Drama) is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Rose is a music Ph.D. student who loves overanalyzing anime soundtracks. Follow her on her media blog Rose's Turn.