What Light Actually Wanted - Death Note

In this video, I go over what Light Yagami from Death Note actually wanted during the story, and why you might be surprised it wasn't all about changing the world and making everything a better place. Let's explore just what his cat and mouse game against L was really all about.

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[ComfyTea]

It's crazy as we get older and understand character motives from older shows, it becomes clear that optimal choices like Light hiding forever and using the Death Note doesn't make sense for the kind of person he is.

[MrEffectfilms]

Lol it's like people forget that characters aren't machines, they don't just do the smart thing all the time because real people don't do that. People are flawed and so are characters.

[Hitman]

I honestly think his corruption was inevitable. The Death Note just drastically sped the process up. Had he not gotten the book he likely would have been a detective rivaling the status of L and eventually would have gotten jaded and bored watching criminals he caught escaping the legal system or feeling like he was having a small impact on crime in the world. He probably would have lead some covert criminal organization with similar goals until L caught him. Would love some series showing what would happen in that alternate reality.

[hobbyist]

Wow, Ryuk being the author's way of anthropomorphizing Light's inner demons is so on point. So obvious in retrospect, but I'm completely blind to that kind of symbolism until someone points it out, even in my favorite stories.

Also, perfect analysis of Light's character. Better than any breakdown of his true motives than I've ever seen. So much so that I constantly was thinking "Wow, I never thought about that, but it's completely true." Especially the thing about excitement and boredom.

Have your like. I rarely give them out, but THIS was well earned.

[fantasyskeep]

Light isn't dumb, he's an allegory to the idea that "absolute power, corrupts absolutely".

[DandDgamer]

Light didn't lose in episode 2, he sat down at the poker table. He could have sat at a different table than L, farmed some blowhards for their money and been in no danger of busting, to carry on the analogy. But he specifically wanted to try to meet that challenge. Good analysis here

[-static]

“Too aggressive while trying to pick up a girl” might be the best coating of sugar I’ve ever seen put on anything

[benwelsh]

The characters of Death Note are endlessly fascinating to dissect and Light is no exception. I agree that rather than being the well-intentioned extremist Light would have you believe he is he's more so a teenager with a frighteningly sharp intelligence looking to escape his boredom. After all it's what unites him and Ryuk at the very beginning, a need to escape their shared boredom. Light is seeking a stimulus or an outlet for his intelligence to satisfy himself and only goes on about creating a new world as a God because that's less a moral crusade and more so an exciting challenge. His rivalry with L is something I think he deeply enjoys having finally found someone he could consider an equal. It's probably why he hates Near seeing him as vastly inferior to L. While I think a case could be made that maybe to some extent Light buys into his own spiel about 'godhood' and creating a utopia at his core his motive is that of personal fulfillment, not moral righteousness.

[OurDarkGoldenHero]

I never knew people felt that way about the series. If anyone pays attention to Death Note, a running theme is that even the smartest and most genius of people won't make optimal choices if it isn't true to who they are. I just figured it was obvious.

[justsomeguywholovesberserk]

Next video request: Could Light Yagami (Kira) solve the mystery behind Yoshikage Kira (JoJo) and Defeat him

[spoonabenson]

It’s annoying when people misconstrued characters and act like they’re suppose to always act 100% logically. These characters are given specific characteristics and flaws to make them interesting, unique and human. No human operates on pure logic alone

[ElucidYT]

Naomi's death was a really, really strange scene for me. Light has already become completely unhinged and disconnected from sanity. His God Complex was in full effect. The apprehension you felt when light gets access to her actual name, the way he reveals it to her just before she is taken over, the look of horror on her face turning into a emotionless brainwashed person, the way her walking away on the street turned into her walking up the gallows to the noose... it was unsettling but extremely well written. (I'm aware she has nearly nothing to do with this video, still wanted to point it out)

[spoonabenson]

Light’s boredom hits home for me more now then when I watched the anime years ago. It’s been rough these past few years, feels like bits of myself have been stripped away leading to a mere husk of my former self.

[beardedgreek]

Love this take, if Light truly was only interested in killing people who committed crimes and creating an ideal world his entire arc would have been very different. You'd think it would have been glaringly obvious when Light shows how incredibly egotistical he is, claiming he wants to be a God of a New World. The plot also shows what Light without the deathnote would have been like when he wipes his own memory. Most people probably didn't realize that what Light *says* he wants and what he *actually* wants aren't the same mainly because since he's so smart they don't entertain the idea that he also might not completely understand his own drives - or not care to.

[j_smith]

05:30 For clarification, they were "just aggressive" in the manga. In the anime they clearly sexually assault her, so it's a bit weird for anime Light to feel the same guilt manga Light does

[zoomzike]

Fantastic video. I've always had a gripe with the people that call Light and L unintelligent for not performing the "smarter" actions to further their goals. When you get to heart of these characters and understand what really drives them, then you'll see that these actions Light and L make aren't "dumb mistakes", but flaws within them as people.

[kait.]

Side note: I would say that “Misa slips up” can also be considered Light slip ups. I think he even says that in the manga. Like he should’ve done better, checked what Misa said and made sure things were sent out correctly or had just killed her (after she gets caught)

[jason.gonzalezh]

Bringing back the Death Note vids= nostalgia feeling hitting 😩

[Zero-efsc]

"If you're creative, and you get graded by someone who is not, they won't think you're creative, but dumb. Same is true for intelligence."
And this applies here. The people who say Death Note is stupid are too stupid to realize it, and same goes for anyone who says Light or L are stupid. Especially for the people who say Light lost in episode 2.

[vision]

I think something was missed completely in this video.

Near didn't have the same *gaming pride* as L. In that final scene, Near pretty much dismisses Light as just another criminal to jail, not some grand challenge to overcome. And that's why Near overcame Light.