New World (episode)

New World (新世界, Shinsekai) is the thirty-seventh and final episode of the Death Note anime series.

Synopsis
The episode continues immediately after the previous one. Light Yagami and Teru Mikami are both shocked that no one has died after 40 seconds. It is then that Near reveals that Mikami's notebook had been replaced by a fake the SPK created and since Light's name was the only one not written, Light is exposed as Kira.

Out of options, Light confesses to being Kira and attempts to acquit himself by justifying the reason why he used the notebook. When that fails, he attempts to convince Near that the notebook the task force brought with them was fake, which is used as distraction so he can write down Near's name on a piece of the Death Note hidden in his watch. This plan is foiled when Light is shot several times by Matsuda, who is angered that Light did not care about his father's death.

Moments later, Mikami stabs himself with his pen and he quickly bleeds to death. Mikami's suicide creates a diversion, allowing an injured Light to take advantage of the commotion and escape the Yellowbox Warehouse. Near suggests that the task force does not go after Light, as it is unlikely he has other hidden scraps from the notebook and his wounds will probably stop him soon, but Aizawa decides to go after him anyway.

As Light runs away, he hallucinates passing a younger version of himself without the notebook. Ryuk, from atop a tower, reminds Light that he would be the one to write Light's name in his notebook. When Light, possibly out of exhaustion, decides to hide in another warehouse, Ryuk writes Light's name down, killing him. Light dies of cardiac arrest halfway up a flight of stairs, seeing a figure of L looming over him.

Critical reception
Tom S. Pepirium of IGN wrote "New World really works best when watched immediately after 1.28. The final two chapters really work better as one. Overall though, it was a deeply satisfying ending", arguing that "Matsuda shooting Light is maybe THE stand up and cheer "holy sh*t" moment of the series." The site gave the episode a perfect score of 10 and provided a final retrospective on the series: "This was the greatest anime there has ever been. This was the greatest anime dub there has ever been. And I will seriously miss tuning in every week."

Trivia

 * During the credits scene, Misa Amane is shown standing on a rooftop, behind the safety rail. According to Death Note A Animation Official Analysis Guide, her fate is left to the viewer's interpretation.
 * In the manga, Light's death takes place in the same warehouse where he is exposed as Kira. That is because Mikami does not commit suicide in the manga.
 * Chapter 108 of the manga, Finis, was not adapted in this episode. However, the last shot of a crescent moon, which was featured in said chapter, was included. The moon, according to Ohba, is a play on Light's name, which is written as "月" (or moon).
 * When the episode was first released on DVD in Japan, the scene where Light is able to escape because of Mikami's suicide was slightly altered. An extensive blur was placed and more "shaking" was added for effect. The DVD version of the scene would be used for the dub and the rewrite.
 * This and the previous episode are the only two to be rated TV-MA.