Light Yagami

Light Yagami (夜神 月, Yagami Raito) is the main protagonist of Death Note. At the start of the series, he discovers the Death Note and uses it to kill criminals, then becoming known to the people of Japan as Kira (based on the Japanese pronunciation of the English word "killer"). Light is characterized as an extremely knowledgeable yet bored young man, confident in his own sense of logic and how creative he is in regards to others. He is frustrated by the lack of justice in the world. Believing the world to be "rotten," he desires a means by which he can enact his will to purge the world of all evil. Light is unaware that he is not alone: a Shinigami (God of Death) named Ryuk is tired of the rotten Shinigami Realm. This Rogue Shinigami drastically changes Light's life and world forever.

Critics and fans alike have met his character with praise. The morality of his actions in the course of the series have come to question numerous times, with some labeling them as either justifiable or pure criminal and evil. However, he is generally considered to be an anti-hero rather than being an outright hero or villain.

Overview
Throughout the series, Light is constantly trying to evade the suspicion of L and other detectives while both maintaining his identity as "Kira"—the name derived from the Japanese pronunciation of the English word "killer" (キラー, Kirā?)—and cleansing the world of crime. The fact that he is knowledgeable also adds to his notion that only he is fit to judge humanity and steer it on a proper moral course.

Light Yagami, born on February 28, 1986 (1989 in the anime), is a third year high school student (12th Grade) at Daikoku Private Academy while also attending supplemental classes at Gamou Prep Academy in the beginning of the story. Light has a father, Soichiro Yagami, who is a member of the investigation team opposing Kira. In addition, Light has a mother, Sachiko Yagami, and a younger sister, Sayu Yagami.

L
In the year 2003 (2006 in the anime), Light Yagami discovers a mysterious notebook on the ground at his school. Written on the cover: the words "Death Note". The Death Note's instructions state that if a human's name is written within it, that person shall die. Light is initially skeptical of the notebook's authenticity, but after experimenting with it, Light realizes that the Death Note is real. After putting much thought into whether or not he should continue using the notebook, he ascertains that no one else will bear the burden of improving the world. After meeting the previous owner of the Death Note, a Shinigami named Ryuk, who informs that he will be the one to write Light's name down in his own notebook, Light declares that he will become "god of the new world".

Light's killings reach a monumental scale, attracting the attention of the master detective L. Working with the Japanese police, L leads a task force alongside Light's own father, Soichiro, in order to expose and capture Kira. Meanwhile, Light murders FBI agents tasked with finding suspects to be Kira. This notably the first instance where Light deliberately kills non-criminals and innocents.

Light eventually finds a potential ally in Misa, another Death Note owner. However, Misa's reckless actions put both Light and Misa in danger, thus allowing L to finally corner Kira. Deciding to manipulate Misa's Shinigami Rem, Light puts his master plan into action. He temporarily gives up his Death Note to Ryuk, erasing his memories about his time as Kira. Rem, under instruction by Light to find someone who would use the notebook for selfish means, finds Kyosuke Higuchi of the Yotsuba Corporation.

Now unaware of the fact that he was the original Kira, Light accepts L's offer to join the investigation team to hunt down Higuchi, who has taken up the mantle of Kira. During the investgation of Yotsuba, Light works under the alias "Light Asahi". When Higuchi is finally captured, Light touches his Death Note, regaining his memories of being the original Kira. He then kills Higuchi by using the Death Note paper hidden in his watch to effectively become the owner of the notebook again. Later, he is able to put Misa in danger again by having her act as Kira in his stead, prompting Rem to kill both Watari, L's closest partner, and L himself in order to save Misa.

Mello and Near
Light is later nominated by the task force (who are unaware that he is Kira) to act as L, deciding not to publicly reveal L's death. Light subsequently fills in the role of Watari as well. Now able to act as both Kira and L, Light continues his killing of criminals, all the while turning the Kira Investigation into a cold case. At the age of 23, Light joins the Japanese Police Force's Intelligence Department in order to have better access to police information.

Near and Mello, the "true successors of L" eventually appear before him, trying to accomplish what L could not: exposing Kira's true identity and bringing him to justice. Near joins the Special Provision for Kira (or the SPK) for help in his endeavor, but Mello decides to use the Mafia for his investigation. Because of Mello's unscrupulous, criminal methods, Near sides with Light, not knowing that the latter is Kira. Mello is able to at one point take the notebook away from Light, but the combined efforts of Light and Near allow Light to regain the notebook at the cost of his own father's life (which Light would later explain to have been a necessary sacrifice).

Once Near realizes that Light was responsible for the lack of progress in the case as the new L, he begins to suspect that Light may in fact be Kira. With a prosector named Teru Mikami acting as a new proxy, Light formulates a plan to eliminate not only Near but the surviving members of the task force. Near, likewise, forms his own plan to finally expose Light as Kira. However, Mello intervenes and manages to cause Mikami to make a mistake, derailing Light's plans. Light, Mikami, the SPK and the task force all eventually meet at the Yellow Box warehouse, where Near uses Mikami to expose Light as Kira. After confessing and attempting to justify his actions to the people tasked with capturing him, Light tries to kill Near with the notebook clipping hidden in his watch, only to be shot by Touta Matsuda, a member of the task force.

Fate
In the manga version, Light is left incapacitated both physically and mentally. In complete desperation, Light begs Ryuk to help him by killing everyone in the room, yet Ryuk reminds Light that he is on neither side. Ryuk fulfills his promise from the beginning: he writes "Light Yagami" in his Death Note, Light futilely asks Ryuk to reverse the process, only for the notebook to take effect- killing him.

In the anime version, Mikami commits suicide, creating a diversion for both the task force and the SPK. Although weakened, Light catches a second wind and manages to flee the warehouse. Near tells Shuichi Aizawa, Kanzo Mogi, Hideki Ide and Matsuda that there is no reason to pursue Light given that there should be no more hidden Death Note pieces and Light's wounds would prevent him from getting far. Aizawa refuses to heed Near's orders and has his team follow Light. Meanwhile, Ryuk writes Light's name down when the latter finds another warehouse to hide in. As Light silently dies, an illusion of L appears before Light, mirroring a scene following L's defeat at Light's hands in episode 25.

At the end of the second Death Note Rewrite special, Aizawa and Matsuda are revealed to have found the warehouse Light has fled to; their expressions of shock imply that they have seen Light's body.

In the first Rewrite special, an Unnamed Shinigami appears in the Shinigami Realm. This new Shinigami asks the others where the Rogue Shinigami named Ryuk is. Some members of the fanbase believe this Unnamed Shinigami to be the reincarnation of Light Yagami.

Main article: Unnamed Shinigami

Conception and Development
In Death Note: How to Read 13, Ohba said that Light was "a young man who could understand the pain of others" when he first encountered the Death Note. Ohba said that if Ryuk never developed an interest in the human world, Light would have become "one of the greatest police leaders in the world" who, with L, worked against criminals. Ohba added that he believed that debating whether Light's actions were good or evil is not "very important." Ohba says that he personally sees Light as a "diabolical" character. Obata said that Light was his second favorite human character and that he was not sure whether that was because he "liked" Light or because he drew "such a diabolical character" in a magazine for children.

Tsugumi Ohba, the story writer of Death Note, said that his editor suggested the family name "Yagami" for Light. Ohba said that he did not feel "too concerned" about the meaning of the name (the kanji are "night" and "god"); he said that after he created the final scene in the manga he "liked" that the final scene created "deeper significance" in the name.



Ohba described Light's life as "ruined" once he obtained the Death Note, and that Light became a victim of the Death Note "in many ways," Ohba described Light as bearing good faith intentions and having a "very conceited" nature. Ohba also describes Light as having a "warped" "desire to be godlike," bearing love for his family, and intending to transform the world into "a better place" Death Note: How to Read 13 also states that Light, "uncompromising" when achieving his ideals, "sullied" himself by using the Death Note and that his actions "may have been the result of the purity within him" prior to obtaining the Death Note.

Takeshi Obata, the artist of Death Note, said that he had "no trouble" designing Light as the character description presented to him, "A brilliant honors student who's a little out there," was "clear and detailed." As the weekly serialization continued, Obata simplified the design by unconsciously removing "unnecessary" lines and felt that he became "better" at drawing Light. When Chapter 35 appeared and the editor informed Obata that Light lost his memories, Obata felt that he had to "forget everything he learned" and draw Light in a similar manner as he appeared in Chapter 1. Obata said that he used "a lot of effort" to design Light's wardrobe. According to Obata, he encountered difficulty imagining the clothing of "a brilliant person," so he looked through fashion magazines. Obata envisioned Light as a "smart and formal guy" who wears formal shirts. Most of Light's clothing in Death Note is "fitted" and Obata avoided jeans.

According to Ohba, Light sees Misa Amane, who he uses as an accomplice, as a "bad person" who killed people, so he acts emotionally cold towards her and manipulates her. Despite this, he keeps her alive even after her memories of being Kira have been removed for the second (and final) time.

When designing color book covers Obata assigned colors to characters to "get the atmosphere right." Obata assigned clear or "lack of a color" to Light.

When asked about which character was most similar to himself, Ohba indicated Near and "maybe Light." Regarding Light Ohba cited "because I did well in school."

According to the manga, Light's date of death is January 28, 2010. His height and weight are 179 centimeters (the height is 5 feet and 10 inches in the VIZ How to Read) and 54 kilograms (119 pounds), respectively. His blood type is A.

Films
In the film, a few changes were made to Light. At the film's beginning, Light is a first-year university student studying Law, instead of still being a high school genius, as in the beginning of the manga and anime. Light's motives differ; his boredom trait does not exist, and he instead uses the Death Note out of frustration from the perceived failures of the Japanese justice system. Light, prior to his discovery of the Death Note, hacks into the government database and finds that the government secretly acknowledges that many criminals can't be prosecuted. Light discovers the Death Note in an alley during a rainy night after encountering Takuo Shibuimaru in a club and throwing a law book into the rain in a rage. Light meets Ryuk after killing Shibuimaru. Light has a girlfriend, Shiori Akino, who attends his university. Light kills Shiori at the end of the first movie to gain sympathy from L, using Naomi Misora, whom he also kills.

After Rem "kills" L and Watari, Light writes his father's name in an attempt to kill him, an attempt that ultimately fails. The endings of both the second movie and the manga are similar. In the second film, after being exposed as Kira, Light asks Ryuk to write the names of the team members in the book during the climax. The police shoot but do not kill Ryuk as he writes in the Death Note. Light laughs until Ryuk shows Light the Death Note, revealing that Light's name was written in the book. Light tries to stop Ryuk, passing through the Shinigami. Light dies in his father's arms, begging him to believe that he acted as Kira to put justice into practice. Justice, which Soichiro Yagami had taught Light since his childhood. The film concludes one year later, on Light's birthday. Sayu fetches Soichiro and says that Kira helped reduce crime rates. However, she says that she does not support Kira as Light was killed by Kira (which is what Soichiro told her). Light is portrayed by Tatsuya Fujiwara, known for his role as Shuya Nanahara of Battle Royale.

Conception and Development in the Film
Shusuke Kaneko, director of the film, intended for Light to appear sympathetic at the beginning of the film; when Light first gains the Death Note Kaneko "was careful" to have Light react in a manner "as you and I would." Kaneko changed the story involving Light gaining his first notebook as he felt that the audience "would have a hard time sympathizing" with Light if the scene remained the same as it was in the manga. Kaneko added that as he portrayed Light as "being enthralled" as he "becomes more cruel" to make the audience members feel that they could "do the terrible things he does" even if the members do not sympathize with Light.

Tatsuya Fujiwara said that he felt difficulty portraying Light in the film series because of the lack of "action" and because Light has no signature mannerisms and therefore has his feelings displayed by his face; Fujiwara added that he struggled conveying Light's "incredible amount of intelligence" and that the performance would appear "very empty or simplistic" if Light received an improper portrayal. Fujiwara explained that he wanted Light to cry in a particular scene even though Kaneko told Fujiwara "Light doesn’t cry" since Fujiwara believed that the scene would feel "more honest"; Kaneko used the take.

Kaneko designed Light's room to reflect the character's personality by making it clean and neat and filling it with legal, criminal history, foreign, and academic books. The original version of Light's room included a stereo; Kaneko replaced it with a vacuum cleaner to reflect Light's "clean-freak self."

Kenichi Matsuyama, the actor who portrayed L, said that he and Fujiwara became "so immersed" in their character portrayals that they did not talk to one another while on the set; when filming ceased they conversed and "went out for a drink or two."

Reception
Tom S. Pepirium of IGN said that he felt surprise when he learned that some viewers, while watching the series, wanted Light to emerge as the victor of the storyline; Pepirium added that his wife said that she was "kinda rooting for Light." Pepirium compared wanting Light to win to "cheering for Kevin Spacey at the end of Seven." Pepirium added that Brad Swaile, Light's English-language voice actor, "nails" the "difficult" task of making Light "both likable and hated." Jason Charpentier of The Anchor stated that Light's attributes and his role as a main character form "part of what makes Death Note interesting."

Tetsuro Araki, the director of the anime, said that he felt an urge to support and cheer for Light. Araki added that Light would have used and killed him if he was one of Light's friends, but the director still believed that Light is "that interesting" and therefore he would have felt an attraction towards Light.

Reception to film version character
Pauline Wong of OtakuZone had her opinions of the film portrayal of Light Yagami published in The Star, a Malaysian newspaper. In it, Wong says that the "very bishie-status-worthy" Fujiwara portrayed Light with "aplomb and near-perfection, right down to the evil little smile." Kitty Sensei, quoted in the same Malaysian article, says that the portrayal of Light in the film is "very faithful to the manga’s."

Tatsuya Fujiwara, the actor who portrayed Light in the films, said that he "could understand" Light's intentions to create a new world even though "Murder is a horrible thing." Matsuyama describes L and Light as having "such unique characters that they’re impossible to understand." Erika Toda, the actress who portrayed Misa Amane in the films, described Light's and Misa's actions as "criminal."

Trivia

 * Light fanaticises about himself by often calling himself “God of the New World”.
 * In the anime, Light is wounded by five non-fatal gunshots by Matsuda, but he is shot only three times in the manga. This is ironic because Light was able to recover in time to escape in the anime whereas in the manga, despite his injuries being less severe, was too weak to so much as even stand.
 * 7_-_Copy.png is portrayed in a peculiar, crucifix-like position on the twelve and final manga cover. This position is mimicked by Light during the second ending sequence in the anime and again when he is portrayed as a secret Nendoroid figure for the Death Note Case File merchandise line.

Quotes

 * "If we catch Kira, he is evil. If he rules the world, he is justice."
 * "I'll solve equations with my right hand and write names with my left. I'll take a potato chip... and eat it!"
 * "Under normal circumstances, humans should have continued to evolve as the greatest creatures upon this earth, but we were actually regressing. A rotten world. Politics, law, education… Was there anybody around who could correct this world? But someone had to do it." 

Themes
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Gallery

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