Vigilance

"So now I have removed Misa Amane, the one who might be the second Kira, from the equation. Light Yagami, I'm sure the significance of this move isn't lost on you."

- Near

Vigilance (虎視, Koshi) is the thirty-fourth episode of the Death Note anime series.

Synopsis
Gevanni reports the death of the man on the train to Near while continuing to follow Mikami. Near decides that this is enough info, but becomes wary of the shinigami's loyalty and ponders the difficulty of the scenario given that they can't see Mikami's shinigami, then gives Gevanni more orders. Meanwhile, Aizawa and Light are setting up the wiretaps for the next meeting and looking for foreign ones, where Aizawa voices further suspicion of Light to himself. While Light goes to check the bathroom, Aizawa wonders why Light is suspicious of any foreign surveillance devices and why Kira would allow Takada to do such a thing. He then plants a mark on the bottom of four notepads, hoping to prove that Light is writing notes to Takada.

At their date, Takada brings up the subject of her dinner with Misa, much to Matsuda's excitement. Takada mentions Misa's comment about their engagement, even writing a note saying "What is Misa to you?", and Light denies it, but writes her another note revealing that she was the Second Kira at one point, and tells Misa's story while also calling her impulsive and unavoidable. Takada realizes she is Misa's replacement, but is slightly disappointed by his cheesy resulting comment of "You're the only one for me". While Matsuda and Ide debate who Light will "choose", Takada decides to leave it to Light, but says that if he's lying she'll tell Kira. With the subject of Kira, Light "reveals" that he doesn't mind Kira killing criminals but hates how he's exploiting innocents. He then gives her a note telling Takada to say that Kira would have to be arrested for them to be together. Going off of it, Takada says that she and Light should plan to work together to catch Kira, even though it means going against their jobs. He eventually gives her another note to say she agrees, and she does, confused. While Matsuda and Ide are happy with this turn of events, Aizawa remains suspicious.

Meanwhile, Gevanni records video of Mikami talking to himself during his lunch break and sends it to Near, where they interpret his lip movements as "Is that you Shinigami?". Further footage shows him saying "That shinigami… ever since he gave me the notebook he hasn't reappeared". Near consequently decides to discard the shinigami as a threat. As Light and Takada finish their date and the former leaves in a taxi, Aizawa sneaks into the hotel before housekeeping and discovers that two of the notepad marks are gone, proving that they are writing notes. He decides to go meet Near in person after getting permission for Rester. Aizawa reveals his confirmations, but Near says he already figured evidence out to the point where the Task Force is practically out of the picture; however, he invites them to plant the seeds of doubt on Light by keeping an eye on him, eventually having him bear witness to the downfall of Kira. Aizawa accepts.

Later, the pop music festival begins, and due to Takada's and Misa's involvement, the Task Force tunes in, with Matsuda eager to see Misa's opening performance. But before Misa can perform, she and Mogi are confronted by Lidner and Rester, who tell them to come with them. As Takada apologizes for this inconvenience to the crowd by claiming she has not entered to concert hall yet, the Task Force questions what is happening. In the car, Misa begins repeatedly complaining, but Mogi is compliant, having been notified about the notepads. The Task Force calls Near, who reveals that he took them into custody willingly, and appears to be working on something. He puts them on the line, and Mogi confirms this (even though Misa doesn't). After Light decides to let Near do what he has to do, Near reveals he did it because Misa may be the Second Kira and is trying to impact Light. After 9 that night, Gevanni moves to go apprehend Mikami, who is in a fitness gym. He sneaks into the locker room and skeleton keys Mikami's usual locker. In flashback, it is shown that Gevanni has figured Mikami's entire rigid schedule, and reports this to Near, who is shaving a Mello doll to shreds from the base up. Gevanni's task is to touch the notebook, even though Gevanni is scared of the shinigami. In the present, Gevanni manages to touch the notebook, but does not see Ryuk around. He tells this to Near, who contacts Mogi and asks him what the Death Note's maximum controlling capacity is, to which he replies it is 23 days based on Yotsuba's actions. Near concludes that he needs to meet Light in person exactly 24 days from then if Gevanni is still alive. On January 3, Light and Takada go on another date, where Light tells her to contact him if she can get in touch with Mikami. On January 6, Gevanni takes pictures of all of the names in Mikami's Death Note so that Near can find any patterns. When he does, Near confirms it is Mikami's handwriting, and Near begins to formulate his master plan to catch Kira.

Trivia

 * In one of the rules specified, the word "victims" is misspelled "bictims".

Episode Guide
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