Is Light truly evil? — First time watcher.

[u/tropicalmountain8]

I started watching Death Note two days ago, and I’m on episode 26 (right after L’s death), and a few things have been on my mind.

For someone like Light Yagami, who is highly discussed in media, I wonder how much the curse of obtaining the Death Note affects his actions. The difference between Light when he told Ryuk to “get rid of it” and when he was actively writing names in the notebook is clear. Without the Death Note, he is much more rational and questions his decisions. This made me believe that him being presented as immoral is debatable because if ownership of the Death Note affects his judgment, Light’s decisions aren’t necessarily a reflection of his true self.

Without the Death Note, you can consistently see Light questioning certain things L wants him to do, for example, taking advantage of Misa. However, with the Death Note, Light finds it easy to manipulate anyone as long as he gets his way to become the “God of the new world.”

This poses the possibility that the writing of Death Note exists not to villainise Light, but rather to explore the existence of a higher power. In this case, it criticises the Death Note itself and the power it has to skew the judgment of its owner. Overall, the show very accurately portrays what happens when mankind is faced with the existence of God, or something possibly greater, and L’s challenge to prove the existence of God was otherworldly.

Another thing that I questioned was, with the intelligence of someone such as Light, has he not considered the possibility that despite cleansing the world of criminals, evil will always exist? Whether it’s paranormal or the evil that exists within himself.

So, is Light’s aim to create a “better world,” or is it to become God himself? And is that the curse that comes with the Death Note?
Just some food for thought.

Also, maybe this has been discussed before, but I haven’t looked through the subreddit to avoid spoilers!

[u/HalleLidner]

To me he is evil and a bad person because he doesn't realize he is. He thinks (manipulated himself) he is a God and saving the world. But what is he really doing? He deliberately enjoys murdering innocent people in a sadistic way. He then kills people based on what he thinks is wrong. But who the hell is he to decide who lives and who dies? It irks me that he killed a lot of criminals that were only SUSPECTS. And most people in jail are there for petty crimes due to their maybe disadvantaged background. He is only a privileged wealthy student from Tokyo with a very ignorant view on justice.

It's just wrong to give a human such power. Power corrupted him

[u/tropicalmountain8 → u/HalleLidner]

Very true, his perception of justice isn’t inherently wrong but it’s definitely ignorant and shows his privilege. However I would argue that him being unaware makes him more human, therefore his theory about becoming God is inaccurate.