With the Death Note movie analysis out of
my system, I think it’s time to do the real deal, the true analysis, a breakdown and understanding
of one of the best animes of our time. And when you talk about Death Note, you talk
about - yeah, what they said. It’s impossible to talk about Death Note
without diving into justice because at it’s core, justice is the underlying theme of the
entire series. So..what is justice? Everyone from Wisecrack to Matpat has taken
a stab at that very question, but now I think it’s time drop some livin’ air freshener
knowledge on y’all. Also if Wisecrack and Matpat ever make a collab
channel my vote for channel name is MatCrack. Now before I begin I do want to acknowledge
that other creators have done amazing jobs covering Death Note. Wisecrack’s breakdown of justice in their
video was phenomenal, and I don’t really want to go into the specific topic of what
justice is because I feel like it’s been thoroughly covered. However, if you’ve seen Death Note then
you know there’s much more to talk about than just the question “What is justice?”. Death Note is a work of art that gives the
audience not just one question about humanity, but many that are pinpointed to make ourselves
question our own values. It specifically targets the human condition
when seen through a lens of justice. Sidenote: Lens of Justice is a great glasses
superhero name. But Death Note questions our humanity and
whether or not we can keep our sense of justice. How do we, as humans, define it, and does
that definition change when we suddenly are given a way around getting caught? That’s what I want to talk about today,
the effectiveness power can have on our sense of humanity, justice, and control. Death Note is not just an anime about about
a brilliant killer who changes the world in his image. It’s a dialogue about opposing views, about
the loss and regaining of humanity, and potato chips. So bite down on some salty trans fat and spike
that cholesterol, as we dive deep into what Death Note tells us about Light Yagami’s
humanity, and indirectly, our own in the story, you never knew! Let’s begin by talking about Light Yagami
aka Kira, aka lady’s man numba one. Light as a character at the beginning of the
anime is actually kinda meh. He’s the smartest guy in his grade and one
of the best high schoolers in all of Japan, and probably the world. He doesn’t really seem to have any flaws. He’s popular, people want to date him, people
want to be him, both his parents are alive and he has a loving family. All in all a pretty flawless character. And while that doesn’t usually make for
good character development, in this case it absolutely does. You see, in most films, TV shows, any form
of entertainment really, the main character we’re watching has flaws. Sometimes they’re something obvious like
with Forrest Gump, and sometimes they’re more subtle like every video we make about
Mario. Either way a main character needs flaws to
be able to attract an audience and a following. An audience needs to to relate to a character,
see the flaws that character has within themselves and then see that character overcome those
flaws and succeed, making us feel like we can do the same. That’s a fairly generic and simplified story
arc for a main character, but if you look at the majority of film or TV series this
is exactly how the main character’s progression arc is plotted out. Yet Light really isn’t like that at all. At the start of the series is where he’s
the most put together and the most perfect character. And as we watch Death Note Light’s character
devolves into something almost animalistic. Just take a look at him in the first episode
versus the last. He looks deranged, erratic, almost inhuman
in his aggression towards the end of the series. This devolution in Light only begins when
he picks up the Death Note and starts using it. He even says “There must be something wrong
with me to even consider it.” right after he gets the Death Note. What we’re seeing here is an immediate corruption
of power. Light, as a high schooler, had no real power
in the world. He saw things he didn’t like, he knew the
world was filled with those who prey on the innocent, and yet, he felt like he could do
nothing to fix it despite all his braininess. You can hear his internal dialogue on the
matter at the beginning of the series. “Day in and day out, the same news on permanent
repeat.” We can tell from the beginning of the series
that Light feels that the world needs fixing. He was preparing to go to school to become
a detective, to help his father fix the world as best he could. Light was on a track to gain power, but even
policemen must answer to higher officials. Had the Death Note never fallen to him, Light
may very well have lived a fulfilling life feeling he was doing his part cleaning up
the world’s messes. But when an unspeakable amount of power falls
to just one individual, a power that cannot be checked, and cannot be matched, it tends
to change the person who controls it. When Light receives the Death Note and realizes
it’s true power, he immediately begins using it to clear the world of the most despicable
and horrible people he can think of. Light does this at, what he believes to be,
the cost of his own life. This show’s where Light truly falls on the
justice spectum while shedding light on what he believes about justice and killing at the
beginning of the anime. Light realizes the notebook is real, and he
believes a shinigami will punish him for using it. Yet, despite those consequences he uses the
notebook as much as possible between his finding it and Ryuk’s introduction. When Ryuk does find Light, Light explains
that he was waiting for a shinigami and is prepared to give up his soul for what he’s
done. What we’re seeing during this part of the
story is Light using his newfound power while completely aware of the consequences he believes
it’ll bring. He wrongfully believes that he doesn’t control
the full situation, that this gothic clown from another world will have power over him,
and not the other way around. He’s willing to risk his soul if his sacrifice
will make the world a better place, and that’s what Light believes he’s doing up to this
point. When Ryuk tells Light that he has no intention
of doing anything to him, and that he has complete free reign to do whatever he wants
with the notebook, that moment changes something in Light. He now knows that he can steal from the cookie
jar and not get caught, only in this case cookies are human lives. So the question becomes, what happens to Light
from this moment forward? Light started as a boy who would risk his
own soul just to make the world a better place. He knew what he was doing was wrong. Otherwise why would he expect to be punished? You don’t get an A on a test and expect
your parents to be mad at you. Light, in these short 5 days before Ryuk came
to earth, believed that his goal of killing those who were evil was indeed an act of evil. As the saying goes, two wrongs don’t make
a right. Killing someone who has killed doesn’t make
it the just thing to do, right? Well.. it’s not so black and white. Just talk to anyone who’s pro death penalty
and you’ll see the issue is much more complicated than a simple yes or no answer. But in this case it seems like Light did believe
he would be punished for his actions, he believed that justice would catch up with him in the
form of a soul sucking, clown school dropout, shinigami. When that justice doesn’t come, when his
actions aren’t met with consequences, Light’s entire definition of justice starts to change. Now Light has complete control over the Death
Note, with no one and nothing to stop him. He can kill freely without any worry of getting
caught or getting punished for his actions... Or at least that’s how it was until L shows
up. L’s introduction is another turning point
in the anime. Remember we just established that Light believed
what he was doing wasn’t actually just, but he felt that it was the best thing for
the world overall. He was willing to die for his cause. The key word there being “was”. When L shows up and challenges Kira, we get
this iconic scene from the series “I will hunt you down wherever you’re hiding and
I will eliminate you. I am. I am. Justice!” Suddenly Light doesn’t seem so certain that
what he’s doing is wrong. In fact, moments before this scene we see
Light with a crazed look much like the face of a teenager walking in on their parents
doin’ the dew. In fact, that look is a good stepping stone
towards Light’s face at the end of the anime. What we’re seeing here is L challenging
Light after Light has developed a God complex. Now what exactly is a God complex? I mean we hear Light many times exclaim that
he will become the God of the new world, but what does that actually mean in terms of his
mentality? Well, someone with a god complex believes
that they have a supernatural or godlike power. They feel that they are above the rest of
society and should be exempt from societies rules. This certainly didn’t describe Light when
he started using the Death Note, but as early as the second episode we see that Light’s
God complex is in full effect as he takes L’s challenge to heart. This is the effect of power and control on
the human condition. We saw where Light began versus where he is
now after a relatively short time of being unchecked. Light is the example of what can happen when
we, humans, aren’t checked by our society, by consequences, by anything. We lose sight of what is and isn’t ok because
there’s nothing to stop us when we cross a line. This warps Light’s idea of justice. It allows him to truly believe that anyone
who may catch him is worth killing because everything he does will be justified if he
is able to succeed in creating a new world. And he’s fairly right on that part. Light said it himself. If Kira wins, then he’s justice, if he loses
then he’s a murderer. If Light had been able to redefine justice
for the entire world so that the definition is one and the same with Kira, then he’s
won. Society would agree that whatever he does
is justified because Kira literally is justice. But...that’s not what happened. And that’s a good thing. We can see just how far Light has fallen from
his former self halfway through the anime and at the very end. Light’s return to his former self halfway
through the anime is a vitally important plot arc in the series. It shows us who Light is without the corruption
of the Death Note. The rules of the Death Note give us a unique
opportunity to see someone become corrupted by an unchecked power, lose that power in
an instant, and gain it back again just as quickly. When Light does give up the Death Note and
loses all memory of it, we see who Light truly is, who he was pre demon goth clown. And whaddya know? Light has morals! He won’t take advantage of people, he’s
not all or nothing. He believes in laws and rules. When you take the power away from the all
powerful they resort back to our understanding of Justice. Just look at the example Light gives us when
he relinquishes the Death Note. L asks Light to take advantage of Misa’s
infatuation of him in order to get more information about the killings. Light chivalrously declines L’s offer, showing
that he’s not going to do anything to find Kira, unlike L and unlike Light with his Death
Note memories. Then later on during the chase scene with
Higuchi, L offers Light a gun as protection and Light declines saying that civilians aren’t
allowed to own guns. These two examples prove that Light ( without
the corrupting power the Death Note) conforms to society’s rules of justice, even more
so than L! Yet as soon as Light’s memories return,
we see him go right back to taking advantage of Misa and doing anything to continue his
pursuit of a new world wherein he is judge, jury, and most importantly, executioner. So what does this mean in terms of our analysis? Well, it shows us that Light isn’t anyone
special here. He has the same values as you or me. He wants the same things as us. Light is a normal person, albeit incredibly
bright, but there isn’t anything particularly special about him. This means that Light could have been anyone. He picked up the Death Note, but in reality,
it could have been anyone at his school, or in the world. Where a Death Note lands from the shinigami
realm is just chance. Ryuk didn’t choose Light, he wasn’t watching
and waiting for the perfect person to pick it up. And that’s the real lesson that Death Note
hides within its other themes. Power can corrupt anyone. Not everyone, but anyone can fall victim to
its clutches. We see Light’s father on his deathbed, with
Light offering him the power to kill, and he doesn’t accept it. Not everyone will fall victim to unchecked
power like Light would, but enough of us would that it should be acknowledged as a vice of
humanity. When we’re given too much power, too much
control of everything in our lives and the world, we lose our humanity and see ourselves
as above it. A god complex is not unique to Light. Narcissism runs rampant in positions of power,
in people we see on the TV every day. World leaders who have lost sight of the people
they represent. Kim Jong-Un is just one example of someone
who falls into this track, I’m sure you can think of at least one of two others from
history or today off the top of your head. But here’s the thing, did these people start
with God Complexes? Were they always narcissists, or is narcissism
a symptom of a larger problem? A human problem. When we are given too much control over ourselves
and others with no one to stop us or check us when we do something wrong, who is going
to keep us from hurting others, from abusing our power? There’s an old saying “Who will guard
the guards?” which refers to this issue. If you give the power of weaponry and wealth
and influence to one individual, what keeps that person from using everything they’ve
been given for their own gain instead of yours, or the country’s, or the world’s? Light Yagami is the embodiment of this flaw
in humanity. When we’re given too much we lose sight
of what it means to be human, we believe we’re above those who are our equals, and we fight
to keep ourselves from ever coming back down. Light is just one person who was given an
impossible gift and it corrupted his humanity to a breaking point where he almost seems
inhuman. When one person has no restrictions and all
the power, their humanity ceases to exist. When we’re wondering how world leaders can
hurt their own people, or knowingly kill others, waging wars and killing thousands with a single
command, the answer… is Light Yagami’s demonic transformation. And that’s the story, you never knew. Light Yagami sure is an interesting guy huh? Sometimes I wonder what I would do with the
unchecked power to kill. I’d probably start a bakery. Because if you don’t buy my cookies I’ll
kill you! Changing the game of Entrepreneurship. What would YOU do with the power to kill like
Kira? It’s a weird question to ask but let’s
see those dark sides people! Besides that, don’t forget to hit that subscribe
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as always thanks to anyone who watches our content in general. It means a lot and you’re beautiful for
making me feel beautiful. Anyway I’m gonna get out of here before
things get weird. I’m Grant and I’ll see you in the next
video. Bye everyone!
Nice video, but it's not really a theory :/