| 1 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/death_note_poster.png]] |
| 2 | [[caption-width-right:350:[[AGodAmI A boy and his god complex.]]]] |
| 3 | |
| 4 | ->''"The human whose name is written in this note shall die."'' |
| 5 | -->-- '''[[RuleNumberOne Rule #1]]''' of the Death Note |
| 6 | |
| 7 | In the land of the dead, a bored {{Shinigami}} named Ryuk [[ItAmusedMe decides to create some entertainment for himself]] by dropping a Death Note (the notebook of a death god; "note" is simply what the Japanese call notebooks) into the human world. |
| 8 | |
| 9 | Light Yagami, a brilliant-yet-disillusioned Japanese student, sees the notebook fall into his world and picks it up. On a whim, he tries out the instructions held within its pages, and discovers that he can kill whomever he wants, however he wants, by writing their name and (optionally) cause of death into the Death Note. |
| 10 | |
| 11 | While initially horrified at his actions, Light rationalises that he can use the Death Note as a force for good [[VigilanteMan by purging the rotten and corrupt elements of society]], thus creating a world free of crime and violence. A cult following soon arises around the mysterious assassin killing off criminals across the country, christening him "Kira" (a JapaneseRanguage approximation of "[[GratuitousEnglish killer]]"). Kira's actions soon attract the attention of the international police community, now with grave concerns about the vigilante killings, and the world's greatest detective, an enigma of a man known only as "[[NoNameGiven L]]". |
| 12 | |
| 13 | L becomes determined to solve the mystery of Kira and his impossible killing method, employing increasingly aggressive and risky strategies to get the information he wants. Meanwhile, Light [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope spirals into madness]] as he becomes consumed by both his [[AGodAmI egomaniacal "Kira" persona]] and his desperate need to stay one step ahead of L's investigation. It's a cat-and-mouse game neither man can afford to lose -- and both of them want to win at all costs. |
| 14 | |
| 15 | Originally a PsychologicalThriller manga with supernatural elements, ''Death Note'' -- written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata -- soon developed into a multi-media franchise of [[SpinOff spinoffs]] and adaptations. See [[Franchise/DeathNote the franchise page]] for a list of works. |
| 16 | |
| 17 | '''Warning: Spoilers are below.''' |
| 18 | ---- |
| 19 | !! ''Death Note'' contains examples of: |
| 20 | |
| 21 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 22 | |
| 23 | [[folder:Tropes #-A]] |
| 24 | * ThirteenIsUnlucky: Exploited by Light. [[spoiler:When making up a rule to create an alibi, he picks the number thirteen as the number of days a Death Note user can supposedly go without writing in the book before they die.]] |
| 25 | * AbandonedWarehouse: The final confrontation between Light and Near's respective teams takes place in one. |
| 26 | * AbortedArc: There was a small subplot of L trying to figure out Naomi Misora's whereabouts that went nowhere come the time he revealed himself to Light. |
| 27 | * AccidentalTruth: In the manga, [[spoiler:when Kira's killings started, various tabloids put forward the crackpot theory that L was Kira, so it was harder for the SPK to seriously put this theory forward when it became true after Light killed L and took over as him.]] |
| 28 | %%* ActionGirl: Wedy, Naomi Misora in ''Another Note'', and Hal Lidner of the SPK all fit this trope. |
| 29 | * ActuallyIAmHim |
| 30 | ** L does this when he introduces himself to Light. Light is stunned and incredulous that the notorious L would so willingly give away his identity to someone he'd just met, but L explains that if he were to soon die, it would prove that Light was Kira. |
| 31 | ** Light also pulls this with both [[spoiler: Raye Penber, and later, his fiancee Naomi Misora]] before he kills them. In the latter case it was just a twist of the knife, done for no other reason than to let [[spoiler:Naomi know that her fiance's killer and the young man she'd been confiding to were the same person.]] |
| 32 | ** Light also tries to pull this off in his final confrontation with Near. He proudly declares that he has won, and waits for everyone around to drop dead by Mikami's Death Note. [[spoiler:They don't, because the Death Note Mikami was using was fake--finally bringing Kira's reign to an end.]] |
| 33 | * AdaptationalHeroism: The movies portray L more sympathetically. The drama by contrast draws more attention to the amorality of his actions and he is generally far more smug and arrogant than most portrayals. |
| 34 | * AdaptationDyeJob: |
| 35 | ** There's Matt, whose hair came out dark greenish brown in the anime, green in some trading card art, was never established in the manga, was blue in the official game, and is bright red in most {{fanart}}. |
| 36 | ** Mello's eyes were pitch black in the manga (to match L and Near), but changed to blue for the anime. |
| 37 | ** The mafia boss Rod Ross has light skin in the manga and anime, but is dark-skinned in the DS game. |
| 38 | ** The "Shinigami Eyes" in the manga cause the user's eyes to become gold, with red pupils and light yellow sclerae. In the live-action version, the irises simply change to gold, while the anime depiction has the irises glow a bright red. |
| 39 | * AdaptationExpansion: |
| 40 | ** The series is based on a short story about a schoolboy who finds a Death Note and mistakes it for a diary. As a result, [[spoiler:he accidentally kills his friends, until Ryuk helpfully gives him the "Death Eraser", which grants him the power to bring people back from the dead]]. Somewhere along the road to adapting it into a full series, the schoolboy became a genius with a [[AGodAmI god complex]], the boring {{Film Noir}}ish detective became a freakish genius with a sweet tooth, and the DeusExMachina ending was replaced with [[GambitPileUp plans by the bucketload]]. The rest is history. (The short story appears as the prologue to the manga it sprouted.) |
| 41 | ** The anime adds a scene of Light and L talking in the rain and later sharing a rather tender moment with L giving Light a foot massage that has some Biblical symbolism to it, a scene that is nowhere to be found in the manga. |
| 42 | * AdaptationInducedPlotHole: The anime omits several scenes from the manga which, while usually not problematic, created several plotholes. |
| 43 | ** The manga explains that [[spoiler:SPK member Ill Ratt is a spy for Mello, which is how the mafia learned the SPK's names and were able to kill them.]] This is not explained in the anime, but in ''Relight 2'', [[spoiler:the mafia are cut, and Light blackmails the president to send their names to Kiyomi Takada. In this version, Light's meetings with her and Teru Mikami are moved to earlier than occurred in the anime, and ''they'' kill the SPK.]] |
| 44 | ** However, while fixing one plothole, ''Relight 2'' [[VoodooShark creates another]]: [[spoiler:since the mafia get cut out, Soichiro making the trade for Shinigami Eyes and his subsequent death]] is omitted as well, leaving plotholes regarding [[spoiler:Soichiro's absence]] as well as how Light was [[spoiler:able to acquire Mello's true name.]] |
| 45 | ** The manga has [[spoiler:Near learn that Mikami is X-Kira because he's the only Kira suspect that regularly interacts with Takada, Kira's known spokesperson]]. In the anime, however, [[spoiler:Near figures it out just from watching Mikami give a speech about supporting Kira, which, while not completely impossible to someone of Near's skill, requires some WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief to not come off as ridiculously implausible]]. |
| 46 | * AdrenalineTime: Happens frequently, as Light continually finds himself in situations in which he has to think fast or reveal himself as Kira. Time either slows down or freezes entirely, and the surroundings turn to darkness. |
| 47 | * AlasPoorVillain |
| 48 | ** [[spoiler:In the last stretch of the story, Misa is basically kicked to the curb by Light, with Kiyomi replacing her as his main accomplice. Following Light's death, Misa--as she promised--is incapable of living in a world without him and commits suicide.]] |
| 49 | ** [[spoiler:Light's final moments after Matsuda shoots him in the finale turn him from an evil mastermand to a pathetic mess. He completely loses his composure, calling out Takada and Misa and begging not to die as he writhes in pain on the ground. When he's running away, he sees a younger version of himself (before he became Kira), implying a last-minute HeelRealization.]] |
| 50 | ** [[spoiler:Takada had no qualms helping Kira, and even took great pride in it--and replacing Misa. However, for all her arrogancy, her death just proves that she was still nothing more than another tool for Light to use. Despite her pleas for him to save her, Light strongarms her into committing suicide.]] |
| 51 | * AllAccordingToPlan: Light's catchphrase. The most notable instance comes when he [[spoiler: regains his memories at the end of the Yotsuba arc. Everything that happened since he lost his memories was a master plan to get them and the Death Note back while getting suspicion off of him in the process.]]. |
| 52 | * AllAreEqualInDeath: Ryuk literally says (in the English translation), "Death is equal." Everyone is treated exactly the same upon death in that universe, because they all go to "Mu" (nothingness). |
| 53 | * AllCrimesAreEqual: |
| 54 | ** Light starts by punishing the worst criminals but later stoops to killing purse snatchers. |
| 55 | ** Both L and Near direct this principle towards Kira himself and refuse to acknowledge him as a hero. Justified given the above. |
| 56 | ** Mikami plans to start killing people for "crimes" such as laziness and being disrespectful. [[NationalStereotypes How Japanese of him]]. |
| 57 | * AllDeathsFinal |
| 58 | ** "How to Use" states that though the Death Note has the power to kill, nothing has the power to bring anyone back to life. |
| 59 | ** This is subverted in the {{Pilot}} chapter with the Death Eraser. It can be used to bring back Death Note victims, provided that their names were written down within the past year and the body remains intact. It does not, however, work on people who died of non-Note-related causes. [[note]]So, for example, if it were in the series proper (which it is not), it could bring back [[spoiler: Mello]], but not [[spoiler: Matt]], because [[spoiler:Mello died from a Kira-induced heart-attack, while Matt simply died from gunshot wounds.]][[/note]] This item does not feature in the series proper. |
| 60 | * AllergicToRoutine: Tsugumi Ohba confirms "Boredom" is the most appropriate title for the first chapter of the manga: it's why Ryuk drops his Notebook and why Light picks it up. |
| 61 | * AllLoveIsUnrequited: The only instances of requited love in the series are those between couples already together: Raye Penber and Naomi Misora, Soichiro and Sachiko, and Aizawa and his wife Eriko. Otherwise, Matsuda's infatuation with Sayu is quickly shut down, and both Misa and Kiyomi have their love for Light both unreturned and used against them. |
| 62 | * AllThereInTheManual: |
| 63 | ** In the manga, you have no idea what happens to [[spoiler:Misa Amane]] unless you read the supplementary book, "How To Read". This is averted in the movies and the anime, the latter of which does not show but heavily implies her fate by showing her standing at the edge of a high ledge. |
| 64 | ** The "13th" issue of the manga (basically a Death Note encyclopedia) notes that any time L gave a percentage of the likelihood that Light was Kira, he was lying-- it was always 100% - in fact, "any time L throws out a percentage, it basically means that he suspects that person by over 90 percent." (this still doesn't explain why L throws out the same statistics even in his ''inner monologues'') It also notes that he was lying when he called Light his friend. |
| 65 | * AloneWithThePsycho: Naomi Misora confides all of her thoughts about Kira's identity, motives, and limits to Light, thinking him to just be the Chief's son who wants to help. She has no idea that ''he'' is Kira, and that while they're talking, he's trying to figure out how to kill her before she can tell anyone else about her findings. |
| 66 | * AlphabeticalThemeNaming: Kira, L, Light, Mello, Near ... |
| 67 | * AlternateCharacterReading: The kanji for Light's name is "tsuki", meaning "Moon", but his parents opted for it to be read as "Light" instead. Misa thinks it's [[AwesomeMcCoolname cool]]. [[spoiler:This is used by Light as a mechanism to attempt to gain the real name of Detective Raye Penber's girlfriend.]] |
| 68 | * AlwaysSaveTheGirl: |
| 69 | ** [[spoiler:Played straight with [[HostageForMacGuffin Sayu]]. Light would rather give up a Note than kill her.]] |
| 70 | ** [[spoiler:Rem forces Light to do this for Misa because doing so would kill her and get her off Light's back.]] |
| 71 | * AmbiguousSituation: A little less than two weeks after [[spoiler:Light's death, Mikami dies in his cell under mysterious circumstances, and Matsuda confronts Near with the theory that Near used the Death Note on him to control Mikami's actions at the warehouse, ensuring Light's defeat. Near doesn't say anything before Matsuda walks off in disgust, and apart from WordOfGod saying "Near cheats", it's never explicitly confirmed nor denied]] (only in the manga; the anime removes this ambiguity by having [[spoiler:Mikami kill himself on the spot during the final confrontation]]). |
| 72 | * AmnesiacDissonance: This is averted in [[spoiler:Light's MemoryGambit in the anime. In relinquishing the Death Note, he loses all memory of ever being Kira and turns genuinely upstanding and moral--apart from the whole "not mass murdering criminals" thing, Light also refuses to manipulate Misa, whereas Kira!Light manipulated her so much that it defined their relationship. But when he regains the memories of his time as Kira, he doesn't have any moral conflict between his Light and Kira personas; he simply picks up right where he left off pre-amnesia.]] |
| 73 | * AmnesiacLiar: Before the MemoryGambit, both Light and Misa are liars. After this, they are very confused by what L tells them about the situation. |
| 74 | * AmnesiacsAreInnocent: [[spoiler:Light himself becomes one when his memories of the Death Note are removed.]] |
| 75 | * AmoralAttorney: Downplayed with Mikami Teru. He's ''very'' moral, technically, he's just a KnightTemplar. |
| 76 | * AndIMustScream: After Light reveals his identity as Kira to her, [[spoiler:Naomi]] is overcome with a truly horrified expression. She knows, more or less, what is about to happen, but now that she is under the influence of the Death Note she is unable to do or say anything about it, seemingly aware of the situation yet powerless to do anything except carry out the fate written out for her. |
| 77 | * AnimationBump: Various episodes, notably episodes 17, 25, and 37. |
| 78 | * AnswersToTheNameOfGod: When [[spoiler: Mikami]] speaks to Light on the phone. |
| 79 | -->'''[[spoiler: Mikami]]:''' God! |
| 80 | -->'''Light:''' Yes? |
| 81 | * AntagonistInMourning: In the anime, Light goes so far as to hallucinate [[spoiler:his rival, L, sitting next to him and talking to him.]] Even as [[spoiler:he dies, he sees an apparition of L watching over him, implying that he genuinely missed his old enemy]]. |
| 82 | ** Throughout the manga and anime, Ryuk has a heart-shaped earring. In the Relight special, it has a piece missing from it. |
| 83 | * AnyoneCanDie: It's a series about a notebook that can kill people whose names are written in it. All bets are off. |
| 84 | * AnywhereButTheirLips: |
| 85 | ** Misa kisses L on the cheek. |
| 86 | ** Averted when Light does kiss Misa on the lips. |
| 87 | * ApatheticCitizens: In the anime, Light's second victim was about to rape a woman in full view of a crowded street, and no one else did anything about it. Other instances include a man dying in a subway station and a woman being harassed on a train. |
| 88 | * AppealToAudacity: When Mello tells Near about the Death Note and the Shinigami, the SPK asks Near if he could really believe such a story. He says that if Mello were lying to them, he wouldn't tell such a ridiculous story, so it must be true. |
| 89 | * AppealToForce: Light thinks he has the right to be the God of the New World because he has a tool of the Gods--the Death Note--and is therefore the person chosen to steer the world in the right direction. |
| 90 | * ArbitrarilyLargeBankAccount: L has seemingly infinite money. He has a skyscraper built in Tokyo while he stays in different hotels, and has trusts set up to cover his team's lost salaries should they be let go from the police force. |
| 91 | * ArbitrarySkepticism: |
| 92 | ** Various characters initially refuse to accept the existence of Shinigami even after accepting the existence of a magic notebook that kills people. Before discovering the Death Note, you would think people would be a lot more open-minded after it's been established that the killer can remotely induce heart attacks simply by learning the target's name and face. |
| 93 | ** Ryuk thinks of the fact that Light thought he came to collect his soul as "some fantasy", despite his nature being considered a fantastic concept from a human point of view. |
| 94 | * ArchEnemy: L is this for Light originally; [[spoiler:later on, Mello and Near take over the role. Not only that, but Near and Mello are also each other's rivals.]] |
| 95 | * ArcNumber: |
| 96 | ** FourIsDeath. The manga has [[Mystical108 108 chapters]]. [[ThirteenIsUnlucky Thirteen]] chapters in ''Literature/AnotherNote''. The numbering theme in the manga was, according to WordOfGod, completely intentional. |
| 97 | ** The Note seems to operate on the number 4: 40 seconds or 400 seconds until the victim dies, you get four tries to spell the victim's name right, and so on. |
| 98 | * ArmorPiercingQuestion: |
| 99 | ** Late in the investigation, L asks Light "Tell me, Light--from the moment you were born, has there ever been a time where you've actually told the truth?" For just a moment, L stops playing the game between him and Kira, and straight asks Light if he really is just that terrible a person. Even Light, who has aspirations of godhood, is unnerved. |
| 100 | * ArtEvolution: In ''How To Read'', Obata discusses how he got better at drawing Light as an evil bastard during the series' progression, but then had to forget everything he'd learned during [[spoiler:the Yotsuba Arc]]. |
| 101 | ** Contrast the first few chapters of the story, where Obata drew Light with a much rounder and childlike face, showing the contrast of how Light changed both by getting older and by going deeper into the Kira persona. |
| 102 | * ArtifactOfDeath / ArtifactOfDoom: The Death Notes. |
| 103 | * ArtisticLicenseBiology: L stays slim in spite of being a BigEater because he thinks so hard all the time that his brain burns up the excess energy. But this is pure fantasy. Deep mental concentration only burns about 5 extra calories an hour. Even if L's brilliant deductions burn energy at a rate that's a many times faster than normal, it still wouldn't come close to compensate for all of that candy. Arguably [[JustifiedTrope justified]] due to L's status as a CloudCuckooLander. |
| 104 | * ArtisticLicenseChemistry: Light booby-traps his desk in order to hide the Death Note by using an electric current and gasoline in a plastic bag. In real life, the gasoline would dissolve the bag, as it is made up of organic compounds and the gasoline contains non-polar solvents. |
| 105 | * ArtisticLicenseGunSafety: A gun that had been loaded with blanks is fired ''in a character's face at point-blank range''. Nothing happens to the character on the receiving end, but in real life, the gunshot would have blinded him permanently and left him needing immediate medical attention. |
| 106 | * ArtisticLicenseMedicine: Hand-waved by magic, but to say ''Death Note'''s depiction of a heart attack is inaccurate is quite an understatement. The correct terms are sudden cardiac arrest, sudden cardiopulmonary arrest, or sudden cardiac death (the manga actually gets this right; there's a brief HandWave when the ICPO correctly refers to it as cardiac arrest, but states that the media is calling them heart attacks for the sake of simplicity). |
| 107 | * AscendedExtra: Takada, who is first seen talking with Light very briefly at his college when he meets with L. She reappears after the time skip and is given a much larger role. |
| 108 | * AsLongAsItSoundsForeign: See WackyAmericansHaveWackyNames below. |
| 109 | ** The {{FBI Agent}}s all have names that few Americans would have. Raye Penber is the only one that sounds relatively normal, and even that tends to raise eyebrows. In Death Note #13 (which is an encyclopedia about the series), the creator says this was [[ExploitedTrope intentional]], as s/he wanted to use names that ''sounded'' realistic, but wouldn't actually exist, since most of those characters were either serial killers or victims of serial killers. |
| 110 | ** This is even worse in the prequel novel, where it broke the tension in the worst way possible, especially when Misora had to double-check whether anyone shared the name. In fact, the only realistic name in the novel is Blackberry Brown -- considering names such as Believe Bridesmaid, Backyard Bottomslash, Quarter Queen and ''Blues-harp Babysplit'', "Blackberry Brown" really does sound normal in comparison. |
| 111 | * AssholeVictim: All of Light's [[PayEvilUntoEvil earliest victims]] are this, sometimes as a criticism of the Japanese legal system, sometimes due to BystanderSyndrome. (The AttemptedRape in clear view on a crowded street comes to mind. Keep in mind that the guy holding a preschool hostage was stated to be ''small fry'' compared to most of the people Light was killing during his first week.) But as Light becomes consumed by the Death Note's power, [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope the bar drops hard and quick]]. |
| 112 | * AsTheGoodBookSays: During their fight on the date with Misa, L and Light bring up the concept of "an eye for an eye". |
| 113 | * AtopAMountainOfCorpses: [[RuleOfSymbolism Light on the manga cover art.]] |
| 114 | * AttemptedRape: |
| 115 | ** Light's second kill was a member of a gang who was attempting to rape a bystander (in the anime; in the manga, they just harass her — though considering that Takuo chases after her on his bike when she tries to run away, chances are that he was planning to do ''something'' unsavory). |
| 116 | ** [[spoiler:[[strike:Mikami]] Takada]] kills a man who is harassing a woman on a subway as a crucial part of Light's plan. |
| 117 | * AttentionWhore: Demegawa goes from merely praising Kira to ''actively using Kira to promote his own career''. To no one's surprise (and to the joy of everyone), Kira [[spoiler:(in the form of Mikami)]] eventually gets sick of this and kills him. |
| 118 | * AwesomenessByAnalysis: Almost all of the main cast does this due to the nature of the series. We have detectives, geniuses, and other very smart people trying to out-gambit each other in a "game" where losing most likely means dying. |
| 119 | * AwfulTruth: Light is Kira, and no one who finds out takes it well. [[spoiler:Especially not Matsuda.]] |
| 120 | * AxCrazy: All the Kiras qualify when they're at their worst, but Mikami gets exceptionally crazy when he goes into "sakujo/delete" mode. |
| 121 | [[/folder]] |
| 122 | |
| 123 | [[folder:Tropes B]] |
| 124 | * BackhandedApology: [[spoiler:Even after Light's MemoryGambit, L seemed to know that he is Kira, and "atones" with a painful foot massage.]] |
| 125 | * BadPowersBadPeople: L and the investigation team definitely believe this; even if he only targets the worst of the worst, murder is still murder and Kira is still a criminal. |
| 126 | * BadPowersGoodPeople: Discussed. Some characters--including Matsuda, eventually--are conflicted as to whether Kira is a villain or a hero, as he largely targets criminals. The debate strengthens when Kira's popularity results in a reduced crime rate. Light himself claims that his goal is to cleanse the world, but ultimately he moreso loves the power that the Death Note gives him. |
| 127 | * BaitAndSwitchGunshot: [[spoiler:Chief Yagami stages a murder-suicide with himself, Light, and Misa, which turns out to be a gambit to prove that Light isn't Kira. After pulling the trigger so that the audio is captured as proof to the team, Chief Yagami explains everything to Light.]] |
| 128 | * BarredFromTheAfterlife: |
| 129 | ** This is stated to be the fate of any Death Note user. [[spoiler: An ending flashback reveals the truth - there is no Heaven or Hell, just CessationOfExistence.]] |
| 130 | ** The ''Relight'' special of the anime makes this more ambiguous. At the beginning of the special, Ryuk is talking to another Shinigami. Said Shinigami [[spoiler:bears striking similarities to that of Light (though not in appearance since the Shinigami is a walking skeleton)]] leading to theories that the two are one and the same. However, it's never been officially stated if this is true or not. |
| 131 | * BatmanGambit: |
| 132 | ** Light and L do this constantly, especially early on. Many of their most clever moves against each other rely on the other party being smart enough to figure out clues that the average person wouldn't even consider, then acting accordingly. |
| 133 | ** Before he even ''met'' Light, L managed to cook up a brilliant one against Kira, having already figured out that they're prideful and believe what they're doing is just. He also is able to figure out where Kira is, using the fact that the very first Kira victim was a relatively minor criminal whose crime was ''only'' reported inside Japan, meaning Kira must be there, too -- or at least, was at the time. So L has a criminal act as a stand-in, airs a "worldwide broadcast," and has the criminal openly renounce Kira. Light takes the bait, and kills the criminal -- prompting L to reveal that not only was the man Kira just killed a decoy, he ''actually'' only aired the broadcast in one specific region of Japan. Not only does he get confirmation on Kira's location, he ''also'' is able to confirm that Kira can kill without being present, but that they ''do'' need a name and a face. How's ''that'' for an EstablishingCharacterMoment? Even L admits he didn't expect his plan to work ''that'' well, but thanks in no small part to Light's ego, he manages to totally show him up. |
| 134 | ** [[spoiler: When Light is incarcerated and loses his memory. He made plans that had to work correctly despite him not being able to make any adjustments for two or three months, or even make sure he carried out his part.]] In this, it's more impressive than a standard BatmanGambit, since he wasn't able to actively manipulate anyone during that period. It doesn't count as a XanatosGambit because, while the plan was flexible, several aspects relied on people acting predictably. |
| 135 | * BattleButler: Watari is L's caretaker and sometimes that involves using a sniper rifle. |
| 136 | * BattleOfWits: Once L establishes himself as Kira's number-one adversary, the main conflict of the series is Light trying to hide being Kira from L, a mastermind detective. |
| 137 | * BecameTheirOwnAntithesis: Compare Light without the Death Note and Light with it. The former is an honorable, highly empathic, very idealistic teen, who believes in the inherent goodness of man. The latter is a manipulative, vindictive murderer with a God complex who believes that MurderIsTheBestSolution. |
| 138 | * BeingWatched: Light very quickly picks up on the cameras that have been hidden around his house, and enlists the invisible Ryuk's help in locating them all. |
| 139 | * BerserkButton: |
| 140 | ** [[spoiler: Ties into BewareTheNiceOnes below: ''do not'' insult Soichiro Yagami's memory in front of Matsuda.]] |
| 141 | ** It's also not a good idea to ever suggest that what Light/Kira is doing may be wrong. Look at how big he writes Lind L. Tailor's name! |
| 142 | ** Light learns what Misa's BerserkButton is when he outlines his {{plan}} to date other girls to throw off suspicion. "NO WAY!" indeed. |
| 143 | * BewareTheNiceOnes |
| 144 | ** [[spoiler: On learning that Light is Kira and seeing him try to write down Near's name, Matsuda, who was by ''far'' the softest policeman in the series, flies a rage and shoots Light. Not once, not twice, but '''five''' times.]] |
| 145 | ** Misa herself. On the outside, she's a cute, cheerful young woman who has no problem making friends. On the inside, she's still a serial killer who has no qualms with murdering innocents. |
| 146 | * BewareTheSillyOnes: Ryuk smiles and cackles through almost every scene he's in, can be easily swayed just by offering an apple, and views the most dangerous circumstances as just entertainment. But he's also a demon who doesn't care for human life. Despite being a tepid accomplice to Light throughout the plot, [[spoiler:it is him who writes Light's name into the Death Note in the end.]] |
| 147 | * BewareTheSuperman: Light gains the power to destroy the life of anyone whose name and face he knows. This transforms him into a KnightTemplar that 99% of the world fears. Kira becomes such a well-known force that he's become a sort of bogeyman to children. One scene shows a child crying that his bullies told him they would give Kira his name. |
| 148 | * BigBad: The [[VillainProtagonist protagonist]] himself, Light Yagami. Over the course of the plot, he turns from a bored honor student to an evil mastermind with his own minions to aid him in his "noble" quest to cleanse the world of evil. |
| 149 | * BigBadEnsemble: Subverted. [[spoiler:Mello and Near]] become Light's biggest rivals following [[spoiler:L's death]]. Though the two have their own motives that aren't exactly heroic, Light being a VillainProtagonist makes it a case of a BigBadEnsemble against a BigBad. |
| 150 | * BigBadFriend: At one point, [[HeroAntagonist L]] says he would be disappointed if Light turned out to be Kira, because Light is one of the only friends he's ever had. [[spoiler: WordOfGod says he was lying.]] |
| 151 | * BigDamnHug: Light and Misa share a dramatic hug in Episode 13, which is then undercut when it's revealed Light is acting and plans to manipulate Misa to help him kill L and then dispose of her. |
| 152 | * BigEater |
| 153 | ** L is constantly eating candy and sweets and stays in a state of gaunt sickly malnourishment. In the manga, he explains that his overactive brain uses up all the calories, while in the anime he claims that "if you do it right" you can eat whatever you want, effectively ''outsmarting his food''. |
| 154 | ** Also Mello, who gobbles down chocolate bars and stays rakishly thin. |
| 155 | * BigFancyHouse: The Wammy's House is large enough for many, many orphans. |
| 156 | * BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Light's quest for [[AGodAmI godhood]] ends in disaster, and he meets a brutal and heartwrenching end, as do the other Kiras and their allies. L, Soichiro and most of the other investigators who were trying to stop Kira's rise to power also lose their lives, and those who survive will have to deal with serious emotional scars for the rest of their lives. Sachiko has lost her husband [[OutlivingOnesOffspring and now her son]] while her daughter Sayu is now traumatized after being kidnapped. Likewise, along with being traumatized from the kidnapping, Sayu has lost her father and now her brother. However, while crime rates do rise back up again as a result of Kira's demise, the world no longer needs to live in fear of a shadowy dictator who can kill people with the stroke of a pen. Democratic systems that had suffered a severe blow due to Light's actions are implied to have recovered again, and things start to go back to normal for most of the surviving characters. Even Light is given some posthumous dignity in the manga, which ends with a cult commemorating his actions as Kira.]] |
| 157 | * BlackAndGrayMorality: At first, the series relies on GrayAndGreyMorality to keep things interesting. [[spoiler:After L dies though, Light [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope fully descends]] [[VillainProtagonist into villainy]] and the series fully embraces this trope.]] Light's adversaries become [[spoiler:Near and Mello, the former even more apathetic to justice than L was, and the latter fueled purely by self-gain.]] |
| 158 | * BlackAndWhiteMorality: How Light and his supporters view the world; they are good and criminals (which includes those working against them) are evil. |
| 159 | * BlandNameProduct: |
| 160 | ** "Fanasonic." |
| 161 | ** The anime also gives us the search engine "Gentle". |
| 162 | ** Light’s mini-TV used in his potato chip gambit is branded as Cazio, similar to Japanese electronics manufacturer Casio. |
| 163 | ** The array of computer hardware that was very close to perfect reproductions of contemporary Apple hardware... except for the logo. |
| 164 | ** Averted with Smith & Wesson, Mercedes Benz, Porsche and others. |
| 165 | ** The East West Pop Music Festival is actually a stand in for the real life Red White Music Competition which is held every New Year's Eve. |
| 166 | * BlastingItOutOfTheirHands: |
| 167 | ** Downplayed as [[spoiler: Matsuda]] shoots his ''hand'' rather than the object; his target is also bleeding profusely. |
| 168 | ** Also [[BattleButler Watari]] when he shoots a pistol out of [[spoiler: Higuchi]]'s hand to keep him from killing himself. |
| 169 | * BloodFromTheMouth: [[spoiler: In the anime, Namikawa, during the Yotsuba Group's mass heart attack.]] |
| 170 | * BlownAcrossTheRoom: Inverted. Shootings are rare and depicted relatively realistically. Heart attacks, on the other hand, seem to be able to knock people completely off their feet and fling them through the air like ragdolls. |
| 171 | * BlueAndOrangeMorality |
| 172 | ** Whoever wrote out the rules that the Shinigami live by believed that killing a human out of necessity, boredom or malice was 100% acceptable, but to kill a human to extend another human's life out of love for that human was the ultimate offense and worthy of death. If Rem's rationale is correct, it is because it goes against the very purpose of a shinigami's existence, which is to shorten human lives. |
| 173 | ** Ryuk has a very interesting moral code. On the one hand, he makes it very clear that he doesn't care whether Light wins or loses, and almost never helps him unless there's something in it for him. On the other hand, he willingly answers questions about the notebook and the shinigami (sometimes even freely offering up information), and reacts sheepishly whenever Light finds out he held out on him; so it seems he feels at least somewhat obligated to tell Light everything he knows about how things work. And one of the few things he ever expresses a firm opinion on is that if two shinigami who are attached to humans see each other, they shouldn't talk to each other without getting permission from their respective humans; he never elaborates, so it's not clear why he feels this way, or why he has an opinion on it at all. And if the ''Manga/DeathNoteSpecialChapter'' is to be believed, [[spoiler:Ryuk thinks keeping a promise is more important than saving a life: He considers warning Minoru about the new rule so that he won't die when he withdraws his auction money, but decides not to because that would mean breaking his word about not contacting him "for any reason" — even though Minoru specifically said that he insists on this because he wants to live a carefree life, and dying only weeks later before he can spend any of his riches clearly defeats the purpose. By contrast, ''Donald Trump'' gets to make a fully informed choice; Ryuk is even nice enough to consider him not to have bought the notebook as long as he refuses to take it.]] |
| 174 | %%* BluffingTheMurderer: L tries this frequently with Light. |
| 175 | * BluffTheEavesdropper: Light did this with Kiyomi Takada. They were having one conversation for the benefit of the Task Force listening in, while secretly writing notes to each other containing the real conversation. |
| 176 | %%* BoardToDeath |
| 177 | * BondCreatures: The Shinigami in the sense that they grant humans powers and may reject (i.e. kill) a human if they don't like them. |
| 178 | * BookAndSwitch: When Light tests the Death Note outside, he hides the book inside a magazine. In later chapters Light hides the book inside a porn magazine (instead of the other way around) when he is being watched in his room. |
| 179 | * {{Bowdlerise}}: In the anime, Misa's cross necklace is replaced with a fleur de lis, and all crosses worn by Mello are removed. Interestingly, the cross is retained on the Misa collector's figure included with volume 5 of the DVD series, and she is also depicted with it in the first anime opening. |
| 180 | * BreakingTheFourthWall: In the manga, Ryuk: [[WrongGenreSavvy "It's like living in a sitcom!"]] |
| 181 | * BreakTheCutie: |
| 182 | ** [[spoiler: Poor Sayu.]] After being kidnapped by a mob for ransom and held at gunpoint, she's left so shellshocked she has to use a wheelchair for transportation. |
| 183 | ** This is part of the backstories of both Misa and Mikami; the former by the death of her parents and the latter by years and years of bullying. |
| 184 | ** Matsuda is a nice and naïve person who has his self esteem and ideals destroyed over the course of the series. |
| 185 | * BreakTheHaughty: |
| 186 | ** [[spoiler: Light, can't you keep it together for two more damned seconds?]] The instant classic:[[spoiler: "I'm going to...die?...No!! I DON'T WANNA DIEEE!!!!"]] |
| 187 | ** Also, [[spoiler: Kiyomi Takada in her final moments, which she spends crying and terrified]]. |
| 188 | * BullyHunter: Teru Mikami, as a kid, would fight bullies to protect his classmates. If his flashbacks are to be believed, he created a bully hunting ''army''. |
| 189 | * BullyingADragon: L is very aggressive in his pursuit of a criminal who could kill him remotely with a notebook. |
| 190 | * BunnyEarsLawyer: L is the world's greatest detective, despite being a twen who almost never sleeps, constantly eats sweets, and will only "sit" by crouching on the balls of his feet. Later, [[spoiler: Near]] is just as bad, equaling L's deductive abilities while spending ''all'' his on-screen time sitting on the floor and playing with toys. |
| 191 | * ButtMonkey: Matsuda is bullied, pushed around, ignored and otherwise the omega male of the investigation. |
| 192 | * BystanderSyndrome: As pointed out in ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1g5C0EvT01k&feature=PlayList&p=03389DC24AABE458&index=6 Death Note Abridged]]'' "in this footage you can see various pedestrians who clearly don't give a shit that somebody near them just collapsed and died." |
| 193 | * ByTheEyesOfTheBlind: Only those who have touched the Notes can see the Shinigami. |
| 194 | [[/folder]] |
| 195 | |
| 196 | [[folder:Tropes C]] |
| 197 | * CapeBusters: The anti-Kira Taskforce; they fight the superpowered death dealing criminals. |
| 198 | %%* CaptainObvious: Of the Admiral Ackbar kind. "[[http://www.macrochan.org/view.php?u=WIPXMFAKNFCFWMIH3OWFZK4XLFGLPZNC Trap! This is a trap!]]" |
| 199 | %%--> '''Ryuk:''' The F.B.I agents aren't criminals. |
| 200 | %%** This isn't so much being obvious as it an actually rare instance of morality in Ryuk, warning Light that he is crossing his own line, something of a [[WhatTheHellHero What The Hell, Villain?.]] |
| 201 | * CastFromLifespan: The Shinigami Eyes trade, which gives a human the power to see anyone's name and lifespan, at the cost of half of their own time left. |
| 202 | * CavalierConsumption: Despite the high stakes of the Kira investigation, L is always munching on sweets while on the job. He casually explains he needs the high calories for high intelligence, but it nonetheless demonstrates how much calmer L takes on Kira compared to his colleagues. |
| 203 | %%* CentralTheme: Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. |
| 204 | * CessationOfExistence: WordOfGod says few alterations were made from the original concept up until the series finale, but this was one biting idea that was necessary to enforce. When Ryuk first confronts Light about using the Note he mentions that, while there are no ''earthly'' consequences regarding its use other than the obvious criminal investigations, those who have used one cannot go to either heaven or hell. [[spoiler:The final two rules of the Death Note go one step further; when a human dies their soul goes to Mu (nothingness), and once dead, nothing can bring a person back to life. There is no afterlife, just the complete removal of your consciousness from the universe for all eternity.]] |
| 205 | * ChainedHeat: Still distrusting of Light, L mandates that he must remain handcuffed to him and Misa as a means of surveillance, much to their annoyance. |
| 206 | * CharacterCatchphrase: |
| 207 | ** Ryuk's ''"Humans are... interesting!"'' ("Ningen-to omoshiro!"). |
| 208 | ** Also, variations on "I am Justice" crop up a lot. |
| 209 | ** Teru Mikami also says "sakujo!" ("Delete!") constantly while he is using the Death Note. He seems to get [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZFoO3HhcwE very excited]] while writing in the Death Note. Fans have called this a "sakujo-gasm". |
| 210 | ** Rem makes a variant on Ryuk's statement later on. Instead of "Humans are... interesting!" she decides that "Humans are ... such ugly creatures." |
| 211 | ** Light's: |
| 212 | *** "I will be the God of this new world!" ('''"Boku wa Shin-sekai no Kami da!"''') |
| 213 | *** [[JustAsPlanned "Just as planned."]] and conversely, (with a screenshot of him smiling upside down) "Not as planned". |
| 214 | * CharacterDrivenStrategy: When Light and L play a casual game of tennis, the two's inner thoughts are shown, each trying to read and outmaneuver the other, setting the tone for their mind games going head-to-head in the Kira investigation. |
| 215 | * CharactersDroppingLikeFlies: Justified. Light needs the names of criminals to kill them, so he's always killing characters who have names. But even ignoring the redshirts, lots of important characters get offed. Several times, they'll have a few chapters of focus, then they'll die...at which point we find out they were being controlled by the Death Note that entire time. |
| 216 | * ChekhovsGun: |
| 217 | ** "Hideki Ryuga." (The name but not the character.) |
| 218 | ** [[spoiler: Ryuk's personal Death Note in the climax. He only uses it once.]] |
| 219 | ** A strangely large number of potential Guns, involving the [[MagicAIsMagicA rules of the Death Note]], never get used. We're lucky that the rule about [[KudzuPlot six different Notes all in the human world at once]] was never invoked. |
| 220 | * ChekhovsGunman: |
| 221 | ** Takada is briefly introduced as Light's classmate in university before going on to play a greater role after the TimeSkip. |
| 222 | ** In the pilot, Miura is shown being questioned by the detectives, and Taro notes that he'd also been bullied by the boys who'd died. Miura turns out to be the other boy who received a Death Note, and uses it to kill the bullies a second time. |
| 223 | * ChekhovsSkill: [[spoiler:During the raid of Mello's hideout, Matsuda shoots the Notebook out of the hand of the one of Mello's men holding it. In the climax, he repeats this skill by shooting the pen out of Light's hand when he attempts to write down Near's real name.]] |
| 224 | * TheChessmaster |
| 225 | ** Light's time as Kira may not have gone on for nearly so long if it weren't for his incredibly high intelligence. Throughout the series, he carefully manipulates events to his advantage, with those around him none the wiser. The most noteworthy instance of this is when he [[spoiler:gives up his memories of the Death Note with a plan to gain them back later, which goes off without a hitch.]] |
| 226 | ** Though he largely works from the background, Near demonstrates himself as one in the final confrontation with Light, in which he [[spoiler:destroys Light's final master plan. Instead of everyone in the room dying at Mikami's hand as Light intended, they are all spared by Near switching Mikami's Death Note with a fake, meaning they all hear Light point-blank confess to being Kira.]] |
| 227 | * ChewbaccaDefense: |
| 228 | ** In the early interactions between Light, L and the Taskforce, Light deliberately stumbles on L's name: "Ryuuga, I’m sorry I mean ''Ryuuzaki''" to broadcast that L's using an alias, making him an outsider and therefore not trustworthy, unlike Light, the [[{{Nepotism}} Chief's son]] and popular golden boy. |
| 229 | ** Later Light and [[spoiler: Near]] when Light says to the Taskforce "[[spoiler: Near]] [[WithUsOrAgainstUs really seems against us, doesn't he?"]] Light also points out how [[spoiler: Near]] associates with a known criminal [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and he's rude.]] This strategy works in discrediting his opponent - even when the Taskforce is at their most suspicious of Light they still don't trust [[spoiler: Near.]] |
| 230 | %%* ChildHater: Roger the Director of Wammy's House, [[AllThereInTheManual according to the manual.]] |
| 231 | * TheChooserOfTheOne: Light chooses Teru Mikami to act as Kira in his stead. Mikami comes to see Kira as this to himself. |
| 232 | * TheChosenOne |
| 233 | ** Light thinks he's this until Ryuk bursts his bubble. "You think you're special? ...You just happened to pick it up." Even so, Light continues that he was chosen to bring true justice to the world--whether by Ryuk or not. Light also attributes his luck concerning [[spoiler: Penber's fiancée]], whom he unknowingly intercepts just as she's about to go to the Chief with information on Kira, to this. |
| 234 | ** Teru Mikami sees himself as this when he is chosen as a stand-in for and by Kira, whom Mikami makes out to be a godlike figure. |
| 235 | ** Hitoshi Demegawa is implied to be using his apparent status as Kira's chosen voice for personal profit. [[spoiler: Teru Mikami kills him on live television for this.]] |
| 236 | * ElCidPloy: [[spoiler: After killing L]] Light takes up the title to convince "enemies" that [[spoiler:L is still alive.]] This is why he is instantly at odds with Near, who [[spoiler:proclaims he, too, has taken up L's title.]] |
| 237 | * CliffHanger: The second to last episode. [[spoiler: The episode ends right as Mikami's clock strikes at the time he dictated in the Death Note that Near's team and the task force would die.]] |
| 238 | * {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: |
| 239 | ** Misa's hyper energy and strange priorities give this impression, though it's ambiguous when it's genuine and when she's playing up an act. |
| 240 | ** L comes off as this, as a nameless, sequestered man who only eats sweets, breaks down every possible event to a percentage, and takes on the task of bringing down a dangerous serial killer with a blasé attitude. Even so, he is by far Kira's greatest opponent, and the most intelligent character of the cast. |
| 241 | * ColorCodedForYourConvenience: In the anime, whenever L or Light are internally monologuing, they are dyed with blue or red light respectively. Matsuda turns out to be yellow, Mogi is a different shade of red, Aizawa is green, Misa is light blue, Naomi Misora is dark blue, and [[spoiler:Mikami]] is purple. In the final couple of episodes, Near's hair turns a light blue, [[spoiler: probably in emulation of his precursor, the deceased L.]] |
| 242 | * ComesGreatResponsibility: In the first episode Light has an interesting moral dilemma. What's worse? To use the evil dark power to kill people or [[RefusalOfTheCall refuse the call]] and let the BusFullOfInnocents get killed when he has the power to stop it? He goes with the former but instead of becoming TheCowl he becomes a KnightTemplar [[HeWhoFightsMonsters well on his way to becoming the person that threatens the bus full of innocents in the first place.]] |
| 243 | * CompressedAdaptation: The first part the anime simply cuts out a lot of the WallOfText dialogues, since the manga has a habit of explaining every last detail about the protagonists' plans, [[PragmaticAdaptation and that wouldn't do in anime]]. In the post-TimeSkip episodes however, entire ''chapters'' are removed. To give you an idea, the two parts are almost equal in length in the manga; in the anime, the first part is covered in 25 episodes, the second in 11. |
| 244 | * ConsummateLiar: Light strings Misa and Takada along with false promises of love, keeps his secret from his family, and even stops the World's Greatest Detective from pinning him down. |
| 245 | ** L is also quite the liar. "Light-kun is my first ever friend." WordOfGod was needed for that one. |
| 246 | * ContinuityNod: To ''[[http://community.livejournal.com/death_note/1798147.html#cutid1 Another Note.]]'' [[spoiler: Beyond]] is also mentioned in ''L: Change The World''. |
| 247 | ** Also (only in the anime) after Misora [[spoiler:is killed by Light]] L mentions that they worked together on the LA BB Murder cases. |
| 248 | ** The manga notes "She arrested the perpetrator of the 'Los Angeles BB Serial Killings'" |
| 249 | * ContrivedCoincidence: Quite a few examples. |
| 250 | ** If Naomi Misora hadn't happened to go to the police station during the ONE instant that the entire Kira task force had left to meet L, and if Light hadn't been asked to deliver a package to his father at that same exact instant, and just happened to overhear what she was there for, or if Aizawa walked slightly slower, or faster, or didn't have an umbrella for the rain that ''came out of nowhere'', or if Misora had another alias, the manga would have ended at 2 volumes, with Light soundly defeated. When he discovers this coincidence, Light [[LampshadeHanging acknowledges]] how "another God" is on his side. Since WordOfGod and the manga universe have bent over backwards to say that there were no gods in the Death Note universe this means that it's just conjecture on Light's part, and the events fall in his favor by simple, improbable coincidence. (In [[AllThereInTheManual Volume 13]], Naomi is consequently stated to have the lowest possible score in the "luck" attribute.) [[ForWantOfANail By another way of seeing]] it, if Raye Penber hadn't been assigned to investigate Light, hadn't decided to bring his fiancée to Japan while on assignment or hadn't mentioned the bus hijacking to her then a ''lot'' of events later on would never have happened and Light would have avoided suspicion. This is only one egregious example; others abound throughout the series, especially in the first half. |
| 251 | ** Much later on, Near and his allies learn a great deal because [[spoiler: Teru Mikami]] just ''happens'' to hear something that makes him wonder if it's [[spoiler: Ryuk]] and goes on to speak out loud about several points that they didn't know about. If he hadn't done this Near's investigation would have at least been slowed down. [[spoiler: Light via Takada told Mikami to do this on purpose, in order to throw Near onto Mikami and ''off'' Light and Takada]]. |
| 252 | ** If it is indeed coincidence and not, as Matsuda theorizes, [[spoiler: the result of Near writing in the Death Note to verify it was real and enable Light's conviction, Mikami happening to bring a fake notebook without checking to verify, then dying ten days after Light's defeat]] would also qualify. The anime doesn't include Matsuda's theory and [[spoiler: Mikami instead commits suicide on the spot, implying no such influence, making it seem even more contrived.]] |
| 253 | ** Despite the need to [[spoiler: kill Takada]] coming at a specific circumstance, the fact that [[spoiler: Light and Mikami both write her name down at almost the same time comes really in handy for Near on the great finale, since this makes it impossible for Light to perceive that Mikami used the real notebook when he ordered him not to]]. |
| 254 | * CoolOldGuy: Here, we get two: Soichiro Yagami and Watari. [[spoiler: Both ultimately die (though only Watari in the movie).]] |
| 255 | * CopKiller: Light is only too happy to kill any law enforcement officers who get too close, starting with FBI Agent Raye Penber. |
| 256 | * CorruptCorporateExecutive: The Yotsuba Group -- specifically, [[spoiler:Higuchi who uses Kira's power to bump off rivals]]. |
| 257 | ** To a lesser degree Demegawa, the executive with Sakura TV, who uses Kira's killings [[IfItBleedsItLeads to boost his network's ratings]]. |
| 258 | * CosmicPlaything: Light ends up in possession of a Death Note because Ryuk was bored and dropped a Note into the mortal world just to see what would happen. [[spoiler:He kills Light the moment he loses his entertainment value.]] |
| 259 | * CouldntFindAPen: [[spoiler:Light writes Higuchi's name in blood at the culmination of his MemoryGambit. At the end, he gets shot during an attempt to repeat himself for Near]]. [[PeoplePuppets And when Light was testing the powers of the Note he makes prisoners write messages in their own blood.]] |
| 260 | * CrapsackWorld: Light certainly thinks the world is one and thus he feels that he needs to clean it up. One criminal at a time... Misa and Mikami believe it, too, willingly joining Light to "make the world a better place". |
| 261 | * CrazyConsumption: L's sweets, Mello's chocolate, Ryuk's apples, and Light's potato chips. In the manga there are *pages* of shots of Sayu eating chips. Light has ... one, albeit a damn good one. |
| 262 | * CrazyPrepared: |
| 263 | ** Light's three different ways to tell if someone was in his room, not to mention his PornStash just in case someone happens to be watching. This was ''before'' he found the Death Note. At that point he rigged his desk to catch fire, destroying the Death Note, if anyone but him opened a secret drawer. |
| 264 | ** Near kept millions of dollars ready to be dropped from the top of a skyscraper at the press of a button, just in case a TorchesAndPitchforks mob attacks his secret hideout. |
| 265 | ** Mello's hostage exchange for the Death Note. When Light initially attempts to thwart him by killing the hostage, the [=NPA=] director, Mello immediately pivots to a backup hostage, the ''deputy'' director's daughter and Light's sister. When Light arranges for the least-recognizable member of the taskforce, the only one not on record as working under L, to take the same flight to L.A. as the deputy director, Mello has an accomplice intercept him and put him on a flight where he's already arranged for the pilot to detour and drop him off in the middle of the desert. When Light and Near attempt to watch the exchange through satellite images, Mello has the exchange take place in an underground bunker. (To say nothing of the bulletproof revolving door mechanism and pre-arranged test of the notebook's authenticity.) When Light asks Near to track any vehicles leaving the location by radar, Mello loads the notebook onto a ''freakin' untrackable missile'' and then kills everyone involved in the exchange for good measure. |
| 266 | * CreaturesByManyOtherNames: The English dub of the anime interchanges "shinigami" and "god of death" a few times in the early episodes, presumably to make sure English-speakers know what a shinigami is supposed to be. By the middle of the series onward it just refers to them as "shinigami". |
| 267 | * CreepyChild: Near gets extra points for being able to pull off CreepyChild despite [[OlderThanTheyLook not being one]]. |
| 268 | * CrimeAfterCrime: The cover-up killings of an agent and his wife narrowed L's attention on Light even more. It was after this that L decided to reveal himself just to keep him closer. |
| 269 | * CrimefightingWithCash: L and Near have enough cash for a Cool HQ and distraction from an angry mob. Wammy's House must be loaded. |
| 270 | * CriminalMindGames: The messages are solely to trick/irritate L. On the other hand, Kira tends to take risks when flaunting his superiority to a defeated opponent. |
| 271 | * CripplingTheCompetition: In the anime, Matsuda, upon finding out that [[spoiler: Light is the guy behind all of the Death Note incidents, shoots Light's hands to prevent him from ever writing into a Death Note again. Not that it matters much, as Light dies shortly afterwards.]] |
| 272 | * CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: |
| 273 | ** Misa, who can be quite devious when she isn't fawning over Light. |
| 274 | ** Matsuda. Compare his inane comments early on with the time he [[spoiler: blows Light's hand away and then riddles him with bullets]]. |
| 275 | * CueTheSun: In the first episode, it is stormy and raining when Ryuk first confronts Light. By the time Light has finished outlining his master plan and declared that he will be the god of the new world, the sun has come out and he has a halo of light at his back. [[BookEnds It all comes around]] back in the last two episodes - it's raining all throughout episode 36, but the sun breaks through the clouds in the beginning of episode 37 [[spoiler:the very moments after Light dooms himself by declaring his victory prematurely.]] |
| 276 | * CuriosityKilledTheCast: Light just wanted to see if the notebook would work. The same thing presumably happened to Misa. |
| 277 | * CursedWithAwesome: Soichiro and L both describe Kira's power (the ability to kill so wantonly) as being a curse. Light doesn't agree with their judgment, however. |
| 278 | %%* CuttingTheElectronicLeash |
| 279 | [[/folder]] |
| 280 | |
| 281 | [[folder:Tropes D]] |
| 282 | * [[MamaDidntRaiseNoCriminal Daddy Didn't Raise No Criminal]]: Soichiro's reaction to L's suggestion that Light or Sayu could be Kira. |
| 283 | * DamselInDistress: [[spoiler:Sayu was kidnapped by Mello.]] |
| 284 | * DarkerAndEdgier: Than most {{Shonen}} series, some even confusing it with {{Seinen}}. The series gets even darker with the introduction of [[HeroAntagonist Mello and Near]], when Light's character becomes much darker as he becomes a full blown villain. |
| 285 | * DarkMessiah: Light Yagami means to save the world by cleansing it with blood ... |
| 286 | * TheDarkSide: Averted. There is nothing corrupting about the Note itself but the person using it. |
| 287 | * TheDarkSideWillMakeYouForget: Light pretty much completely abandoned his ideals over the course of the series. |
| 288 | * ADayInTheLimelight: |
| 289 | ** Episode 19 is titled "Matsuda". Guess who it's about. |
| 290 | ** Misa gets one, too when she persuades Higuchi into admitting he's the Third Kira. |
| 291 | ** As does Mikami, though it isn't quite an entire episode. |
| 292 | *** Mikami's Backstory does get a whole chapter in the manga. |
| 293 | * DeadlineNews: A number of media networks that get involved with Kira involve death, sometimes the Host. |
| 294 | * DeadlyBook: The eponymous notebook, which kills any person whose name is written in (so long as the writer is thinking of their face while writing). |
| 295 | * DeadlyUpgrade: Literal in that the Shinigami can give a Death Note's wielder the power to see people's names and lifespans -- at the cost of half the wielder's remaining lifespan. |
| 296 | * DealWithTheDevil: The Shinigami Eyes deal; see DeadlyUpgrade. |
| 297 | * DeathByAdaptation: [[spoiler: Mogi dies in Ukita's place in the LiveActionAdaptation, and Takada's death is hastened (granted, because the plot itself is hastened). L's death sort of counts as it's by his own hands instead of Rem's.]] |
| 298 | * DeathByIrony: [[spoiler: Demegawa, can you say "'''SAKUJO'''"?]] |
| 299 | * DeathIsCheap: Intentionally averted by Ohba who felt that [[PetPeeveTrope this trope had been overused]] in other manga but played straight in the pilot chapter with the addition of the death eraser. |
| 300 | * DeathsHourglass: Everyone has a time at which they are destined to die. It's only visible to those with a Shinigami's eyes. However, using a death note allows you to kill people before their time and indirectly extend lives. |
| 301 | * DeathWail: Light fakes one [[spoiler: when L dies]]. Good actor, that one. |
| 302 | * DebateAndSwitch: The series avoids answering the morality of ''Kira's'' actions by making ''Light'' [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope leap off the slippery slope]]. |
| 303 | * DebutQueue: Most of the characters are introduced in this fashion. |
| 304 | * DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: Light is one for the {{Shonen}} hero archetype: a young, justice-loving ChasteHero (a narcissistic KnightTemplar with delusions of godhood) who discovers magical powers (a notebook that can be used to instantly murder anybody) and gains a Spirit Buddy (an amoral embodiment of death), makes a WorthyOpponent rival (a detective trying to apprehend him for his crimes) and picks up a persistent GenkiGirl love interest (a vapid pop idol who's fanatically obsessed with him and, despite barely knowing him, is instantly willing to kill for, die for and marry him). |
| 305 | * DeconstructedTrope: The story deconstructs several tropes, including... |
| 306 | ** JusticeWillPrevail: But only because [[WrittenByTheWinners whoever is victorious will claim it]]. Therefore, there is no genuine justice, only winning and losing. |
| 307 | ** UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans: The "utopia" that Light creates is actually free of war and crime, everything Light wanted to get rid of. However, this is only true because everyone is terrified of Kira, and one wrong move means being inevitably killed by him. That was the point, of course. Deconstructed even further given that Kira's death ultimately results in everything returning to normal relatively soon...which in turn means that all of the problems that Kira's killing spree stifled returned as well, showing that his methods only stopped the problem on the surface, while the complex and nuanced circumstances that allowed for those problems to exist were never addressed. Once the threat was gone, what reason would the problems have from not returning? |
| 308 | ** VigilanteMan: Light Yagami demonstrates just what an arrogant {{Jerkass}} someone would have to be to decide their judgment is better than the law. |
| 309 | ** WellIntentionedExtremist: While Light might begin with the best interest of the world at heart, honestly believing that using the Death Note is the best way to achieve an end to evil, [[ProtagonistJourneyToVillain by the end he becomes so narcissistic that he comes to believe that]] [[AGodAmI he is a god]]. |
| 310 | * [[DemotedToExtra Demoted To Comic Relief]]: Misa for most of the second arc. |
| 311 | * DeniedFoodAsPunishment: In the manga [[spoiler: during confinement the Taskforce comment on how Misa being denied water for three days was too much for a young girl to take.]] |
| 312 | * DerangedAnimation: The nightmarish second TitleSequence, complete with an appropriately crazed HeavyMetal theme song by Music/MaximumTheHormone. ''"[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5HT8HoiAHg What's up, people?!]]"'' |
| 313 | * {{Deuteragonist}}: L, Near and/or Mello are the opposing deuteragonists to protagonist Light. |
| 314 | * DidntSeeThatComing: How [[spoiler:Light met his end]]. Played with in the manga (but not in the anime) with [[spoiler: how Near came very close to being killed by Light. Near looks completely shocked when Light pulls a hidden piece of the Death Note out of his watch. Light was only one letter away from taking Near down with him.]] |
| 315 | * DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: What do you do, if a unruly shinigami is bugging you? Backhand him, according to Light. |
| 316 | * DidYouJustScamCthulhu: [[spoiler: It's established that if a Shinigami uses its notebook to deliberately prolong a human's life by killing someone else (i.e. the human's murderer,) that Shinigami will die. Knowing this, Light manipulates events so that Misa is about to be caught by L, forcing Rem to write L's true name in the Death Note along with Watari's in order to save her. This is [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by Rem just before she writes their names in the Death Note and she curses Light for it.]] |
| 317 | * DiedInIgnorance: [[spoiler:In his final moments, Soichiro Yagami gets a look at his son's face with the Shinigami eyes. Seeing Light's lifespan above his name allows him to die believing for certain that his son is not Kira, even though at that point, Light had only temporarily ceded ownership of the notebook to someone else.]] |
| 318 | * DiegeticSoundtrackUsage: Misa and Matsuda both have the first ending song as their mobile phone ringtones, and the 2nd ending theme is used in the Director's Cut of the car chase in episodes 22 & 23. |
| 319 | * DiesDifferentlyInAdaptation: A minor example, but what that completely changes the tone of the end. [[spoiler:In both the manga and the anime, Light dies after Ryuk realizes that Light has been cornered by the police and is done for and so decides to write his name in the Death Note. In the anime, Light gets a second wind to get up and run out of the warehouse. He gets a little bit away before the heart attack kicks in, but he sits down on a staircase and more gracefully accepts his death while seeing a vision of L. In the manga however, he dies pathetically begging Ryuk for his life in front of all of his ex-compatriots as he knows that [[CessationOfExistence nothing is waiting for him after he dies]].]] |
| 320 | * DiggingYourselfDeeper: Every time Light takes measures to avoid suspicion, it ends with L declaring that his suspicion that Light is Kira has been reinforced. |
| 321 | * DisproportionateRetribution: |
| 322 | ** With Kira as judge, jury and executioner, all crimes - even purse-snatching and embezzlement - qualify for the death penalty, [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans for the good of the new world]]. |
| 323 | ** Lind L. Tailor [[spoiler: while posing as L]], tells Light over broadcast television "Kira, I think I have a pretty good idea of why you're doing this. But what you're doing ''is evil!''" Not the nicest thing to say, but at least he gives Light credit for trying to improve the world. Light's response is to kill him. |
| 324 | * DoesNotLikeWomen: Light doesn't like ''[[HatesEveryoneEqually anyone]]'', but he explicitly doesn't like women because he thinks they're overemotional and weak. |
| 325 | * DoesntLikeGuns |
| 326 | ** Light and his father: "Guns aren't allowed in Japan." |
| 327 | ** Aiber, according to Wedy, though he will take one if there's no other choice. |
| 328 | ** Matt: "Since when are the Japanese allowed to carry such nice guns?" |
| 329 | * DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: |
| 330 | ** Putting aside the religious and biblical context of it, the dialogue and the actions during the foot massage scene between Light and L sound ''awfully'' kinky (and only existed in the anime). |
| 331 | ** The FantasticRacism against the Shinigami PlayedForLaughs: |
| 332 | --> '''L:''' Hey, you Shinigami, the white thing over there... |
| 333 | --> '''Matsuda:''' Er.. Ryuuzaki, should you really go around calling someone a white thing? |
| 334 | ** [[SecretPolice The followers of and the society built around Kira's New World...]] |
| 335 | * DontTellMama: |
| 336 | ** Light is trying to keep his secret of being Kira from his parents and sister. |
| 337 | ** Soichiro explicitly tells Light not to tell either Sachiko or Sayu where he's going when he agrees to help with the investigation. |
| 338 | * DontTouchItYouIdiot: Mello's gang before they realize that touching the notebook is required for seeing the Shinigami. |
| 339 | * DoomedMoralVictor: [[spoiler: Years later legions of followers still mourn the loss of Kira.]] |
| 340 | * DoubleMeaningTitle: The final episode, "New World". By this point, the victory could go either way. |
| 341 | * DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale: Aizawa got injured during a fight with his wife. No one takes it the least bit seriously when he shows up at work the next day with a cut in his forehead. |
| 342 | * DownerEnding: [[spoiler: Between this and a BittersweetEnding. While Light dies a well-deserved, but utterly heartwrenching death, nearly the entire cast has died as a result of his machinations, the good that he has done is completely reversed and [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold L]] is replaced by the borderline-sociopathic Near, not to mention that Ryuk has been given many new Death Notes in exchange for apples and is intent on dropping them all over the world, possibly recreating the original start all over again.]] |
| 343 | * DramaticHighPerching: The battle of wills between L and Light is often symbolically represented by them staring at each other on very, very thin skyscrapers. |
| 344 | * DramaticIrony: |
| 345 | ** The entire series is dramatic irony. From the first chapter, the audience knows that Light is Kira. The identity of Kira is something investigated throughout the entire series, and a fact few characters learn, [[spoiler: at least until the end.]] As such every interaction Light has with other characters is punctuated by the fact that the audience knows he's Kira, and the cause of everything that happens in the plot. |
| 346 | ** The Anti-Kira Taskforce sees [[SympatheticInspectorAntagonist L]] as a stubborn InspectorJavert who is unreasonably convinced the Chief of Police's son Light is the killer, despite all evidence to the contrary. Of course, as the audience, we know [[LightIsNotGood he's right]]. |
| 347 | ** It occurs to L that there should be someone from the taskforce at HQ at all times, just in case. This within the same timespan as Naomi tries to leave a tip regarding Kira, but can't because she can't get ahold of anyone from the taskforce. Walking back to HQ, Aizawa even walks right past her and Light without seeing them, [[spoiler:moments after Light gets her true name and writes it in his death note]]. |
| 348 | ** A more specific (and brutal) example when [[spoiler: Light's biggest obstacle L]] dies; Light can scream and panic and FreakOut to his heart's content, but the audience is well aware who is responsible... though perhaps not entirely sure [[AntagonistInMourning how genuine it is]]. |
| 349 | ** When [[spoiler: Light's father]] is killed, this happens again; having [[spoiler: made the Shinigami Eye deal]], [[spoiler: the Chief]] looks at Light and dies declaring his relief that Light isn't the killer after all... but the audience knows it only ''appears'' that way at the time, and that, in actuality, Light has been the murderer all along. |
| 350 | ** The Yotsuba arc is ''full'' of this: [[spoiler: Light uses loopholes in the rules of the Death Note to absolve himself and Misa of their identities as Kira, wiping their memories of everything related to the Death Note, and tells Rem to give the Death Note to someone who will use it selfishly and make himself easily noticeable. Over the course of the arc, Light -- now allied with L -- pieces together how Kira's powers work and they catch the third Kira, Higuchi]]. True to form, it was all part of a massive BatmanGambit so that Light [[spoiler: would eventually get his hands on the Death Note again and go right back to being Kira, ultimately allowing him to indirectly kill L]]. Naturally, the audience is already privvy to this even if they don't know exactly what Light's plan is. |
| 351 | * DrivenToSuicide: |
| 352 | ** [[spoiler:Misa kills herself soon after Light's death.]] However, this isn't shown in the manga. |
| 353 | ** This was also the method of disposing of [[spoiler: Naomi]], although L had doubts that it was done willingly. Some of the criminals killed when Kira was testing the Death Note's powers also committed "suicide." |
| 354 | * DrunkOnTheDarkSide ''and'' [[DrunkWithPower Power]]: Light, Misa, Takada, Mikami, [[spoiler: Higuchi]] become obsessed with the Death Note's power, become arrogant to the point of godhood and very hammy when using it. |
| 355 | * DubInducedPlotHole: |
| 356 | ** In Episode 6, Light notes that the FBI agents all received a file of their names and faces before being killed. The English dub mistranslates this as Light saying ''he'' got the file himself and used it to kill the agents, despite this contradicting the previous episodes. |
| 357 | ** In the English dub scene of episode 24, when L is holding the Death Note and giving a stream of thoughts showing how this notebook proves that Light is Kira, the last thing he says at the end of the stream is 'Yellow Box'. This is the name of the abandoned warehouse mentioned and used in episodes 36 and 37, so it being mentioned this early makes no sense. In the original audio, he just says "two notebooks". |
| 358 | * DueToTheDead: |
| 359 | ** [[spoiler: The deleted scene of L's funeral]]. |
| 360 | ** In the second arc, the taskforce decides to take on the task of capturing Mello in honor of [[spoiler: Soichiro Yagami, who died in their first attempt]]. |
| 361 | * TheDyingWalk: In the anime, after being mortally wounded, [[spoiler:Light runs out of the warehouse where he had his final confrontation with Near and the police]], but only manages to get to a nearby building before [[spoiler:Ryuk decides that Light's time is up]] and writes his name in the Death Note. |
| 362 | * DysfunctionJunction: Wammy's House, though it's hard to find a character who ''[[ThereAreNoTherapists doesn't]]'' have some sort of obvious mental disorder or [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzZGqtqW5DQ&feature=related traits thereof.]] |
| 363 | [[/folder]] |
| 364 | |
| 365 | [[folder:Tropes E]] |
| 366 | * EarlyBirdCameo: Takada, Mikami, Near, and Mello showed up in the 2nd openings even though it would be quite a few episodes (plus a timeskip) before their arc started. |
| 367 | * EasilyForgiven: During the Yotsuba arc [[spoiler: L confines Light for over fifty days and then fakes having his father shoot him in the head. In the manga Light forgives L in the very next panel.]] |
| 368 | * EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The first few chapters actually come off as strange compared to the later ones. The way the story and even pages of the manga are set up is different and while L retains the [[TheFaceless faceless]] role at first, he's shown in a meditating pose, slouching on the ground and practically every kind of sitting position ''except'' his iconic squatting in chairs. |
| 369 | * EasilyOverheardConversation: Again during the Yotsuba arc, [[spoiler: Matsuda learns about the "secret meetings" because two of the conspirators are talking about it]] as they wait for the elevator. |
| 370 | * EatTheEvidence: In the manga it's explained that [[spoiler: Light swallows the Death Note scrap he used to kill Higuchi.]] |
| 371 | * EiffelTowerEffect: At one point in the anime, the Eiffel Tower and the London Eye are used as visual shorthand for UsefulNotes/{{Paris}} and UsefulNotes/{{London}}...and the World Trade Center for UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity, despite both the manga and anime taking place post-9/11. |
| 372 | * EliteSchoolMeansEliteBrain: Light, mastermind criminal protagonist of the series, attends "To-oh University", a stand-in for Tokyo University. L receives the exact same score on the entrance exam Light does, emphasizing their matched brilliance. |
| 373 | * EmbarrassingNickname: When Light objects to Misa calling him by his first name, Misa suggests calling him "Knight" instead, causing him to immediately back down and let her call him Light. |
| 374 | * EmpathicEnvironment: The aptly titled episode "Overcast" features a brilliant and chilling example. [[spoiler: The year's first snowflake floats into frame and past Naomi Misora's drivers license a split-second after she lets it go, handing it to Light, thereby sealing her fate. Light reads the license and jots down her name in his Death Note. Less than a minute later, when Light reveals to Naomi that he's Kira -- and thus that she's about to die -- the snowfall is already heavy.]] |
| 375 | * EnemyMine: When a notebook falls into the hands of TheMafia, Kira marks most of its members for death and gifts one in his own possession to the Japanese Task Force, that they might strike the moment the guillotine falls and corner Mello with the Shinigami eyes. |
| 376 | * EngineeredPublicConfession: Defied. The Task Force and L spy on a Yotsuba meeting with eight of it's members and learn that the members of Yotsuba are conspiring with Kira to kill members of other businesses to expand Yotsuba. Soichiro Yagami suggests to L that they use the tapes of the Yotsuba members discussion with each other and Touta Matsuda's testimony to arrests all of Yotsuba's members. However, L refuses to perform a EngineeredPublicConfession, as it would prevent L from finding out who the real Kira is among the eight members of Yotsuba and Kira's ability to kill people. |
| 377 | %%* EnhancedInterrogationTechniques: Used by L. |
| 378 | * EnvironmentalSymbolism: Many examples contain snow with death. There's also light when Light is doing a god complex speech. |
| 379 | %%* EqualOpportunityEvil: Mello's mafia. |
| 380 | * EvenEvilHasStandards: |
| 381 | ** Ryuk, an absolutely pitiless Death God, is still sometimes astonished by the depths Light will sink to; it's remarked several times that Light is worse than any Shinigami, something that amuses Ryuk to no end. |
| 382 | ** The Death Note doesn't work on people [[ImprobableInfantSurvival younger than 780 days old]], on people 124 years old or older, or on people who have less than 12 minutes to live. |
| 383 | ** Rem is apparently fine with Light and Misa killing people so long as it makes Misa happy, but she's disgusted by [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Kyosuke Higuchi]]. |
| 384 | ** Light zig-zags the trope in a rather complicated fashion: He objected strenuously to Misa murdering an innocent police officer who was only doing his job, but [[{{Hypocrite}} he had no problem doing the same thing]] to a bunch of [[FBIAgent FBI agents]]. He also killed Lind L. Taylor early on for no other reason than the fact that [[DisproportionateRetribution Taylor had offended him]] (he was unaware of Taylor's convict status at the time). |
| 385 | %%* EvenTheGirlsWantHer: Misa Amane. |
| 386 | %%* EverythingsBetterWithSparkles: Sparkle chips! |
| 387 | * EvilGloating: Light enjoys taunting his victims just before they die and goes out of his way to do so. He deliberately reveals his identity to Raye Penber when the latter is having a heart attack, tells Naomi Misora "I am Kira" just as she loses her free will, and smiles devilishly as [[spoiler:L]] dies in his arms. [[spoiler:Light's cruelty ultimately becomes his undoing, as he arrogantly proclaims "I win" when he believes he has outsmarted Near. Unfortunately for him, not only does his plan fail, but his taunt is an unambiguous evidence that he is Kira]]. |
| 388 | %%* EvilHasABadSenseOfHumor: The jokes of the Yotsuba group are pretty bad. |
| 389 | %%* EvilIsHammy: A lot of Light's evil gloating is pretty over the top. Ditto for Hitoshi Demegawa. |
| 390 | %%* EvilIsNotAToy: |
| 391 | %%--> [[spoiler: '''Ryuk:''' [[CallBack I told you in the very beginning that]] [[HoistByHisOwnPetard I would be the one writing your name in my notebook when you die.]]]] |
| 392 | * EvilLaugh: |
| 393 | ** Light has a few [[GigglingVillain evil chuckles]] scattered throughout the series, but there is a full-blown [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C65oaIHsdYM evil laugh]] in the final episode, (at which point he's pretty much [[VillainousBreakdown gone off the deep end]]) that is extremely psychotic and creepy. |
| 394 | ** Ryuk is entertained by all the chaos that Light brings about with the Death Note and cackles constantly. |
| 395 | ** [[spoiler: Higuchi]] laughs maliciously while carrying on the executions, which is enough to scare even the Shinigami Rem. |
| 396 | %%** Misa gets in a few giggles. |
| 397 | * EvilPlan: When Light discovers the potential of the Death Note he decides to rid the world of crime and become a god while he's at it. |
| 398 | * EvilVersusEvil: [[spoiler:Mello leads a criminal organization with the objective of acquiring the Death Note under [[VillainProtagonist Light]]'s control.]] |
| 399 | * EvolvingCredits: [[spoiler: Ukita gets removed from the group shot of the Task Force in the first opening after he’s killed off.]] |
| 400 | * {{Expy}}: |
| 401 | ** L's character is largely based on Franchise/{{Batman}} and Watari on Alfred Pennyworth - making Yagami Light a typical supervillain in the story. |
| 402 | ** Soichiro Yagami's character is very much like that of Commissioner Gordon from ''Franchise/{{Batman}}''. |
| 403 | ** In the English dub, the American President is voiced to sound like UsefulNotes/BillClinton, who served from 1993 to 2001 as the 42nd President of the United States. But he looks like UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush, who was the POTUS at the time ''Death Note'' was actually published. |
| 404 | * TheExtremistWasRight: The news reports as the series progresses make it very clear the knowledge of Kira's existence dramatically reduces the worldwide crime rate, but there are severe costs entailed when world justice is dictated by one still-human person and it only worked in the short-run. When Kira went inactive or [[spoiler: was gotten rid of for good]], crime returned to its previous rate. Near says as much in the anime version. |
| 405 | * ExtremityExtremist: Among L's many curious habits is holding things only with his thumb and forefinger, letting them hang by his fingertips. Food, utensils, pens, phones, whatever. When he fights, he does it exclusively with his bare feet. |
| 406 | * {{Eyedscreen}} |
| 407 | * EyeContactAsProof: At the start of the Yotsuba Arc, Light creates a MemoryGambit for himself in which he strategically forfeits the notebook at just the right moment to cast suspicion off himself as being Kira, because once you forfeit ownership, you lose all memories associated with everything you did while you had it. He instantly reverts back to the person he was before he found it and becomes earnest, well-meaning, and completely dedicated to finding Kira, without knowing that it's been him all along. He panics and tried to convince L to let him out of the solitary confinement that he volunteered to be put into and not released from, no matter what he says, but L isn't convinced. Light insists that he made a mistake asking to be locked up and that they're wasting time, and tells L to look in his eyes if he thinks he's lying. L is unnerved by not only the fact that Light's completely changed his attitude on a dime, but that he genuinely seems to be telling the truth. |
| 408 | * EyesNeverLie: InvokedTrope. |
| 409 | -->'''Light:''' Look into my eyes, I'm telling you the truth! Are these the eyes of someone who is lying?! |
| 410 | [[/folder]] |
| 411 | |
| 412 | [[folder:Tropes F]] |
| 413 | * FaceDeathWithDignity: Whether a character can do this depends on their moral fiber. [[spoiler:Soichiro, the most moral figure in the series, goes out with the most, while L and Watari, who are noticeably greyer though still recognizably good, each die with some, and the VillainProtagonist, Light, dies crying, whining, and cursing in a puddle of his own blood. Light's death is a little more dignified in the anime. He runs away from the scene as Ryuk writes his name down in his Death Note. In the end, he dies lying stoically on stairs.]] |
| 414 | * FaceFramedInShadow: Light gets many of these moments. |
| 415 | * FalseInnocenceTrick: [[spoiler: Exploited when Light asks to be confined, gives up his memories, begs to be let out and then the Taskforce gets mad at L for imprisoning him. And then, just to be sure, he planted a false rule in the notebook to exonerate himself later, which L is visibly frustrated by and would have insisted on testing if Light hadn't set it up that Misa would have gone right down with him, forcing Rem to kill L on the spot.]] |
| 416 | * FarOutForeignersFavoriteFood: |
| 417 | ** Ryuk loved apples. He knew apples in his own world, but claimed the Earth ones had far superior taste. At one point he brings a Shinigami Realm apple to Earth and offers it to Misa, who complains that it tastes like sand. |
| 418 | ** Sidoh develops a love of chocolate from Mello. |
| 419 | ** A Shinigami in a stand-alone sequel story who tried and failed to copy Ryuk by giving a Death Note to another human indulges in bananas. |
| 420 | ** In Chapter 109, the bonus chapter included in Volume 13 "How To Read", the Shinigami King is revealed to have adopted apples as well as his favorite. During the run of the series, he puts in a rule that prevents shinigami from getting a new Death Note if they lose theirs (after seeing what hijinks Ryuk gets into). By the time Chapter 109 rolls around, he'll give them out in exchange for [[ComicallySmallBribe two]] apples. |
| 421 | * FauxActionGirl: Halle Lidner doesn't get much action for a special crime unit member. |
| 422 | %%Do not add five man band unless you are willing to add context. Remember that the chick cannot be a guy and the chick is not 'useless one' |
| 423 | * FilmNoir: The series had some noir traits, including the {{chiaroscuro}} lighting and dark themes. |
| 424 | * FiveSecondForeshadowing: As Light is taking university entrance exams, one of the proctors scolds another student for not sitting properly. Sitting oddly is one of L's signature quirks, so a few panels later, L turns out to be taking the test with Light. |
| 425 | * FleurDeLis: In the anime, Misa has her cross motif changed to this ... but it's upside down. |
| 426 | * ForDoomTheBellTolls: [[spoiler:L hears church bells on the day of his death. Neither Light nor the viewers can hear them.]] |
| 427 | * ForGreatJustice: Both Light and L believe this. |
| 428 | * FoundTheKillerLostTheMurderer: [[spoiler:The task force manages to arrest Higuchi, but fails to catch Light, who had used him as a pawn.]] |
| 429 | * FourEyesZeroSoul: Mikami has his regular eyes, wears glasses ''and'' cut the Shinigami Eyes deal and yet still is more ruthless than Light. |
| 430 | * FourIsDeath: |
| 431 | ** The Death Note kills in 40 seconds, and if a cause of death is written, the user has 400 seconds to add details. |
| 432 | ** Mikami, [[spoiler: whose screw-up finishes Light]], is the fourth Kira. |
| 433 | *** The [[spoiler: hidden piece of paper from the Death Note in Light's wristwatch can be accessed by Light pressing the dial nub four times]] |
| 434 | * {{Foreshadowing}}: |
| 435 | ** One of the first things we learn about Light is that he's good at tests -- in the top one percent in the country! Once L gets involved he subjects him to a number of tests, and the same with Near. Light is so good at gaming the test that even though both L and N know that Light ''must'' be Kira, they have a hard time confirming it. |
| 436 | ** When Light meets Ryuk, he asks him whether he came to take his soul. Ryuk is confused about what he means and asks (Is this some human fantasy?), he later contradicts himself by talking about heaven and hell. In the end, it is revealed that heaven or hell do not exist and the default fate for everyone is CessationOfExistence. |
| 437 | ** When L challenges Light to an intense game of tennis, Light wins. |
| 438 | %%ZCE* FreakOut: [[spoiler: Light at L's grave]] in the Director's Cut. Also [[spoiler: Light and Mikami]] in the finale. |
| 439 | * FreezeFrameBonus: In the first episode (blink and you miss it) one of the names written in the Death Note is Uwe B[[note]]oll?[[/note]]... |
| 440 | * FriendlessBackground: WordOfGod says L has no friends. Light too, despite being very popular, is often seen eating his lunch alone. WordOfGod says he thinks he's above most people. |
| 441 | * FriendlyEnemy: Light and L. L calls Light his first ever friend and Light tells L he really missed seeing him at school. However WordOfGod suggests that they're ''both'' faking. |
| 442 | * FriendshipHatingAntagonist: As a {{Deconstruction}} of a shonen protagonist, [[VillainProtagonist Light Yagami]] has a family who care about him and manages to attract people willing to devote themselves to his cause of using the Death Note to end crime. Light merely sees everyone around him as mere tools to manipulate and gladly uses them as a means to avoid being caught out as Kira by the Task Force. For what its worth, Light spends a good chunk of his time trying to make sure that nobody outs him as Kira due to all the murders he's commited using the Death Note, and to this end he knows that any friendships would simply run the risk of him getting in trouble with authorities if they were to crack under police pressure. |
| 443 | * FriendToAllChildren: L and Watari are examples. |
| 444 | ** Watari creates an orphanage for intelligent and gifted children. He is also L's assistant and [[ParentalSubstitute father-figure]]. |
| 445 | ** L, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1uSCnuCzwM in Relight 2, spends some time talking with the Wammy orphans, answering any questions they might ask]] and in L: Change The World [[TeamDad L has to take care of two children]] [[PapaWolf and is very protective of them.]] |
| 446 | * FromNobodyToNightmare: |
| 447 | ** Light and Mikami; an honors student and a moral lawyer who become evil serial killers. |
| 448 | ** To a lesser extent, [[spoiler: Higuchi, from CorruptCorporateExecutive to serial killer]]. |
| 449 | * FunctionalGenreSavvy: Strange how when people living in the same conditions all started suffering heart attacks, everybody started thinking "supernatural serial killer"... |
| 450 | * FunctionalMagic: The Death Note is an example of Rule Magic, containing ''dozens'' of rules stipulating how it can be used, such as requiring knowledge of a target's real name and face, time limits on writing down specific causes of death, circumstances of a specific death needing to be grounded in what is physically possible (otherwise, the cause of death will default to a heart attack), and memory erasure in case a human loses or otherwise relinquishes their Death Note. |
| 451 | * TheFunInFuneral: In a scene added for the ''Relight'' special, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1pBEJAZ4Vc&feature=related Light certainly looks like he's enjoying himself]]. |
| 452 | * FunnyBackgroundEvent: During the scene where Near and Light speak to each other for the first time, Near can be seen playing a game of darts, and missing every throw. A panel from the following chapter in the manga shows that he's moved into point-blank range of the dart board, and he's still missing it. |
| 453 | ** During the ''Yotsuba'' Arc, there are multiple scenes where the investigation team is talking about their plans, the murders going on and trying to figure out Kira's way of killing... with the observation screens right behind them, all showing Misa putzing around on her phone or otherwise doing things that are much too lighthearted for the conversation taking place. |
| 454 | [[/folder]] |
| 455 | |
| 456 | [[folder:Tropes G]] |
| 457 | * GainingTheWillToKill: Light's first two kills serve as this. The first guy Light kills is a serious headcase who had taken a school full of kids hostage. Light writes the guy's name into the title notebook as a means of figuring out whether or not it was real or just a sick prank. When the criminal in question dies of a heart attack 40 seconds after Light wrote the name in, Light still isn't completely convinced that the Death Note is real, so after school, he decides to test out the notebook a second time, taking out the leader of a motorcycle gang and stopping his AttemptedRape of a young woman by sending him and his bike into the path of an oncoming semi. After wrestling with the implications of passing judgment upon people like this, Light makes the decision to become Kira and "change the world" by killing off its criminals and evil people, which sets him on the path to [[AGodAmI developing his infamous god-complex]] and becoming the VillainProtagonist of the series. |
| 458 | * GambitPileup: The entire plot of the series is basically a sequence of overlapping gambits from Light, L and (for a while) Misa. |
| 459 | * GambitRoulette: You have two (sometimes three) chess masters trying to out smart the other two; the IKnowYouKnowIKnow by itself gets complicated. In fact, this trope was once named the Yagami Gambit. |
| 460 | * GayMoment: The foot massage between L and Light. |
| 461 | * GenghisGambit: The final episode revealed that [[spoiler:Near and Mello, who were individually trying to succeed where L failed, finally agreed to work together to defeat Kira. It works.]] The explanation is a bit different in the manga: [[spoiler:when Near credits Mello for creating the situation that allowed him to defeat Light, Lidner suggests that Mello realized the flaw in Near's plan (namely, that the notebook could have been fake) and kidnapped Takada purposefully to expose it. Near disagrees, saying that Mello believed he could surpass Near ''and'' L. Near continues that he always knew he wasn't capable of surpassing L alone, and neither was Mello--it was only by a combination of their two plans that they could win.]] |
| 462 | * GeniusSweetTooth: Mello is always eating chocolate, to the point that the cracking sound of biting into a chocolate bar is something of a leitmotif. L and Near like ''any'' kind of sweet. They all stay thin by burning calories by using their brains. |
| 463 | * GeniusThriller: One of the clearest examples of the genre. Light constantly is trying to outsmart L (and by extension, the government of Japan). |
| 464 | %%* GenkiGirl: Misa in ''spades''. |
| 465 | * GeodesicCast: Several patterns keep cropping up: |
| 466 | ** [[ActionGirl Action Girls]] / women that take risks for the sake of the NonActionGuy male [[TheChessmaster Chessmasters]] - Naomi and Wedy for L, Misa, Rem, and Takada for Light, Halle for [[spoiler: [[DoubleAgent Mello and Near]]]]. |
| 467 | ** Detective that hides behind a computer screen - L, Near, and Matt. |
| 468 | ** MirrorCharacter {{Evil Counterpart}}s - Light and L, Light and Misa (at first she is portrayed as Light's eviler counterpart), Light and [[spoiler: Higuchi]], Light and Mikami ([[EvenEvilHasStandards it's too early to go to such extremes!]]), L and BB, Mello and Near, Light and Mello, Light and Near, BB and Mello. |
| 469 | ** [[MoralityPet Morality Pets]] - Sayu to Light [[spoiler: though subverted, as he reasons that [[PragmaticVillainy since only the police know about the case, it'd be FAR too obvious that he's Kira]]]], Matt to Mello, [[spoiler: A]] to B. |
| 470 | ** [[TheRival Rivals]] Light and L, BB and L, Light and Mello and Near. |
| 471 | ** SycophanticServant[=/=][[spoiler: SpannerInTheWorks]] - Misa and Mikami to Light, Matsuda to L. |
| 472 | ** Slightly creepy older companion who watches a protagonist's every move - Ryuk with Light, Rem with Misa, Watari with L. |
| 473 | ** KidWithTheLeash where the human is actually scarier than the monster: Light and Ryuk, Misa and [[TokenGoodTeammate Rem]], [[spoiler: Mello and Shidoh]]. |
| 474 | ** Stalkers/Obssession - BB and Light for L, Mello for Near. Misa and Mikami for Light ("useful" stalking) and L, Mello, and Near for Light (dangerous stalking). |
| 475 | ** [[{{Tykebomb}} Tykebombs]] - the Wammy's kids are all very similar. |
| 476 | * GhostPlanet: The Shinigami World. |
| 477 | * GilliganCut: |
| 478 | -->'''L:''' ''...And most importantly, we must ensure that the Yotsuba Group doesn't discover that we are investigating them.'' |
| 479 | -->''* cut to Matsuda getting caught by the Yotsuba Group* '' |
| 480 | -->'''L:''' '' Please, just forget everything I said. We need to rethink our plan. Matsuda you idiot!'' |
| 481 | * GirlinessUpgrade: Sayu somewhat gets one of these appearance-wise when transitioning from early adolescent to adult. Although not a tomboy, as an early adolescent, she dresses in a casual, relaxed style, and has messy shoulder-length hair tied in a TomboyishPonytail. After the time skip, as an adult, she dresses in a more stylish, feminine style, wears makeup, and her hair has become slightly longer and much neater, and is now worn down. |
| 482 | * GirlishPigtails: Misa wears them, mostly in the first arc when she is at her most childish. |
| 483 | * GivingTheSwordToANoob: [[spoiler: Misa]] is granted the Death Note, but never uses it wisely except under Light's direction. |
| 484 | * TheGlomp: Not only the below quote, Misa does this to ''Ryuk.'' |
| 485 | --> '''Misa:''' '''''[[NoIndoorVoice LIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!!! THERE YOU ARE!!!]]''''' |
| 486 | * GlowingEyesOfDoom: Light gets these when he's contemplating something particularly evil. Ryuk also has them in his [[NotSoHarmlessVillain more serious]] moments. |
| 487 | * GoKartingWithBowser: L and Light throughout the first arc. |
| 488 | * GoSeduceMyArchnemesis: During the Yotsuba arc L asks Misa to do this. Misa's response is fairly reasonable- she objects rather loudly and pulls on his hair. |
| 489 | * AGodAmI: In the ''first episode'', Light tells Ryuk that he wants to use the Death Note to create a new world, with himself as... you guessed it. |
| 490 | * GodsHandsAreTied: If a shinigami uses the Death Note to extend the natural lifespan of a human (for example, by stopping an attacker), the shinigami dies. |
| 491 | * GodzillaThreshold: At the end of the manga, [[spoiler:Light tries to ask Ryuk to kill everyone for him, which Ryuk takes as a sign that Light has well and truly lost, so he kills Light instead.]] |
| 492 | %%* GogglesDoNothing: The Shinigami from ''Relight''. |
| 493 | * GoodEyesEvilEyes: Used deliberately in the manga. |
| 494 | * GoodIsNotNice: One of the story's main themes, as whether ''anyone'' in the series can truly be called good is open to interpretation. Quick examples? #1: L, who is quite scheming and manipulative. #2: Near; who is the same. |
| 495 | * GooglingTheNewAcquaintance: When Light Yagami and Misa Amane discover they [[spoiler:are the first and second Kira, respectively]], the first thing they do is try to look information about each other. Light, while a genius, keeps his profile low, just giving basic information on his online profile. Misa on the other hand, is a famous model with a lot of public interaction and public events. Obviously this initially stresses Light quite a bit. |
| 496 | * {{Gorn}}: |
| 497 | ** Not in the original manga, but present in the anime's series finale. [[spoiler: Mikami attempts some kind of poor man's {{seppuku}}, either out of [[DespairEventHorizon despair]] or to distract the police so that Light can escape. Unfortunately for the audience, it works a little too well. Then again, if gore is your thing...]] |
| 498 | ** In the Director's cut, the deaths of [[spoiler: three Yotsuba Group members, featuring a GrossUpCloseUp of Midou lying on the sidewalk after falling or jumping from a tall building]] |
| 499 | * GrailInTheGarbage: Light finds the Death Note in the school yard. |
| 500 | * GratuitousEnglish: The Japanese title "Desu Noto" (Death Note), and "Kira" (Killer). |
| 501 | * GreatGazoo: The Shinigami, who can only be seen or heard by people who have touched their respective Death Notes. |
| 502 | * GreedyTelevangelist: TV executive Demegawa declares himself Kira's spokesman and raises funds to build a temple to Kira. Mikami kills him when he starts making unsanctioned promises to the public on Kira's behalf. |
| 503 | * GreyAndGrayMorality: Light and his supporters have a very good purpose, but won't stop at doing ''anything'' to achieve them. While his antagonists (except [[spoiler: Mello]]) use less questionable means, their goals are more morally ambiguous. |
| 504 | * TheGrimReaper: Ryuk and many other Shinigami are an aversion. While they kill people, they are not doing it as a duty or public service or natural order thing. |
| 505 | * GrossUpCloseUp: In the manga, the very final shot of [[spoiler:Light is a particularly disgusting magnification of his fear-stricken, blood-soaked, dead-eyed, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking messy-haired]] face]]. |
| 506 | * TheGuardsMustBeCrazy: Matsuda [[EpicFail sneaks right by the Yotsuba security guard.]] |
| 507 | * GullibleLemmings: The followers of "Kira's Kingdom" are easy to lead and/or mislead. |
| 508 | * InternetJerk: In-story, Kira becomes an instant sensation on the Internet and ordinary citizens start making hit lists. ([[SubvertedInnocence Like that sweet-looking little girl texting "Kira, please kill them all."]]) |
| 509 | ** This applies to Light as well with the anonymous power of both the Internet ''and'' the Death Note. |
| 510 | [[/folder]] |
| 511 | |
| 512 | [[folder:Tropes H]] |
| 513 | * HackerCave: Averted; Light uses his Dad's office. |
| 514 | ** Played straight with Matt and Mello's apartment, and with the room full of screens that Near is in. |
| 515 | * HamToHamCombat: |
| 516 | ** [[spoiler: Light and Mikami's shouting match in the GrandFinale.]] |
| 517 | ** In the second episode / first manga, L's and Light's shouting match (directed, in both cases, to electronic screens) concerning Justice. |
| 518 | * HarassingPhoneCall: A certain anonymous individual [[spoiler: Near]] keeps calling up this one guy [[spoiler: Kira]] in the middle of the night promising that he has a very unpleasant fate in store for him. Alas there is no caller I.D. |
| 519 | * HaveYouToldAnyoneElse: Light asks these exact words of Raye Penbar's fiancée Naomi, who is investigating Kira. [[spoiler: Unsurprisingly, she doesn't live much longer after answering no.]] |
| 520 | * HearingVoices: Anyone "possessed of a God of Death". |
| 521 | * HeartbeatSoundtrack: Expected in a series where many people die of heart attacks. |
| 522 | * HeavenAbove: The realm of the death gods is separated from the human world by a hole, which they can jump into to "drop" into our world. From our perspective, it looks like these monsters materialize in the middle of the sky and fall down. Like angels, these death gods come with wings which both make descent easier and also hint that they come from above. |
| 523 | * HeelFaceDoorSlam: [[spoiler:Not long after the death of Higuchi, ending the Yotsuba Group's murderous "Third Kira" phase, ''just'' as what's left of the Group is seen preparing to get their act together and declaring that it's a new day for them, the re-Kira-fied Light kills them all.]] |
| 524 | * HereWeGoAgain: |
| 525 | ** [[spoiler: The end of ''Relight'' has a bored Shinigami ([[EpilepticTrees that is possibly Light]]) headed down to the human world to alleviate his boredom for a while...]] |
| 526 | ** Matsuda and the taskforce when L deduces that there are other notebooks and other Kiras out in the world, [[spoiler: after Higuchi's death]]. |
| 527 | * HeroAntagonist: L and [[spoiler:Near]] to some degree and the police for sure because they are law enforcement tracking a serial killer. |
| 528 | * TheHeroDies: By the end of the anime, [[spoiler:both L and Light themselves were killed in the end.]] |
| 529 | * HeroRivalBaddieTeamUp: The series has a very unusual example involving two {{Villain Protagonist}}s and a HeroAntagonist. [[spoiler:Light Yagami/Kira finds a rival Kira in the form of Misa Amane, who eventually tracks him down and teams up with him. However, both end up getting captured by L, Light's ArchEnemy, to which Light pulls a MemoryGambit on both him and Misa to evade incrimination. With a new Kira out there, the now amnesiac Light and Misa join L and the rest of the "Kira Task Force" to hunt down the new supernatural SerialKiller.]] |
| 530 | * HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: At different points in the story, Jelus and Rem both die in order to save Misa's life.]] |
| 531 | * HerosFirstRescue: A skeptical Light tests the titular notebook on a criminal holding the children in a nursery school hostage. |
| 532 | * HesBack: Light Yagami, after spending several episodes [[spoiler: on the side of good due to his MemoryGambit]], proves to be back on form the second he touches his Death Note again. |
| 533 | * HeWhoFightsMonsters: The Kiras themselves in general, especially Light and Mikami. |
| 534 | * HeyYouHaymaker: When L is complaining that he's depressed and unmotivated with the Kira case now that [[spoiler: [[MemoryGambit it looks like Light isn't Kira]]]]. [[HilarityEnsues The following Ensues]]: Light gets L's attention, L turns around, Light punches him hard in the face. |
| 535 | -->'''Light''': [[SoftSpokenSadist Ryuuzaki...]] |
| 536 | -->'''L''': "Huh?" |
| 537 | -->'''Light''': *''PUNCH''* |
| 538 | * HiddenEyes: Light, frequently to show his secret sinister side. |
| 539 | * HighPressureBlood: In the last episode of the anime, a fairly simple stabbing (with a ''pen'') initiates a fire-hose like blood jet. |
| 540 | * HiredToHuntYourself: Both main characters accomplish this. Light manages to land himself a spot on the anti-Kira task force and spends the majority of the series hunting himself, though not without being suspected by L [[spoiler: and later Near]]. L pulls it off when [[spoiler: The Yotsuba group hires Erald Coil to uncover L's identity, not knowing that they're the same person]]. |
| 541 | * HobbesWasRight: [[spoiler: When Kira has his grip on the world, all wars stop and crime rates plummet. After Light (and Kira) dies, people start fighting and committing crimes again, according to WordOfGod.]] |
| 542 | * HoistByHisOwnPetard: |
| 543 | ** Of all the things Light learns about the Death Note in the first few chapters, the one he takes advantage of most often is the fact that a clipping from the notebook possesses its full power. He uses scraps of Death Note paper to [[spoiler: evade L's surveillance, and to kill both Naomi Misora and Kyosuke Higuchi (the latter while L was sat ''right next to him'')]]. However, in the end, [[spoiler: he uses a notebook clipping hidden in his watch to kill Takada, preventing him from realizing that Mikami also wrote her name in his notebook. As a result, Light doesn't realize that the secret location of Mikami's notebook has been compromised until it's too late, leading to his ultimate defeat.]] |
| 544 | ** Most of Light's plans end up revealing information that leads L to either narrow the pool of Kira suspects or reveal the nature and limits of his power to kill. Had Light ignored L in the first place and focused on killing criminals it would be next to impossible for L to find out his identity. |
| 545 | --->'''Near''':[[spoiler: You didn't realize that Mikami made a move on his own, and wrote Takada's name in the notebook, because ''you'' had already killed her using a notebook clipping yourself.]] |
| 546 | ** And then there's probably the ultimate example of this at the very end when [[spoiler:Ryuk writes Light's name into his Death Note, just as Ryuk told him he would in the ''very first chapter'', killing Light the same way he'd killed so many others throughout the series and ending the reign of terror Light had wrought upon Japan and the world as Kira]]. |
| 547 | * HoldingYourShoulderMeansInjury: In the very last episode [[spoiler:Light Yagami]] was shot in the hands, but he still holds his shoulder as he tries to escape. This moment is the current trope image. |
| 548 | ** He actually was also shot in the shoulder, though it's easy to miss. |
| 549 | * HollywoodBlanks: [[spoiler:Soichiro shoots his son in the head with these point blank, and the son remains unharmed.]] |
| 550 | * HollywoodHeartAttack: It's never outright said how powerful the heart attacks caused by the Death Notes really are, but given how each victim [[spoiler:(save L and Light)]] tends to react, they must be pretty massive. Maybe the word "mild" doesn't exist among the Shinigami. |
| 551 | * HollywoodSpelling: Obha tried to make the Americans have realistic names, but the only one that comes close is Raye Penber, which still raises some eyebrows. |
| 552 | * HookHand: Zellogi, One of the minor {{Shinigami}}, has one. |
| 553 | * HopeSpot: |
| 554 | ** The entire Yotsuba arc is one for Light. [[spoiler: Without the Death Note, Light reverts to being genuinely good, to the point that he thinks he's not even ''capable'' of killing. He establishes a genuine alliance with L as they work to hunt down the new Kira, and even comes off as ''more'' moral than L at times. Even though you know from the start that Kira!Light planned for this to happen, the arc still gets your hopes up that Light might somehow find a way to stay good... And then it all goes to hell when he gets the Death Note back.]] |
| 555 | ** Chapter 107, the second to final chapter of the manga, deals a particularly nasty Hope Spot for Light himself when [[spoiler:Ryuk]] shows up. [[spoiler:Light at this point is at the end of his rope and sees in Ryuk one final chance to kill Near and everyone with him. But though Ryuk agrees and starts writing in his Death Note and the cops can do nothing to stop him, it's not ''their'' names he's writing down -- it's Light's own, as Ryuk makes good on his promise from the very first chapter to write Light's name down in his Death Note when he died, [[HoistByHisOwnPetard hoisting him by his own petard]] in grand fashion]]. |
| 556 | * HorrifyingTheHorror: Light frequently evokes this reaction from the Shinigami who say he's "more of a demon than a Shinigami" and that he's "surpassed the Shinigami." Then Rem finds [[spoiler: Higuchi]] so disgusting and vile that she becomes more sympathetic to ''Light.'' There's also the instance where [[spoiler: Mello freaks out Sidoh]] but then Sidoh is kind of a wuss. On a lighter note there's also Misa's original manager, Yoshi. Misa, the '''''second Kira''''', is afraid of her and even ''L and Kira'' [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments seem a bit unnerved.]] |
| 557 | * HostageForMcGuffin: One of these is used to begin the second major arc of the story. |
| 558 | * HowDareYouDieOnMe: Light when [[spoiler: his father dies]]. |
| 559 | * HowUnscientific: When L finds out shinigami are real, he has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEz78HwS7S4&feature=related an uncharacteristically]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSMtT5rQeQU&feature=related loud freakout.]] |
| 560 | ** In the manga this was just him falling out of his chair. WordOfGod says that he was startled because of the way things came together, and that the manga-ka wanted to see L fall over. |
| 561 | * HumanityIsInsane: As viewed by Ryuk's perspective. |
| 562 | ** HumansAreSpecial: By his same view, that's what makes us so interesting. |
| 563 | * HumansAreTheRealMonsters: "What's up people?!" When you start judging where exactly do you [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope draw the line?]] |
| 564 | * HumansKillWantonly: This is why Ryuk decides humans are fun and Light most of all. When meeting him, he says Light has killed more people in less time than any other death note owner. |
| 565 | * {{Hypocrite}}: Most characters, at some point. However, a notable example is when Light berates Misa for killing innocent people. In the manga, she meekly points out that: "To defeat evil, sacrifices have to be made. That's what you've done, right? I was only doing the same..." |
| 566 | * HypocriticalHumor: |
| 567 | ** Any scene like this: |
| 568 | ---> '''Light:''' (''shaking fist'') Damn, damn you Kira! You bastard! |
| 569 | ** Also: "I'm evil? I'll KILL YOU!" |
| 570 | ---> '''L:''' I hate it when people's cellphones go off when I'm talking. I find it very distracting... * ring* Excuse me, I have to get this. |
| 571 | ** Sayu catches Light reading a dirty magazine (it's a long story...) and Sayu says, "Hey, isn't that a dirty book?" Then, she picks it up and begins reading it, while smiling. |
| 572 | ** [[StalkingIsLove "Mr. Stalker?"]] |
| 573 | ** [[ManipulativeBastard "Exploiting another person's feelings like that is unforgivable!"]] |
| 574 | ** "Those people making lists for Kira..those are the people [[IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim who should be killed...]]" |
| 575 | ** and: |
| 576 | --->'''Light:''' I can't take it anymore! How do you think it feels to be accused of being Kira!\ |
| 577 | '''L:''' It was the worst feeling ever. (Light suggested that L might be Kira earlier in the episode...) |
| 578 | ** Leave it to Light to explain it: |
| 579 | --->'''Light:''' Remember what I told you [Ryuk]? Humans are foolish, two-faced creatures. |
| 580 | ** Light's comment about Near's confidence in episode 28 fits this, considering his own ever-escalating arrogance and confidence. |
| 581 | ** Misa tells Takada that [[BlatantLies Light is deeply in love with her and that he's very clingy]]: |
| 582 | --->'''Misa''': Light is way more affectionate than he looks, at least with me! [[BlatantLies In fact he starts clinging to me when I come in the door every night!]] |
| 583 | [[/folder]] |
| 584 | |
| 585 | [[folder:Tropes I]] |
| 586 | * IAmTheNoun: "I AM JUSTICE!!!" |
| 587 | * ICantBelieveItsNotHeroin: |
| 588 | ** Apples for Shinigami. [[LostFoodGrievance Ryuk suffers from]] ''[[AlienCatnip withdrawal]]'' [[GRatedDrug without them]]. [[ItMakesSenseInContext It involves cartwheels and handstands.]] |
| 589 | ** Sidoh seems to have a thing about chocolate. |
| 590 | ** Mello ''definitely'' has a thing about chocolate. |
| 591 | ** L seems addicted to sugar. |
| 592 | * IdealistVsPragmatist: Light Yagami, despite having a god complex and being self-convinced that he is the hero, is a Pragmatist who sweeps the world of its most notorious criminals including those who are on the run or somehow got away with their crimes by exploiting the system. The result of his actions, crime and wars around the world plummet to an all-time low. The Anti-Kira Task Force and its affiliates are Idealists, with some to the point of near [[KnightTemplar fanaticism]]. While they have lines they do not cross, they strongly believe that killing is wrong no matter who the victim is or what the circumstances are, and they especially treat the Kiras as nothing more than monsters who deserve to be locked up for life. |
| 593 | * IdiotBall: |
| 594 | ** The Japanese taskforce's morality causes them to grab it. L zeroes in on Light very early on, and Light sets it up so that the suspicions just rolls off his back. L just suspects him more, because Light is just ''too'' perfectly innocent. Not least because Light is their chief's son, the taskforce quickly decides that the acknowledged world's greatest detective is just too attached to his pet theory and refusing to be objective. Light finally finishes the job by planting the fake 13 Day Rule, which retroactively exonerates him and Misa, by stating that anyone who stops killing people with the notebook dies, and Light and Misa being under surveillance for so long means they verifiably must have. L immediately wants to test this, but the taskforce objects on moral grounds, and Rem quickly ends the matter by killing L, knowing the taskforce will just take the rule at face value. Mello immediately zeroes in on this rule's potential for manipulation and exoneration five years later, when he gains access to a shinigami not working with Light, and tests it himself to be sure. When he tells Near that a fake rule exists, but not which one it is, Near lands on this one by process of elimination (the genuine ones have been proven to him, and the rule about destroying it Mello can't have possibly tested, since the notebook is still intact). Both Near and Mello start turning the screws on the taskforce with this information, with Near goading Light into admitting that '''if''' a rule was fake, this logically has to be the one, and Mello telling them point-blank that he's proven it is. The taskforce still refuses to cooperate with them because they don't trust Mello for being willing to use the notebook, and Near only gets limited cooperation because he has to lie about Kira killing Mogi just to force Aizawa to break. By the time Mogi and Aizawa come around to Near's side, Near has already deduced for himself anything they could possibly tell him. |
| 595 | ** Naomi Misora, who has been consistently shown to be intelligent, competent, meticulous, and above all, ''careful,'' [[TooDumbToLive foolishly]] tells Light her real name after giving him a pseudonym, when she has no more reason to trust him than before. The result of the writer painting himself into a corner: had she not made this fatal mistake, the story would have been over very quickly. |
| 596 | * IgnoredEnamoredUnderling: Misa for Light; she adores him and he doesn't care. |
| 597 | * IHaveYourWife: |
| 598 | ** Light successfully bluffs this to Raye Penber in order to ensure his cooperation. |
| 599 | ** Mello does for real this when he kidnaps [[spoiler: Sayu]]. |
| 600 | * IKnowYouKnowIKnow: Light and L rarely tell each other how much they know the other knows they know, because they don't want to give away how much they know what the other knows, or at least think they know but can't be sure of. Yes, there ''is'' a lot of internal monologuing in this series. |
| 601 | * IKnowYourTrueName: If you write someone's true name into a Death Note, they ''die''. |
| 602 | * ImaginationBasedSuperpower: Once Light figures out imaginative new ways to use it, The Death Note can do more than ''just'' kill people. |
| 603 | * ImprobableAimingSkills: |
| 604 | ** When Higuchi is cornered and trying to kill himself, [[BlastingItOutOfTheirHands Watari shoots the pistol out of his hand with a sniper rifle.]] |
| 605 | ** Matsuda has an equally impressive knack for precise shots with a revolver. The movie at least features a throwaway line about him being a superb marksman. |
| 606 | * ImprobableInfantSurvival: One of the rules is "The DEATH NOTE shall not affect those under 780 days old." |
| 607 | * ImYourBiggestFan: |
| 608 | ** Misa is Light's. She follows it up with 'I want to be your girlfriend.' |
| 609 | ** Matsuda is Misa's biggest fan, which is why he could not be trusted to keep an eye on her. |
| 610 | * InfractionDistraction: Light's porn stash is a cover for the death note. |
| 611 | * InjuredSelfDrag: The anime ends with [[spoiler:Light staggering to an abandoned building riddled with bullets before collapsing on a set of stairs as Ryuk writes his name down in his notebook]]. |
| 612 | * InnerMonologue: Yup. Light and L are the worst offenders. |
| 613 | * InspectorLestrade: Aizawa and the rest of the police. |
| 614 | * InstantTasteAddiction: Ryuk falls subject to this trope when he first tries "human world apples". For context, vegetation in the shinigami realm is all dried up, so a juicy fruit is unlike anything he has ever tasted before. He immediately forms an addiction to them, even going through withdrawal symptoms. |
| 615 | * InterimVillain: The Yotsuba executives. Explanation can be found on the trope itself. |
| 616 | * InterrogatedForNothing: When Light and Misa are cleared and released from surveillance towards the end of the first arc, the scene seems like this to the police. The audience, of course, knows better. |
| 617 | * InterspeciesFriendship: Rem ({{Shinigami}}) and Misa (human). Rem develops a platonic love for Misa and is even willing to die for her. Light (human) and Ryuk ({{Shinigami}}) also fall under this having a few VillainsOutShopping moments together, though they are of a more [[VitriolicBestBuds vitriolic]] type. |
| 618 | * InterspeciesRomance: If a shinigami loves a human enough, they will disregard the no-extending-life rule and save them at the cost of their own lives. Presumably, any of the FourLoves would work. |
| 619 | * IronicEcho: Used in the GrandFinale (twice in the anime. One from Ryuk and one from Aizawa to Near.) |
| 620 | * {{Irony}}: |
| 621 | ** If Light had [[spoiler:taken the deal that cut his life in half, Light probably would have lived a lot longer than he did.]] |
| 622 | ** Light has trouble remembering names and faces. To kill someone with a Death Note, you need to write the person's name while picturing their face. |
| 623 | ---> '''Desk clerk:''' Hi Light, remember me? |
| 624 | ---> '''Light:''' Er... sorry. I'm really bad with names and faces. |
| 625 | ** And (from the Director's cut): |
| 626 | --->'''Light:''' I swear right here and now--[[spoiler: [[HilariousInHindsight I will send Kira to his execution!]]]] |
| 627 | ** Light, as part of his misogynist attitude, blatantly favors Mikami over his other allies, Misa and Takada. [[spoiler:In the end, Mikami's massive screw-ups, brought out about by ''not'' being so mindlessly obedient, lead to Light being exposed and killed]]. |
| 628 | * ItAmusedMe: |
| 629 | ** In the first chapter, Ryuk, a god of death, drops his [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin notebook of death]] in the human world because he's bored. It falls into the hands of Light Yagami, who decides to use it to try bending the world to his will because, he explains, he too is bored, though his boredom extends to the point of outright disgust. He plays far too many unnecessary — but entertaining — mind games with the police for it to be anything else. |
| 630 | ** Light's primary antagonist L, a supergenius detective, as an {{expy}} of Literature/SherlockHolmes, chases Light's alter ego for the lulz. Part of L's reputation, again like Literature/SherlockHolmes, is that he refuses to take on a case that doesn't interest and challenge him, even though he's leagues above the rest of the world's police. |
| 631 | ** L's behavior is imitated by his fellow detectives [[spoiler:and successors]] Near (who wants to win the game) and Mello (who wants to defeat Near in the game). This is made apparent in the first special one-shot chapter when Near refuses to try and go after C-Kira because he wasn't interested. He believes L would have done the same. |
| 632 | * IveComeTooFar: Light sincerely believes this; he has a HeroicBSOD after his second killing before coming to realization. It's what drives him at that point. |
| 633 | * IWasJustJoking: [[CannotTellAJoke When Light says he'd consider giving up half his lifespan if the deal was for wings instead of eyes.]] Ryuk points out he'd stand out if he sprouted wings and flew around. |
| 634 | [[/folder]] |
| 635 | |
| 636 | [[folder:Tropes J-K]] |
| 637 | * JackBauerInterrogationTechnique: L orders Watari to do this to Misa. We don't see what he does, but whatever it is lasts three days and leaves her [[ICannotSelfTerminate begging Rem for death]]. When physical torture fails to get her to talk (because of [[spoiler:a MemoryGambit that ensures she really doesn't know anything]]), he instead leaves her in full-body restraints, sensory deprivation earphones, and a blindfold for ''weeks on end''. Our hero, ladies and gentlemen! |
| 638 | * JerkassGods: Ryuk is downplayed on two levels; for one he is less a 'god' then a 'supernatural creature' and for two he's more into watching Reality TV BlackComedy then actively causing suffering. |
| 639 | * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: L cares more about 'interesting crimes' than 'catching criminals'. Nevertheless, he does get concerned when Light screams upon touching Higuchi's Death Note (which, unbeknownst to L, gives Light's memories as Kira back). |
| 640 | * JerkWithAHeartOfJerk: Light (he really cares for his family... and really hopes he doesn't have to kill them). |
| 641 | * JudgeJuryAndExecutioner: "I AM JUSTICE!" All of the Kiras take this role. |
| 642 | * JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope: Light's ruthless and vindictive side comes into play in the eighth chapter when he tricks an FBI agent into killing his entire team of FBI agents and then killing him after he finishes. |
| 643 | * JurisdictionFriction: In the second arc between the Japanese Kira task force and the SPK. |
| 644 | * JustBetweenYouAndMe: |
| 645 | ** Subverted -- Whenever Light reveals his identity to a rival, he is very sure they are already in their death throes or otherwise under the effect of the Death Note. |
| 646 | ** Used by L to mock Light in his introduction. For being so "[[YouJustToldMe helpful]]", L lets light in on a "secret", and proceeds to mock Light's arrogance in front of the entire Kanto region of Japan on live television. |
| 647 | * JusticeWillPrevail: Discussed in the second arc. No matter who wins, Kira or the Task Force, 'justice' will prevail because the winning side will claim it. |
| 648 | * KansasCityShuffle: [[spoiler: The 13 Day Test 1) L knows Light is plotting to kill him and he suspects Light is plotting with Misa to do it. 2) L thinks he can prove that both Light and Misa are Kira by testing the 13 Day Rule. 3) Neither Light nor Misa are going to kill him. Rem is going to kill him.]] |
| 649 | * KarmaHoudini: |
| 650 | ** [[spoiler: Ryuk returns to the Shinigami world no worse for wear and there's nothing to stop him from doing what he can to create another Kira and generally mess around on Earth.]] |
| 651 | ** [[spoiler: Near, who used underhanded tricks and lies to turn the task force against Light, then later talked down to Aizawa, continues living as the third L and even commands the task force on occasion (although the alliance may be shaky). Especially bad if you believe Matsuda's theory of Near controlling Mikami with the notebook.]] |
| 652 | * KeepingTheEnemyClose: L's primary tactic at one point is to actually [[NoSenseOfPersonalSpace keep Light handcuffed]] to him so he can't act as Kira. |
| 653 | * KickTheDog: |
| 654 | ** Light kills Lind L. Taylor for for the crime of ''opposing him''. This makes his villainous nature clear to the audience. |
| 655 | ** L gets a turn when he [[spoiler:has Misa cold-bloodedly tortured, up to the point where she tries to kill herself to avoid revealing Kira's identity.]] |
| 656 | ** In episode seven, Light [[spoiler:tells Naomi that he is Kira, just as the Death Note takes effect, and she goes off to commit suicide. He opens his phone and offers her the chance to call his father with the information that would put Light away, but she's forced to carry out the Note's instructions,]] so that really comes off as putting salt in the wound. |
| 657 | * KidWithTheLeash: Anyone possessing a Death Note and thus a shinigami qualifies |
| 658 | * KilledMidSentence: [[spoiler:L during a deduction due to heart attack (with the manga taking it a step further and also having him unable to complete his dying thoughts) and Matt due to Kira supporting police]]. |
| 659 | * [[TheKillerInMe The Kira In Me]]: [[spoiler: Light bluffs this in order to convince the taskforce that he needs to be confined (for the sake of his GambitRoulette.) ''[[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments "Another me could be killing while I sleep!!!"]]'']] |
| 660 | * KirkSummation: Near does this in the manga's final chapter to refute Kira's MotiveRant. |
| 661 | * KnightTemplar: Any of the series' protagonists and the Kiras in general are visonary villains that believe themselves wholly good. |
| 662 | [[/folder]] |
| 663 | |
| 664 | [[folder:Tropes: L (the letter)]] |
| 665 | * LaserGuidedBroadcast: L's televised challenge to Kira was already specifically targeted at the Kira killer, but what makes it this is that it was touted as being world-wide, but actually only broadcast in the area where L suspected Kira lived. When Light falls for the bait and kills the false L, he narrows down the search considerably. |
| 666 | * LaughingMad: [[spoiler: Light, when he is cornered by Near and revealed to be Kira.]] |
| 667 | * LawfulStupid: Team Kira's philosophy is "You broke the law-''DIE!''" Light himself tries to stick to serious crimes (and those who interfere), but will often kill for lesser crimes if it fits his plans, [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope and gets worse as he goes]]. |
| 668 | * LetterMotif: L, M, and N. |
| 669 | * LifeDrinker: When a Shinigami kills a human, that human's lifespan is added to the Shinigami's. Shinigami who don't kill regularly will eventually die. Conversely, a Shinigami who uses their Death Note to ''save'' a human loses what's left of their own life to extend that human's time. |
| 670 | * ALighterShadeOfBlack: [[EvenEvilHasStandards Even Rem agrees]] that while Light may be a bastard he isn't as bad as [[spoiler: Higuchi]]. |
| 671 | * LightIsNotGood: [[IncrediblyLamePun He's not]] and he's often accompanied by lights, especially in the openers. |
| 672 | * LikableVillain: Light Yagami, Misa Amane, Teru Mikami, and Kiyomi Takada all have their fans, both in-universe and out. |
| 673 | * LineInTheSand: Souichiro Yagami draws one of these. Most of the police do ''not'' stay on his side. |
| 674 | * LiveActionAdaptation: Two main movies, and one spin-off, to be precise. |
| 675 | * LivingEmotionalCrutch: Light to Misa, whether he wants to be or not. (It varies [[ManipulativeBastard depending on how useful it is at the moment.]]) |
| 676 | * LivingWithTheVillain: Light and L not only go to the same college, but also work together on the team to catch Kira and spend quite a while ''chained together''. |
| 677 | ** Also Light and his father... makes for some awkward dinner conversations. |
| 678 | * LocardsTheory: This is the challenge of the Kira case; he can kill at great distance by writing a name in a notebook. Once physical contact begins, Kira loses ground. |
| 679 | * LogicalWeakness: While the Death Note's powers of controlling humans are incredible, they do have their limits: as Light discovers in his experiments, he can't get somebody to write something they don't already know (or at least couldn't come up with on their own) and he can't create circumstances that are literally impossible. In these instances, the victim simply dies of a heart attack. |
| 680 | * LonelyAtTheTop: L and Light aren't entirely alone with Watari and Ryuk respectively, or with their shared competition, but both experience shades of this when they believe the competition is ending. But then again, their reactions aren't entirely normal, as LonersAreFreaks applies in a way to both of them. |
| 681 | * LonersAreFreaks: Subverted and played straight. |
| 682 | * LookBehindYou: In the manga Light walks out on a [[ObliviousGuiltSlinging family meeting]] by [[ManipulativeBastard railroading the conversation to]]: |
| 683 | --> '''Light:''' Is that all the help you needed on your homework, Sayu? |
| 684 | --> '''Souichiro:''' Was your brother helping you with your homework ''again?'' |
| 685 | --> '''Sayu:''' Gee, Light! Thanks for blabbing! |
| 686 | * LooksLikeCesare: L; pasty skin, dark hair, gaunt eyes, yep. It's because he works all the time and eats nothing but sweets. |
| 687 | * LoonyFan: |
| 688 | ** The StalkerWithACrush that tries to kill Misa. |
| 689 | ** To a lesser degree, Matsuda acts like this towards L and Light. |
| 690 | ** Also both Misa and Mikami, towards Light. |
| 691 | * LoopholeAbuse: Light gets very creative in his usage of the Death Note when he needs to. For instance, when he realizes that he can add details of how someone dies, he kills a round of people through heart attacks at specific times in an attempt to get L off of his tail. |
| 692 | * LoveMakesYouDumb: Inverted. Misa is noticeably less "airheaded" when around Light, especially when she tries to manipulate things so that she can be with him. From tricking the third Kira to trying to find the first Kira. |
| 693 | * LoveMakesYouEvil: |
| 694 | ** Misa's killing spree to get Kira's attention. |
| 695 | ** More so in the manga, but in a couple of {{Motive Rant}}s Light mentions that part of the reason he's doing the mass killings of criminals is to [[KnightTemplarBigBrother to make the world a safer place for his sister]] (and stop the bad guys, just like daddy.) |
| 696 | * LoveTriangle: |
| 697 | ** Takada and Amane are both after Light. Light is just using both of them. Pointed out by Near in episode 33, who deduces that Light "has" a love triangle. That is, a love triangle is among the things he happens to possess. "Near, please be more serious." |
| 698 | ** Misa is in love with and is obsessed with Light, Light is [[{{Subtext}} obsessed]] [[HoYay with L. L is obsessed with both Light]] and Misa..., Misa [[{{Subtext}} teases (flirts?)]] with L. |
| 699 | ** [[spoiler: Takada is seeing both Light and Mikami, but Mikami is VERY loyal to Light...]] |
| 700 | * LudicrousPrecision: L and his constant revisions of the probability Light is Kira. In ''[[AllThereInTheManual How to Read]]'' [[spoiler: it states that whenever he gives a percentage, he's lying; he actually suspects Light with a 90 to 100 percent certainty.]] |
| 701 | [[/folder]] |
| 702 | |
| 703 | [[folder:Tropes M]] |
| 704 | * MadeOfIron: |
| 705 | ** Souichiro 1) rams a truck through a building while still recovering from a near fatal heart attack. 2) [[OnlyAFleshWound Shot in the shoulder]] while pursuing Higuchi. |
| 706 | ** [[spoiler: Then there's Light's RasputinianDeath. It's implied he would have survived if Ryuk hadn't written his name...]] |
| 707 | * MadnessMakeover: Light and Mikami [[spoiler: in the finale.]] |
| 708 | * MadnessMontage: Light, Misa, and Mikami all get one. |
| 709 | * MagicAIsMagicA: The Death Note's rules apply strictly, although Light finds ways to stretch them to their limits in every storyline. [[spoiler: He then exploits this by creating fake rules to divert suspicion from himself.]] |
| 710 | * MagicRealism: Aside from the Death Notes and shinigami, the world depicted in the story is highly realistic, and much of the plot focuses so heavily on the human characters using real-world methods and technology to try to catch Kira — and the magic itself is treated in such a mundane and almost scientific fashion — that you might occasionally forget that the plot is founded on the supernatural to begin with. |
| 711 | * MakeRoomForTheNewPlot: How the Mello issue is resolved near the end of the story. |
| 712 | * MaleGaze: |
| 713 | ** Yeah, that shot was definitely of a hidden sheet of the Death Note, not [[spoiler: Taki's breast.]] |
| 714 | ** Misa's introductory shots feature an image of her breasts and waist on exhibit while she walks, before showing her face. This is definitely to show off her cutesy gothic clothing and therefore to establish her childlike-but-evil character. Definitely. |
| 715 | * MamaBear: |
| 716 | ** Rem to Misa; she threatens to write Light's name in her notebook if Misa comes to harm, [[spoiler:and in the end gives her life to save her, even while knowing she's acting [[MagnificentBastard accordingly to Light's plan.]]]] |
| 717 | ** Sachiko to Sayu: "no way in hell!" is Sayu marrying a cop. |
| 718 | * ManChild: L and Near, to varying degrees because of their sugar obsession and toy fixation respectively. |
| 719 | * ManipulativeBastard: Almost every character who appears on a volume cover gets in on this. |
| 720 | ** Light, who treats all those around him as tools for him to use, therefore making manipulation the dominating characteristic of every one of his relationships. |
| 721 | ** L, mind you, also has no problems manipulating, or asking others to manipulate, people. |
| 722 | ** Misa is also willing to manipulate people to get what she wants; her childlike charm is particularly useful for this. |
| 723 | ** Near goes so far as to lie to the Japanese taskforce about one of their own being killed by Kira to get one of them to finally crack and share information with him. |
| 724 | ** Mello starts his kidnapping of Takada this way. He has Matt stage a clear attack on Takada, then rolls up on his motorcycle and offers to take Takada to safety. For bonus points, he knew that Halle Lidner, Near's agent posing as Takada's bodyguard, would trust him and urge her to go along with it. |
| 725 | * MaskOfSanity: Light, hands down, is the poster boy for egomania, and develops an unhealthy case of hysteria as the series progresses, all while keeping this side of himself hidden from the public. |
| 726 | * MasqueradingAsTheUnseen: |
| 727 | ** At the beginning, L is so secretive that no one knows what he looks like, interacting with others through Watari and his laptop. This fact is used against Light, when he is tricked into believing Lind L. Taylor is the real L and kills him. |
| 728 | ** The other Kiras do this as well. Only with a thorough analysis can one determine if it's Light-as-Kira using the Death Note or someone else. |
| 729 | * MassOhCrap: The taskforce members when [[spoiler: Light is outed as Kira in the finale. This is not helped when Light takes the opportunity to pack all the sheer, psychotic creepiness of the moment into one absolutely epic EvilLaugh.]] |
| 730 | * MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: In the manga's final chapter, it's noted that [[spoiler: Mikami mysteriously died in prison ten days after Light's defeat, leading Matsuda to theorize that Near wrote in the Death Note so as to restrict Mikami's actions, enabling Light's conviction.]] The anime includes no such speculation from Matsuda, and [[spoiler: Mikami instead commits suicide on the spot, casting doubt on a supernatural interpretation.]] |
| 731 | * MeaningfulName: |
| 732 | ** Done three times and ironically every time. Mello is a complete loose cannon, Near spends most of his time in another country from the protagonist, and Light [[LightIsNotGood is not good]]. |
| 733 | ** According to [[AllThereInTheManual Death Note: How To Read 13]], the graphic encyclopedia, Mello and Near were originally going to have regular meaningful names; Mello was going to be Near, since he was always close to but not at the other's level; and Near was going to be Mello because he was calmer. Ohba got the characters mixed up, so.... |
| 734 | ** Also BilingualBonus Light's worldwide alias "Kira" (the word "killer" adapted to the Japanese language). |
| 735 | *** Additionally, Kira is also a Russian name by origin and is the feminine version of Cyrus. Cyrus comes from the Greek Κυρος (Kyros) which is the Greek version of the Persian name Kürush which may mean "far sighted" or "young" — this, in and of itself, may refer to Light's grand, far-reaching dreams and his own youth and inexperience. Where it gets more interesting is that the name is also sometimes associated with the Greek κυριος (kyrios), meaning "lord." Indeed, the Greek word Kyrios means "lord, Lord, and Master" and in religious usage designates God, appearing 740 times in the New Testament referring to Jesus. Consider that one of the songs in the Death Note soundtrack is titled "Kyrie" which is a transliteration of Greek κύριε (kyrie) and a vocative case of κύριος (kyrios). It's an interesting connection, [[FauxSymbolism even if it wasn't done intentionally.]] |
| 736 | *** Additionally additionally, the Japanese word "kirai" means "hate", with Light himself getting more and more hateful the more he uses the book. |
| 737 | ** Yagami (夜神) means "Night god" or "Dark god", so his name is "[[OxymoronicBeing Light Dark God]]". The important thing is the ''[[AGodAmI god]]'' part. |
| 738 | ** One for the Shinigami- "Res", in Latin, is a feminine noun meaning 'thing' (well, 'thing' in this case means quite a lot, including exploit and advantage, but it'll get confusing). An accusative is when something is happening to it. The accusative for Res? Rem. |
| 739 | ** Misa is a loanword meaning "Mass", as in "Christian liturgical service" (fitting with her cross motif). |
| 740 | ** Teru Mikami's name means "illuminated." |
| 741 | ** Near's real name, Nate River. According to Ohba, "Nate" derives from "natural." Taken together, "Nate River" is supposed to indicate how Near's natural talents flow from L. |
| 742 | * MeetTheInLaws: Misa is embarrassed to discover that the man she has been calling a stalker for an entire car ride is in fact Light's father. |
| 743 | * MeleeATrois: [[spoiler:After L's death, his two new successors, Near and Mello, compete for whoever can catch Kira first. Naturally Light opposes them as they are out to catch him, while Mello and Near have their own rivalry.]] |
| 744 | * MemoryGambit: The "Exactly As Planned" GambitRoulette. [[spoiler: Light allowed himself to be incarcerated and gave up his memories of the Death Note to make the act convincing. After proving his 'innocence' Amnesia!Light earnestly worked with L and the Task Force to catch the Third Kira, who was chosen by Rem at the behest of Light. Once this was accomplished and Light came into physical contact with his old notebook, all his memories returned.]] |
| 745 | * MercyKill: [[spoiler: Ryuk spares Light from either slow death or the humiliation of trial and execution by writing his name in the Death Note.]] |
| 746 | * MessyHair: L and Near always look like they just rolled out of bed. This is because, unlike Light, they don't care about appearances. |
| 747 | * MetalScream: The second opening begins with one of these. |
| 748 | * MightMakesRight: Possessing the power to kill remotely and effortlessly makes all the Kiras believe themselves to have god-like authority to judge others. |
| 749 | * AMillionIsAStatistic: Once Light goes all Machiavelli on everyone's ass, there's no turning back. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zeS5uavO8A]] |
| 750 | * MindRape: |
| 751 | ** [[spoiler: Light does this to himself if TheScream when he's regaining his memories is anything to go by. Then there's the ending of the manga when Near exposes him as Kira, knocking him off his pedestal and forcing him to face up to what he's done and what he's become; he is drawn as (symbolically) naked and traumatized.]] |
| 752 | ** This could also be seen as what [[spoiler: Light did to Naomi. A bright woman driven to solve her husband's death - and in fact, uncovers information that could have stopped Light in the second chapter - has her mind force-shifted to suicide by the Death Note. Her abrupt change in speech from decisive and sharp to a CreepyMonotone drives this home.]] |
| 753 | * TheMirrorShowsYourTrueSelf: ''Relight'' features a scene where Light is walking along solemnly through a HallOfMirrors, pretending to [[spoiler: grieve for L]] while his reflection is smirking evilly. |
| 754 | * MistakenForGay: [[spoiler:When L chains himself to Light and says it's 24/7]], Misa makes a passive-aggressive remark that he's into Light. |
| 755 | * MoneyToThrowAway: [[spoiler: Near throws money out of the top floor of the SPK HQ to stop people from rioting.]] |
| 756 | * MoralityChain: [[spoiler: Two deaths mark a visible decline to Light's remaining ethics and sanity. The first is after [[AntagonistInMourning he killed L ]]; the second is after [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes his father dies.]]]] |
| 757 | * MoralityKitchenSink: The setting of this whole series. Lampshaded at the end by Near. |
| 758 | --> "Nobody can tell what is right and what is wrong, what is righteous and what is evil. Even if there is a god and I had his teachings before me, I would think it through and decide if that was right or wrong myself." |
| 759 | * MoralMyopia: "[[ThisIsUnforgivable Crime is out of the question,]] even if it's done on Kira's request. [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness Now isn't that convenient.]]" |
| 760 | * MortonsFork: An interesting case: When L [[spoiler:accompanies Light to college]], Light feels that all of his interactions with him will only confirm his suspicions about Light. Every decision Light makes boils down to him deciding how to react. His thoughts are like this: If I react one way, L would think I'm Kira because of X. If I react another way, L will think I'm Kira because of X. [[spoiler:Funny thing is that he is RIGHT about these assumptions because no matter what he does nor how he reacts, L never drops his suspicion of Light as Kira and often has the same thoughts about whatever situation he's in with Light.]] |
| 761 | * TheMovie: Two Japanese live-action movies based on the original comic (with [[Music/RedHotChiliPeppers "Dani California"]] as the theme song) and one L spin-off. Creator/WarnerBros bought the rights to remake the Live Action movie in America... |
| 762 | * MultitaskedConversation: |
| 763 | ** Shinigami can't be seen by anyone other than the humans who have touched their Death Note. So when Light is under surveillance by the police, he uses his homework as a cover-of-sorts to carry on a conversation with Ryuk by saying things ostensibly to himself, like "I got this question right!" to indicate a "yes" answer. |
| 764 | ** When the Yotsuba group catch Matsuda, he takes cues from L over the phone to let them know he's in trouble while making it sound to his captors like he's just turning down an offer to hang out with his friend. |
| 765 | * MundaneMadeAwesome: |
| 766 | ** Near's house of dice collapsing in the anime. |
| 767 | ** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPoQmytWvIQ "SAKUJO!"]] |
| 768 | ** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaoy1QKxGQs "I'll take a potato chip... AND EAT IT!"]] |
| 769 | * MurderIsTheBestSolution: Light believes that the best way to remove crime is to remove criminals. |
| 770 | * MurderMakesYouCrazy: |
| 771 | ** Light Yagami, depending on how sympathetic you are to his motivations. He's an ordinary school student until he writes the first name in the Death Note--and even then, he isn't sure if it was his doing or a coincidence. It isn't until his ''second'' target that he believes it is by the power of the Notebook, suffers through a short panic, but quickly develops his idea of grandeur. He's killed more than a good handful of people by the time Ryuk shows up. |
| 772 | ** His girlfriend Misa; she was pretty normal before she got the book. |
| 773 | * TheMusical: See [[Theatre/DeathNoteTheMusical this page]] for tropes concerning the musical. |
| 774 | * MyDeathIsJustTheBeginning: [[spoiler:L planned for Kira's capture even after his death by informing Wammy's house and alerting his successors of his death.]] |
| 775 | * MyFriendsAndZoidberg: |
| 776 | --> '''Matsuda:''' Er ... I can't help but notice you forgot to mention my name. |
| 777 | * MyGodWhatHaveIDone: |
| 778 | ** [[spoiler: Effectively executed in understatement during the ending credits of ''Relight 2'' when [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d42rviCsG7w&feature=youtu.be&t=1h31m45s Matsuda and Aizawa discover Light's body.]]]] |
| 779 | ** Light feels this way as part of his IgnoredEpiphany at the beginning of the story. He quickly talks himself out of it. |
| 780 | * MySisterIsOffLimits: The rest of the Yagami family is not keen on Matsuda's interest in Sayu. Also there's an incident in the manga where Light ''screams'' when L suggests that Sayu could be Kira. |
| 781 | * MythologyGag: |
| 782 | ** In the last few chapters/final episode, Near says that anyone who was truly just would have been horrified at what happened when he used the note even once, and would get rid of it or destroy it. Though the pilot chapter has protagonist Taro horrified by what he's done with the notebook, the ending leaves his true motivations ambiguous as he pulls off a clever gambit to keep his own Death Note while destroying another one that landed in the lap of his considerably less stable friend. |
| 783 | ** Also at one point Light introduces Matsuda as "his cousin Taro" which also may be a ShoutOut to the pilot chapter. |
| 784 | ** A plot point in the pilot was that Taro used the notebook by accident because he didn't know English. Light's talent is demonstrated in an English class before he finds the Death Note. It also helps that Light is a high school third-year, whereas Taro is in his first or second year of middle school, which, combined with the fact that he's not a genius like Light, means he knows much less English. |
| 785 | [[/folder]] |
| 786 | |
| 787 | [[folder:Tropes N]] |
| 788 | * NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Light's alias Kira is "Killer" made to fit into Japanese phonetics. His last name, Yagami, is written with the symbols for "night" and "god." Additionally, Misa's name comes from "kuromisa", meaning "black Mass." |
| 789 | * NationalStereotypes: Parodied, in ''L, Change the [=WorLd=]'', Suruga attempts to disperse a crowd surrounding the truck he's driving by showing his F.B.I. badge, but everyone thinks its fake because he's Japanese. |
| 790 | * NeverHurtAnInnocent: Light will only kill unrepentant criminals... unless you get in his way. Then you're fair game. |
| 791 | * NeverSuicide: L is suspicious of [[spoiler: Naomi]]'s death because he knew her personally and believes she is too strong willed for suicide. |
| 792 | ** [[spoiler: Subverted in ''Literature/AnotherNote''. The first three victims are killed in ways that are obviously not suicide (strangulation from behind, beating, etc), and the doors are locked. This is so that, when the murderer ''does'' commit suicide inside a locked room for the final crime, it is thought to be another murder, and the case goes unsolved. Luckily, Naomi realized this just in time.]] |
| 793 | * NextSundayAD: Post TimeSkip. |
| 794 | * NiceJobFixingItVillain: From announcing his general location to L and limiting the search to outright declaring his identity to [[spoiler:Near in the finale]], the person who does the most harm to Light is Light himself. |
| 795 | * NoBodyLeftBehind: Shinigami dissolve into "something neither sand nor rust" when they die. |
| 796 | * NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: |
| 797 | ** If a shinigami uses a Death Note to save the life of a human, the shinigami will die and the shinigami's remaining lifespan will be added to that of the human they saved. |
| 798 | ** [[spoiler: [[EvenEvilHasStandards Because Light can't bring himself to kill his sister]], so Mello and Near learn about the fake rules.]] |
| 799 | ** When Mello kidnaps Takada and orders her to strip, he offers her a blanket to preserve her modesty. [[spoiler: This, of course, gives her enough leeway to hide pieces of Death Note and a writing utensil. Guess what happens next.]] |
| 800 | * NoMatterHowMuchIBeg: Light, when submitting himself for imprisonment [[spoiler:as part of his memory gambit]]. L is more than happy to oblige. |
| 801 | * NoNonsenseNemesis: [[spoiler: Matt]]'s death involves No Nonsense {{Mooks}}. |
| 802 | * NoodleIncident: According to ''Another Note'', L claimed the names Eraldo Coil and Deneuve after winning "detective wars" against their original holders. We are never told what a detective war entails or how those two played out. |
| 803 | * NoPlaceForMeThere: Defied by Light when Ryuk asks how he'd fit into the Utopia he envisions - Light plans on ''running'' the place, not barring himself from it. |
| 804 | * NoSenseOfHumor: Light can't make a good joke but [[GigglingVillain he loves to laugh.]] |
| 805 | * NotCheatingUnlessYouGetCaught: |
| 806 | ** Light invokes this when he says that Kira is only evil if he's caught. |
| 807 | ** Kira only kills criminals who have been arrested. Subverted, since that's how he finds out the necessary information about them, but it does mean that it matters more whether you are caught than whether you are guilty. |
| 808 | * NotDistractedByTheSexy: Most of the times Misa is wearing something skimpy on-screen, it has no impact on Light. |
| 809 | * NothingButSkulls: On the manga coverart. |
| 810 | * NotMeThisTime: Three instances of people having sudden heart attacks that do not involve Kira: |
| 811 | ** [[spoiler: When Light's dad [[{{Irony}} has a heart attack brought on by the stress of the case.]]]] |
| 812 | ** [[spoiler: At the first appearance of the second Kira.]] |
| 813 | ** [[spoiler: When Mikami kills Demegawa.]] |
| 814 | * NotSoDifferentRemark: One of the series' main themes -- Light and L are both {{Well Intentioned Extremist}}s who believe that the ends justify the means. This is [[LampshadeHanging semi-lampshaded]] by Naomi, who points out that Light reminds her of L. |
| 815 | --> '''L:''' "Kira is childish and hates to lose." |
| 816 | --> '''Taskforce Member:''' How do you know this?" |
| 817 | --> '''L:''' "I am also childish and hate to lose." |
| 818 | ** Even Near and Light share a crucial similarity. This scene is absent from the anime, but [[spoiler:after Light has been outed as Kira, and insists "I'm the icon of justice now", Near concedes that he might be right, but because Near himself doesn't believe that, he has no choice but to oppose Kira. "I'm no different from you. ''I believe in what I think is right, and believe that to be righteous.''" They ended up enemies because they are both equally certain of their righteousness, and equally unwilling to bow to someone else's idea of justice.]] |
| 819 | * NotTheFallThatKillsYou: In episode 19, [[spoiler: Matsuda has to fake his own death by falling from a building. He instead lands on a mattress conveniently placed some floors below by his fellow members of the investigation team.]] |
| 820 | * NotTheFirstVictim: In-universe. After INTERPOL opens an investigation into the worldwide killings of accused and convicted murderers, L is able to zero in on the Kanto region of Japan as the probable location of "Kira", by finding victim #1 of the mystery cardiac arrests: the perpetrator of a HostageSituation, [[GPSEvidence whose crime was only broadcast in Japan's Kanto region]] (Light Yagami wrote his name into the Death Note on a whim while watching it on cable news, believing the notebook was some edgy teenager's sick joke). |
| 821 | * NotWorthKilling: [[spoiler: The Taskforce for most of the second arc.]] |
| 822 | * NoYou: |
| 823 | ** When L calls Kira "evil", his response is essentially "You're the one who's evil!" |
| 824 | ** When Misa has dinner with Kyomi, and Kyomi concludes that Misa is too childish to have a proper conversation with, Misa retorts that it is Kyomi who is too childish for ''her''. |
| 825 | * NumberOfTheBeast: "After writing the cause of death, details of the death should be written in the next six minutes and forty seconds." In other words, 6.66 minutes. |
| 826 | [[/folder]] |
| 827 | |
| 828 | [[folder:Tropes O-P]] |
| 829 | * ObfuscatingStupidity: [[spoiler: Higuchi]] theorizes that Matsuda pretends to be an idiot in order to cover up the fact that he's more competent than he seems. |
| 830 | * ObliviousGuiltSlinging: The interactions between Light and his father. If you read the manga leading up to [[spoiler:Soichiro's death]] there are plenty of hints that it works. |
| 831 | * ObviouslyEvil: Light by the second live-action movie is sporting sinister black attire. |
| 832 | * OddCouple: Light and L; the entrance ceremony speech depicts them as a 'pampered honor student' and the 'grungy prodigy'. |
| 833 | * OddNameOut: |
| 834 | ** Light is the only Yagami not to have a name that starts with "S" (Sochiro, Sachiko, Sayu). He's also the only one with a non-Japanese name. |
| 835 | ** Then there's the Wammy's boys: L, Beyond, Mello, Near, and... Matt. If you look closely, however, you see that Beyond is the odd name out: Near is the nickname of Nate River, Mello is Mihael Keehl (the German pronunciation of "Michael"), and L is in fact "El" (a Jewish name that means "-of God"). Beyond is the one without a real-life name. |
| 836 | ** In a meta sense, each episode title is only a [[IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming single]] [[OneWordTitle word]] with the exception of the final episode, "New World." |
| 837 | * OddlySmallOrganization: The Kira Task force is composed less than ten people. This is justified as the rest of the police force was too scared to investigate someone who can kill them remotely by knowing their name and face; both of which are on their ID badge. |
| 838 | * OffingTheOffspring: Soichiro puts a gun to Light's head [[spoiler:as part of L's SecretTestOfCharacter.]] |
| 839 | * OhCrap: A common reaction whenever a character's opponent gains the upper hand. |
| 840 | ** [[spoiler: Naomi Misora]] the moment [[spoiler: she]] realizes Light is Kira and the Death Note takes effect. |
| 841 | ** Light at the very end gets this twice, once when [[spoiler:he's finally exposed as Kira]], and the other when [[spoiler:Ryuk writes Light's name in the Death Note, as he'd told Light he would do in the very first chapter, and Light realizes that he's going to die]]. |
| 842 | * OhNoNotAgain: |
| 843 | ** Uttered by Matsuda [[spoiler: after the arrest / death of Higuchi and Light and Misa have been cleared of suspicion, leading the Taskforce to believe they are dealing with yet ''another'' Kira.]] |
| 844 | ** Also, Soichiro says this when the handcuffed Light and L begin their second fistfight. |
| 845 | * OldCopYoungCop: Chief Yagami and Matsuda were first introduced like this, but were developed differently, especially since Matsuda became a mere Comic Relief character. |
| 846 | * OminousLatinChanting: Dies Irae being the most prominent. |
| 847 | * OminousMultipleScreens: All over the place in L's tower, and Near's HQ seems to be ''wallpapered'' with them. |
| 848 | * OmnicidalManiac: By the second episode, it seems that Kira has at ''least'' a few followers wishing he'd just kill everyone. |
| 849 | * OneCastMemberPerCover: The ''Black Edition'' of the manga combines the original twelve volumes into six books. Each cover, while minimalistic, features a character's face in the center of a circular frame, in order -- Light, Ryuk, L, Misa, Mello, and Near. |
| 850 | * OneCurseLimit: A Death Note can't control or kill someone whose name has already been written down in another notebook. In the manga, this rule just appears in the "How To Use It" sections between chapters, and in the anime it's one of the rules on the eyecatches. |
| 851 | * OnlyFriend: L tells Light "I feel as though you're the first friend I've ever had" though WordOfGod says [[ManipulativeBastard it's a lie,]] [[FriendlessBackground that L]] ''[[FriendlessBackground has]]'' [[FriendlessBackground no friends.]] This hasn't stopped the fandom. |
| 852 | * OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent: |
| 853 | ** Light until it's [[PlayingWithATrope derailed]] by the fact that he's both incredibly smart and megalomaniacally insane. |
| 854 | ** Sayu is in junior high in the first arc and college in the second. |
| 855 | * OutGambitted: In the second episode, when [[spoiler: L uses a body double to draw Kira/Light into striking in order to confirm his suspicion that Kira can kill in such a manner. ''And'' he did the broadcast region-by-region in order to narrow down where Kira might be based, getting it on the first try]]. |
| 856 | --->'''Ryuk''': Hehehe, [[LampshadeHanging he got you there.]] |
| 857 | * OutsideContextProblem: Kira serves as this for the investigators trying to catch him. They've never had to deal with a case where the murder weapon is a magic notebook created by a death god, which can kill people without the user needing to be physically present, before. |
| 858 | * OutlawCouple: Light and Misa, much to Light's chagrin. |
| 859 | * OvertRendezvous: |
| 860 | ** Misa is trying to find Light so she sends a diary page to the task force saying that they should "show off their notebooks in Aoyama" on a certain day. On that day, Light goes to Aoyama with Matsuda and meets friends whom he hangs out with expecting to perform this trope. Misa, however, finds him first and leaves before he can see her. |
| 861 | ** L first reveals himself to his Kira suspect at the Entrance Ceremony and L frequently meets with Light to discuss the Kira Case in public places on the university campus. |
| 862 | * PaperThinDisguise: Light wears a hoodie and beanie when manipulating Raye Penber, which renders him unrecognizable to both Raye and the investigators that view the surveillance cameras. |
| 863 | ** During the hostage exchange in the Near/Mello arc, Ide follows Soichiro onto the plain in a disguise consisting of nothing more than a pair of glasses and a fake mustache. |
| 864 | * PartlyCloudyWithAChanceOfDeath: The episode appropriately titled "Overcast" comes to mind. |
| 865 | * PassiveAggressiveKombat: |
| 866 | ** Light and L are masters at this; see PolitenessJudo for L's example. |
| 867 | ** Misa and Kiyomi's dinner conversation would sound civil if they were not yandere after the same guy. |
| 868 | ** Almost every word Near bothers to say to Light is in this tone, and the few times he talks to Mello directly aren't much different. |
| 869 | * PayEvilUntoEvil: Kira's ideology holds that those who have committed crimes -- originally murder and actions equally as horrible -- must be killed. |
| 870 | * ThePenIsMightier: Light commits mass murder with a stroke of a pen. It takes 40 seconds by default to kill someone (via heart attack) just by writting their name on the Death Note, much slower than quickly stabbing someone with the pen itself. But it's still effective. And learning the FunctionalMagic rules properties makes the killings more creative. |
| 871 | * PerkyGoth: Misa dresses in black, wears crosses, etc but always cheerful and excited. |
| 872 | * PersonOfMassDestruction: The Kiras. ("The ability to commit mass murder at the wave of a hand?" Check.) |
| 873 | * PetTheDog: |
| 874 | ** ''L: Change the [=WorLd=]'' has many of these for L. |
| 875 | ** Light takes a break from committing mass murder to help his little sister with her homework. He also volunteers to run an errand for her, compliments his mother in the first arc, and attempts to talk his father out of resigning from the police in the second arc. |
| 876 | * PhosphorEssence: A subtle example which crosses with RedOniBlueOni: when Light and L confront each other, or meet each other on the street, Light shines a deep, blood-like red, and L a naval blue. Sometimes it appears as a tiny aura around their bodies, other times their hair and eyes glow that color. |
| 877 | * PhraseCatcher: "[[ButtMonkey Matsuda]], you idiot!" |
| 878 | * PietaPlagiarism: |
| 879 | ** Naomi with Raye, in the first anime intro. |
| 880 | ** [[spoiler: Light with Ryuzaki/L]] |
| 881 | * ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything: In many scenes with the Taskforce HQ in the second arc, [[spoiler: ''Light'' is the only one even ''pretending'' to work... So is it any wonder the Kira case stalled?]] |
| 882 | * PlayingDrunk: [[spoiler: Matsuda, after being caught by Yotsuba, pretends to be drunk so he can fake his death via falling.]] |
| 883 | * PlotTriggeringBook: Light coming across the death note one day which gives its holder the ability to kill is what causes all the events of the story to take place. |
| 884 | * PoliceAreUseless: The public believes this more and more when Kira emerges and takes over. Which is ironic because without the police investigating crimes and arresting suspects (or at least coming up with them), Kira wouldn't have any names or faces to use with the Death Note. |
| 885 | * PolitenessJudo: So, so much. "Let’s do X, is that alright, Light-kun?" and of course Light has to agree or he'll look like he's avoiding L, which makes him look like Kira. |
| 886 | * PoliteVillainsRudeHeroes: Light himself is usually soft-spoken, courteous, and reserved, and to an extent Misa, Mikami, and Takada all share this. L and Near, however, are brutally honest and openly manipulative; Near in particular earned quite a lot of annoyance from Mogi and Aizawa for the way he treated them. Compare some of Light's and Near's conversations, where Light is accommodating and non-confrontational while Near says ''exactly'' what's on his mind in the bluntest manner possible. |
| 887 | * PoorCommunicationKills: [[spoiler: Part of Light's downfall is that Mikami was told not to make a move before the showdown with Near. When Takada was kidnapped by Mello, he decided to be assertive and write her name down two minutes before Light did. It comes back to bite both of them in the ass later, to say the least.]] |
| 888 | * PopTheTires: This happens when they are trying to stop Higuchi from driving away with the Death Note. |
| 889 | * PornStash: Light, in order to provide an explanation why he locks his door all the time, ''gets'' a porn stash for his father (and the detective team) to discover. He finds the stuff incredibly boring. |
| 890 | * PowerAtAPrice: A Shinigami can see a human's name just be looking at their face. One can strike a deal with them for the same power in exchange for half of their remaining lifespan. |
| 891 | * PowerGlows: When Light and L confront each other, they glow red and blue, respectively. Sometimes this happens to their bodies, other times just to their hair and eyes. |
| 892 | * PowersInTheFirstEpisode: Light picks up the Death Note in the first episode |
| 893 | * PragmaticVillainy: [[KnightTemplar Light Yagami]] who was willing to kill tens of thousands of criminals and other undesirables to further his ambition but he doesn't approve when his BumblingSidekick Teru Mikami announced that Kira was going to kill lazy people as well. Light doesn't object to killing the lazy, he just hasn't decided yet if it's an effective method of imposing his reign. |
| 894 | * ThePratfall: When discovering about the true nature of Kira, L is so surprised he falls out of his chair. WordOfGod confesses that this scene was drawn just for the visual image of L flat on his ass. |
| 895 | * ProductPlacement: The manga is crawling with it. L uses a Mac, Ryuk loves to play Mario Golf, Misa walks past a very conspicuous Tabasco clothing store and mentions in her fake diary that the [[Platform/PlayStation2 PS2]] will soon be released, Aizawa and Ide drink Pepsi, and an omake involves Ryuk asking Light for a Platform/GameBoyAdvance SP. |
| 896 | * PronouncingMyNameForYou: Misa mistakes Light's given name as "Moon" the first time she [[AlternateCharacterReading sees it written]], which Light corrects. |
| 897 | * ProphecyArmor: If a person's name is written and a specific date for the death and the method of death are noted, said person will not die before that date. |
| 898 | * ProtagonistJourneyToVillain: Light is the protagonist who turns into a villain because the Death Note's power warps his ideals from heroic to villainous. |
| 899 | * PsychicAssistedSuicide: This can be accomplished with a Death Note by writing "suicide" as the cause of death. Light does this to [[spoiler:Naomi Misora and Kiyomi Takada]], and [[spoiler:Matsuda suspects that Near may have done the same to Teru Mikami]]. |
| 900 | * PsychologicalHorror: This series thrives on suspense and mind games with a serial killer that has magic powers. |
| 901 | * PsychoSupporter: Although he doesn't actually work with Light in person until the very end, Teru Mikami is VERY fanatically devoted to him. |
| 902 | %% [[spoiler:Misa Amane and Kiyomi Takada]]. |
| 903 | * PublicSecretMessage: Misa is a Kira-fangirl, but doesn't know who he is. So she uses her own death note to kill people and force the news to send messages. Light is annoyed, since while people who don't know about the notes won't be able to figure out what they're talking about, it is still far too public for his taste. |
| 904 | * PunchClockVillain: This applies to most of the Shinigami. Ryuk says they only kill humans so they won't die themselves and they only truly qualify as "evil" insofar as the occasional decision to kill a human earlier than intended - and doing so to save another is an offense for which death is punishment. |
| 905 | * PunchedAcrossTheRoom: Light does this to L, who promptly returns the favor. |
| 906 | * ThePurge: Light's main method of creating a utopia is by murdering criminals. |
| 907 | * PuzzleThriller: Light knows the rules (and learns new ones whenever Ryuk feels like telling him) of the Death Note notebook, and L (and later Near and Mello) intend to work them out in order to stop him. |
| 908 | [[/folder]] |
| 909 | |
| 910 | [[folder:Tropes Q-R]] |
| 911 | * TheQuisling: George Sairas (President Chicken-Maggot). |
| 912 | * QuittingToGetMarried: |
| 913 | ** Naomi Misora has agreed to do this because her fiance, Ray Penber, worries about her in her line of work, though it often comes across as just him being a misogynist. |
| 914 | ** Also, Light asks Misa to retire from filming in the manga version when he (rather unromantically) says they'll get married. |
| 915 | * RansackedRoom: [[ProperlyParanoid Light has an elaborate series of tests set up to see if someone has been in his room.]] He leaves the door handle (which normally returns to a horizontal position when used) five millimeters lower and sets a piece of paper in the door (obvious tells) and a pencil lead in the door frame (a not so obvious tell) to see if someone has been in his room so when he finds the pencil lead broken and the paper back in the door it suggests someone has been in, searched, and bugged his room. |
| 916 | * RasputinianDeath: [[spoiler:Light himself at the end.]] |
| 917 | * RealityWritingBook: Writing someone's death in the Notebook causes that death to happen in reality. |
| 918 | * RecapEpisode: The first half of "Renewal". |
| 919 | * RedemptionInTheRain: Inverted. At the beginning, Light is heavily rained on as he resolves to save the world, er, turn to evil. |
| 920 | * RedEyesTakeWarning: |
| 921 | ** The Shinigami Eyes turn their user's eyes red in the anime. (Incidentally, Ryuk has red ''pupils.'') |
| 922 | ** The anime makes a hobby out of making Light's eyes look red when he's being especially diabolical, despite him outright rejecting the Shinigami Eyes deal; and the opening and closing sequences make it even stronger as part of the red/blue motif. |
| 923 | * RedFilterOfDoom |
| 924 | * RedHerring: Many of the How To Use rules from the EyeCatch are never used. |
| 925 | * RedOniBlueOni: |
| 926 | ** Light (megalomaniac) and L (low key). |
| 927 | ** Mello and Near fit the trope pretty well, except there it's Orange Oni Teal Oni. |
| 928 | * RedRightHand: By the end of ''Relight'' (everything after the [[spoiler: funeral]] scene) Light seems to be sporting ''fangs'' in addition to perpetually glowing red eyes. |
| 929 | * RedShirt: Most of the minor victim characters with the most notable being [[spoiler: Naomi Misora]], who originally was considered to have a bigger role before it was decided to kill her off quickly to prevent the story from becoming ''more'' complicated or way too short). [[spoiler: Matt, the third-in-line to succeed L,]] was given no backstory whatsoever and introduced solely to give [[spoiler: Mello]] someone to interact with before the author killed him off after his sporadic appearances in 12 panels. Despite this, both characters have a large fan following. |
| 930 | * RefugeInAudacity: In episode 9, when L [[spoiler: simply approaches Light and actually ''tells'' him he's L, this is Light's assessment of the tactic, as he has no effective way to counter it]]. |
| 931 | * RefusedTheCall: Ide doesn't join L's taskforce because he doesn't trust L. He later joins after [[spoiler: L is killed and Light takes over]]. |
| 932 | * RelativelyFlimsyExcuse: In Aoyama Light introduces Matsuda to his friends as his "cousin Taro." |
| 933 | * ReplacedWithReplica: In the final arc, [[spoiler:the task force hunting Kira tracks Teru Mikami to the safe deposit box where he's keeping his Death Note, and replaces every unused page with ordinary paper, rendering it useless.]] |
| 934 | * ReplacementGoldfish: After Misa Amane transfers her Notebook to Teru Mikami, Kiyomi Takada comes onto the scene as Kira's spokesperson and Light's new girlfriend while Misa just kind of fades out of focus. Like Misa, Kiyomi is a Kira-worshiper completely devoted to Light and willing to kill for him. |
| 935 | * RepressiveButEfficient: After six years of Kira's "reign", Light claims wars have ceased and violent crime has dropped to almost nothing. It seems the fear of being instantly killed by an avenging "god" keeps most people cowed and pacified. |
| 936 | * {{Retcon}}: |
| 937 | ** While ''How to Read 13'' states that the SPK [[spoiler: disbanded and returned to their old jobs]] after [[spoiler: Kira's defeat]], in the one-shot manga special released two years later, Lidner, Gevanni and Rester are shown to [[spoiler: still work with Near]]. |
| 938 | %%** If the strongly implied rule that a shinigami must follow the owner of the Death Note was observed throughout the series, nothing after the Yotsuba arc could have happened. |
| 939 | %%* {{Retirony}} |
| 940 | * RevealingCoverup: |
| 941 | ** [[spoiler: When Light kills Raye Penber and Naomi Misora, it comes to L's attention to focus the investigation on the people Raye Penber was tailing.]] |
| 942 | ** Also when [[spoiler: Yotsuba Corp [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney buys off the police and key government officials]] to stop chasing Kira.]] |
| 943 | ** Also comes into play at the end. [[spoiler: The immediate cause of Light's downfall was Mikami going to write Takada's name in the Death Note. He only did that to prevent information from leaking, either to Mello (by Takada telling him) or Near (if SPK got ahold of her, Death Note pages and all.)]] |
| 944 | * RevealingHug: There are a few scenes where Light and Misa embrace; Misa's expression is either lovestruck or tearful, while Light's is ... not. |
| 945 | * ReverseWhodunnit: The audience knows full well who Kira is. The fun is to see if L can figure it out, too. |
| 946 | * RightBehindMe: When Aizawa and Ide are discussing putting Light back under surveillance, guess who should walk in at that very moment? |
| 947 | * RousseauWasRight: Played straight with [[spoiler:Light, who reverts to an apparently genuinely good person on losing his memories.]] Averted with [[spoiler:Misa, who jumps at the chance to be useful to Light in any way, even if it results in someone's death.]] |
| 948 | * RuleOfEmpathy: Kira would be a generic shadowy villain if he wasn't TheProtagonist. |
| 949 | * RulesLawyer: Light bends and manipulates the Death Note's rules like silly putty. |
| 950 | * RunningGag: in ''Another Note'' [[spoiler: L makes Naomi destroy her computer every time he contacts her.]] |
| 951 | [[/folder]] |
| 952 | |
| 953 | [[folder:Tropes S]] |
| 954 | * SarcasticConfession: Unintentionally done during [[spoiler: Light's MemoryGambit]]: |
| 955 | -->'''Light:''' ...to be L and have control of the police while being Kira in secret. It's ideal. |
| 956 | -->'''L:''' Well, it would be pretty stupid of you to do that after you told everyone your plan. |
| 957 | * TheScapegoat: |
| 958 | -->'''[[spoiler: Near]]:''' Actually [[spoiler: "L,"]] I'll let you have full authority on this... |
| 959 | * ScareChord: Light's psychotic [[NightmareSequence daydream sequence]] in ''Relight 2''. |
| 960 | * ScaryShinyGlasses: Soichiro's glasses often function this way. |
| 961 | * ScheherezadeGambit: Ryuk is bored, he wants to be entertained and if he gets too bored he'll just kill Light and go home. Light constantly reminds Ryuk how entertaining he can be. [[spoiler: It works for six years.]] |
| 962 | * SchmuckBait: What causes Light to pick up the notebook and cause the series to happen. His thought process goes like this: 'Notebook of Death? It has to be a prank but what if...." |
| 963 | * ScholarshipStudent: Referenced and inverted. When L and Light both give the entrance ceremony speech, Light is said to look like a normal private school student, "pampered and brilliant." L is said to look like a "crazy genius," though one of the conclusions (based on L's physical appearance) is that he's a poor scholarship student. It's an inversion, because L is rich from all of the cases he's solved and received money for. |
| 964 | * SchoolForScheming: Wammy's House exists in order to find a successor to L. |
| 965 | * ScienceCannotComprehendPhlebotinum: |
| 966 | ** In episode 24, [[spoiler:L and Light capture the Death Note. Light suggests analyzing it. L replies that the Death Note is the kind of thing that can't be analyzed, and is later confirmed when they do try to analyze it and are unable to determine what it is made of.]] |
| 967 | ** It is stated in the rules at the end of a manga chapter that no scientific or clinical analysis can reveal if someone possesses Shinigami Eyes. |
| 968 | ** Averted when Light uses his brain as opposed to gizmos to analyze the Death Note and determines what it can or cannot do. Ryuk wasn't aware of some of these things. |
| 969 | * ScreamsLikeALittleGirl: |
| 970 | ** L. [[spoiler: "Shinigami? Am I supposed to believe that they really exist?"]] |
| 971 | ** Light is no slouch in the girly scream department either. |
| 972 | * ScrewTheRulesIHaveSupernaturalPowers: Those who possess the Death Note will always consider themselves above the law. |
| 973 | * ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: Unlike most examples, this one is used by villains to justify their serial killing because they're only killing criminals. This logic falls apart when they go after honest cops tracking a serial killer. |
| 974 | * SecretTestOfCharacter: L administers a lot of these. Much of what he says or does to people is this trope. |
| 975 | ** When the Japanese police decide to stop pursuing the Kira investigation, L lets all the police officers decide whether to stay on the task force or keep their jobs in the police before [[spoiler:it is revealed that he had already planned for such a possibility and set aside money for them]]. Aizawa was teetering but becomes outraged by the deception and quits. |
| 976 | * SecretCircleOfSecrets: The Cult of Kira |
| 977 | * SecretCompartment: Light has multiple secret compartments designed to conceal either the titular Death Note or pieces of its pages. These include a desk drawer with a false bottom, rigged so that unless the drawer is opened in a certain way, it will trigger a booby trap that will incinerate the Death Note inside; and a compartment inside his wristwatch so he can kill anytime, anywhere. |
| 978 | * SeeYouInHell: Used effectively in the episode "Execution" in the English dub [[spoiler: when Soichiro pretends to shot Light.]] |
| 979 | -->"[[spoiler:Light, my son]]... From one murderer to another, I'll see you in hell." |
| 980 | * SelectiveObliviousness: |
| 981 | ** Misa never seems to get a clue that Light hates her guts and just pretends to love her in order to use her. At one point, she even says she won't kill the girls Light has dated in the past because she knows "he was just using them and didn't really love them." [[HypocriticalHumor Er, Misa...?]] |
| 982 | ** "My son is not capable of being Kira!" |
| 983 | ** and |
| 984 | --> '''Ryuk:''' ...then you'd be the only bastard left. |
| 985 | --> '''Light:''' I have ''no'' idea what you're talking about Ryuk... |
| 986 | * SelfDestructingSecurity: Light goes to great lengths to protect the Death Note. Not only is it hidden in his locked bedroom in a secret panel of his desk drawer, but opening the panel without first deactivating the failsafe will incinerate the notebook before it can be found. After all, if someone else takes it he's unlikely to get it back, and it links him to hundreds of murders. |
| 987 | * SensibleHeroesSkimpyVillains: Naomi and Halle dress sensibly whereas Misa is MsFanservice. |
| 988 | * SerialKillerBaiting: L baits Kira to kill a guy in a TV broadcast who claims to be the investigator in charge. When he dies shortly after, Kira's whereabouts can be confirmed to lie within the Kanto region which was where the broadcast was restricted to. |
| 989 | * [[SerialKillerKiller Serial Killer Kira]] |
| 990 | * SexyDiscretionShot: [[spoiler: Light is heavily implied to have slept with Kiyomi as a way of convincing her to join him. He invites her to a hotel room, gazes into her eyes while taking off her coat, and the next scene cuts to him walking down the street with an unbuttoned suit jacket.]] |
| 991 | ** [[spoiler: It is hinted that they are regularly having sex, this is shown in scenes where Light fixes his tie while Kiyomi makes him coffee, and when he says he's busy, Kiyomi is disappointed and asks if that means he won't stay with her until morning.]] |
| 992 | ** Even more heavily implied in with Misa in episode 29 of the anime. When Light enters their hotel room, she is wearing small black lingerie and after he claims he loves as they are sitting on the couch, we hear Misa giggling and she can be seen smooching Light in the background as Sidon approaches the fire. |
| 993 | * ShabbyHeroesWellDressedVillains: Light, the VillainProtagonist, wears a nice suit to his college entrance exam, whereas L dresses in the same shirt and pants that he always does. Those in attendance note how they contrast with each other. |
| 994 | * SharedFateUltimatum: Light warns Misa that he can kill her if she doesn't follow his orders, but Rem the Shinigami tells him that if he does that, she will kill him in retaliation. |
| 995 | * SheIsAllGrownUp: Sayu after the TimeSkip is so attractive Matsudo hits on her, paraphrasing this trope in the process. |
| 996 | * SheIsNotMyGirlfriend: This is Light's position early on in regards to Misa. Much to her delight, he later inverts it. |
| 997 | * {{Shonen}}: You would expect a crime story with a VillainProtagonist to be {{Seinen}} fare, but not here. It was published in ''Magazine/ShonenJump''. |
| 998 | * ShootTheShaggyDog: [[spoiler: Light is killed by Ryuk, having been exposed as Kira, after so many people have been pointlessly killed. The world is rotten again, and nothing's been accomplished.]] |
| 999 | * ShortDistancePhoneCall: One of the turning points in the first arc, which leads to [[spoiler: Misa's capture and Light's MemoryGambit to save them both]]. |
| 1000 | * ShoutOut: They have [[ShoutOut/DeathNote their own page]]. |
| 1001 | * ShutUpHannibal: Near's rebuttal to [[spoiler: Light's MotiveRant at the end]]. |
| 1002 | ** This is also [[spoiler: Matsuda's reaction]] to the same speech. |
| 1003 | * ShutUpKiss: Light: "Now be a good girl and go home." Misa didn't mind. |
| 1004 | * SiblingYinYang: [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sayu.jpg Light and Sayu.]] Megalomanic older brother and sweet little sister. |
| 1005 | * SidekickExMachina: Light was saved many times due to help from Misa or Rem or Ryuk. |
| 1006 | * SideStoryBonusArt: The {{Omake}} in the manga includes a [[BeachEpisode day at the beach]] and a ChristmasSpecial. |
| 1007 | * SignatureLaugh: Ryuk's "Hyuk hyuk hyuk" and Light's EvilLaugh. |
| 1008 | * SinisterScythe: Light on the cover art of the manga [[spoiler: and as a Shinigami in the ''Relight'' movie... that is, if you interpret said Shinigami to ''be'' Light.]] |
| 1009 | * SinisterSubway: This is the location for one of Light's mass killings. [[spoiler: Specifically, all of America's undercover agents.]] |
| 1010 | * SleuthDatesCop: |
| 1011 | ** Raye Penber, an FBI agent sent to Japan [[spoiler:to aid in the investigation of the Kira case]], does not want his fiancee, [[spoiler:ex-FBI agent]] Naomi Misora, to get involved in the Kira case. Unfortunately for him, she was the better detective between the two. If he had let her get involved, the series would be one and a half volumes long, and both of them would [[spoiler:still be alive]]. |
| 1012 | ** Averted when Matsuda has an obviously crush on Sayu, Light's sister, after SheIsAllGrownUp. Her parents Soichiro, who's Matsuda's superior, and Sachiko forbid her to marry a policeman beforehand. That's hypocritical, considering that Soichiro is a police officer himself. |
| 1013 | * SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: There should be no doubt in that this series is firmly on the cynical side because it involves a serial killer successfully shrinking the crime rate by killing criminals, most of the people trying to stop this person are {{Anti Hero}}es and states that [[spoiler: shortly after Light died, the crime rate returned to normal. [[CessationOfExistence Also, there's no after life.]]]] |
| 1014 | * SlobsVersusSnobs: L and Near are the slobs, dressed in rumpled jeans or pajamas, and Light and his allies all are usually impeccably dressed and groomed. This was highlighted when L and Light stood on stage together: Light was the 'groomed overachiever' and L was the 'eccentric prodigy'. |
| 1015 | * SlouchOfVillainy: |
| 1016 | ** Mello in his gang HQ. |
| 1017 | ** Light does this a few times, very early on. He seems to grow out of it. |
| 1018 | * TheSlowWalk: The OP for the second arc comes to mind. |
| 1019 | * SmallRoleBigImpact: |
| 1020 | ** Lind L. Tailor's brief introduction and death allows L to track Light to the region of Japan he lives in, alongside showing both L and Light what the other is capable of. |
| 1021 | ** Misa's stalker. He doesn't even have a name in the manga, but if not for him [[spoiler:Gelus, a shinigami, wouldn't have died saving Misa's life. And Misa never would've received his Death Note from Rem. Without Misa as the second Kira]], most of the story would've played out differently. [[spoiler:For that matter, Gelus himself.]] |
| 1022 | ** SPK agent Stephen originally seems like another background character who doesn't accomplish much, except for the finale when it's revealed that [[spoiler:Stephen was able to perfectly replicate Mikami's Death Note. This skill causes Mikami to make a mistake that outs Light to Near, leading to Light's death and the final end of Kira's reign of terror]]. |
| 1023 | * SmallNameBigEgo: |
| 1024 | ** L. See the main page's HypocriticalHumor entry to get an example. |
| 1025 | ** Light has a tremendous ego for an otherwise normal high school student. |
| 1026 | * SmartPeoplePlayChess: Light and L in the live action movies. In the anime, they play tennis. |
| 1027 | * SmugSnake: Light has a tendency to shift into this when he's got the upper hand, but especially [[spoiler: when he's all-but taunting Near for having his location discovered]] in episode 30. |
| 1028 | * SnowMeansDeath: [[spoiler: Naomi Misora is accompanied to her hanging by snow]]. |
| 1029 | * SocialCircleFiller: In the early chapters, Light Yagami hangs out with two friends, one named Yamamoto, who all but vanish afterwards. Tellingly, the anime [[AdaptedOut doesn't even include them]]. |
| 1030 | * SocialEngineering: Most of the main cast are Social Engineering masters-Light, L, Mello, and Near. Aiber as well. |
| 1031 | * TheSociopath: Light Yagami, and (to a lesser extent) Misa Amane. |
| 1032 | * SomeonesTouchingMyButt: In classic L fashion, [[spoiler:he was pretending to cover up for touching Misa's butt by saying it was an outrage, when in touching her butt was a cover so she wouldn't notice him taking her phone.]] |
| 1033 | * SomethingSomethingLeonardBernstein: Several passages in the first opening is nigh-unintelligible, even in the Japanese. |
| 1034 | * SpannerInTheWorks: |
| 1035 | ** All attention would have been taken off of Light as early as the fifth episode if Light had simply [[spoiler:not killed Raye Penber. Raye had just finished suspecting Light of being Kira, and all Raye's death does is narrow L's search to everyone he was tailing, leading to him suspecting Light for the rest of the series]]. |
| 1036 | ** Teru Mikami [[spoiler: ruins Light's plan to destroy his enemies with his well meaning but misguided action.]] |
| 1037 | *** By extension, [[spoiler:Mello, by kidnapping Takada, which leads to Mikami committing said mistake]]. |
| 1038 | ** Misa's [[spoiler: introduction as the second Kira made Light's EvilPlan much more complicated.]] |
| 1039 | ** Shidoh [[spoiler: comes down from the Shinigami world to fetch his notebook and tells Mello that Light's made up rules are fake.]] |
| 1040 | * SpellMyNameWithAnS: Putting so many "L" and "Th" sounds in a Japanese series was just asking for trouble. Light / Raito, L / Eru, Death Note / Desu Noto, Mello / Mero, and so forth. |
| 1041 | * SplitPersonality: {{Discussed|Trope}} during Kira's MemoryGambit. Light willingly goes into SPK custody because he suspects he might be acting as Kira in his sleep. While Light ''is'' unknowingly Kira, [[DramaticIrony the audience already knows that this isn't how it works]]. |
| 1042 | * SpoilerOpening: Both the anime opening and the cover of the second volume reveals L's appearance before he's introduced in-universe. |
| 1043 | * SpoilerTitle: Chapter 99 is titled "Two": According to Ohba, it's an ostensible reference to [[spoiler:Takada and Mello's deaths]], but, in actuality, [[spoiler:is an indication that Light wasn't the only one to write Takada's name in the Notebook...]] |
| 1044 | * SpySatellites: Near observes the hostage situation with completely impossibly effective spy satellites. |
| 1045 | * SpySpeak: L and Matsuda during the Yotsuba arc. Light and Ryuk get a moment early on in Light's conefinement. |
| 1046 | * StalkerWithACrush: |
| 1047 | ** The obsessed fan that tries to kill Misa - [[spoiler: and, ironically, the Shinigami who killed him to prevent Misa's death]]. |
| 1048 | ** Misa herself pursuing Kira/Light. |
| 1049 | ** Misa assumes that this is what's going on when she [[spoiler:loses her memory of Shinigami-related things and finds herself tied up and blindfolded in an interrogation room]]. |
| 1050 | * StalkingIsLove: Misa believes stalking Light will endear her to him. |
| 1051 | * StayInTheKitchen: Raye tells Naomi to focus on domestic things instead of crime things. [[spoiler: [[TooDumbToLive This gets both of them killed]] because she's the better detective between them]] |
| 1052 | * StealthPun: In the English dub, when Misa says she can't imagine a world without Light, L agrees, stating that it would be dark. |
| 1053 | ** This may or may not be intentional, but Light's name is spelled with the kanji 月, making it a [[http://akihabaranews.com/2013/08/12/article-en/kira-kira-names-shiny-names-kids-chagrin-many-japan-1701127852 kira-kira name]]. |
| 1054 | * StepfordSmiler: Light- a calm smile over a dangerously crazy self. |
| 1055 | * StolenMacGuffinReveal: Who has what Death Note is a shock to someone and that someone is soon dead. |
| 1056 | * StopOrIShootMyself: [[spoiler:Higuchi]] after having been cornered as the current Kira, does this to keep himself from being caught. At some point he realizes it is hopeless and tries to pull the trigger. Watari [[BlastingItOutOfTheirHands snipes it out of his hands]]. |
| 1057 | * StrangeMindsThinkAlike: |
| 1058 | ** Light and L tend to finish each other's thoughts / inner monologues between cutaways. |
| 1059 | ** Light and Mikami: [[spoiler: They both had the idea of Takada's suicide and written it in the Death Note at the same time.]] It ultimately serves as a deconstruction, since they're both so alike that [[spoiler:it ends up getting both of them killed]]. |
| 1060 | * StrawmanNewsMedia: Type IV. You'd think that after the emergence of Kira that there would be a massive clampdown on broadcasting suspect's names... '''''WRONG!''''' Trial by media becomes execution by media: Here's the names and faces of people [[YouBastard our viewers want to die in a fire.]] [[IfItBleedsItLeads Let's hope they die on live TV!]] This is especially exemplified with [[GreedyTelevangelist Demegawa]] and [[IntellectuallySupportedTyranny Takada.]] Earlier on, the cops consider a media clampdown as soon as L points out that Kira is killing by reading names of criminals out of the newspaper; however, L shoots the idea down, on the grounds that he reads Kira as a PsychopathicManchild who would just start killing anyone he ''thinks'' is guilty, and blaming any innocent deaths on the police for instigated a media clampdown. [[spoiler:Ironically, it is ''Light'' who successfully implements this idea after taking over from L, but that's just a ploy on his part; the names and faces of criminals promptly leak out to the internet, and Light is able to successfully maintain his facade as Kira-hunter without compromising his true objectives.]] |
| 1061 | * StronglyWordedLetter: One of these might be something to fear if it's out on the Internet and Kira agrees with the writer. In a way, Light and Mikami used the Death Note as this. |
| 1062 | * SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic: Light's experiments with the Death Note teach him the fine details about how it works. Soon, he knows more about than Ryuk! |
| 1063 | * TheSummation: Most versions of the story end with an inversion. |
| 1064 | * SupernaturalGoldEyes: In ''Death Note: The Last Name'' the Shinigami eyes are depicted as turning their users' irises yellow. |
| 1065 | * SureLetsGoWithThat: Light realizes that Mello has an accomplice with the Shinigami eyes, meaning that they can identify an owner of the Death Note by seeing their face. He tells Misa to quit the movie she's starring in to head this off, but Misa excitedly asks if this means she's QuittingToGetMarried, and Light just says yeah. |
| 1066 | * SurroundedByIdiots: Both L and Light feel this way from time to time but the most often target is Matsuda. |
| 1067 | --> '''Light/L''': ''Matsuda you idiot.'' |
| 1068 | * SurveillanceAsThePlotDemands: Deconstructed. Light's bedroom is bugged so when he wants L to see something he does his work there. Otherwise he goes somewhere else. |
| 1069 | * SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: |
| 1070 | ** Near and Mello to L, but separated into two traits of L's. Near is the ManChild and brain of L, though he lacks the large dynamic and willingness to cross the line like L did. Mello is identical to L in his love for sweets, though the latter preferred various sweets and Mello prefers to just eat chocolate. |
| 1071 | ** [[spoiler: Mikami]] physically resemble Light and his name is Light's backwards. He also has a similar god complex. |
| 1072 | [[/folder]] |
| 1073 | |
| 1074 | [[folder:Tropes T-U]] |
| 1075 | * TailorMadePrison: [[spoiler: L has a couple of [[SealedRoomInTheMiddleOfNowhere custom holding cells]] for confining [[PersonOfMassDestruction Kira and the more dangerous Second Kira.]]]] |
| 1076 | * TalkingTheMonsterToDeath: in the post-series oneshot, Near has a magnificent example of this, using [[KirkSummation a single sentence]] ([[spoiler: You abominable monster!]]) to demolish C-Kira's motive for killing. |
| 1077 | * TakeThat: |
| 1078 | ** The series was, in some ways, meant to be this for various shonen conventions that Ohba didn't care for, his two biggest {{Pet Peeve Trope}}s being DeathIsCheap and the tendency for shonen series to [[ArcFatigue drag out their storylines]]. |
| 1079 | ** The English dub gives the president of the US a voice suspiciously similar to that of of UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush. |
| 1080 | * TalkingToTheDead: [[spoiler: Light does this at L's funeral, complete with loads of TrashTalk and EvilGloating.]] |
| 1081 | * TalkToTheFist: In one scene the argument between Light and L became so heated they exchanged blows. |
| 1082 | * TameHisAnger: Soichiro Yagami and Aizawa do this to put up with [[TheDitz Misa Amane's]] Kira support. |
| 1083 | * TautologicalTemplar: BOTH team L and team Kira. |
| 1084 | * TechnicianVsPerformer: What the conflict between L and Light boils down to. Light has the benefit of knowing of the supernatural and his thorough understanding of the Death Note's capabilities, alongside his connections and incredible abilities of prediction. L, meanwhile, has nothing to help him but his supreme intelligence, remarkable deduction skills, and his ability to manipulate those around him to get what he wants. In short, Light's plans rely on creativity, [[BatmanGambit predicting how other people will act]], and [[LuckBasedMission straight up luck]], while L's rely on cold hard facts, [[AwesomenessByAnalysis logical reasoning]], and [[ManipulativeBastard manipulations]]. |
| 1085 | * TeenGenius: The most intelligent characters in the series are all very young. |
| 1086 | ** Light and L were both adults for a great deal of the series, but it's pretty obvious that they were both very smart way before that. Light was consistently at the top of his class throughout his entire life and heck, L was pretty much solving cases from the time he was still under custody of Wammy's House. |
| 1087 | ** Speaking of Wammy's House, Near, Mello, Matt, and pretty much all the kids there. |
| 1088 | ** Considering the fact that we're dealing with a bunch of smart kids here, it is implied that every single one of them had been a ChildProdigy at some point in their lives before the series started. |
| 1089 | * TeensAreMonsters: Light and Misa are serial killers but with their faces, you'd never even suspect at first without being like L. |
| 1090 | * TemptingApple: Ohba, the writer, apparently requested apples just because he thinks they look cool. In continuity, however, Ryuk finds them addictive, and they're one of the things he enjoys about Earth - next to mass murder and CriminalMindGames, which are also [[AudienceSurrogate among the chief draws of the series for the audience]]. He receives all three from Light in exchange for power, [[spoiler: which ultimately leads to Light's death.]] |
| 1091 | * ThanatosGambit: |
| 1092 | ** [[spoiler: L pulls one of these off]] when he uses a dead-man's drop on his computer to send a message to Wammy's house, telling them of his death, if for some reason he doesn't check in every day or so. He knows this will [[spoiler: set Near and Mello to task with catching Kira,]] and he probably knew that they would [[spoiler: race each other to catch Kira and that Near especially was almost but not quite as smart as he was.]] |
| 1093 | * ThatsWhatIWouldDo: Light explains this to L regarding a theory of his about Kira and the second Kira. Soichiro is a bit freaked out. |
| 1094 | * ThereAreNoTherapists: Grief counseling for Misa could have solved a lot of things. Also, Light comes across in that first episode as depressed. |
| 1095 | * ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: [[spoiler: Matt is shot by a police squadron and Light is shot and Death Noted.]] [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] in the second case since [[spoiler: it had been established at the beginning that when it was time for Light to die, Ryuk would have to write his name in his Death Note. The shots could injure and incapacitate him, but no amount of bullets could actually kill him.]] |
| 1096 | * ThisCannotBe: What [[spoiler: Light]] says about his lethal [[OutGambitted OutGambitting]]. |
| 1097 | * ThisIsUnforgivable: [[spoiler: Matsuda]] has had enough of [[spoiler: Light]] at the time of [[spoiler: the final confrontation with Near]]. The results are quick, well-deserved, and both scary and heart-wrenching. [[spoiler: Ryuk]] almost couldn't keep up with him. |
| 1098 | ** During an interview during the Yotsuba arc, Matsuda states that [[CaptainObvious he can't forgive Kira for what he's done.]] As if there was ever a case where mass murder on a global scale could be forgivable. |
| 1099 | * ThisIsYourBrainOnEvil: Happens to Light, Misa, and Mikami, and to a lesser extent Takada and [[spoiler: Higuchi]]. The differences between their non-Kira selves and their Kira selves are striking. |
| 1100 | * ThreesomeSubtext: First arc: Misa-Light-L and Second arc: [[spoiler: Misa-Light-Takada / Light-Takada-Mikami]] and in the prequel novel ''Literature/AnotherNote'' Raye Penber-Naomi Misora-Ryuuzaki |
| 1101 | * TimeSkip: Several years pass between [[spoiler: L's death]] and the arrival of his successors. |
| 1102 | * TomatoInTheMirror: [[MemoryGambit Kinda]]... [[GambitRoulette sorta]]. |
| 1103 | * TongueSuicide: After days of being held in the police custody under the suspicions of being the second Kira, blindfolded and kept in a straight jacket the entire time (and it's implied that Watari tortured her at L's behest to get her to admit it) Misa tries to kill herself by biting off her tongue. L has Watari stick a rag in her mouth before she gets the chance. |
| 1104 | * TooDumbToLive: |
| 1105 | ** Raye, Naomi's fiance. If only he hadn't told her to StayInTheKitchen and let her work alongside him... |
| 1106 | *** Oh, if only he hadn't shown his ''[=FBI ID=]'' to a kid that he was following as part of a ''Serial Killer investigation'', either! |
| 1107 | ** Naomi, the former F.B.I. detective who figures out crucial information on the Kira case and then decides to trust Light after he's been acting creepy, following her around, and asking "HaveYouToldAnyoneElse" As mentioned below and according to WordOfGod, she's less stupid than about as lucky as Near is socially skilled -- i.e., not at all. [[note]]If you think about it, her big "mistake" was going to the police station at absolutely the wrong time -- the one time when no one working on the case was available and '''also''' when the real Kira (who, bad luck for her, was the son of someone working on the case) was also arriving. Well, that, and succumbing to Light's explanation. She had every reason to be convinced -- not least because she implicitly trusted L, and Light reminded her of L.[[/note]] |
| 1108 | ** Demegawa. Someone who uses the name of Kira to pad his own pockets, knowing that Kira is a vengeful god of justice without much sense of mercy. Demegawa? Can you say "SAKUJO"? |
| 1109 | ** Mello. [[spoiler: Oh sure, tell a woman to strip naked in order to make sure she doesn't have any Death Note pages, cell phones, tracking devices, or what have you, but give her a blanket to cover herself with before she removes her undergarments. [[SarcasmMode Yep, nothing bad can come from that at all.]] Of course, this show being what it is, it turns out to be a Thanatos Gambit in disguise.]] |
| 1110 | ** Matt. Yes, [[SarcasmMode sure, absolutely, get out of your car while 50-some-odd heavily-armed bodyguards are surrounding you and aiming guns at you, and make snarky comments, some of which could be interpreted as racist dick jokes. That'll get ya outta trouble.]] |
| 1111 | ** The people that continued to worship Kira, even after witnessing Demegawa and other leaders of the Kira Cult get killed on live TV. You'd think that if you saw your religious leaders getting offed one-by-one on live TV, ''by the very entity you hold to be God'', you'd rethink your religious values. |
| 1112 | ** At the end of the manga, [[spoiler:Light himself. After he's exposed as Kira and shot by the last person he expected to turn on him, he's desperate enough to beg [[JerkassGods Ryuk]] to write down the names of everybody else in the room, forgetting that Ryuk is on no-one's side and doesn't care who wins as long as he's provided with [[ItAmusedMe entertainment]]. Ryuk, who had expected Light to think of a way out of his situation, realises that Light can no longer give him the entertainment he craves, and [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness writes Light's name in his Death Note instead]].]] |
| 1113 | * TookALevelInBadass: [[spoiler: Matsuda. Starts out as comic relief, ends up riddling Light with revolver bullets in the finale.]] |
| 1114 | * ToyBasedCharacterization: Near is often shown playing with toys, demonstrating his view that the Kira case is something of a game to him. His precision is demonstrated by stacking dice into orderly towers, each die facing the same direction. |
| 1115 | * TrademarkFavoriteFood: [[ICantBelieveItsNotHeroin Ryuk has an addiction to apples]] and together with all the apple imagery with Light in the openers they evoke the classic ForbiddenFruit symbolism. |
| 1116 | * {{Tragedy}}: The story could be interpreted as such depending on how the audience looks into the essentials. [[spoiler: In the classical sense, a tragedy meant 'TheProtagonist dies'.]] |
| 1117 | * TragicHero: Light fits into the Shakespearian mould for a tragic hero. For example compare him to the classic tragic hero character of Macbeth: [[spoiler: a noble person tempted by the supernatural and ambition to commit one act of evil after another until it catches up with him.]] |
| 1118 | * TranslationConvention: In spite of the fact that people of all nationalities appear throughout the series, and many scenes take place outside of Japan, all characters are presented as speaking Japanese to each other. In many cases, it's safe to assume English is the language actually being spoken InUniverse. |
| 1119 | %%* JustForFunTropeOverdosed: Look at this page; it's huge. |
| 1120 | * TrouserSpace: |
| 1121 | ** In the second arc, Light's new Death Note hiding place. [[http://deathnotefansite.deviantart.com/art/Death-Note-Lights-Hiding-Place-257199331]] He did it in an earlier scene in the manga too... |
| 1122 | ** In the manga [[PantsPositiveSafety this is where Mello keeps his pistol...]] |
| 1123 | * TruthInTelevision: Kira's idea of justice has him uncritically kill anyone wanted by the police, or arrested, unworried if they have been falsely accused or framed - without any second thoughts about "innocent until proven guilty" or "rights of the accused", to say nothing of rehabilitation. In real life, the Japanese legal system has a 99.8% conviction rate, mostly based on confessions, [[http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21679472-suspects-japanese-police-cells-are-far-too-vulnerable-abuse-forced-confess many of which may be taken under duress]] as you can be imprisoned for up to 23 days without being charged (and the prisons themselves are [[http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21679483-why-you-might-prefer-bangkok-jail-one-chiba-silent-screams cruel psychological-torture chambers]].) Kira's really just a product of Japanese policing culture. |
| 1124 | %%* TryNotToDie |
| 1125 | * {{Tsundere}}: It's mentioned in ''Another Note'' that Naomi tries not to be seen as one during her time in the FBI. The definition given in-text matches up with Type A. |
| 1126 | * TykeBomb: The Wammy's kids are raised from a young age to be brilliant detectives. |
| 1127 | * {{Ubermensch}}: Light is a textbook case: a charismatic person who challenges conventional morality (in this case, about justice and the merits of the death penality) and gathers like minded followers. L, his candy loving and amusement seeking Last Man, sees him as a sociopath with a god complex. |
| 1128 | * TheUnderworld: "Mu," the place where Death Note users [[spoiler: and everyone else]] go after they die, as they cannot go to either {{Heaven}} or {{Hell}} [[spoiler: which do not exist in this universe.]] |
| 1129 | * UnexpectedlyRealMagic: Light initially thinks the Death Note is somebody's twisted idea of a prank. It's only after he tests it on two people (a man holding a classroom hostage, and a sexual harasser) that he's sure it's the real deal. |
| 1130 | * UnflappableGuardian: Nothing fazes Watari; death notes and death gods mean he brings out the sniper rifle. |
| 1131 | * UnholyMatrimony: Light and Misa, whether Light likes it or not. They were both villains in their own right before joining forces. |
| 1132 | * UnintentionalBackupPlan: Light [[OutGambitted OutGambits]] Near by [[spoiler:fooling him into stealing a fake Death Note]]. However, because of Mello's own unrelated failed IndyPloy to kidnap Takada, [[spoiler:Near realizes the note is fake and is alerted to the location of the real Death Note, which he also steals and replaces with his own fake, allowing him to outwit Light]]. |
| 1133 | * UnmovingPlaid: |
| 1134 | ** In the manga, some very noticeable shortcuts were taken when depicting plaid or striped clothes. Sayu's pajamas come to mind. |
| 1135 | ** [[http://dl01.mangashare.com/manga/Death-Note/063/015.jpg Soichiro's suits]] are especially this. |
| 1136 | * UnreliableCanon: The finale [[spoiler: ends with Matsuda stating a bunch of theories that may or not be true]]. It doesn't help that in [[AllThereInTheManual The How To Read 13]] Obha simply says: "Death Note is about the reader's interpretations". |
| 1137 | * UnreliableNarrator: |
| 1138 | ** [[spoiler: Mello tells the story in ''Another Note''. What specifically makes him unreliable is that he wasn't present for any of the events, so how much of what he says about Naomi Misora's or the killer's inner thoughts or private moments is based on his own conjectures, or L's, is hard to say.]] |
| 1139 | ** In the anime, Mikami narrates the flashbacks to his youth, as opposed to the omniscient narrator in the manga. He thus has an unfavorable view of his mother's advice to stop fighting against the bullies, whereas the manga's narrator noted that she was motivated by genuine concern for his welfare that was largely lost on him. |
| 1140 | * TheUnreveal: When Light finally learns [[spoiler:L's true name]] in the anime and manga, that information isn't passed on to the audience, since the information itself pales in importance to the fact of Light having it. [[AllThereInTheManual Supplementary material]] does answer the question later, for the curious: [[spoiler:"L Lawliet" is his complete real name.]] |
| 1141 | * UnspokenPlanGuarantee: Usually we don't see Light writing his more complex death plans into his diary before they happen. |
| 1142 | * UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: |
| 1143 | ** Misa does this twice, to the severe detriment of [[ALighterShadeOfGray both sides.]] Once, it's as a PsychoSupporter to Kira, [[spoiler:giving L physical evidence in the case of her sending the tapes]], and the other time, it's out of MadLove to same, [[spoiler:endangering her own life to the point that her shinigami has to intervene]]. For a fervent Kira supporter, she's really a loose cannon: she never fully appreciates her role in either disaster. |
| 1144 | ** Sachiko asks her children to bring their father a change of clothes, and Sayu is reluctant to take the task. When Light volunteers, he ends up running into Naomi, learning about how close she is to figuring out an important part of how he kills people, and silencing her before she can reach L. |
| 1145 | ** Aizawa opens up his umbrella when it begins to snow and so ''just'' misses seeing Light and Naomi Misora together. |
| 1146 | * UnwittingPawn: [[spoiler: Higuchi]], both to L's plan and to Light's master plan. Mello gets absolutely pissed when he realizes Near is using him as one. |
| 1147 | * UrbanFantasy: 21st century Japan has death gods and magical notebooks. |
| 1148 | * UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans: Light's motivation. |
| 1149 | [[/folder]] |
| 1150 | |
| 1151 | [[folder:Tropes V-Z]] |
| 1152 | * VictoriasSecretCompartment: [[spoiler:Takada kills Mello with pages of the Death Note hidden in her bra. Shouldn't have let her have that blanket, huh?]] |
| 1153 | * VigilanteInjustice: Light Yagami gets ahold of the titular artifact and decides to use it to kill criminals. While initially he targets genuine scumbags, he starts getting DrunkWithPower and killing a lot more people, building himself up as the "[[AGodAmI God of the new world]]" and soon trying to TakeOverTheWorld and kill anyone who doesn't fit his extremely high standards. The entire world is soon in fear of his power, and the story makes a point to show how cruel Light has become, and how his vigilantism has negatively impacted society as a whole. |
| 1154 | * VillainousBreakdown: Light's is certainly one of the more famous ones, and has become somewhat of a MemeticMutation in its own right. |
| 1155 | ** Even worse in the Italian dub: he starts to sob... and ''then'' he '''[[LaughingMad laughs]]'''. |
| 1156 | * VillainousFriendship: |
| 1157 | ** Light and Misa begin as Type III, though seeing as [[spoiler: Light never does get around to killing her]], it is possible that they moved to Type I territory. |
| 1158 | ** Misa and Rem are Type III; Rem cares deeply for Misa, but Misa doesn't really care about Rem as anything more than a casual friend whose death she gets over pretty quickly. |
| 1159 | ** Mello and Matt are Type I, seeing how Matt is [[spoiler: the only person Mello shows remorse for having gotten killed]]. |
| 1160 | ** Mikami and Takada are Type I, but [[spoiler:Mikami kills her anyway because his loyalty to his "God" trumps any feelings he has for her.]] |
| 1161 | ** Light and Takada are very much Type III. [[spoiler: Takada loves and admires Light, but when Takada [[YouHaveFailedMe has failed him]] by getting kidnapped, he [[PsychicAssistedSuicide makes her kill herself]] by SelfImmolation.]] |
| 1162 | ** Light and Mikami at first appear to be Type I but [[WordOfGod a diagram in the databook]] actually implies that Light and Mikami are more of a Type III: Mikami is honestly loyal to Light, but Light views both Mikami and Takada as murderers who aren't that much better than other criminals. He does, however, think that Mikami is useful. Mikami [[spoiler: swears absolute devotion to Light when Light entrusts him with the Death Note and in turn he was the only one Light [[YouWillBeSpared was planning on keeping around after he won.]] However, in the anime at the very end it turns into Type III. When his plan to kill Near and others fails, Light tries to save himself by sacrificing Mikami, claiming that he doesn't know him; Mikami, while broken by this rejection, [[UndyingLoyalty remains loyal to Light]] and responds to his call for help by killing himself, creating a distraction that allows Light to escape. In the manga they are not friends at all as not only Light abandons Mikami, but also Mikami responds to Light's call for help by yelling at him that he's not a god.]] |
| 1163 | ** Light and Ryuk are type IV, the evil VitriolicBestBuds variety, Light sees Ryuk as a buddy to brag to, and [[GoKartingWithBowser Ryuk likes playing with Light]], but in the end, Light only wants to use Ryuk as much as he allows it (e.g. making him find hidden cameras installed in his room [[spoiler:or add fake rules to the Death Note as a part of his MemoryGambit]]), while Ryuk sees Light as a shiny new toy [[spoiler:[[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness to be disposed of as soon as he gets bored]]]]. |
| 1164 | ** Light and Rem are type IV, at first Rem ''hates'' Light for the way he [[ManipulativeBastard manipulates]] Misa but later [[spoiler: after spending time with Higuchi, Rem comes to sympathize with Light and his cause, finding Light to be "as pure as Misa."]] |
| 1165 | * VillainProtagonist: In another series, Light would be the shadowy villain that the heroic Master Detective had to capture before someone else was killed. |
| 1166 | * VillainWorld: [[spoiler: During the second arc, crime has dropped to zero, many countries have declared their support for Kira, and he's got multiple TV spokesmen.]] |
| 1167 | * VisionaryVillain: Light envisions a world without crime that is ruled by a god-like human with the power of death. |
| 1168 | * VoodooShark: See AdaptationInducedPlothole above for the second Rewrite special. |
| 1169 | * WackyAmericansHaveWackyNames: As with the Japanese names in the show, the writer didn’t want anyone to be embarrassed by sharing a name with a character in such a grim story. He just invented names that sounded vaguely western, such as "Raye Penbar," "Aiber" and "Wedy." |
| 1170 | * WallSlump: [[spoiler: Light, at the end.]] |
| 1171 | * WallsOfText: The manga, partially because of the very nature of the story and partially because Ohba made sure it had [[Mystical108 108]] chapters. |
| 1172 | * WeNeedToGetProof: Both L and Near end up suspecting Light right off the bat; though they'd both play fast and loose with ethics to solve a case, Near says ''ex post facto'' justification (like killing Light and seeing if the murders stop) is intolerable for either of them. |
| 1173 | * WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer: The Death Note kills people. Light quickly finds ways to make it do... more. |
| 1174 | * WhereItAllBegan: An Interesting example. [[spoiler: The Yellow Bix Warehouse is revealed in the last episode to be near the path Light used when walking to and from school. Light sees a past version of himself from the day he got the Death Note as he runs away.]] |
| 1175 | * WhosLaughingNow: |
| 1176 | ** This is [[spoiler: Mikami]]'s FreudianExcuse; he was bullied and now he has the power to kill bullies. |
| 1177 | ** In The GrandFinale [[spoiler: [[BewareTheNiceOnes Matsuda]]]] is done with being the ButtMonkey... |
| 1178 | ** Some food for thought- Light was seriously considering the [[JerkJock school bully]] for his second kill despite how it might implicate him to kill someone he knows. |
| 1179 | ** Taro Kagomi from the pilot chapter. |
| 1180 | * WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief: The Death Note's rules invoke this trope. If a victim's description of death has them writing "death gods love apples" before dying, they'll just die of a heart attack without fulfilling the description, because the victim would have no way of knowing that. What they can do is write an ordinary suicide note that ''just happens'' to spell "death gods love apples" if you take the first letter of each line. |
| 1181 | * WithDueRespect: Aizawa says this to L [[spoiler: when convinced of Light and Misa's innocence.]] |
| 1182 | * WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: First it was curiosity then it was 'kill the scum of the earth' and then [[AGodAmI full on god complex.]] |
| 1183 | * WorldOfHam: Despite the strong pessimistic viewpoint, there is no doubt that the series is full of ham, most of it coming from [[MundaneMadeAwesome one character]]. |
| 1184 | * WorthyOpponent: |
| 1185 | ** Light toward L. [[spoiler:Particularly after L dies, since his successors don't compare in his eyes.]] Light's inner resentment of Near wearing a mask of L is genuine. |
| 1186 | ** Subverted in the oneshot chapter set after the manga, [[spoiler:when Near [[DriventoSuicide drives C-Kira to suicide]] by telling C-Kira that he isn't worth Near's time.]] |
| 1187 | * WouldBeRudeToSayGenocide: Kira prefers the term "Justice." |
| 1188 | * WouldntHurtAChild: Not a specific character, but the Death Notes themselves. One of their [[AllThereInTheManual How to Use]] rules states that a Death Note cannot affect anyone under the age of 780 days (two years and 50 days). |
| 1189 | ** [[http://deathnote.wikia.com/wiki/File:Rules_XXV.jpg A Death God is also prohibited from giving the Death Note to a human below the age of 6 years]]. |
| 1190 | * WrittenByTheWinners: A discussed trope. |
| 1191 | -->'''Light''': ''If [[HiredToHuntYourself we]] catch Kira, then Kira is evil. If Kira takes control of the world, then Kira is Justice.'' |
| 1192 | * WrongGenreSavvy: L is the world's greatest detective, but for much of the investigation he is hindered by his assumption that Kira is merely inexplicably capable, rather than having actual supernatural help. He is shocked when he learns that Death Gods really walk the Earth. |
| 1193 | * XanatosSpeedChess: The series is a game of such chess between L and Light. They make their play and quickly improvise to the other's until one of them says 'checkmate'. |
| 1194 | * {{Yandere}}: Let's have Misa explain it: "If I see you with another girl, then I'll kill her!" Quintessential yandere. Even Ryuk, the shinigami, claims to find that scary. |
| 1195 | * YankTheDogsChain: Happens to Light himself every now and then and every time he falls for his enemies' {{plan}}. |
| 1196 | * YouAreAlreadyDead: "The human whose name is written in this note shall die." No takebacks. |
| 1197 | * YouAreWhatYouHate: |
| 1198 | ** As {{Lampshaded}} by Ryuk when he first meets Light, no matter how many criminals Light kills, there will always be one bastard left. |
| 1199 | ** Misa, who fears stalkers, becomes a stalker herself. |
| 1200 | * YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm: The Shinigami King, [[AllThereInTheManual so says the manual.]] |
| 1201 | * YouDidntAsk: This is his explanation in the manga for why he hadn't told Light why, if you have a Death Note, your lifespan is hidden from a human who has traded for Shinigami-sight. In addition, one of the rules of the Death Note as presented in "How to Use" is that the Shinigami is not obligated to tell the holder of the Death Note anything, even if the holder asks. |
| 1202 | * YouFool: Light says it a couple of times in the English dub and usually to Matsuda or Misa. |
| 1203 | * YouGetMeCoffee: L pulls this on [[ButtMonkey Matsuda]] when the latter asks how he can better pull his weight. |
| 1204 | * YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Light does this all the time, as does Mello. [[spoiler:Ryuk returns the favor to Light at the very end.]] |
| 1205 | * YouHaveToBelieveMe: Light invokes this word for word during [[spoiler:his MemoryGambit. When Light reverts to his "innocent" self and ''knows'' he's not Kira, he has no memory of his time as Kira, and something strange is going on here.]] Naturally, no one believes him. |
| 1206 | * YouJustToldMe: ''Light'' of all people falls for this and accidentally [[spoiler:outs Higuchi as Kira to Namikawa.]] Made even funnier by the fact that he's using L's name at the time. |
| 1207 | -->'''Misa''': "Wow! [[spoiler:Namikawa]] is really smart to have figured that out!" |
| 1208 | -->'''L''': "No, that's just because Light messed up." |
| 1209 | * YouKillItYouBoughtIt: |
| 1210 | ** Killing the owner of a Death Note is one way to obtain ownership. |
| 1211 | ** A human that causes a shinigami's death inherits their life span. |
| 1212 | * YoungConqueror: All of the four main characters have the mental qualifications to be this, but only Light is idealistic enough to follow this route. He plans to take over the world. |
| 1213 | * YourDaysAreNumbered: Once someone has their name written in the Death Note, that person will die no matter what they or anyone else does. |
| 1214 | * YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: [[spoiler: About two thirds of the way through the full story line, Light Yagami uses Misa and Rem to kill L and then assumes his identity, becoming the 2nd L. Thus, he manages to become the God of the New World...]] Five years later, Light [[VictoryIsBoring is delighted to discover that]] [[spoiler: L had made provisions for his defeat; he has successors eager to avenge him and show their worth by defeating the one who killed their hero.]] |
| 1215 | * YouWereTryingTooHard: Light makes his life worse by not giving up -- [[spoiler:when he kills FBIAgent Raye Penber, he ends up casting suspicion upon himself, not long after Penber judges Light free of suspicion of being Kira.]] If he had simply done ''nothing'', L would not have managed to narrow the suspects down to him. |
| 1216 | [[/folder]] |
| 1217 | |
| 1218 | ---- |
| 1219 |
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