http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/DEATH_NOTE_-_37_-_Large_20.jpg
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* ''Manga/DeathNote'', of course, had [[spoiler: the deaths of L and Watari at the coerced hands of Rem, who, because of the rules of the {{Shinigami}}, also died]]. (If this becomes ItWasHisSled before it airs on Creator/AdultSwim, I will ''[[InternetToughGuy break you.]]'')
** And don't forget [[spoiler: L died failing to bring down Kira]]. That is why this editor ''much'' prefers the Movie's version of this where [[spoiler: L prevents himself from being killed by Rem by writing his own name into the note, but adding that he would die 23 days later. Sadly Watari and Rem don't make it out alive. And you see a few shots of Rem crumbling into dust. Finally, there is the scene at the end where Light's entire family mourn his death, his father only having told them that he was killed by Kira.]]
*** This editor still prefers the original version, because [[spoiler:L surviving makes everything Light does absolutely pointless, cheapening the impact.]]
*** And then the third movie L: change the world has I'll be waiting as it's end theme. If you've seen it or the second film you will know why this is a tearjearker.
*** Speaking of ''Change the [=WorLd=]'' (that was not a typo, by the way), the scene where Maki, one the kids L has to protect [[spoiler:decides ''not'' to kill the villain (who is also her father's murderer) and ends up crying as L holds her and says "You're a good girl. I believed in you."]] And there's the bit at the end: [[spoiler:L takes the other child,a little boy, to Wammy's, and finally give him a name: Near. He then hands him a bag, the newly-named Near looks inside and pulls out the toy robot he had liked in a store.]] Several moments later, as L leaves, his voice-over reveals that [[spoiler:he's not ready to die; he wants to live longer.]] * sob*
**** Despite never having seen ''L: Change the [=WorLd=]'' or any of the live-action movies but was spoiled long ago, I ''teared up'' just from reading that.
**** As for [[spoiler:L's death,]] the cutscene of [[spoiler: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcvIxTVafkM L's funeral]]]] goes from TearJerker with Soichiro promising to him that he'd make his death worth it and Matsuda crying, to rage-inducing with Light making up lies about how he'll avenge [[spoiler:L's death]] by killing Kira himself. It quickly turns to terrifying with Light going absolutely berserk with his laugh and screaming at [[spoiler:L's grave]] that he has won.

** What about [[spoiler:the death of Deputy Director Yagami? The saddest part about that was that thanks to Light's relinquishment of the Death Note, the Shinigami-eye-wielding Director saw Light's lifespan, so he died genuinely believing that his son wasn't Kira.]]
*** [[{{@/AK47x2}} I find]] ''the very concept of Yagami'' a TearJerker. A dedicated policeman whose son is the criminal he's been hunting...
**** ''[[OffingTheOffspring When I leave here, it will be with my son!]]'' Horrible.
**** In the manga, Soichiro's [[spoiler:last words, beginning with "Light, I'm counting on you to..." are cut off by Light trying to get him to kill Mello with the notebook! Light's panicking is understandable but it's an example of how badly Light's humanity had to suffer.]]
*** And the moment in the hospital just after his [[spoiler:non-Kira heart attack]], when, in full knowledge that Light is a suspect, he quietly explains to him that it isn't Kira himself who's evil, but the power he's using. Utterly tragic - especially since Light, while briefly affected, is a brick wall, and because that distinction between people and their acts is something Light will never grasp.
*** The shot of Light's mother Sachiko slumped at her table really tugged at my heartstrings. [[spoiler:Her son Light has all but disappeared from her life, her daughter Sayu is [[HeroicBSOD confined to a wheelchair and catatonic]], and her husband Soichirou has just died trying to stop Kira.]]
**** And [[spoiler:Soichiro's ashes]] are on the table in front of her. That's what that neatly wrapped box she's contemplating is.
***** Really? [[spoiler: I always thought that the neatly wrapped box was Soichiro's lunch. A wife crying over a meal her husband will never eat was sadder and more tragic to me.]]
****** No. I thought so too at first, but it turns out bentos aren't the only things that get wrapped in furoshiki. And when you think about it, [[spoiler:Soichiro dies in Los Angeles, why would she have made his lunch in Tokyo?]]
*** Also the entirety of the finale of ''The Last Name'', from [[spoiler:the emotional punch in the gut when Light and the audience realise that the Death Note didn't work on him, and he saw everything, to the scene when he's walking home with Sayu, who's crying because she thinks Kira killed Light.]] Just... ''[[KickTheDog ouch]]''.

** There's also Misa Amane's (in my opinion) strongest scene. [[spoiler: She's in restraints, begging Rem to kill her, and even tries to bite her own tongue off. Of course, she doesn't succeed]], but it was a real turning point for her character. [[spoiler: Well, it seemed so at the time...]]

** I found [[spoiler:the moments before Light's death in the anime particularly sad. Specifically when he's running away from the warehouse and we start seeing flashbacks to the first episode showing him walking along the same road just after finding the Death Note, and ''he looks so young''. It was surprisingly heartbreaking, considering he's, y'know, a sociopath.]]
*** I just found it an egregious case of DracoInLeatherPants.
*** That's the definition of subjective, I guess. I loved the symbolism, especially when [[spoiler: The "current" Light and "old" Light pass. Although I was rather upset - I had ''so'' been looking forward to Light's death, and then they went and ''actually made it sad''. I thought I would be quite happy at Light's death, but it got less funny after he completely [[VillainousBreakdown loses it.]]]]
*** [[WordOfGod Even Ohba said]] that Light was, in many ways, [[spoiler:the Death Note's first victim]]. Given that the DracoInLeatherPants trope is about fan misinterpretation of canon, is it even possible to present one within canon? This case seems more like AlasPoorVillain or a BrokenAesop.
*** [[spoiler: Light losing it was bad, ''Matsuda'' losing it was horrible. He so ''genuinely'' seemed to admire Light, and seeing him shoot him repeatedly with tears streaming down his face, then having to be stopped from killing Light by the other officers was some seriously upsetting stuff.]]
**** I actually felt a cathartic release at that moment; in a story of the combat between potential gods, it was a human that struck the decisive blow. She may or may not have read too much {{Hellsing}} to be entirely sane about that kind of scene, though.
**** And this one felt great joy in [[spoiler:seeing Matsuda show moral fiber and courage that Light just didn't believe him to have]]. I actually made a cell phone wallpaper celebrating [[spoiler:Matsuda's fateful gunshot at Light, showing how impressive his personal growth was.]]
*** I disagree with the ''anime'' version, cause it made him look like a wuss, but [[spoiler: his death in the movie, now THAT was depressing. [[DiedInYourArmsTonight Dying in his father's arms]], still claiming he was justice.]]
**** [[spoiler:The arms of the father he'd tried to murder only minutes before. Oh, Soichiro...]]
*** For me, the only real sad part of [[spoiler:Light's death was when he realized that he there was no one left to help him, and him still not realizing it was largely his fault.]]
**** This- especially in the anime where [[spoiler: he's lying on the ground in the moments after being shot, calling out to Takada and Misa, asking what he should do in a voice like that of a little lost child.]] Gets this Troper every time.
*** [[Tropers/{{Nani}} This troper]] really hated [[ManipulativeBastard Light,]] so when I watched the scenes where [[spoiler: he starts to cry out for Misa and Takada, and wonders what he should do]], it surprised me when I began to tear up. I thought it was just the fact that he sounded like a lost child, so I brushed it off. But when [[spoiler: he flees the building, and runs past his younger self after just finding the Death Note]], I burst into tears. I don't usually cry, and to this day, I can't figure out what was so saddening that I had to cry for who is possibly the character I hate most of all.

** Mikami's horribly depressing backstory made me tear up a little. Especially when the boy he protected thanks him and adult Mikami says 'as long as I heard that word, it made me want to help them every time'. The contrast between what a sweet kid he was and the way he is now is just so ''stark''.

** Seven words: "Matt... [[spoiler: I got you killed...]] I'm sorry." Not just for Matt, but because it's the one time in the series that we see Mello as something ''other'' than a HotBlooded, CantCatchUp InsufferableGenius.
** Worse with FridgeHorror when you realise like L, Mello only had one friend.
** [[spoiler: Matt's death]] in general due to the way it is shot, which seems to imply he was meant to be a lot more imporatnt character, as he had such a minor role yet there is the lingering shot of his cigarette

* L calling Light his only friend.
*** This one has been undone by WordOfGod. How To Read 13 says L has ''no friends at all'' and that it was just a lie he told Light, even though he knew he'd hardly believe it.
*** That WordOfGod statement is a personal FanonDisContinuity for this [[Tropers/SaltyWound troper]], his friends and he suspects many others. It's just too sad....
*** Agreed. As awful as it is for L's only friend to be ''Light'' of all people, the idea of L never considering anyone a friend ''ever'' is even worse. L gets one friend, no matter how much it sucks.
*** This troper has their own interpretation. The How To Read profiles were listed somewhat like interviews, meaning some of the definitions were altered somewhat to match the characters. So Light being L's only friend was true, and L was lying, to the audience and himself, so that he wouldn't grow attached to his only true friend. This only makes [[spoiler: L's death and confirmation that Light was responsible for it]] all the more heart wrenching.

* L and Watari looking at one another through the computer monitors and L calling Watari's name, first quietly, and then loudly [[spoiler: just before Watari cuts the transmission and erases the datbase due to his death]]. Particularly sad since that episode implied that Watari was the closest thing L had to a father, and the angle and wide-eyed look he has in the monitor Watari looks at makes him look particulalry childlike. Its also the first time L's voice seems to have tender emotion and vulnerability in it.
*** It's even more depressing since most people are so upset by [[spoiler:L's death]] that they completely forget the fact that [[spoiler:Watari died too]]. [[spoiler:L's death]] wasn't as bad (though still was terribly horrible) since [[spoiler:he was actively fighting against Kira and in the end one of those two had to die]], but [[spoiler:Watari's death]] wasn't necessary at all in my eyes, and that just makes it all the more heartbreaking.
*** This troper, when she saw [[spoiler:L's death]] in the anime (because it's so much WORSE when the pictures are MOVING), she [[BigNo screamed at the television for a straight ten minutes]], then burst into tears after realizing it had actually happened. (Yes, he is this troper's hero.)

* How could anyone have forgotten the death of Naomi Misora? [[spoiler: She comes so close to bringing Raye's killer to justice, and this is what ends up being the death of her. The small, metaphorical scene with the noose, the music... so sad.]]
*** Naomi was [[Tropers/{{coolman229}} this troper]]'s favorite character, so seeing her die, especially after [[spoiler: getting talked out of getting outside help from Light]] made this troper die a little inside.
** Lightly tied to Misora, [[spoiler: Beyond Birthday's death at the end of the serial murder cases.]] Yeah, I know, he [[spoiler: killed three people, one of which was just a kid, and attacked Misora in an alleyway,]] but this [[NightmareFetishist B fangirl]] got very attached to him.
** [[Tropers/GodotIsWaiting4U I had gotten]] through most of the tear jerkers on this page ([[spoiler:L, Watari and Soichiro Yagami]] were among the only ones that hit me) and was half-hoping [[spoiler:Light would win]] throughout the first 35 episodes of the show. Then [[spoiler: Kiyomi Takada]] happened. If you don't think that her death scene is a tear jerker, perhaps you haven't thought about it enough. To review: [[spoiler: poor Takada had been kidnapped by Mello and killed him, causing Mello to crash the truck. Takada survived, naked, in the back of the truck. She called Light, and was clearly frightened. Light had her just keep killing, while she's in the back of this truck, cold, naked, frightened, and alone, and out of her devotion to him, she trusts him and keeps killing, and what happens? Light makes her burn herself to death.]] With that, my previous unwillingness to take a side in Death Note vanished. After that, the bastard had to die.
** I never teared up watching or reading anything, until [[spoiler: The Episode where L Died]] and teared up during almost every episode after it.
** Nobody else seems to care that [[spoiler: Rem]] bit the bullet, but I found her death paticularly heartbreaking in that NOBODY CARED. Nobody. To Light, she was just an expendable pawn, Ryuk predictably didn't give a crap, [[spoiler: Misa]], the very person she died to save, displayed minimal, if ANY reaction, and as for L, [[spoiler: lets just say he had other things to worry about at the time]]. [[spoiler: Rem's]] death went unmourned, her dissolved corpse swept away by some oblivious cleaning staff. Nobody sheds a tear.
*** ''Thank you''. I was barely affected by [[spoiler: L's death]] and teared up over Watari, but Rem made me break down sobbing.

* Misa Amane's last scene in the anime, where [[spoiler: she sadly stands atop of a building, dressed up in her ElegantGothicLolita garb, eyes closed and apparently ready to jump to her death.]] Misa was [[Tropers/{{Orihime}} my favorite character]], and seeing her just... ''there'' after [[spoiler: Light dies]] just broke my heart.
** Seconded. Out of all of the Tear-Jerkery moments in the whole series, that's what got [[Tropers/{{NoirTheExecutioner}} me]]. Especially with this incredibly sad music playing in place of the normal heavy-metal ending, the credits rolling over, [[spoiler: jerking back and forth between shots of her and {{Woobie}}-ified Light...]] Worst part? How To Read cites [[spoiler: her death date]] as ''Valentine's Day.''
** Consider also that this is not [[spoiler:the 2nd Kira, Misa in full CuteAndPsycho mode]] that dies. It's an innocent woman who has been jerked around all her life without her knowledge by the power of the Death Note. Rather than [[spoiler:the insane, evil Kira persona]] being the one that died, [[spoiler:Misa committed suicide]] after she'd gotten her life as a normal human back. Even without [[spoiler:Light around to use her]], she just couldn't win.
** [[Tropers/{{Ledge}} To me]], Misa is the most tear-inducing character in the whole series for all the above reasons, and knowing that she [[spoiler: kills herself]] after finally being relieved from all her use and abuse just makes it all that much sadder. There's some FridgeHorror at work too: consider that she [[spoiler: traded half her remaining life ''twice'' for Shinigami eyes,]] and she [[spoiler: dies only a year]] after the main story -- that means she [[spoiler: would have only had four years left to live even had she not found her own Death Note.]] The poor girl never had even half a shot at a normal life.
*** That's ... not exactly true. Remembder that [[spoiler: Rem died for her as well, and would thus have transferred half of her remaining lifespan to Misa as well]]. I find it hard to believe that [[spoiler: she committed suicide ''because'' it was her reaching the end of her lifespan (maybe some errant Shinigami killed her - who knows?)]], but for me that makes it sadder because [[spoiler: she either doesn't appreciate what she has or, because of her obsessiveness over Light and the instability that came with her family's deaths at a younger age, she just can't cope with any more pain and move on.]]

* In a sad version of FridgeHorror, the [[spoiler:survivors of the]] Yagami family. And if thinking about it wasn't bad enough, then [[FanFicRecs/DeathNote some really good fanfic writers got ahold of it...]] '''Not. Fair.''' That's what really gets me. Light ruined the lives of the people he should have loved most in the world and ''they did nothing wrong''. And the bastard STILL didn't realize what he was doing!
** ...and the manga:
--> '''Light (on the phone):''' Sorry mom, I can't come home again this year. Tell Sayu that I promise I'll find time to come back home next year so we can spend some real family time together.
** ([[HarsherInHindsight Knowing that]] [[spoiler: [[HarsherInHindsight there will be no next year...]]]])

* It's not exactly a tearjerker, but I thought one of the most tense, heartbreaking moments in the series was the closeup on [[spoiler:Light's eye when he first gets the death note back after the Yotsuba arc. After again seeing the innocent idealist that he was, it was heartbreaking to watch that be erased. It was the ultimate betrayal.]]
** YES. He had so much potential in that Arc, and he was just so goddamn ''decent'', that the knowledge that it was all gone for good broke this editor's heart.
*** This troper has JUST gotten to this part, and can't watch anymore tonight. [[spoiler: It's the fucking ''scream'' that does it for me. That's what made me tear up: it isn't just Light getting his memories back. It's the innocent, cheerful boy he's become over the last few episodes, watching and reacting in horror as he realizes that he's Kira - the very person he swore to hunt down -, ''knowing'' that he's going to 'die' and that the monster he truly is, is going to reassert himself, and it will be as if the idealist - the Light he could have been if he hadn't found that fucking book or if he'd gotten over his boredom - never existed.]]

* When he does lose his memories, however, he goes from sinisterly calm to outright desperate. Afterwards, [[spoiler:Higuchi]] continues killing criminals, but L decides to lie to Light and say that no killings have happened. Not only that, I felt shocked that he was confined for 50 days straight, he's seen on the ground and by the looks of it, he looks like he was dying of starvation. What makes it worse was when L [[spoiler:tricked Light into believing that his father was going to kill him]]. [[spoiler:Right when his father pulled the trigger and the gunshot was heard, it seemed that Light died and his father crossed the MoralEventHorizon for doing this. But then we see that it was a test to see if Light was Kira or not and gun was just a blank.]] Even worse, Light was tearing up and begging for mercy and Misa was calling out to Light's father, believing how cruel he his, and then sobbing for Light.

* There is one part, and one part alone, that I got teary-eyed about, and it's at the very end. [[spoiler:Near is surrounded by a bunch of toys, doing what he does best... and eating a bar of chocolate.]]

* The birthday cake in ''The Last Name''. Just... gah.

* Would it be fair to argue the whole SERIES is nothing but a Tear Jerker? Seriously, it's been ages since I've seen the Anime, and my allegiances to the characters probably changed with every episode, but reading any of these moments makes my eye water--even if I HATED the character CONSISTENTLY.

* What got me was the moment when [[spoiler:Misa made the deal for the Shinigami eyes for the second time.]]

* ... Is this troper really the only one who sadfaces when Light sees the notebook fall, right at the start?
** Watching the entire series, and then watching the first episode again. Light has no idea what he's getting into. [[HarsherInHindsight Just imagining what his life would have been like had he not been staring out the window gets me.]]
*** That's one of the saddest things about Death Note for me. Light was so smart and could have done anything he wanted, but when he found the Death Note it basically ruined his life. He was never a bad person when he didn't have the Death Note, and I think it really screwed with his morals.

* No mention of [[spoiler:Gelus]] yet? He's just so sad-looking and his [[spoiler:death]] was pretty heartwrenching. Especially for poor [[spoiler:Rem who was couldn't do anything but watch]].
** Also consider that his notebook was [[spoiler:given to Misa by Rem, as she believed it belonged to her, given that Gelus died to save her with it. And then after that, Light gets a hold of it, uses Misa, gives the notebook away to some evil bastard called Mikami and it ends up getting burned by Near. Especially sad when you consider Rem's line of the notebook being the only reminder of Gelus' existence and the scene in which Rem tells Misa that the notebook belongs to her and she clutches it to her chest. Try not to wish that Light and Misa had never met after looking over that scene again]].

* I'm probably the only one, but [[spoiler: Namikawa's death ]] in the anime. FaceHeelDoorSlam, anyone?
** I've only read the manga version, but I'd agree with you.
** Seconded; even with all things considered.
* The final music that plays in the anime version during [[spoiler:Light Yagami starting to slowly die and when he sees an image of L looking over him]] gets this troper every time.

* For me, Light's last conversation with Misa in the manga is just ... heartbreaking. Misa is cheerful and glad that she's gotten a chance to talk to Light, telling him happily about the hotel room. And Light is completely "Yeah, good, she's not something I need to worry about at the moment." And he hangs up -- if he even bothered to say goodbye to her, the reader doesn't see it. And ''that's'' their last. Conversation. Ever. After Misa gave her life and soul to Light, suffered L's torture for him, [[spoiler: begged Rem to ''kill her'' when she couldn't take it any longer]], and let his control dominate her life completely -- ''that'' was their last conversation. They were engaged to be married, for the love of God; yes, it was only a pretense on Light's part, but they had been together for years, and Misa finally had the family that she had lost when her parents died. And [[spoiler: she ''kills herself'' after Light dies.]] AND THAT WAS THEIR LAST CONVERSATION.

* Maybe it's just me, but the really simple scene added in episode 25 of the anime where [[spoiler:You see Watari bring a child L into Wammy's House for the first time]] really got to me. Not just the way the scene was shot, and the haunting music playing, but the fact that it shows that L was just as human as anyone and how Watari was probably the only person who really cared about him.

* No one mentioned the first scene we see of Aizawa after [[spoiler: he leaves the task force]]? He's sitting alone in a park and his family turns up [[spoiler: he breaks down crying because he missed out on so much of his daughter's life]] made worse with her coy confusion and the questions "[[spoiler: What's wrong dad? Mommy, why is daddy crying]]?" Along with the results of Light's actions on his family and Misa, that scene hits this troper harder than any other moment in the whole series.
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