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Recap / Death Note – Ep. 08: Glare

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At night, the Kira Task Force are looking into the surveillance into Penber at the train station. They notice that before Penber's death, he's looking at someone who is in the train before the doors close. To top it off, he was carrying an envelope that was left on the train. Just then, Watari gets a call from Ukita about information on the Kira case so L orders him to call him through Matsuda's phone. As he calls, L uses the name "Suzuki", and the news is about Naomi Misora's disappearance. L remembers her from the "B.B. Murders Los Angeles" case.

While Matsuda and Aizawa suggest that she must have killed herself because Penber died, L believes otherwise as she was emotionally strong. But he wonders if Kira got to her. As a result, L orders surveillance cameras to be placed in the houses of the families Penber was monitoring; Kitamura and Chief Yagami, despite Matsuda and Aizawa's warnings that is a violation of human rights. The chief gives out the order, despite being upset and offended. He believes that he cannot let his personal feelings get in the way of the investigation.

Light immediately suspects that something is off when he gets home due to his three separate methods of rigging his door for intruders, and believes there may be cameras or wiretaps in the house. He tells Ryuk that if he wants to be able to eat apples in his room without being seen, he will have to locate all the cameras.

That evening, as Chief Yagami and L watch on the monitors, Light does his best to behave like a normal teenager. He sees L's message on TV about the 1500 investigators and isn't fooled. He takes a particular bag of potato chips up to his room, where Ryuk tells him the number and locations of cameras. Light opens the chip bag, which contains a mini LCD TV and a piece of Death Note taped inside. He uses this to kill two criminals while appearing on camera to be studying at his desk. Chief Yagami believes this clears Light of suspicion, but L is not convinced.

The next day, Ryuk remarks on the fact that Light had the costly LCD TV thrown in the trash with the chip bag.


This episode provides examples of:

  • Adaptation Explanation Extrication: A minor example but the anime omits a bit of expository dialogue between Ryuk and Light explaining Light made sure to hide the mini TV in a potato chip flavor nobody else in his house liked so it wouldn't be discovered before he had a chance to use it.
  • All for Nothing: For all the effort Light went through to kill Naomi Misora to prevent her from telling L her theory that Kira can kill in ways outside of heart attacks, L deduces this as a result of Naomi's death.
  • Big Ham: Both Light and Ryuk get small moments. When his withdrawal symptoms kick in, Ryuk shouts out "the symptoms are starting!" and of course Light's inner monologue of "I'll take a potato chip... AND EAT IT!"
  • Covert Pervert: L agrees-the cameras should be installed everywhere.
  • Crazy-Prepared: Light kept a mini TV hidden in a bag of potato chips just in case he was ever put under surveillance.
  • Does This Remind You of Anything?: Ryuk flat out says apples to him are like what drugs are to some humans, if he goes too long without them he gets withdrawal symptoms. These symptoms include doing handstands and his body twisting up like a pretzel. "IT'S NOT PRETTY!"
  • Inconsistent Dub: The writers of the dub establish the setting is in Japan, but there's one line of dialogue that is out of place. The dub says that Light spent $400 on a miniature TV, but the original says the price was about ¥40,000. Oops.
    • However this statement is still technically accurate as 1 dollar = 100 yen, therefore 400 dollars = 40,000 yen. This could also be Ryuk being used to speaking the English language, as he wrote the Death Note's instructions in English because it is the most common language.
  • Infraction Distraction: Light buys porn so his father and the investigators will think that's why he's checking if people enter his room.
  • Manipulative Bastard: A mild example here. Light uses Ryuk's love for apples to make him look for cameras and microphones in his room.
  • Mundane Made Awesome: Light takes a potato chip AND EATS IT!
  • O.O.C. Is Serious Business: L had worked with Naomi before, and thus knows she is too strong willed to be Driven to Suicide by her fiancee's death.
  • Properly Paranoid: Light puts a scrap of paper in the door as an obvious tell, leaves his door handle ajar, and sets up a piece of pencil lead so that it will break if someone enters his room. All three options have been triggered, it can be attributed to his mother being in his room with laundry or something like that, but when the subtle traps are triggered but someone takes the time to reset the paper scrap, then that's a sign something more suspicious is going on.
  • To Be Lawful or Good: The taskforce struggles with the moral dilemma presented when L wants to illegally install cameras and wiretaps in the Yagami and Kitamura homes.

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