History TearJerker / DeathNote

* While Light died in the manga pathetically with [[CompleteMonster no sympathy or regret whatsoever]], the anime has a more sad end. The scene where Light is running away in the anime after being shot. He sees himself before he got the Death Note and only sobs harder, [[WhatHaveIDone clearly showing regret in the end]].

*** It's worse in the manga, where Aiber dies of ''liver cancer''. It's not clear when Light wrote his name in the book relative to when L died, but it could have been up to 23 days that Aiber had to suffer. And dying of cancer in such a brief time frame probably means the cancer was extremely aggressive, with no point in even trying to treat it. It's mentioned he died "with his family at his side", and at least four people are shown, people who had to watch him deteriorate for weeks or months, knowing there was no hope.

*** 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 L's death and confirmation that Light was responsible for it all the more heart wrenching.

** Mikami, in general, is a TragicVillain. flashbacks show that he UsedToBeASweetKid who hated seeing others hurt and wanted to protect the weak initially being rather successful at this. But years of bullying as a result of his desire to protect others ended up completely twisting his ideals to the point where he saw his mother's death as a good thing and act of god simply because she was concerned about him constantly getting beaten up as a result of his beliefs. Similar to Light, if things turned out differently Mikami could have ended up genuinely decent instead of ending up a fanatical murderer who died in agony in a pool of his own blood, but by the time he receives the note, he's too far gone and the note only further corrupts his worldview.

*** It's worse in the manga, where Aiber dies of ''liver cancer''. It's not clear when Light wrote his name in the book relative to when L died, but it could have been up to 5 months that Aiber had to suffer. And dying of cancer in such a brief time frame probably means the cancer was extremely aggressive, with no point in even trying to treat it. It's mentioned he died "with his family at his side", and at least four people are shown, people who had to watch him deteriorate for weeks or months, knowing there was no hope.

*** In the manga, Mello says "Matt... I never thought you'd be killed... forgive me" which kind of implies that Mello, for all his desperation, actually factored in making sure Matt would be able to escape into his plan and still saw him die. that had to be crushing.

* Who Light has become by the end of this arc. There is nothing good in him anymore, no feeling towards other people, no genuineness, no redeeming qualities. The end of the Relight special [[https://youtu.be/XyfwdEp2b-M?t=193 throws this into relief]] as he walks away from L's grave and proceeds to kill the Yotsuba group. Everything about the way he is animated and voiced in this scene — his stooped posture; his slow, almost shambling gait; his FaceFramedInShadow; the utterly cold yet unfathomably hateful look in his red eyes; the deranged and foreboding tremor in his voice as he murmurs, ''"I… am the god… of the new world"''; and the horrifically manic grin [[TheMirrorShowsYourTrueSelf on his reflection's face]] — manages to communicate in a way that words never could just how rotten and demented Light has become. He has gone completely off the deep end, and he is ''never'' coming back.

*** Combined withe FridgeHorror: Soichiro died less than 24 hours after making the shinigami eye trade, which meant he was destined to die within two days, anyway. He had already had one heart attack, so it's ''possible'' that he was meant to die a natural death... but he had also admitted that, since giving the notebook to criminals, he had been contemplating suicide.

* There's something incredibly sad in the last two rules of the Death Note: "All humans, without exception, will eventually die" and "After the user of a Death Note dies, the place they go is [[CessationOfExistence Mu (Nothingness)]]." Even if we all know that death is unavoidable, it's still a gloomy, laconic reminder of human inability to control life and death.

'''''[[ManOnFire The rest of Light ignites, with the fires silencing his screams for help. His right hand, still clutching the 'Death Note, finally drops the destroyed notebook. Ryuk and Rem can only watch this grotesque death play out in front of them.]]]]'''''\\

** Mikami, in general, is a TragicVillain. flashbacks show that he UsedToBeASweetKid who hated seeing others hurt and wanted to protect the weak initially being rather successful at this. But years of bullying as a result of his desire to protect others as ended up completely twisting his ideals to the point where he saw his mothers death as a good thing and act of god simply because she was concerned about him constantly getting beaten up as a result of his beliefs. Similar to Light, if things turned out differently Mikami could have ended up genuinely decent instead of ending up a fanatical murderer who died in agony in a pool of his own blood, but by the time he receives the note he's too far gone.

** Mikami, in general, is a TragicVillain. flashbacks show that he UsedToBeASweetKid who hated seeing others hurt and wanted to protect the weak initially being rather successful at this. But years of bullying as a result of his desire to protect others ended up completely twisting his ideals to the point where he saw his mothers death as a good thing simply because she was concerned about him constantly getting beaten up. Similar to Light, if things turned out differently Mikami could have ended up genuinely decent instead of as a fanatical murderer who died in agony in a pool of his own blood, but by the time he receives the note he's too far gone.

* Seven words: "Matt... 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.

* The shot of Light's mother Sachiko slumped at her table. Her son Light has all but disappeared from her life, her daughter Sayu is [[HeroicBSOD confined to a wheelchair and catatonic]], and her husband Soichiro has just died trying to stop Kira. And Soichiro's ashes are on the table in front of her. That's what that neatly wrapped box she's contemplating is. Meanwhile, more and more people around the world are going on about how wonderful Kira is, meaning that few really appreciate Soichiro's sacrifice. And this is ''the last'' we see of Sachiko. Bare in mind that all in the anime/manga we saw her as nothing more but a doting but caring mother for Light and Sayu, as well as a devoted wife to Soichirou...and now she has nothing. BreakTheCutie at its ''most painful''.

%% It is against Wiki/TvTropes rules to talk about personal experiences and to refer to yourself in first person or using

* Aizawa aggressively criticizes L for continuing to suspect Light and Misa, despite Soichiro's "I'll kill you and then myself" stunt, the constant surveillance of them, and the 13 Day Rule. He objects when L wants to test the 13 day rule, and five years later, still doesn't want to buy it when Mello says he ''has'' tested it and proven it's fake, due to Mello's own criminal acts, even though Near is now starting to suspect Light just like L did, and ''still'' doesn't want to see it tested himself, when Near offers to do so by killing Mello. It's not until Near lies and says Mogi was killed by Kira while in his custody that Aizawa breaks down and cooperates with him, but even then, due to Near's resorting to such an underhanded tactic, he refuses to share everything he knows, although he and Mogi independently decide to put Light and Misa under surveillance again. It's not until he confirms that Light and Takada are communicating secretly that he finally, ''finally'' becomes convinced that Light is and has been Kira all along, and the first thing he does is rush to tell Near everything he knows. And Near just tells him point-blank that none of it matters anymore. He already knows everything Aizawa wants to tell him, and since Aizawa doesn't have any physical proof of his claims, nor can he get any without endangering his own life, he and the rest of the taskforce are entirely irrelevant to the investigation. All Near can say is that Aizawa's and Mogi's surveillance of Light and Misa, which prevents Light from making any moves of his own, is a factor in his planning, and that he wants Aizawa to see the case to the end. Aizawa is just crushed, remembering how he staked his life for this investigation, and now he's not even a factor in the outcome. All he can do is watch L's successors finish his work.

** Even ''worse'', Light specifies in the notebook that she kills herself in such a way [[NeverFoundTheBody that her body is never discovered]], [[AdultFear robbing Naomi's loved ones of closure]] and the [[DueToTheDead opportunity to lay her remains to rest]].

[[AGodAmI Some insane, unfeeling monster]], [[AdultFear somehow raised by me]]?''

* Light's death in the finale. It ''must'' be quoted in it's entirety.

* Who Light has become by the end of this arc. There is nothing good in him anymore, no feeling towards other people, no genuineness, no redeeming qualities. The end of the Relight special [[https://youtu.be/XyfwdEp2b-M?t=193 throws this into relief]] as he walks away from L's grave and proceeds to kill the Yotsuba group. Everything about the way he is animated and voiced in this scene — his stooped posture; his slow, almost shambling gait; his FaceFramedInShadow; the utterly cold yet unfathomably hateful look in his red eyes; the deranged and foreboding tremor in his voice as he murmurs, ''"I… am the god… of the new world"''; and the horrifically manic grin [[TheMirrorShowsYourTrueSelf on his reflection's face]] — manages to communicate in a way that words never could just how rotten and demented Light has become. He has gone completely off the deep and he is ''never'' coming back.

* 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, 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 she ''kills herself'' after Light dies. AND THAT WAS THEIR LAST CONVERSATION.

** This also means that all the people we see die over the course of the series? The last moments of their lives- their ''absolute final experiences''- were ones full of pain, fear, and despair. And for all people, there's no one to comfort them, no one to guide them to a better place, no one waiting for them on the other side. Just oblivion.

* Wedy's death. In the manga she is referred to as "Mary Kenwood, the second Kenwood daughter", which implies that she's from a well-known family, and has living parents and at least one sibling. Criminal or not, she had a family, and one day she was just gone, in what looked like a random accident. And like Aiber's family, they'll never know their loved one was actually killed by Kira.

*** In the manga, Mello says "Matt... i never thought you'd be killed... forgive me" which kind of implies that Mello, for all his desperation, actually factored in making sure Matt would be able to escape into his plan and still saw him die. that had to be crushing.

* The shot of Light's mother Sachiko slumped at her table. Her son Light has all but disappeared from her life, her daughter Sayu is [[HeroicBSOD confined to a wheelchair and catatonic]], and her husband Soichiro has just died trying to stop Kira. And Soichiro's ashes are on the table in front of her. That's what that neatly wrapped box she's contemplating is. Meanwhile, more and more people around the world are going on about how wonderful Kira is, meaning that few really appreciate Soichiro's sacrifice. And this is ''the last'' we see of Sachiko. Bare in mind that all in the anime/manga we saw her as nothing more but a doting but caring mother for Light and Sayu, as well as a devoted wife to Soichirou...and now she has nothing. BreakTheCutie at it's ''most painful''.

* And then there's Rem's reaction upon realizing what Light wants her to do. And then after L's death, the camera pan to reveal that there's nothing left of her but a pile of sand is one of the most gut-wrenching shots in the show.

** While Light's mourning was more ambiguous over whether or not it was genuine in the manga due to how rushed it was portrayed, in the anime, the moment Soichiro said his last word, "Light...", Light seems to go from pretending to panic to sobbing more genuinely. He moves back a few inches with a shocked look on his face, drops the Death Note and pen, and then breaks down sobbing into his fathers chest and saying the above quote. One could argue that that was [[DespairEventHorizon the last of Light Yagami before he got the Death Note that died]]. After that, he showed no concern towards anyone, whatsoever.