Death Note

He'd have to fulfill some very specific requirements to get the attention of established religions at the least.

As mentioned before, am currently rewatching the anime with my girlfriend (for the record if you guys think I hate Light, you oughta talk to her). Just got up to the memory arc. Something I'm wondering about is the two week delay between Light giving up the notebook and Higuchi's killings starting. I've never been sure if that was deliberate on Light's part (to make the psychological shock when the killings resumed all the harder on L et al) or if it was just the result of it taking Rem two weeks to find a suitable replacement. I'm actually leaning in the latter direction; it's got to be difficult finding somebody who meets Light's requirements of evil and self-centred, but also clearly too stupid to to break from the gameplan. If Higuchi had been even just a bit smarter things could have gotten very awkward for Light.

From the wording of the conversation in the manga there was no time period specified, so I chalk it up to Rem either taking that long to find a suitable candidate or deciding on her own to wait the 14 days. It probably would have been more advantageous to Light if the killings started a day or two into his incarceration to create the illusion that it was all the same Kira. Granted it wouldn't have lasted too long once they noticed the pattern emerging but it would have gotten Light out of prison faster.

Just finished rewatching the memory arc with my girlfriend. The two of us have come to the conclusion that within the fandom, Higuchi is under-respected as a villain. Sure he doesn't have Light's IQ, or the sheer crazy of Misa, but of all the Kira's he's probably the most physically dangerous, and is the only one pragmatic enough to bring a gun for back-up. When he shoots Mr. Yagami he tears L and Light's scheme (premised on his not being able to hurt people whose faces he can't see) to pieces, and only Aizawa's return to the case ensures his capture. For a guy who was only around for a few episodes, that's a good run and a solid performance.

edited 15th Mar '15 9:26:23 AM by AmbarSonofDeshar

Wellp, that certainly is a good point, I think I can see Higuchi in a new light now. Altho, I think the main problem with the guy is that he lacks any kind of redeemable qualities whatsoever. That's why he is mostly under-appreciated, I think.

Gotta admit the car chase and Aizawa's return were just amazing.

I think the reason Higuchi is underappreciated is because he's just a straight-up bad guy in a series that thrives on the complexity and division between its' protagonists and antagonists. On top of that, much of Death Note's appeal is the chessgame between Light and the Hero Antagonists and, as noted, Higuchi is "the only Kira pragmatic enough to bring a gun for backup" because he's not playing the game; he does to the franchise as a whole what Mello does to Light, kicking the battle of intellectuals in the balls and going full thug, requiring the show to transition into an action movie for a short time.

So ultimately he's a very simple, straight-black villain who refuses to abide by the elements that are the story's core appeal or even play within the correct genre; while such a concept can make for a fantastic story when done well, it's not hard for me to see why he's so unpopular with the fanbase.

edited 15th Mar '15 5:46:16 PM by TobiasDrake

Higuchi is the Gato/Shrieker/Minister Foss of Death Note. He's just there to be ugly, unappealing and lose.

He does have one heck of a Slasher Sile though.

edited 15th Mar '15 6:02:17 PM by Nikkolas

I think he's the kind of guy who'd have a gun prior to gaining the Death Note, though. I don't think it was a pre-meditated precaution.

That said, the fact that Mello outperforms him in the "dangerous immediate threat" role means he doesn't stand out even in that. Just a thug that was ultimately fairly easy to deal with.

On the other hand, him using it shows just how out-of-left-field the Death Note is for the detectives. They literally see him write names multiple times, and talking to Rem, and making the deal, and they still can't figure out what the heck he's doing. And this is someone who is not a player, someone who isn't taking any precautions to look innocent.

EDIT: Definitely agree regarding his facial expressions. Me and a friend have concluded that he has one of the most glorious jaws of fiction, and whenever Stannis Baratheon grinds his teeth, it's this face◊ I picture.

edited 15th Mar '15 6:14:41 PM by JonnasN

@Tobias Drake

"he does to the franchise as a whole what Mello does to Light, kicking the battle of intellectuals in the balls and going full thug, requiring the show to transition into an action movie for a short time"

This is actually what I like about both Higuchi and Mello (and Matsuda in the finale for that matter). They're useful reminders that when all else fails, brute force can sometimes provide a solution to even the best planning. In Higuchi's case, it's also an illustration of how even a genius like L (or Light I suppose) can make a mistake if they overfocus on one detail—in this case they were both so fixated on "Kira"'s magical ability to kill with a name and a face that they didn't even anticipate that they might need to worry about something as mundane as a gun (I know guns are less common in Japan, but I can't picture L, or Mr. Yagami for that matter, having failed to consider the possibility in a different case).

I also just liked the action movie feel of it. The battle of wits was great, don't get me wrong, but every so often it's nice to see things go from purely mental to explosively physical. Both Higuchi and Mello provided that change of pace.

I don't doubt he already owned the gun. He's still the only Kira who even considers that he might need one. Light or Mikami could certainly have gotten one, but they didn't and that helps bite them in the rear during the warehouse scene. You can pull a trigger a lot faster than you can write a name down (something that Light learned the hardway from Matsuda).

I wouldn't say he was actually that easy to deal with, either. He was easy enough to find out, but despite that he gave them one heck of a car chase, and if Aizawa and Hideki hadn't gotten the police to intercept them he may well have gotten away (or at least done a lot more damage before being caught).

Agree on the teeth-grinding and Slasher Smile thing though. In a series full of men hiding their emotions (or looking permanently ticked in Mello's case) Higuchi has a wonderfully expressive face. The voice helps too, at least in the dub. Andrew Kavadas of Patrick Zala and Alejandro Corner infamy proving once again that when it comes to voicing brutal, unlikeable jerks he is the man to go to.

Bumping the thread.

Just got up to Mikami's introduction in my rewatch with my girlfriend. The first time I saw it years ago, I had some sympathy for him, but on this watch all I can think is "what a jackass". It's the part about seeing his mother's death as a miracle. Seriously, what a bastard.

I think he's the worst human being in the whole series, Freudian Excuse or not. Light at least has the balls to decide which masses to mass murder by himself. Seriously, seeing this jackass killing people without question only because his "God" said so, with that smug face...

edited 20th Mar '15 12:21:42 AM by Cozzer

Mikami is basically the most extreme definition of "tool."

Oh yeah, Mikami strikes me as one of those extreme religious types (think Westboro Baptists), except with the power to carry out his will. I have a beef with Inquisitors in general, so I definitely classify him as the worst being in Death Note.

Mikami is if anything even more of an extremist than Light, which really takes some doing. He's also got even less of a connection to humanity. Light at least knows which of his vile thoughts to make public and which ones (kill the lazy people) to keep to himself. Mikami thinks he can say anything to anybody without dealing with any consequences.

I define the overall difference between Light and Mikami's beliefs like this; even if it's only lip service and hollow Light justifies killing bad people (even when that definition slowly expands out to cover those who inconvenience his plans) as building up a better, perfect world where all the good people live better lives, while Mikami begins and ends his world view with "the bad people die."

I consider Mikami to be worse than Light because he embraces the power of the Death Note instantly, whereas Light took time before going mad with power and Mello had learned of the notebook of what it could do before getting his hands on it. Sure you could argue that Mikami (and really all users after Light) had proof the notebook was real before using it but his thoughts upon getting it was how it was a reward for believing in his version of justice all his life. I pity anyone wrongly accused who was prosecuted by him before or after he got the Death Note.

Expecially since I hear in Japan they're not big on this "innocent until proven guilty" thing...

Yeah, I had heard that. I've been told that the Ace Attorney games are pretty close in terms of attitude in regards to police, prosecutors and defence attorneys. It goes a long way to explaining how Kira gets a following so quickly in Japan, as well as the fact that the death penalty around that time enjoyed a 80% approval rating.

Also, after thinking about it for a little while over these past few weeks all Light had to do to win/not die was to stop trying to beat L. Obviously killing Lind L. Tailor (sidenote: some of the real names in Death Note are downright bizarre. Not so bad in the manga and anime, but the prequel book has incredibly absurd real names for B's victims like Believe Bridesmaid, Quarter Queen, and Backyard Bottomslash, with B's real name of Beyond Birthday) narrowed L's search down to a single region, but had he not tipped his hand at all he could have evaded the police for years manipulating their knowledge that it was a school student doing the killings.

Just finished my rewatch with my girlfriend. God Light's death remains satisfying. Found another hole in his brilliant planning too. When he plans to meet up with Near at the warehouse and murder him and the rest of both investigation teams, Mello has yet to make his final play. Which means that even if Light had gone to the warehouse and killed a Near who hadn't begun to suspect that Mikami's notebook was a fake, he still would have found himself in serious trouble shortly afterwards when Mello decided (and he would have decided) that the sole surviving member of both task forces would make a prime candidate for interrogation.

Even just resisting the urge to gloat would have helped him tremendously. The Lind L. Tailor kill was a response to his wounded ego. Light narrowed the list of suspects to Raye Penber's two suspects by revealing himself in the train car to him. The cameras never saw Light, but Raye's reaction to it was sufficient evidence for the investigation. Even at the very end of the series, Light sacrificed any and all possibility of wiggling out of Near's condemnation when he announced to the room, "Well, Near, it looks like I win."

i recall there also being a special where he goes to L's grave and spends a good amount of time taunting him.

goes to show how dignified Light is whether it's in victory or defeat.

My girlfriend grinned through his entire defeat. I don't think she stopped for twenty minutes.

I like Light's death scene better in the manga. The anime feels like it's trying to pull an Alas, Poor Villain on it, while in the manga, he dies like an animal.

There's something much more satisfying about Light seeing his name written in the Death Note.

edited 21st Mar '15 12:44:54 PM by TobiasDrake

It tries to pull an Alas, Poor Villain, but it falls really flat. Regardless though, hearing him scream, wail, beg, and otherwise try to talk his way out of it is really cathartic.

@ Ambar: With regards to Mello, I doubt he would have been a problem. Light wasn't publically part of the Kira investigation team and Near never shared that bit of information with him (and Near only figured it out because of something Aziwa told him). So it would have just left Mello with the knowledge that Kira wiped out the SPK and Kira investigation team with no further clues that it was actually Light who was Kira. Mello wouldn't be out of the game, he'd just have to start from square one again.

Unless Light's planning to fake his own death (which is actually really, really hard to do) the fact that one guy survived the debacle is going to make Mello—and anybody else who takes an interest in the case—instantly suspicious (sure Light's not officially part of the investigation but linking him too it isn't going to be that hard). Besides, if memory serves, hadn't Mello managed to work out that Light is "L" at about the same time he was told Misa was Kira #2? The anime doesn't include that scene, and I haven't read the manga in years, but the Death Note wiki entry for Mello would seem to back my memory up.

edited 21st Mar '15 3:25:16 PM by AmbarSonofDeshar