Death Note ep.13

January 10, 2007 | 35 Comments

For some reason this episode feels really entertaining but I can't pintpoint it to a specific reason. Maybe it's the nostalgic feeling that I get when Kudou Haruka suddenly burst into Hagu-esque voice while playing Saya. It was also amusing to hear Misa referring to Yagami Light as "Yagami Tsuki" due to the kanji on Light's name. The reason for this is because kanji often comes with more than one way of reading it. The problem is, it's hard to memorise every single variation. I usually only remember the major ones. Having said that, I don't think the word 'Light' (Raito) can turned into the kanji for moon「月」unless it's a very liberal use of the Kanji. What I mean by this is that there was no Kanji in Light's first name but because this is Japan, his family has to come up with a kanji equivalent to 'Light'. My guess is instead of going for the direct meaning of Light, which is「光」- Hikari, they decide to use 'moon'.

The episode begins with Light's father informing his son that the 2nd Kira has sent them a diary. Upon arriving at the hotel, Light is given a paper featuring May 2006 entries (last year). L then asks Light to look at the entry on the 30th, which states the owner of the diary saw a Shinigami at a game in Tokyo Dome. Meanwhile, Misa asks Remu as to why she can't see her own lifespan with the Shinigami's eyes. Rem explains that the reason is because for those who own Death Note, they only need to see the lives of other humans whose life they'll take. Just like each Shinigami can't see other Shinigami's life span, those with Death Note can't see his/her own lifespan or the lifespan of other Death Note holders. Back to Light, he finally notices that the entry on the 22nd is more interesting because it mentions about changing notes with a friend in Aoyama. Meanwhile, Light's father thinks that people will panic if this diary is shown on TV.

L agrees that this is problematic. If they show the diary, then they'll have to cancel the game but if they don't, then the 2nd Kira won't show up. L eventually decides to show the diary on air, cancel the game on the 30th, and then set up perimeter around the Tokyo Dome that day. They'd then make another Kira tape, confirming that they understand the message. Light's father doubt that the two Kira will show up but L thinks that at least the 2nd Kira might come out since this person is rather foolish. Having said that, the 2nd Kira might not be as foolish as it seems so he suggests that they look for hidden messages within the note. L immediately zooms in on the 22nd and the 24th entries which involves meeting a friend in Aoyama and Shibuya. This means they would have to do some investigative work around Aoyama and Shibuya. While L talks about this, Light realises that he would have to kill everyone there if the 2nd Kira is captured.

L orders the others to set up as much surveillance cameras as possible around Aoyama and Shibuya and to send several plain-clothed investigators. Matsuda immediately volunteers to go to Aoyama and Shibuya while Light asks to accompany him. He assures his father that he'd blend right in with the crowd. That night after Light leaves the hotel, L rings Matsuda and asks him to observe Light during their trip to Aoyama and Shibuya. Back home, Light is greeted by his mother who wonders why he's late. Since he can't reveal the investigation, Light claims that he's just went out with his girlfriend. Saya suddenly becomes excited upon hearing this especially when Light mentions that he's just had room service at the hotel. Inside his room, Light asks Ryuk if two Shinigami can talk to each other when they meet in the human world. Ryuk claims that he personally won't do it without the permission of his human host but there's no rule that prevent it.

In other words, the other person's Shinigami can approach and talk to him. Upon hearing this, Light wonders if the Shinigami of the 2nd Kira will tell his/her host that he's Kira if the Shinigami sees him. Ryuk thinks that'd depend on the Shinigami. As for Ryuk, he won't tell Light if he sees someone with a Shinigami. Light, however, is not surprised to hear this coming from Ryuk. While browsing the net, Light realises that there'll be an event hold on the 22nd in an Aoyama-based club called Note Blue. On the 22nd, when he and Matsuda have to do their job, Light introduces Matsuda to a group of his college friends as his cousin, Tarou. Matsuda thinks that this is a brilliant idea since no one will suspect him if he blends into a group of young people walking around in Aoyama. As it turns out, the reason Light does this is so that the other Kira won't know whom Ryuk is following even if the 2nd Kira sees the Shinigami coming with the group.

He also believes that the crowd will block L's camera so it'd allow him to look around freely. Unfortunately for Light, he doesn't know that the 2nd Kira, aka Misa already spots him due to the fact that he's the only one whose lifespan she can't see amongst the group which visits Note Blue. However, she mistook his name as Yagami Tsuki due to the kanji in Light's first name. Since Misa has find out Kira's true identity, she feels that she doesn't need to greet the guy in Note Blue club and decides to go home with Rem. After doing some more research on Light, Misa eventually finds out that the ÅuåéÅv- Tsuki on Light's kanji name should have been read "Light" (Raito). In general, Misa is impressed with Light's achievements as a student. Although there's no picture of him, she is sure that there is no other person with this unique name. She then fangirls Kira, thinking that she never imagined that Kira would be a cool guy.

The next day, the 2nd Kira announced to the TV and Police station that he has found Kira. Light is shocked to hear this and wonders where the 2nd Kira could have possibly spotted him. L, on the other hand, realises that the only two people who were doing fieldwork that day were Matsuda and Yagami Light. This simply increases his suspicion that Light is indeed Kira. The other policemen, however, is more worried with the possibility that Kira and 2nd Kira have contacted each other. Because of this, L assures them that such possibility might not have happened yet because 2nd Kira used the word "found". That night, the police send a message to the 2nd Kira via television, warning the person to not meet Kira because he/she might be controlled and killed by Kira. Unfortunately this message has the reverse effect on Misa. She marches straight into Light's house and informs Saya that Light has left his note at the university and she is here to return it.

Misa then introduces herself to Light and to prove herself, she lets Light touch her Death Note, allowing him to see Rem. Upon seeing the Shinigami, Light takes her to his room so the two can talk freely. Light asks Misa how she finds out about him so Misa explains that she can see the lifespan of every human except those who owns the Death Note. Misa also assures Light that she won't get arrested by the police and she'll do anything that he says from now on. However, she also wants to become Light's girlfriend. Light tries to refuse by saying that her presence in Aoyama would have been detected by camera but Misa tells him that she used disguise when she went there. As for fingerprints in the tape sent to the TV, she asked a friend of hers to send the tape to the police. The reason Misa wants to help Kira is because Kira killed a murderer who killed her parents. Upon hearing this, Light embraces Misa, telling her that he'd try to become her boyfriend. Unknown to Misa, there is a glint of evil in Light's eyes as he said this.

Impression:

I love the expression on Ryuk's face when he said that he won't tell Light if he sees someone with another Shinigami. He looked defiantly petulant for some reason. I am also amused to see him claiming that he forgot that those with Shinigami eyes can differentiate those who own the note and those who don't. It really makes me wonder if he sincerely didn't know about it or if he lies to Light about it. At this point in the story, I think the second option is quite likely. It's kind of worth it just to see that horrified look on Light's face when he finds out that the 2nd Kira has found out about Kira. I think if Ryuk wants to, he can make the situation even more entertaining for himself and I think this is an example of such action from him. I think this is one of the few times where Light is actually outwitted by everyone around him including Misa. I think I've said it before but I think the series would have been more interesting if Misa does not worship Kira.

It's interesting to see Misa coming up with an intelligent plan to figure out the real Kira without compromising herself or her plan to appeal to Kira. It takes quite a planning to figure out how to trick 'Kira' to come to Aoyama on the 22nd and make him walk towards the Note Blue club. As a side note, did you know that even though there is no club called Note Blue in Aoyama, there is actually a real club called Blue Note in Minami Aoyama (South Aoyama)? And it's quite famous too. Anyway, back to Misa, I'm also impressed to know that her fingerprints weren’t all over the tapes that she sent to the TV stations. So it does appear that she is capable of planning her actions quite well. This is why I'm kind of annoyed to know that her intelligence suddenly disappears when it comes to Kira. I understand she feels some kind of gratitude towards him after he killed her parents' murderer but I wonder if she's somehow aware that Light is a manipulative person?

© memento 2003