Death Note ep.14

January 17, 2007 | 28 Comments

What a beautifully drawn episode this one turns out to be. I really admire how Light's and Misa's face look entirely like two people I've never seen before. I think this is a clever decision on the part of the animators to revitalise interest in the series. By making the characters look different, the viewers will feel like they're watching brand new characters instead of the same old boring Light and Misa. It's also equally important to do show's Misa's Shinigami eyes from different angle. This way, no matter how many times the shot is repeated, it will feel fresh all over again. Seriously though, the animation in this episode is really bad. Upon seeing this episode, I have the shivers that I had while I was watching the worst episodes NHK ni Youkoso. It feels as if Gonzo animated this episode. *shudders*

Continuing from the previous episode, Light decides to use Misa to kill L before killing her himself. Although Light only agrees to be her pretend boyfriend, Misa believes that it's okay for now. She also has another request and that is to see Light's Shinigami. Because of this Light pulls out a piece of Death Note paper from his wallet and lets Misa touch it. Upon seeing Ryuk, Misa asks "Light" if he knows how to kill a Shinigami. Light is unhappy that Misa is already on first name basis but eventually prefers to have Misa using his name as opposed to letting her calling him "Knight". Meanwhile, L is going through the tapes which was taken from Aoyama on the 22nd. It seems he still believes that Light is Kira and although the 2nd Kira may not react to Light's presence, he still wants to take a look at the video himself. L also asks Souichirou to tell Mogi to follow Light. If Light is Kira then he probably met the 2nd Kira in private.

After Souichirou left the place, Aizawa wonders if L ever sleeps so Matsuda tells him that at one point he saw L sleeps in that crouching position. At the same time, Light finds out from Misa how a Shinigami will die if it likes a human and kills with the intention of increasing that human's life-span. Ryuk immediately comments about how he thinks no Shinigami would do that so Light tells the Shinigami that at least Ryuk won't do it. Light also wants to know where Misa went to send the blackmail tapes so Misa tells him she went to Osaka, Tokyo, and the last one was Nagano, all using Shinkansen. Since Misa still has several tape left, Light asks her to send another one to the police. The message basically tells the police that she won't use Kira's name again, promises to please Kira by killing criminals that Kira has not killed, and to share her power with those who want to help them. The purpose of this is to make the police think that there are more of them.

Light also makes Misa promise that she won't say anything about them or Death Note should she's captured by the police. Upon hearing this, Misa asks Light to grant her one thing: that they must have a date at least once per week. Light immediately balks out at the idea, claiming that L already suspect that he is Kira. Because of this, if Light suddenly takes someone there without any reason, that person will be suspected as the 2nd Kira. He also thinks it's hard to believe that they had a trusting relationship during the short time they know each other. Misa is upset upon hearing this and wonders if it means they can't date. Light explains that it means he needs to think of a plan to allow her to see L's face without letting L notices her. Light believes that in order to shake off suspicion, he would need to date other girls as well. Misa is shocked and becomes angry upon hearing this, threatening to kill the other girls.

Light reminds Misa that she promised to become his supporter. Moreover, if she likes him, he thinks she should obey him and allows him to use her like a tool. Misa, however, argues that's different from her not wanting him to date other girls. Frustrated with this development, Light threatens to kill Misa since both of their notes are now in his hand. Much to his surprise, Rem interferes and tells him that she won't let it happen. If Light tries to harm Misa, Rem will write his name in her note and kill him. In retaliation, Light reminds Rem that she will die if she uses her note to save Misa but Rem doesn't seem to care. Their stand-off comes to a halt when Light's mother knocks on the door and reminds them that Misa won't be able to catch a train if she doesn't leave soon. Since Light doesn't want to be seen with her, Misa decides to go to the station on her own. As she leaves the house, she thanks Rem for her help earlier.

After Misa left, Light is frustrated with the turn of event especially after he finds out that Misa is a famous celebrity in teen and fashion magazines. Light is annoyed about this but decides not to worry about it and instead focus on using her to kill L. The next day, Light goes with his plan and asks his mother and sister not to tell his father about Misa. He also asks them not to tell Misa to anyone else since she's a famous model and it'd be problematic if people finds out that she has a boyfriend. Sayu agrees to do this if Light gives her 5000 Yen. During class, Light remembers that the tape he asks from Misa should have arrived at the hands of the investigation team. His thought is interrupted when a female classmate called Takada Kiyomi asks him if they're still going out after this. Light confirms this and starts to do the smooth-talk when Kiyomi points out that he doesn't look happy about it. Much to his surprise, Kiyomi doesn't buy his smooth-talk.

When Light goes back to L's hotel room, he finds out that they have just received another message from the 2nd Kira. The message sounds exactly as Light ordered. After seeing the video, L claims that he believes the 2nd Kira has made contact with the real Kira. He points out that the 2nd Kira didn't say anything about wanting to meet Kira anymore and the person also said that he/she wants to get Kira's approval. Having said that, this also means that the chance Light being Kira has decreased again. Because if he is Kira, Light wouldn't tell 2nd Kira to send such message. Instead, he'd have ordered the 2nd Kira to force L to appear on TV. Light disagrees with this and tells L that if he's Kira, he wouldn't do that because he knows L would not appear on TV. This 'hypothetical' possibility bothers Light's father but Light assures his father that the fact he's pretending to be Kira proves that he's not Kira. Huh?

L agrees that Light shouldn't be Kira because he'd be disturbed if that's the case because Light is the first friend he's ever had. Light is caught off-guard upon hearing this but quickly reply that he misses L on campus. On his way home, Light realises that it'd be dangerous to meet Misa now that L realised that Kira and the 2nd Kira have met. Unfortunately for Light, she ends up meeting up with Misa, who's on her way to his house. Once they are in his room, Light asks Rem if she's happy if Misa is happy and Rem more or less confirms this. Because of this, Light tells Misa to ask Rem to kill L. He claims that their happiness will be destroyed if they get arrested by L. He promises to love her more if Rem will do this. Because of this Misa asks Rem to grant the wish. Much to Light's surprise, Rem grants the request. And since she doesn't like Light, even if she kills L, she won't die. Light finds it hard to believe that L will be dead so easily.

Impression:

What was that about L saying that Light was the first friend he's ever had. It sounds insincere and yet Light seems to believe it. Maybe he needs a group hug. Come to think of it, it's probably some kind of a hint for the upcoming plotline. Since L's life is in danger, some kind of a twist must happen to ensure that this won't happen. Anyway, Misa was really entertaining in this episode. She sounds so obsessed with Light that I thought she sounds like that crazy character from Fatal Attraction. This episode also shows that Light has little to no interest in girls. He's clearly uninterested in Misa and he simply uses Takada Kiyomi, whom his classmates clearly like, as some kind of a tool. I'm a bit surprised to see Takada Kiyomi as a university student here. In the live action version, she's a TV reporter and her role is quite different from the anime. Well, I'll be keen to see if her role turns out to be as big as the live-action one.

I think the only thing that bothers me here is Rem's decision to kill Light if he tries to kill Misa. I guess they need someone to ensure that Misa won't die too early in the series but Rem just said not too long ago that she won't care whether or not Misa is dead or alive. It ooks like Misa is a Shinigami-magnet. First it was Jealous and now even Rem would go out of her way to defend her. I wish all Shinigami can be more like Ryuk. Although he looks stupid and often acts like an idiot, I think he knows more of what's at stake. I think of all the characters, he's probably the only one who gets any kind of entertainment from all of the drama that unfolds her. I guess in the end, he does get what he finds out of Light. Anyway, next week should be interesting since Rem promises Light that she'd kill L. I do wonder if Light is actually hesitant to kill L now that he's a lot closer to his final intention to get rid of L once and for all.

Preview

Shinigami survey: Which of the following is (are) your impression of Ryuk?

A. He's the Pimp
B. Back off!! I saw him first!!
C. When I was a kid, I wanted to have wings....
D. Go to your corner and eat your apple!
E. Mommy, I'm scared!!

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