Death Note ep.15

January 24, 2007 | 26 Comments

When it comes to reading the manga version of this story, I've actually been very erratic about it. While I'm aware of the upcoming twist in the story, I am not aware what lead up to it up until this episode. It's the same thing with the ending. Although I know what happens at the end, I still have no idea about what transpired beforehand. The strange thing about this is that I don't mind it at all. I do admit that it's pretty weird that I am spoiled for some parts of the story and yet not in others. But I always like this kind of narrative device in a film so I don't mind it either in real life. A good example of this was that film called Memento* (yeah, I'm aware of the self-reference nature of the name). In that film, the viewers already know the ending right from the very beginning but how it transpires is the main attraction of the story.

This episode itself begins with Light asking Rem when she would kill L. In reply Rem asks Light to tell her where L lives because Shinigami can pass through walls. After thinking about it for a while, Light decides asks Rem to wait until tomorrow because by then he'd have an idea on how to kill L. However, he doesn't want Rem to kill L without being instructed by him. Light then asks Misa for her mobile phone number so in return Misa asks for his. Light, however, refuses to give it to her since L is suspicious of him and therefore it's likely that the police would tap into his call. In order to alleviate this problem, Misa gives Light one of her mobile phones so they can chat to one another. She also promises him to give him lots of calls and text messages. Much to her disappointment, Light claims that he'd turn the phone off and she should instead wait for his call. Having said that, he promises to call her tomorrow whether or not L dies that day.

Having said that, Light wants Misa to go home now. Misa is disappointed about this because she wants to go out with Light. In order to persuade Misa, Light plants a kiss on her lips and that is enough to send her back home. After Misa left, Ryuk tells Light that he's surprised to see Light kissing Misa. Light, however, calmly tells Ryuk that he's done it with other girls and his plan is to make Misa falls hopelessly in love with him. Light then turns his thought to making a decision whether or not he should kill L. The problem is, L hasn't revealed himself as L to anyone else apart from him so if he dies, Light will be the primary suspect. Upon hearing this Ryuk tells Light that he thought Light hesitates because L called him a friend. Light denies this and claims that L being his friend is just a cover of his. What Light worries about is the possibility that L might not be the real L. However, L's recent interest to go back into hiding changes Light's mind.

Light figures that since he can't kill Misa, he might as well use her and Rem to kill L tomorrow. The next day, L tells Souichirou that if he dies in the next couple of days then it means Light is Kira. Souichirou is angry about this so L explains that he never encounters a situation like this before. There's a possibility that Kira has met second Kira so he would probably die anytime soon. Because of this, he can't analyse the situation calmly. And because there's no other suspect, L has stubbornly lock on Light as a suspect. The truth is L hates to use the same tactic twice but he now has no choice but to bet on it. At the same time, Light can be seen walking together with Takada much to the envy of other college boys. Light's date got interrupted when he spots L sitting on one of the campus benches. Because of this he tells Takada that he needs to talk to L alone. Light then asks L why he goes out when he said that he's scared of showing his face.

In reply L tells Light that if Light is not Kira then he should be fine since only Light knows that he's L. Because of this if he dies in the next few days, every other Ls will know that Yagami Light is Kira. Upon seeing the surprise on Light's face, L explains that "L" is composed of a group of people like him. Their conversation got interrupted when the voice of a girl greeting Light. That girl is none other than Amane Misa. Needless to say, Light is shocked and horrified to see her. However, he quickly realises that this is a chance for Misa to find out L's real name. L immediately uses the opportunity by introducing himself as Ryuuga Hideki. Misa is surprised to hear this because using her eyes, she can see L's real name. Light, however, quickly grabs her shoulder to prevent her from saying anything else and Misa seems to understand this. Despite this, Light becomes nervous when L starts to smile as he sees Misa.

As a cover, L pretends that he's jealous of Light because Misa is a famous model. True enough, a group of university students start to gather around her as soon as they recognise Misa. All of a sudden Misa feels that someone has groped her ass sp L pretends that he'd find that pervert. Light realises that the more L knows Misa, the more dangerous his situation will be. Because of this he decides to contact Misa using a mobile phone as soon as she left. Much to his shock, Misa's mobile has been stolen by L so when Light makes a phone call to her, L ends up being the one who answers the phone. L pretends that he found the phone when Misa was surrounded by other people. After returning the phone to Light so he can give it back to Misa, L suddenly receives a phone call telling him that Amane Misa has been arrested due to suspicion of her being the 2nd Kira. Upon hearing this, Light realises that he should have destroyed those video tapes.

He feels as if his body jumps off a tall building but halfway through his fall, Light stops himself and believes that the showdown has yet to happen. Later on that day, L returns to the hotel and asks Watari to show Misa in captivity. The image shocks the other police because it shows Misa being held using straight jacket while her eyes are blindfolded. Souichirou doesn't think this is appropriate although he realises that they've found many incriminating evidences in Misa's room. L agrees with this assessment and therefore he wants to find out how Misa killed those people and if she knows Kira and his identity. Because of this L orders Watari to force Misa to talk using any means necessary. L also tells Souichirou that he's already restricted Light's ability to come here and he might asks Light to come here one day for questioning. Later on, L finds out from Watari that Misa wants to talk. As it turns out Misa asks L to kill her already.

The police thinks it's because she has been tortured in the past few days. She claims that she knows nothing about the 2nd Kira and once again begs someone to kill her. Unknown to L and the police, Misa is actually talking to Rem. Misa basically asks Rem to kill her and to spare Light. Since Rem is unresponsive, Misa threatens to kill herself but L quickly orders Watari to ensure that Misa can't bite her own tongue. Later on, Rem appears in Light's house, explaining to him that Misa asked to be killed but she couldn't do it. Because of this, she's made Misa forfeits her ownership of Death Note. This means Misa has lost all of her memories of the people she killed and Light's true identity. A flashback reveals how Rem took Misa's memory while L noticed how Misa's hair moving on its own. In the present, Rem threatens to kill Light unless he saves Misa. In response, Light tells Rem that he knows what to do and bids goodbye to Ryuk.

Impression:

That was a really close call for L. If he didn't take Misa's phone, Light might have killed him. On a second thought, I've been wondering if the entire campus incident has been set up by L. Speaking of L, he proves himself to be as ruthless as Light in this episode (and kinky to boot). I understand that his life is in danger but what he did to Misa in this episode is borderline cruel and I don't know if it's actually legal. Either way, I really feel sorry for Misa who gets the brunt of bad luck here. To begin with, It was clear that Light knows how to control Misa by giving a little bit of what she wants. And when L manages to capture her, he sees her as nothing but a tool to find the real Kira. It's a good thing that Misa has Rem to protect her otherwise Light would have screwed her good and not in the literal sense of the word. On a lighter note, I laughed a bit when Ryuk makes that choked sound when he saw Light kissing Misa. Even the Shinigami knows better.

Rem's action in this episode shows that the series was planned early in advance. We already know that if the owner forfeits a Death Note, the person would lose all memory of its function as well as the ability to see the Shinigami. However, it's not until this episode that this particular fact is put into practice. The good thing about this is that it actually advances the plot. Although capturing Misa essentially saves L's life, if Misa had confessed to the police, Light's story would have ended right here. In order to prevent this, Misa has to forfeit the Death Note and Light has to do something to save her. This in effect will lead to an alternate plot. I am interested to see how the anime-only viewers reacted to this. Back then, many people were disappointed with this upcoming plot twist but I thought it's interesting to see the situation in an entirely different manner. It makes me wonders if Death Note does corrupt its owner.

Preview

On next week's episode: Have you ever wonder if your life was different? If you had taken the subway instead of missing it? It's Sliding Doors, Death Note style.

© memento 2003