Death Note ep.16

January 31, 2007 | 31 Comments

Episodes like this one is one of the reasons as to why I love this series. I was practically grinning throughout the episode because the twist presented in this episode is unbelievably good. It's also strange to see the characters behaving in this manner at this point in the story. I was pretty sure that I dislike Light prior to this episode but after seeing him in this episode, I can't help but thinking about his true personality. If one thinks about it, even without the actual Death Note, there are many people in this world who are similar to Light. I don't mean in the sense that these people are murderer with God complex. I'm referring to decent individuals who because of a circumstance, turns into a ruthless and cruel people. If these people turn such way, was it because their experiences turn them bitter or are people just malicious to begin with.

The episode begins with Light giving Misa's Death Note back to Rem in a forest while, L and the other detectives are confused with Misa's sudden change in personality after she wakes up. She now thinks that the person who captured her is a stalker. Back inside the forest, Light realises that as long as he still has Ryuk's Death Note, his memory of Rem will remain. As for Ryuk's own Death Note, Light now has it buried under the ground. When Ryuk worried that his Death Note will be buried there forever, Light assures him that it's only for the time being. When Light wants to give the note back, he will mention the word "throw away". Meanwhile, L decides to give Mogi a call to confirm with him that he told Misa she was arrested because she's suspected as the 2nd Kira. Once Mogi confirms this, L speaks to Misa, reminding her that before she fell asleep, she asked someone to kill her. Misa, however, doesn't know what L is talking about.

She believes that her stalker was the one who knocked her unconscious and is now conducting some kind of complete examination. Upon hearing this, L decides to ask her if she knows why she's all tied up. Much to everyone's surprise, Misa tells them that it's because she's his idol although she admits that this is the first time a stalker goes this far. Matsuda loses his patience and orders Misa to stop joking around. Misa, however, ends up being scared and asks them to release her. She even expresses a desire to go to the toilet even though she just went there not too long ago. Misa is horrified to hear this and wonders if her stalker wants her to do it here. She accuses L for being a hentai much to L's confusion. L then decides to change tactic and asks Misa if she knows about Light. Misa thinks it's strange that L would think that she doesn't know her own boyfriend. Her answer surprises L because Misa refused to say anything about Light before.

L's interrogation comes to a halt when his cellphone beeps, indicating that it's a message from Light. Because Light is heading towards this place, L asks everyone to turn off the audio and video surveillance. Once Light enters the room, he tells L that as he said on the message, he thinks that he could be Kira. Souichirou is shocked to hear this and thinks that his son has lost his mind. L, however, thinks it's strange that Light would admit that he's Kira even though they have no evidence that proves this. Therefore, he believes that Light simply said this to prove to the others that he's not Kira. Light explains to his father that if Ryuuzaki is L then he is the best detective in the world so if L thinks that he's Kira then it's likely that he is Kira. Light even pulls out some incriminating evidence against himself by pointing out that the person that Raye Penber investigated, the person who was at Aoyama and the person that Misa dates is all him.

He mentions how he's become less aware of who he is and might have become Kira while he's asleep. Upon hearing this, L tells Light that is impossible and reveals to Light that they installed camera in his room and observed him for 5 days. Light pretends to be surprised but L simply ignores him and tells the guy that he slept peacefully. L goes on to explain how criminals still died even though Light didn't have any information about them. Even then, this did not convince L of Light's innocence because he thinks that Light purposely avoided doing something that would raise someone's suspicion. Light admits that he had hoped that some of the criminals would just die and he believes anyone who has such thought could be Kira. Matsuda vehemently denies this, telling Light that it's normal to think like that but it doesn't mean that they would kill those people. Moreover, criminals still died when Light couldn't get information about them.

Since they watched Light for 24/7, Matsuda concludes that Light can't possibly be Kira. Aizawa, on the other hand, is not sure because they didn't have enough investigators back then. He points out that there were times when Light wasn't at home. Meanwhile, L entertains the thought of imprisoning Light. However, if criminals still die while this happens, Light would convince even more people that he's not Kira. L eventually goes ahead with his plan to imprison Light. Souichirou is shocked to hear this but Light doesn't mind and even claims that he can't give his best effort in capturing Kira at the moment. He even tells them not to allow him to say or do anything until L is convinced that he's not Kira. As a result, L asks Aizawa to take Light into a cell. Inside the prison, Light thinks that the only thing left to do is to throw away the Death Note.

At the same time, Souichirou asks to be removed from the investigation. Because his son is being suspected as Kira, he believes he has no right to be here. Plus, while they were deciding whether to detain him or not, he was being biased. Because of this, Souichirou asks L to imprison him as well because although he is calm right now, there is no telling what he might do in the future. L agrees to do this on the condition that Souichirou is contactable through mobile and will pretend that he's still working as usual. Light will have no idea of his imprisonment and Souichirou will still be briefed on everything as usual. On day 3, Light asks L if any criminal has been murdered but unfortunately there's no such case. Much to L's surprise, Light is resigned to the possibility that he might be Kira. The truth is L thought that after Light is imprisoned, the killing would still continue instead of coming to a halt.

The strange thing is that Light wanted to be imprisoned even though at this rate he'll be proven as Kira. The only question left is whether or not Light was aware of being Kira. L wonders if Light thinks that he'll be fine if he acts as if he wasn't aware of it. Because of this, L thinks that this isn't like Yagami Light or rather it's not like Kira. On the 5th day, Ryuk, who is also imprisoned with Light turns insane because he's deprived of Apple. L also notices that Souichirou is in worse condition than his two other detainees. Matsuda thinks that's because as a parent, the fact that no criminal has died in the past 5 days must torture Souichirou. In order to calm the guy, L asks Souichirou not to think about it and to move to a more comfortable place since the investigation will still be awhile. Souichirou, however, refuses and claims that no matter the result, when he gets out of the imprisonment, it'll be with his son.

After a week has passed, L asks Light if he's okay. In response, Light tells L that he'll "throw away" his ridiculous pride. As soon as Ryuk hears this, he remembers what Light said one week ago and walks out of the prison after telling Light that he'll see Light later. After Ryuk left, L notices that Light's expression turns from sinister to innocent. Light himself wonders what he is doing in a place like this. He then asks L to set him free because he now sees no point to this. L refuses because Light himself was the one who suggested that they don't set him free until they decide if Light is Kira or not. In response, Light tells L that there's something wrong with him back then. He thinks it's impossible for anyone to do what Kira did and not realising it. L agrees but he also thinks that Light could just be pretending that he's not Kira. L wonders why Light's answer is all over the place but he feels so close to the truth.

Matsuda thinks that after a week, Light is suffering from a breakdown. However because the murders have stopped, he understands that they can't release Light. Aizawa agrees that at this rate it's fine to close the case with Light as Kira. However, on the 15th day, they find out that 2 weeks worth of criminals were killed at once. Souichirou is glad to hear this but he knows that L won't really believe that his son is "White". In response L agrees to this and tells Souichirou that his reaction is more closer to "Grey". When Matsuda is about to tell Light, however, L stops him and instead tells Light that it's been 2 weeks since Kira last punished any criminals and asks Light to just admit that he's Kira. Light, however, refuses to do so and asks L to zoom into this eyes to see if he thinks he's lying. In confusion, L decides to ask Misa if she knows who Kira is but she only knows him as the person who killed her parent's murderer.

Impression:

It's always amusing to see Ryuk's body becomes contorted when he doesn't get his Apple. I really want to know the correlation between his body and Apple. In other note, it was fun to see Misa telling L that he's a hentai (who's into S&M). It was amusing to see L looking unsure instead of denying it right away. Come to think of it, there is a lot of bondage theme in this series. This is just a taste of things to come. Wow, that sounds a lot more perverted than I what I had in mind. On a less embarrassing matter, Misa was a hoot this time around and I like the way she called L "Stalker-san". Although to be real, she's too cheerful for someone who's been kidnapped and restrained in such a way. After the death of her parents and her near death at the hand of another stalker, one would think that she'd be a bit more afraid that her 'stalker' has tied her up like that. Unless, of course, Rem also wiped out her memory pertaining to that incident.

Anyway, it's a bit disappointing to see L being outwitted by Light this time around. I supposed the fact that he doesn't have any idea about Death Note and the Shinigami really does put him at a disadvantage. I hope that at the very least he recognise how different this Light is to the Light that he met before. Speaking of Light, his manoeuvre in this episode is a stroke of genius. Having said that, I wonder if this means that Light is an innocent all along. If a person turns evil because something influenced him/her, does it mean that the person was just under the influence, morally corrupt, or simply evil right from the start? Is there a difference between Light who doesn't possess Death Note and Light who possesses Death Note? What would have happened if Light never found Death Note in the first episode? Would he have turned evil somehow or remain as a good person? Would he turn evil through another means without Death Note?

Preview

On next week's episode: Light the good samaritan.

Posted by Garten

Comments

January 31, 2007 | Whincho wrote:

Light had a choice whether to use the note or not and he chose to use it. That in itself made him guilty in my eyes. I mean you can have a knife but whether you use it to kill someone or to cut vegetables is up to you.

January 31, 2007 | Xavier wrote:

Its a Nice Episode, but well L is always one step in front of Light, and i think, Light's Fahter will die son i dont know why , i have that impresion

January 31, 2007 | Juri wrote:

Glad to see that the series has picked up the pace again, and that the animation quality has resumed its previous high standing. Rather eager for the Yotsuba arc to start; I hear we're getting new opening/ending themes around episode 18 or so.

January 31, 2007 | Hexfire wrote:

Hello there,

You said "I wonder if this means that Light is an innocent all along". ... Is there a difference between Light who doesn't possess Death Note and Light who possesses Death Note?"

The answer to you question is that there is a difference. When Light did not possess the Death Note, he was simply bored, sick of the world we live in today. Life became interesting to him when he found the Note.

As a DNote manga reader I can honestly say that Light may have been influenced to use the Death Note and was innocent before, but after continuous use of the Death Note you cannot blame the "influential Death Note" on his actions. The Death Note was not some kind of drug or force that compelled him to continue killing off people; he did this out of his own free will, and out of his own conviction. It would be like blaming media or television or the murder weapon as the cause of mass crimes. And it would be very convinient in Light's case. However, if society started accepting this principle of blaming outside influence as the source of actions, whose to stop anyone from wreaking havoc and chaos?

Hex~

January 31, 2007 | Jay wrote:

I agree w/ Whincho. People are never 100% evil. It's the ambition/influence/situation that causes them to be "a little over the top" and shunned away from society. Look at Napoleon, look at Hitler; they are all just normal human beings that try to clean up this world in their own style. If at a certain point, they realize what their actions may lead to and accepts this realization, they can be considered just as ingenious as Thomas Jefferson, or Einstein, etc.

January 31, 2007 | Tania wrote:

i totally agree with Hexfire, even when light was somehow influenced by the Death Note(just like Ryuk said, nothing good happens when a human being has a dn) he decided to keep it and use it by his own free will so this makes him guilty somehow, and the more he killed people, more evil he turned, but i think we can´t say who is good or bad in this show, L for example, he wants to catch kira of course, but he want's to achieve it no matter what this implies, like to arrest and...torture? the poor misa, or to be handcuffed together with light

BTW, this may sound cruel but screen #18 makes me laugh, its like "hey, how's everything there misa?" xP

January 31, 2007 | Jay wrote:

"The Death Note was not some kind of drug or force that compelled him to continue killing off people; he did this out of his own free will, and out of his own conviction." - Hexfire

Not true.

The Death Note attracts Raito because of its ability to kill. As a trait of homo sapiens, curiosity drives the human body, as well as the hunger for power (although there may be less in some than others). Even if Raito is more ambitious than you and me, hypothetically speaking, any person will be tempted to use (and reuse) the Death Note. The more it's used, the more Raito can't put his mind from it (so yes, similar to drugs). Metaphorically speaking, the Death Note stands for ____________ all humans yearn for but always fail before achieving/acquiring it. The play Macbeth is a great example of this.

P.S: The audience never knows specifically what Raito's life was like before he encountered the Death Note. He could have been sly and cunning back in elementary school... it's left for the viewers to interpret that.

(maybe I've spoken too much for a 14-year-old...)

January 31, 2007 | Ruka wrote:

This next arc in the story always raised such interesting questions for me about the characters. All I know is that I find Light rather likable when he's not being a self-righteous arrogant tyrant. But I am getting annoyed with the "poor misa" comments. She is a serial killer too with actual evidence against her. She chose to do this and didn't even hesitate to offer to kill her own friend for Light's sake. However, I do sympathize with her in that Light is bastard for taking advantage of her in such a way. such a jerk...

January 31, 2007 | hiS_oWn wrote:

a hypothetical if you will:Let's replace the word "Death Note" with "gun" in your questions.

Is there a difference between Light who doesn't possess a gun and a Light who possesses a gun? What would have happened if Light never found a gun in the first episode? Would he have turned evil somehow or remain as a good person? Would he turn evil through another means without the gun?

The means to realize your desires, whatever the means, and whatever the desires, is not rationalized or justified by the influence it has upon you. It is your character which is judged by what influence it has over your desires and actions.

January 31, 2007 | Eradium wrote:

I think if Light didn't get the note, he would have been a good upstanding citizen that he is at the moment. You have to remember that as far as temptation goes, Death Note is pretty strong. It gives you power to take away other people's life without too much complication.....until you start killing many criminals that is.

January 31, 2007 | chris wrote:

I'm adding my voice to the 'Kira was good, but then got influenced by DNote; but to continue using it makes him guilty too' camp (if there is one...)

DNote cannot be replaced by a mere gun because DNote is infinitely more powerful which also distances the user from the consequences. A gun, you'd need to confront the victim (or at least be in line of sight), then watch as the blood splatters. With DNote all you need is a name and a picture! You don't have to see the guy die, and death (by default) is rather natural looking (default being heart attack). And writing is a very normal everyday activity, unlike pulling a trigger of a gun...

My 2 cents is still that ultimate power corrupts... and when combined with a brilliant mind or charismatic leadership, it can be very very deadly.
*end of rant - thanks for reading!*

PS - keep up the good work! esp love the captions of the pictures

January 31, 2007 | muhi_kira wrote:

this episode i read at manga twice or 3 times because i can't understand why light tells L that's he's kira

and about light i'm shocked to see light evil eyes turn into innocent eyes

poor to souchiro he's being in worst condition because of light

but that light he so cold hearted how he can kill his father (did he know his father imprisoned because of him)

Show Spoiler

January 31, 2007 | Ageha wrote:

Um...Just a simple question really, but is Rem male or female? Her voice reminds me of my Aunt (And her make-up... Somewhat O_o;;), but her/his/its body seems male enough. Also, I haven't read the manga yet, but I noticed the anime's artwork is similar to the artistic stylings of the anime 'Hikaru no Go', are the creators the same person or something?

Besides that, I personally agree as well with the whole reasoning that Kira was good but got influenced by Death Note. In this whole L vs Kira battle thing though, I can't help but wonder; what if L was the one who was exposed to Death Note instead of Light? As 'Justice', would he end up using the DN like Light did, or would he still maintain his original beliefs? Afterall, like L claims himself, he and Kira are alike.

Props to the captions, they continue to humour me as always XD

January 31, 2007 | Garten wrote:

Ageha, Rem is a female Shikigami not a male one. As for the anime looking a bit like Hikaru no Go, that's because the manga's illustrator is Obata Takeshi, the illustrator for Hikaru no Go.

January 31, 2007 | dlazuli wrote:

*Is there a difference between Light who doesn't possess Death Note and Light who possesses Death Note?*

First thank you for reviewing DN.
The answer to this question may appear in the next episodes (chapter 40 something in the manga) and is Light who answers it... until now I didn't pay too much attention to it but I just realised the DN is just a catalist.

January 31, 2007 | TokiDoki wrote:

Well in accordance with the movie it seems that Light with or without the Death Note still has the ambition of prosecuting those who commit crimes however the difference would be the ability and extent to which Light and punish a criminal.

January 31, 2007 | GDP wrote:

"However, if society started accepting this principle of blaming outside influence as the source of actions, whose to stop anyone from wreaking havoc and chaos?"

This is too much of a leap. Society can accept that outside influences are the source of actions while still taking the necessary measures to prevent criminals from causing more harm to other citizens.

I think that, just as the body has the potential to become more fit when exercised, people have the potential to act criminally when tempted. But, if a person never exercises enough or never is tempted enough, then you will never see this change occur. If the right sequence of events happens, I think everyone could be motivated to engage in criminal acts (and may also think their criminal acts are justified).

January 31, 2007 | Gally wrote:

When Light lost his Kira alter ego, it was HILARIOUS

I knew he used to be an innocent puppy.

February 1, 2007 | Hexfire wrote:

"However, if society started accepting this principle of blaming outside influence as the source of actions, whose to stop anyone from wreaking havoc and chaos?"

Yeah, maybe I should've added the phrase "totally accepting". Well, my point was made, though somewhat too jumpy to conclusions.

"My 2 cents is still that ultimate power corrupts" - chris

Yeah I firmly believe that.

""The Death Note was not some kind of drug or force that compelled him to continue killing off people; he did this out of his own free will, and out of his own conviction." - Hexfire

Not true.

First off, we must remember that Light was attracted but NOT compelled or forced to use it. He chose to use it. When people use drugs, they use them out of desperation. He was not in such a desperate situation at all; he was bored. True, it was his curiousity that led him to use it, however, curiosity and other temptations can be curbed; we can't simply say that when one person is tempted and gives in to it, he is not guilty of the crime. In the end it was Light's decision to use the Death Note and continually use it. I can see the parallelism of DN and drugs, so I guess you could say that the Death Note acted like a drug.

And I agree with everyone who says that the caps are freakin' hilarious. These reviews are what keep my love for DN (since I finished the manga).

Hex~

February 1, 2007 | niki wrote:

is that really sashimi -shivers-

February 1, 2007 | Wraith wrote:

Wow.. all I have to say. Geezus! What an interesting string of events that lead up to this unexpected piece of work. Although I do have to wonder whats going to go on after this, the way Light is acting to this. Me, personally not being a reader of Death Note's manga, has this confusing me to know whats going to go on next. Theres still a way to go and the killing plots Light thought of were so good. :D

Hope there will be a LOT more plot twists

Cheers

February 1, 2007 | Anhlin wrote:

You know, I believe the voice acting in this episode is the best I've heard yet from this series. Maybe it's because of all the changes in the characters personalites. I love the spunky tone of Misa's voice at the start to the worn out tone she had at the end. Of course theres Light's transition from Kira!Light to Innocent!Light which for once, didn't really make me think of Tamaki from Ouran even though he used the same tone. The verbal arguement with L's cold voice in the scene where Light is begging to be released to L's confusion at the very end was spot on as well.

Short version: I'm really impressed with the VAs this time around.

Thank you for the summary, I love your captions though I imagined the screen with L looking at Light in his cell would have said something along the lines of: Mmm, food. XD

On a related note, what IS L eating? I know the melon is cantaloupe, but what's that stuff on it? I really hope that's not sashimi D:

February 1, 2007 | Milosc9 wrote:

L's eating rock-melon (cantalope) with "prosciutto"...............

It's sorta like ham.. but it's smoked in a diff. way, and it's shaved into very thin slices.

And it looks raw but it's not :)

February 2, 2007 | Jess wrote:

I don't know if Light is evil from the start or whatever, i only know his eyes just get smaller and smaller as he gets more evil.

February 2, 2007 | O.K. wrote:

Good episode.

February 7, 2007 | Kane wrote:

When do the episodes come out?

February 7, 2007 | Garten wrote:

I'll do a review in the next 5-6 hours. :)

February 7, 2007 | Kaelie wrote:

IMO, Light’s strong desire for justice, his great arrogance of being superior to most “rotten” human beings, and the great power/convenience of the Death Note are all what led him down the road to mass-murder. Had he never encountered the Death Note, he might have been intellectually bored all of his life, and very frustrated with the world and humanity . . . but relatively normal like the rest of us. Certainly not a murderer.

As for his cheery personality when investigating with L and Co. . . . I believe that, like the beginning of Death Note points out, Light was very bored and fed up with humanity. (I know I’m basically repeating myself, but bear with me. XD) He could’ve stimulated his genius and fulfilled his desire to see justice done by working with a super-intelligent detective like L (as he did when he was amnesiac) . . . or he could’ve met those wants/needs elsewhere, in the Death Note (as he did from the get-go of the series). It’s a matter of what served him first, maybe.

And, anyway, during the time Light lost his memories, when he was reviewing the Kira case, he basically admitted to himself that he could see himself thinking many of the same things that Kira thought, etc. Basically, the addition of the Death Note is just a catalyst for Light’s ideals and desires then. I said this on a diff. episode comment thingy, but if Light had remained amnesiac, yet received another Death Note again (one that wouldn’t cause him to remember his previous ownership), I’m sure innocent!Light would’ve been headed down the same path once more. . . . =/

February 7, 2007 | Kaelie wrote:

@ Jay: Um, yeah, but that’s the equivalent of saying “the devil made me do it!” Which is not very convincing. =/ The Death Note itself did not make Light do ANYTHING. It never said it had candy in the back of its van, “so why don’t cha come with me, little boy?” XD It was Light himself that gave into his arrogant desire to judge the world himself, as a god. That has nothing to do with the Death Note itself, and everything to do with Light’s will and self-control. As homo-sapiens, what sets us apart from mere animals is our ability to think, reason, choose, etc. And so Light’s to blame --- not the Death Note.

February 11, 2008 | Pops wrote:

Can someone explain to me why after Light tells Ryuk to "throw it away", two weeks worth of murders happen even though no one was in ownership of the death note to write the names of the criminals in it?

Maybe I missed something.

March 16, 2008 | light lawliet wrote:

If Light-kun never found the DN he'll never end up being a mass murderer.
Maybe Yagami-san in the past was just like Light-kun, has a strong sense of justice and the evil people should die blah blah blah, but Yagami-san realized that it was the wrong idea. We all have the right to live. So what i am trying to tell you is, if he never finds the DN he'll be a good person in the end, just like his father. That's why i hate Ryuk for dropping his DN. After all boredom is also a kind of evil...