Death Note ep.23

March 22, 2007 | 30 Comments

Well, this is it: the end of the Yotsuba arc. That means everything will be back to status quo next week. What comes after that is inevitable whether one likes it or not. I think I finally understand why people are upset with the upcoming story development. Prior to following the series religiously, thanks to the anime, I have little to no attachment to the characters. As a result, I just enjoy the story based on its own merit. However, things get really complicated once you start liking a character. Even when the story demands it, it's really hard to let go your favorite character. The problem is, I think the author of Death Note considers the story to be more important than the characters. As a result, character death is simply inevitable part of the storyline. I really want to see what anime-only watchers think after the dreaded episode goes on air.

The episode begins with a shot of Misa's crappy commercial, which makes her look uglier somehow. After the commercial ends, the TV program continues with the interview by showing Matsuda saying that he ended up having drinks with 8 people from the Yotsuba group including Kira himself. In response, the announcer asks Matsuda if this means that he has met Kira himself. Matsuda confirms this but back then he didn't know that the person is Kira. He also mentions how he knows that Kira needs a name and a face to kill someone. And since Kira does not know either one of these things, Kira can't kill him. Inside his car, Higuchi is pissed off to hear this because he realises that Matsuda appears on TV because the guy thinks he's safe. This makes him wonder if it means that Matsuda has deleted all documents that contain his true identity. If that's the case, then there's not much that Higuchi can do even if he does go to the Yoshida Agency.

Because he hesitates, Higuchi decides to ask for Rem's opinion, alerting Light to the fact that Higuchi is speaking to someone who doesn't seem to be inside the car. L agrees with this and points out that there is no radio inside the car. The only thing that's inside is the camera and the bug and he trusts Weddy about these. Inside the car, Higuchi wonders if he can find the details of Matsuda inside Yoshida agency. In response Rem tells Higuchi that she wouldn't know the answer herself. Higuchi tells Rem that if Matsuda knows what he is doing, then the guy must have deleted all the articles that contain his real name before going on TV. Besides, he thinks it's very careless of Yoshida agency to allow him to enter their office to take a look at their employee's detail. On the other hand, if things get stolen, he's the only one who'll get the blame. Misa worries that Higuchi won't go but L thinks the guy will still go to the agency.

Meanwhile, Higuchi wonders what would happen if he finds the CV and the name on it is still fake. In fact, he's kind of sure that it'll be fake. Rem who hears this realise that it must be Light and Misa's intention for Higuchi to go to the office so she decides to persuade the guy to do so. She reminds Higuchi that if he doesn't do anything, then it's likely that Matsuda will reveal Higuchi's name on TV. She thinks Higuchi should at least go there and get the CV. If Higuchi writes the guy's name on it, then no one will suspect him for the guy's death. Higuchi agrees to this but that also means he'll have to kill the guy from the Yoshida Agency as well as Misa and her manager. Misa is worried upon hearing this but L assures her that Higuchi has to kill Matsuda before he will kill her. Inside the car, Rem tries to persuade Higuchi that he only need to kill the guy on TV station. She argues that if he also kills the others, someone might suspect him due to the phone calls.

In response Higuchi tells Rem that he will control them and make them delete their received call memories prior to killing them. Rem argues that even then there will still be records left at the line exchange. While this happens, Light is freaked out because Higuchi is clearly having a conversation to someone that they can't see. L, who seems very observant concludes that Higuchi is talking to a Shinigami, causing Misa to worry again. Back inside the car, Rem suggests that Higuchi relinquish the ownership back to her but Higuchi refuses. He claims that will just leave him with a miserable end. He points out that Matsuda has the evidence. Besides, once they relate the recent growth of the Yotsuba with the deaths, no one will doubt his story. All he needs is to name one of them as Kira. Even if Matsuda can't come up with enough proof, Higuchi's career will be over. Higuchi can forget about promotions because he probably won't be able to stay at Yotsuba.

Eventually Higuchi arrives at the Yoshida Agency and enters the room. He goes through the drawer and pulls out the file which supposedly contains Matsuda's information. By looking at the file, he can see that Matsuda's 'real name' is Taichirou Yamashita. He then pulls out the Death note and writes the name in it. Since Higuchi didn't write the cause of death, however, Light and L just think that Higuchi hasn't done anything to kill Matsuda. Meanwhile Mogi wants to know if they can go after Higuchi but L doesn't want them to until they can be sure how Higuchi killed his victims. After 40 seconds, Higuchi finds out that Matsuda is still alive and becomes angry about it. This alert Light and L to the fact that Higuchi has indeed done something to kill 'Taichirou Yamashita'. Higuchi himself is frustrated with this recent development and decides to give Misa a call again. When that doesn't work either, he tells Rem that it is time for the exchange.

Light is startled to hear this and wonders what Higuchi is talking about and who is Rem. He also wonders if the ability of Kira is actually Godsend. L disagrees but thinks that Rem is a Shinigami. Meanwhile, Higuchi has just get himself Shinigami eyes with the purpose of killing Matsuda. While speeding towards Sakura TV, however, he gets followed by a police. In order to get rid of him, Higuchi uses the eyes and writes the police's name on the Death Note. A few seconds later, the police ends up in traffic accident. Upon seeing this L instructs the others to let Higuchi move any longer. Because of this, he wants them to assume that Higuchi now has the same ability as the 2nd Kira and can kill just by looking at their face. With this, everyone at Sakura TV is preparing for Higuchi's eventual arrival. Light and L decide to fly using helicopter. Halfway through flying, however, they realise that Higuchi is not heading to Sakura TV but back to Yotsuba.

Weddy decides to use the opportunity to wait at Sakura TV with Souichirou. Meanwhile, Higuchi goes through the security tapes at Yotsuba to see if he can find a tape containing Matsuda's recording. When he realises that all of the tapes have been re-recorded, he decides to head to Sakura TV. Upon arriving there, he becomes suspicious to know that the place is empty. Much to his anger, the figure behind the frosted glass is just a dummy. Souichirou, Weddy, Aiber, and Mogi then ambush Higuchi. However, because Weddy is the only one using a gun, Higuchi manages to fire a shot at her. Souichirou tries to shield her and ends up getting minor injury. Meanwhile, Higuchi tries to escape into the highway but finds out that the police have blocked it. It seems Aizawa and another detective has been working on the Kira's case secretly. Higuchi who is trapped by police cars threaten to kill himself. However, Watari manages to snipe the gun from the Helicopter, ending Higuchi's pathetic attempt at hostage.

Impression:

The first time I read the manga I thought Higuchi was turning into a Shinigami after obtaining the eyes. He just looks so creepy and simian-like that I started to think that maybe this is the after effect of someone who uses Death Note far too often. In addition to that, Ryuk once said that those who used the note won't go to Heaven or Hell. As a result, I thought they'll end up as Shinigami one day. Anyway, this has been a rather exciting episode and is definitely a lot more action-oriented than a typical Death Note episode. It was kind of cool when Aiber, Weddy, Souichirou, and Mogi tried to capture Higuchi. Having said that, what on earth were they thinking trying to capture the guy without any kind of weapon apart from the gun that Weddy brings with her? On the other hand, Higuchi is kind of dumb. It's hard to believe how easy it was for Rem to influence him to do certain things such as going to the agency.

I think part of the reason why L's plan went so well is because Rem did a good job in screwing up Higuchi's mind. Unfortunately, his foolishness also lets L know that there's another entity that Higuchi was talking to while he was on the car. I think the 'exchange' line pretty much a major giveaway that gives L the clue that he needs. At any rate, I can't wait to see how this will unfolds next week. Well, I actually know how it will unfold but it never ceases to amaze me how different things have been thus far. At the end of the day, I'm still not sure if Light becomes evil because of the note or because he wants to stay evil. I keep wondering what if there is a stumbling block in his plan. What if he never gets the chance to obtain the note again. At any rate, this is the end for Higuchi and I can't be happier about this. He really was a pathetic Kira. He got the Shinigami eyes at the last minute and actually threatened to kill himself.

Preview

On next week's episode: He's back!!

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