by It’s funny how Light, who is undoubtedly a smart guy, gets so provoked that he makes a fatal mistake. During the ICPO worldwide live broadcast when Lind L. Taylor provoked Light Yagami (CV: Miyano Mamoru ) by calling him “evil,” the genius Light had such a poor tolerance for provocation that he scribbled down the names of people on TV. Who would have thought this was a trap set by L (CV: Yamaguchi Kappei)?
The anime “Death Note” is based on the manga of the same name by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, which was serialized in “Weekly Shonen Jump” (Shueisha) from December 2003 to May 2006. The comic has sold over 21 million copies. The protagonist, Light Yagami, accidentally picks up a notebook dropped by a Shinigami, which contains a terrifying rule: “Anyone whose name is written in this notebook will die.”
As he punishes the world’s many criminals with death one after another, he is eventually nicknamed “Kira.” The story depicts the battle of wits and minds between Light/Kira, who seeks to become the “god of the new world” by executing justice, and L, a genius detective who pursues Kira’s true identity as a mass murderer. The story has been adapted into a live-action film and a TV drama both in Japan and overseas.
After realizing that the Death Note is genuine, Light continues to write the names of evildoers in the notebook, one after another, believing that he will “change the world into an ideal place without evil.” In response to the abnormal situation of criminals suddenly dying all over the world, the International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO) calls an emergency meeting, gathering representatives from each country.
Was it murder or a coincidence? With no clear answer, the ICPO turned to L, the mastermind behind the scenes who has solved many unsolved cases worldwide. L is famous for not taking action on cases that don’t interest him, but he did show an interest in this case, declaring, “This is a brutal murder that must never be tolerated.” He even speculated that the culprit was already in Japan.
Meanwhile, Light modified the drawer of his desk in his room to have a double bottom so that no one would ever find out about the existence of the Death Note. The inner bottom, with the diary placed on top, was designed with a mechanism that would allow an electric current to flow through it so that if anyone tried to force it open without placing an insulating ballpoint pen tip between them, gasoline would leak out and ignite, burning the Death Note. No matter how brilliant he was, the fact that he could create something like this so quickly is a terrifying idea for a high school student.
