Death Note (Drama)

Episode 3

Light Yagami is a tragic character. He wasn't in the original Death Note story. He was a psychotic, entitled jerk from the start, feeling no remorse from even his first killings. This version of Death Note is different. We can see how his spirit breaks as he gets used to killing and Ryuk pushes him in increasingly sadistic directions. It says a lot that he even considers killing his father or Cathy Campbell (Raye Penber's fiancée) this early in the game. Not long ago, he was broken up over killing actual criminals and individuals who wanted him dead. Now he does that easily, while struggling over which innocent individuals are worth making pawns in his game. Ryuk notices that he's making faces "like Kira" when he gets to plotting, something that troubles Light.

Still, he's not exactly the same as his anime/manga counterpart, and he likely never will be. He's not losing touch with his conscience, but more adapting it so that whatever he does becomes acceptable. He has to do this because he has no choice when he feels cornered. This Light isn't the effortless genius he was in the original (though he's getting better at plotting), so when he's stuck, he laser-focuses on survival. When you're panicking about your own safety, it's a lot easier to disregard others. He'll do whatever he needs to do to some innocent fiancée of an FBI agent if it means he gets to live another day. It's obvious how desperate he is, but he's so deep in it by now that he has no choice but to keep going.

Still, there's enough of the original Light in him by now that it's admirable how well his actor has adapted. I said in the first review that I didn't think Masataka Kubota was charismatic enough to pull off the old character. That's still true, but he's getting better at emulating what bits of him are needed for this new version of Light. He nails the knowing smirks and crazy eyes when Light gets a little too invested in his latest ploy. It's great to watch an actor grow with their character, but it's really remarkable when they can do so across only a few episodes.

As Light turns more and more into the character we expect him to be, the plot of this version of Death Note increasingly emulates the source. The Raye Penber stuff differs in its details, but follows the same basic beats up until the ending. Light keeps coming up with convoluted plans to trap him, but the FBI agent (and L) is one step ahead of him. This keeps Light on his toes and forces him to put more effort into his game, which makes him more invested in winning it. We also see other familiar hallmarks of the original series, like Light constructing a hiding place for his notebook. It's not something the Light of two episodes ago could have done, and it shows how he's transforming into a new person. Still, this series finds room for other characters where the original didn't, and that's where the twist in Raye Penber's fate arrives.

In the old story, Raye Penber died as the result of another complicated Light plan, before Misa ever arrived on the scene. Here, that plan fails, so Misa does him in when he has a gun to Light's head. (Light is unable to write anything down because he still doesn't have the FBI agent's name.) Misa does because she's already traded for the shinigami eyes. This gives her a more personal connection to Light's story than just finding out that a "second Kira" is killing people out of nowhere. This whole series has developed Light and Misa's connection much more organically. It makes a big difference, being able to see her character's backstory develop, and not just talk about it briefly once she's introduced. It creates a history of consistent behavior across the story, making Misa and her relationships feel more real.

So it's strange how much that's not the case with Light and L. In the beginning of the episode, L shows Light how much he's screwed up with his first Raye Penber gambit by revealing that he "knows he's Kira." He then starts listing off a bunch of Light's character traits and motivations, things that it would be strange for L to deduce purely based from a quick description of him. L then plays the same headgame later with other children of investigation team members, but it's odd to see just how well L has Light pegged based on such little information. It's not something that would have been true of the old L, especially before he got to know Light. He talked about Kira's likely goals and values only in the abstract. This L is a cipher, more a combination of "weird genius" traits than anything resembling a real person. L has to be different for this story to work, but I still wish they'd done something interesting with him, like they have with the other leads. It probably doesn't help that Kento Yamazaki plays L as so flat and emotionless, giving him weird faces and other physical expressions divorced from understanding. He performs him like a caricature of a super-genius.

As for the supporting cast, Yutaka Matsuhige does a good job as Light's hard-working and trusting dad. I appreciated Light's childhood flashback to establish their close relationship, and it also explains why Light was so driven to join the police force. The original series made it seem like Light wanted that only because it was expected of him, and his parents were demanding of his success but hands-off in their relationship. I figured that the very removed and impersonal upbringing he had likely played a role in how his personality evolved. Here, the Yagami family is much closer-knit, and Light's ambition comes from a real connection with his father. It's no wonder that he struggled so much with Ryuk's demand to kill his dad (and how far gone he is for even considering it in the first place). On the other end of the spectrum, Raye Penber's actor plays him as very cold and a little mean. He had moments where he looked like he was enjoying his job a little too much, mirroring Light or L's "crazy eyes" expression. It's not bad acting, especially accounting for the differences in characterization throughout this version, but it does make it harder to care about his fate than in the old story. The fact that he has a fiancée waiting for him in America is pretty much the only reason to mourn his death. We don't even get to see that relationship like we did with his wife and fellow agent Naomi Misora in the original story.

This version of Death Note giveth and taketh away, expanding some elements of the story while condensing equally compelling ones. It's playing with a lot of the same characters and plot points, but enough little things are added to make it a wholly different experience. Even when it goes over the same events we already know, it does so in a way that establishes how much things have changed. Light's making the same moves his source inspiration did, but not for the same reasons, and that makes all the difference.

Rating: B

Death Note (Drama) is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Rose is a music Ph.D. student who loves overanalyzing anime soundtracks. Follow her on her media blog Rose's Turn.