We are literally seeing the story from his POV I'm pretty sure, cause at the end doesn't it end with him concluding the story to a fellow shinigami, meaning the whole series was him recounting everything that happened?
It is heavily implied by L, why would he bring him up otherwise? Any person with an above average intelligence would have realized that. It would have been suspicious if Light pretended he didn't get it, because L knows he's smart enough to arrive to that conclusion.
Pretty much the main conflict of Light vs L is that L knew from the start that Light was Kira, but he needed to obtain concrete evidence of Light's methods and didn't expect literal magic. And even when he learned that it was literal magic, he had to figure out how it worked for sufficiently demonstratable evidence. Which really goes to show how impressive L is. The guy started from an extreme disadvantage against Light and was at the cusp of winning until literal divine intervention bailed Light out (although granted, this was set up by Light manipulating Misa and Rem so Light should be given credit for this).
Disadvantage lul what? If not for wealth, authority and reputation and influence, L wouldn't be never be able to catch Light. It was Light who was struggling alot against the real and supernatural worlds.
@@qazweriopkoiljhow on earth was light struggling? He literally had unprecedented power of killing with 0 evidence. There was no objective way of confirming how he was killing but L managed to circle him by sheer logistics. L was superior in every way. He literally had to be killed by divine intervention.
@@qazweriopkoiljSo to be clear... is having a magic murder book where you can kill anyone without a trace not an advantage... or did you not get that far?
@@williamt2700 what advantage? L can literally just shut up and Light doesn't have any win condition. L definitely outsmarted Light more than the other way around in their encounters, imo, but saying Light starting with an advantage is not exactly accurate, when Light had absolutely no way to kill L from the beginning
In "Death Note 13: How to read manga" the authors made it very clear that L is a liar and he essentially knew from the start. I believe the very first time L meets Light he points out that there is a "less than 5% chance that Light is Kira", but How to read 13 points out that "His percentages are never legitimate. Any time L feels the need to even bring up percentages at all, it means he considers something to be 90%+ likely.". That means the very first time L met Light, Light already fit the profile in Ls mind so perfectly, that he more or less instantly went "ok, that's the guy". That's also why, during their first meeting, L trolls Light by giving him a message consisting of 3 photos, only to then go "your deduction is wrong. there were actually 4 photos". The Lind L. Taylor debacle showed L that Kira was not actually all that smart. He had some amazing power or powerful tool, but he was easy to provoke and extremely impatient if he feels challenged. So all L wanted was to check if Light would feel the need to stroke his ego by "figuring the message out" and if he would get combattive if told his deduction is wrong. Light instantly gave him all that.
finally someone with brains lol, the game of cat and mouse wasn't for L to knew if Light was really Kira, if it was, L would never suspect so HARD, he literally never let Light go, not because he was Kira, but because he "KNEW" he was pretty much Kira, same with Light, Light main objective wasn't actually find out who L was, it just happened that L showed himself to Light, their game is "who will lose first?" will L be able to prove Light is actually Kira to the entire police department? and will Kira be able to kill L first without getting suspected? that's their game.
I always believed that L knew early on. In the beginning, he just found kira's methods as interesting so he kept going with the "act". Later on, he saw that light could somehow keep up with him thereby letting him experience the feeling of having someone as friend and equal. Which why we had 40 episodes when L could have ended it in less than 10. Makes me think how the story basically happened because Ryuk and L were bored in the beginning of the series.
another slip up he made in episode 13 was when him and L were talking about the diary page. He knew that the second Kira wanted me meet up at Aoyama, and he accidentally mentioned this to L
@@ushsproject no. L couldnt have wrapped it up in 10. he needed actual proof. "im sure he is the killer and does so with voodoo magic" is not something that will hold in court in most places of the world.
Recently completed the manga once again and it's so obvious L knew very early on. He just needed the physical evidence to back it up. Which is almost impossible to do when you're dealing with the supernatural.
still, he accepts the death note as a real thing instantly and mostly because it just fit with everything else. he was ahead of Light every time but Light had more information.
That was his flaw he could have said "Light is Kira" but everything he had wasn't concrete evidence and just speculation and who L thought was Kira based on the evidence and clues left behind.
Kinda.. I know lots of people who tuned out after Missa came in after episode 11. Also the fact the 1st act is far superior to the 2nd till the end imo
I noticed L also underplayed the percentages that Light could be Kira. If it was truly a 1-7% chance then L wouldn't be dedicating most of his time focusing on Light.
one L mistake that cost his life: he didnt trust his own guts and took a more agressive decision towards Light, but he wanted to be patient, he wanted to be 100% sure, i bet he was 99% percent sure, but as the perfect detective he waited and played a little longer. its not about pride, or showing everyone that he is the best, its because there was also that 1% chance that Light was just a innocent, and he considered that (and wanted that, because deeply he liked Raito and wanted to be his friend).
No, I'm sure L was positive it was Light. But him being sure wasn't enough. He needed it proven. He needed to win, and to strip away any doubt others may have that it was in fact Light who was Kira.
What are you guys talking about? L and Light just wanted to “play”. It was obvious for L who Light is, but he wanted to continue their battle. If L only was a detective who wants to catch the killer, he wouldn’t wait until Kira kills so many people. He didn’t care of them. L just wanted to enjoy the game.
@@maxburmab7962 bad take, because eventually this fun little battle would lead to either one of their lifes to be ruined, L literally dying and Light jail for ever or death sentence. L has a huge sense for justice, that is, not punitive justice but one that abides the rule of law and trial imo. So people being killed because of the will of one person is like the worst thing imaginable to him.
Or maybe just maybe he was sure that light was kira he just needed enough proof I mean you can know that somebody is guilty but if you can't prove it then its pointless.
I think the initial moment at which L first suspected Light was while he was doing surveillance on Light's house. While the family ate dinner, he had them run a news update about how America was so outraged by Kira killing FBI agents that they're sending 1500 new agents to Japan. Light's immediate response was to laugh and tell his family that there's no way that could be true. If it was true, then they'd never admit to it on TV, they would just do it secretly. He even said "I bet this was a cheap attempt to make Kira panic, but he'll probably see right through it." As soon as L saw this he smiled and said "Mr. Yagami, your son is quite clever, isn't he." In a way Light's response was too clever for his own good, because L already figured out Kira must be pretty smart to pull off all these murders without getting caught. Now Light fit the profile: a smart high school student with a connection to the police (and thus, access to classified police intel) who Ray Penber was following before his death. Sure, that's not HARD evidence of his guilt, but flaunting his intelligence so arrogantly caught L's attention. I also think on some level Light really wanted to stick it to L, as if giving him a big middle finger, mocking his plan and pointing out how it was stupid. It gave the impression that Light was openly mocking L to his face, which made him look even more suspicious.
I think at that point L was hoping he had found Kira but wasn’t sure until Light killed lesser criminals while under surveillance in the potato chip scene. L realizes that Kira’s behavior changed only as Light was being monitored.
@@jaketurner1502: The potato chip scene is still one of Light's most brilliant moments. L never figured out how Light did that (since he'd need to know about the shinigami finding and reporting all the camera locations to him, otherwise it wouldn't make sense for Light to think the inside of the potato chip bag was the one angle not being monitored). It was also such an incredibly excessive plan, literally sealing an expensive miniature television inside a potato chip bag and then throwing it in the garbage lmao. Light was really wild sometimes.
Light was a master of offensive tactics but he blundered when it had to deal with being cautious. All the problems that got Kira into L's suspicion were caused because Kira himself exposed by being too aggressive. Kira's tactics focused on winning battles L's tactics were focused on winning the war.
Arrogance, lack of wisdom bc he's young, lack of humility, having a huge ego, lack of competence to maneuver innocuously was why Light lost. It all logically adds up eventually being caught to the point it's unavoidable.
@@bleedingg So if it was stated that Light and Misa were the same intelligence would you just believe that?? I think its very subjective who is smarter based on what happened
I think the way they'll handle things will be different, L is a detective while light is a student, I think the experience matters, but ngl those two are geniuses
@@free3793 You have to be joking lmao, L being stated to have similar to lower intelligence in regards to Light is nowhere near Light being compared to Misa. Should you believe in the author or should you form your own headcanon?
It would be interesting if the story started off from L's point of view and we as the audience didn't know Light was kira. Throughout the show we wouldn't know if light was actually kira or not and everyone would be debating about it. It wouldn't be until L dies and Light smiles evily at him that it would be confirmed.
L knew from the very beginning on intuition alone. The second he discovered Lights existence he knew. Even when Light had no memory of the DeathNote, he still suspected him but if he continued to say that with all odds against him no one would trust him at all. Even in the rain scene he asked Light if he's even gone a day without telling a lie. After that he tells light he will be parting ways with him soon. He knew but since it was supernatural he couldn't prove it
Light didn’t just say this out of the blue, in he hospital L tell light he suspects him and then started to explain the ray penber situation. L was gonna say that ray penber was one of the people investigating him but Light just cut him off and said it for him
@@RegemYT there is only 1 reason L would reveal himself to Light, it is only if Light was the one the alleged "FBI agend who died unusually" was following. L knew Light was smart enough to figure that out after he heard the FBI agents. Or maybe the in-series explanation is something even simpler. Maybe L told Light while they were going to the hospital or during other off-camera times. This, in no way, was a slip up by Light, and at most, a slip up by the writers, as maybe they forgot to add the scene in which L told him.
@@RegemYT he was testing his detective skills if L was to tell it to light then hed have given a whole list of informtion about the FBI agents but it is obvious with soichiro yagami and light together that raye penber was investigating soichiro's family and L knowing about the number of cases light helped the police department light was bound to tell so if he did not L's suspicion would increase more because light would then be hiding it from L despite his brilliant mind he used in other police cases and L already knew as i said, that light was capable and smart enough so no sense of this video cuz light did not slip light did slip in the near arc not in this arc
The heart attack? Please. All he had to do was simply not to try to kill the fake L when he appeared on television. That was all. Why kill him, anyway? He was not a criminal, and Kira had no idea who L was or why he was important. It was just hubris. HAd he not killed him, he would have remained a faceless ghost. By allowing L to restrict the seartch zone to a very specific part of Japan, he all but effed himself up.
Counterargument: It was obvious that Light was one of the main suspects at this point, which only makes sense if Light was one of the individuals investigated by Ray Penber, since L highlights 'unusual circumstances'. Light could deduce that even if he wasn't Kira. And he is arrogant enough to immediately show off his deduction even before L says it.
when L broadcast only in japan to see if kira is in japan or not that sys it all that L is much smarter than kira if the note didnt wipe the memories of light the series will be 12 episode
No. That doesn't prove anything. It's actually easier for the detective to use tricks like that than it is to foresee them as the criminal. L had a multilayered plan that was clearly orchestrated long before it was aired. Light had absolutely no plan. There are multiple errors in L's plan. What if Kira was visiting friends or family? Or on vacation in Japan? That doesn't prove he lives in x region, or even in Japan. It only proves that he's in Japan at the moment and in x region at the moment of airing. Don't get me wrong. I love the scene a lot. But you give L too much credit here.
If you think L is smarter than Light, then you do not understand the story. They are equals. That's the whole point. The only difference is that one of them is willing to kill the other and Light was cunning and evil enough to manipulate a god of death to kill L. Now that is genius.
I don't think that was a slip up. He took what L was saying to its logical conclusion and finished what he was saying. It was more of a flex about working it out, again, to try and get in with the task force. That being said, the fact that he did that added to L's suspicion
@@kalanitanoi7259but didn’t light meet ray inside the bus ? , even if he does not know about the investigation,I don’t think it would be hard to guess that a foreigner ,would be following him for no reason.
@@kalanitanoi7259Light absolutely could've known this. L: "Hey Light, you're a suspect. We sent a bunch of investigators to Japan, they all died, and Raye Penber died unusually." Light: "Oh, so I guess I'm under suspicion because I was one of the people he was investigating?" It's the only reasonable conclusion based on what L was saying.
I always felt that L was smarter than Light overall. Light had far more to work with. A supernatural tool to kill whoever he wanted. An invisible death god he could bargain with and sometimes manipulate. The complete loyalty of another person with even greater killing power and her own loyal death god. Even direct access to the very investigation about his crimes. Light had so many advantages but L nearly cornered him a handful of times without having all the answers himself.
It makes me wonder how intelligent tsugumi ohba himself his. I mean we know that L and light are incredibly intelligent but what does that make the writer? He created these characters and came up with all of these ideas,deductions, twists and turns. It’s like he’s a detective himself, but then he also writes the opposite role extremely well with kira being the criminal or suspect. It really amazes me that he could write such a complex story, I wonder how much research it took and how long it took to complete death note
Doesn't mean the writer is intelligent. He had a lot of time to come up with these interactions. We think they are smart because they think so deep so fast, but the writer had a long ass time to make it that way.
When it comes to logical puzzles, de- and encoding stuff, coming up with a puzzle is far easier than solving it. You know which logic you used for creating the puzzle, everyone else has to try and figure it out, and in a badly designed puzzle especially, there could be multple solutions to the solver while the creator knows how he intended it to go.
@@thegreatfitzgerald2660 what you are saying is a stretch and we don't even know the identity of the creator, we can't be sure that the writer is a he and not a she.
I believe L was smarter than light because he was completely unaware of the idea of death note and its functioning, yet somehow managed to deduce that kira needed a name and a face to kill, the presence of a second kira and how they are actually able to pass on their powers. He only didn't have an evidence. L from the starting KNEW light was kira, but couldn't prove it. Idk if any of you guys agree or not but, there is something about Light and L's character, that attracts you towards them and makes you admire them.
I think Light is smarter, because he was able to get L killed before he could prove his point. And no one really suspected him after that until the end. But it is what it is.
@@AdonisTheGreat198 ahe seriously manipulated L for that long which make me admire Light But at the same time L knew who was kira but was late to get proof plus Ligh had support of the Shinjgami I just admire both of these characters sooooooo much for their intelligence and abilities
@@AdonisTheGreat198 Just because Light won, doesn't mean he was smarter. He just had more information and resources to work with, such as knowing the Death Note's real rules and Rem's love for Misa. When odds are stacked against you, there's a good chance you will lose, no matter how smart you are. Near himself simply said L lost the game, not that Kira was smarter, just that L simply lost.
It only made sense Light knew lol. Remember the scene in the bus where Light asks for the agents ID. L probably knew of that, because the agents would have to report unusual events, like the one in the bus.
watching this made me realize that L knew in his gut Light was Kira, but he also knew that there was no way to prosecute him without tangible evidence; and it also made me realize that this case was probably the most invested he ever got to a case and to other people, and that he had an intellectual respect for Light…so I bet L probably made the choice to play the long con, let Light joint, set up/build a HQ, and wait it out until he could figure it out and prove it but all the while enjoying the friendship of someone he saw as his equal, and realizing all of that makes my heart break :(
It was truly confirmed when Misa hugged light and uni informs of L before she got arrested. That’s why L was smiling so much because he knew his suspicions were correct and light was Kira. Then he played it off as he was just a super fan of Misa but in reality he already researched her because he knew she was the second Kira. But that was the moment L knew who Kira was, now he just had to figure out how he killed and convict him.
I feel like Light saw L as a friend too , even though technically speaking they were rivals. The ending of the series where L is standing there while light dies is where I get the vibe from.
@@jingle9657 I think that applied while Light had lost his memory. Which was when he was free of the Death Notes influence (which was probably a big part why he went crazy to begin with, obviously). And when he dies, free from it's influence again, that's when that thought came back.
@@RichardGrayson14 I can't remember that, I'd believe he has antisocial tendencies (duh, not exactly subtle), but he is shown to care about people. And Light was probably one of the very few people who understood him to an extend (while he wasn't god high).
Lets say there are like 1 million students in Japan's Kantou region who could actually be Kira. It means an average student has 0.0001% chance of being Kira. If Light had a 1% chance it meant he is 10000 times more likely to be Kira than an average student.
@@bloodlustaxe1500 dude neat usage of extremely basic math but the original comment is just saying that when L announces percent chances he's really almost absolutely sure. Its not about the math, the author is just acknowledging L was pretty sure it was light the entire time.
@@bloodlustaxe1500 he was related to kira with 100%. 6 billion people, only one person was a suspect, but no proof. Capturing him for interrogation was enough to end him.
As for the first point, I think Light "figured" Raye was investigating him because there's no other reason L would tell him about Raye's behaviour right before he died. As for the second, L and Light met each other when Light was graduating at detective's college. To have Light accepting his invite to come in the investigation group was expected even if he wasn't Kira. L knew Light was Kira because of the deduction test
One of the things that always made Light a blatant suspect is how perfectly he answered so many of the scenarios L presented him with. His thought process and explanations were always so calculated to throw off suspicion that L believed only Kira would present. At the rooftop scene where it was raining is when it struck me that hardest, every time light had something to say L would think, that’s what I thought you might say, it was almost like talking to a robot.
Exactly. L's expression and the way he said _"Have you ever said the truth even once since the day you were born, Light?"_ felt like he was actually saying _"Dude, don't you realize that I got you figured out since the very beginning?"_ L only died because Light had a "kill any person in the world for free" card thanks to Rem's obsession with keeping Misa alive.
@@danielbueno8474 it's actually more depressing than you think. The only reason L lost was because he had the Anti-Kira Taskforce to deal with as well as Light. Think about it for a second, a guy who has never at all failed to complete a case he's on tells you 'Light is Kira' and your thought is 'no, thats impossible' only should work for Soichiro his dad, everyone else should detach their knowledge of Light and see it in an analytical pov. But they're stupid, they follow their Chief's lead and do as he does, they don't notice the changes in criminals like the 2nd and 3rd Kira's specifically are doing, they don't question that on hearing that 'Kira will want to be part of this taskforce' that the first thing Light does is try and get in - and succeeds. The literal instant that there were Death Gods revealed should have been enough for them to start doubting Light again, but it took him openly admitting to it in front of all of them for them to realise. If L hadn't worked with the Japanese Police and stuck with only the FBI and through JP government, Light would've been caught within a month, he was way too arrogant.
@@UncensoredScion Yep. They say the worst kind of blind is the one that refuses to see, and L was dealing with a whole group of people like that + Kira himself in the taskforce. He had everything against him + some supernatural elements and rules that he died without knowing about. I wonder if L saw that as some kind of challenge in and of itself, to make people overcome their own ignorance and make them accept the truth, and deliberately decided to stick with the japanese police to hunt down Kira because of that.
Remember this scene was in this very same episode. L :- "If you were me, faced with someone who might be Kira, how would you go about establishing this person's innocence or guilt? You need to be absolutely sure." Light :- "I would probably try to get him to say something that was never made public in any way, something only Kira could know."
@@nnnnmhughuuhhjiijj9457 Raye did jot down a few things in his journal, maybe L saw some of it. Another things is that L always admired Light's intelligence, it would be obvious that Light would know someone was stalking him. But in the end I said this COULD mean nothing
I believe the only reason that L lost is because he worked with others on the investigation. If he had it completely his way from the beginning (especially since director Yagami was an accomplice and Light was still a suspect) L probably would've been able to deduce that Light was Kira from the beginning. L could've still been around and made his presence known, but since others were still following their morals as the JPF, and police, they constantly opposed L and made him second guess himself. I believe if L was working by himself (which he even mentioned and also tried to do) he would've been able to deduce that Light was indeed Kira. L got too close, found a friend in Light's persona, and ended up getting too emotionally attached. So what did he do? Create a situation where someone with a brain similar to his could pick up from where he left off (Near and Mello) and use whatever evidence he found to finish the job, someone completely disconnected from the JPF and Light. Excellent story.
Yeah, to be honest, the task force was compromised. They were actively defending Light, not based on lack of evidence or suspicion, but because they knew him. It is annoying that the characters had to be dumbed down to make the plot work.
L did not at all, even slightly, get emotionally attached to Light. Where the heck does this misconception even come from? Did we watch the same series?
Woah had no clue this comment was still up. Manga (and somewhat the anime) describe L's hesitance to actually giving the investigation his all because he really wanted for Light not to be Kira, because not only did L consider him the closest to "equal", and also a very valid candidate to becoming the successor to the L name, but also, he was saying that Light was his friend, and it was a genuine comment. Some people have different interpretations. But I don't call your point of view a "misconception", I call it a "point of view" or an "opinion", one others share to each-other for interesting takes on stories. @@mattwayne9128
@@mattwayne9128the foot massage is definitely not just for show. Meanwhile L treats Light with respect in all their dealings even though it would have been better if he used worse methods. We see his undoing done by worse people - L definitely had some kind of friend / admirer / curiosity about Light that was sincere. It wasn't all an act - had he wanted to, L could've used sensible methods to yank Light's chain at any time to just "see" what would happen. It's easier to conceptualize this when you take in the idea that L can hate, and admire, Light / kira. It isn't mutually exclusive, life's complicated like that. The show isn't the manga and L has been depicted many ways. Life is sometimes just a dazzling mess. There's always the possibility L knew minute 1, but then had to really think to himself... am I trying to catch a killer or make him understand WHY he needs to be caught? L gave Light the benefit of the doubt, right up until the end. He treated him with kindness befitting a saint and we all know L not only suspected, but at least some degree knew. The question was whether or not L wanted to kill Light - exposing him is a death sentence, so when it's all on you, do you kill a friend? It isn't just a suspicion, the more you watch the more you see it plain. L had more going on than being a great detective. He aspired to be a better person and killing Light wasn't necessarily the way - especially before he knew of shinigami. Light may be a killer, but his method could be more important than the entire case. Is L trying to catch Kira or solve the mystery of the shinigami? Which mattered more? The foot massage says it all. "You've been on the run, let me help you". L had no delusions of grandeur or pride, he didn't care about people - he cared about bigger things. That's why people see him as sentimental because while he's cold and calculating, the man appreciates things. Gifts, cakes and pleasant talk. ... there's a kindness in that, he wanted to let people in. The darkness came with it but there's a reason it stings so bad when he's gone, and it has nothing to do with Kira. There's an impossibly good person devoid of pride there. That's the feeling people get because while he can be cold, L also cared... which is why the idea of gods of death truly shocked him. His horror reflects the truth - L is human. He cares, even about Light, right up until the last second. ... and L knows if he fails what will happen. His friends are not as kind, they won't give him the benefit of the doubt. He's toast. But compassion, that virtue is there. It's just more subtle.
“0:16 they were instructed to follow people connected to the Japanese police” Light knew Ray penber was investigating him because L said Rey was investigating everyone who were connected with police and lights dad was a Japanese police officer.
Totally agree. The show was a huge impact. I still remember after finishing this anime, it left me with tons of thoughts and emotions for days like i can't stop thinking about it.
I think L suspected light way before this. After Naomi disappeared, it would only take looking at the people Raye was following to know Light matched the profile.
@@RegemYT In the "how to read" manga guide, is said that when L says that he suspects someone by X-% (insert some small percentage here), he is actually with 99% suspicion on said person, so by that we can affirm that in the first moment L said he had a *small* percentage of suspicion on Light, he was actually pretty sure he was kira. He just don't tell his real percentage to gain a certain advantage, so he can mantain the suspect on check, making explicit that he still has a level of suspicion on the person, but not by much. The How to Read Manga was written by the creators of the Death Note series by the way.
L's plan is pretty foolproof when you realize recruiting Light into the investigation team had no downsides. If he wasn't Kira, then L would have another genius working alongside to apprehend Kira. If he was Kira, then being able to keep a close eye on him would help with gathering evidence. He truly read Light like a book.
Both were equally intelligent. If their roles were reversed, I believe they would have played it similarly. The chase favoured Light because the police/justice side had so little information about the death note to work with
Too be fair, Light has less experience than L because Light was just a smart student at that time while L is a detective. When L tested him with 3 pictures of Kira killed people in prison, he brought the other picture to trap Light and wants to test Light. He knew Light is Kira the whole time but Light is always oversmarted him. They both are equally smarts but L is way smarter.
@@margarethmichelina5146 Not really, there was no single moment when L knew that Light was Kira, he just collected circumstantial evidence and they piled up at one point. The 3 picture scene was indecisive because Light is actually intelligent and recovered with those words: "I would try to make him say something that only Kira would know, kind of like what you were doing just now" Implying that L didn't fake the fourth picture, but it was actually real and only Kira knew about it, so Light guessing it would mean that the chance that he is Kira is high. He made a perfect recovery.
Nah this is just Light putting two and two together. Light knows he’s a major suspect, but doesn’t know why (from L’s point of view). He must know something big has had to have happened for him to be a major suspect. Now L is telling him about an FBI agent who suddenly died while investigating someone. Light deduces he must have been one of those people being investigated by him. This why L says he’s impressed with Lights deductive skills, since he’s able to deduce things based on information given so quickly.
There's an earlier instance where L goes through a bunch of papers with the task force members and their families, where he's specifically shown focusing on Light's name. L only ever had 1 suspect and that was always Light. He knew from day 1 that Light was Kira, but couldn't prove it or even bring it up without being shouted down by the task force.
It's true. Even when he even mentioned that there might be a slight chance that Light was Kira, the entire task force disagreed or thought he was crazy, which is why he needed to gather enough evidence before proving anything.
@@michaelscott3174 light’s the chief’s son and a model student who has also helped solve police cases, which in japan is held in very high regard cuz he has status, academics and proven skill
Yeah honestly he *knew* as soon as Light bragged in such a specifically arrogant way when being recorded the first time that it was obvious to anyone who knew what to look for. It’s like when Walter got drunk and bragged in Breaking Bad except L knew whoever Kira was would do or say something like that. L watched him say it and got incredibly excited, because now all he had to do was prove it which is crack for great detectives. Light just couldn’t resist. He assumed that both his bragging was just the right amount of inconspicuous and that the Task Force were at a much earlier stage of their investigation.
This is easily explained away as Light completing the thought. He saw where L was going and finished explaining his suspicions for him. I think the reason it's odd is because of the line delivery. It isn't delivered in the way I believe it was intended. That just kind of happens sometimes with voice acting though; especially dubs.
Yeah, im suprised i had to scroll this low to find someone say this. Its so obvious. If i were in lights place(and not kira) even i would have figured out that reye lember was investigating me. It was a totally innocent thing to say. People just interpret it the wrong way.
@@fawazasif8641 Same here, had to scroll way too far. This was obviously implied. It would have been more suspicious if someone as smart as Light hadn't understood that he was one of Raye's targets. Light didn't slip up, it's the other way around, he would have slipped up if he had played dumb.
@@Arkayjiya Yup, in all honestly it was always a lose lose situation for L as with the perks of being a genius like Light "and people knowing you're a genius" You can even give guilty answers just because you're intelligent enough to figure things out. It's almost like a player admitting he gives off player vibes to girls, it's not denying it but making it known you're savvy to it almost gives the impression you're innocent.
Tell me if I’m missing something, but thing that jumped out at me is when Light tells L that because Raye was investigating him, he’s an obvious suspect. Problem is, how would Light know that Raye was the specific agent investigating him if he was innocent? That seems to be the mistake.
i think one of my favourite scenes in the whole anime is the one where L and Light meet for the first time in the school hall. L looks at Light like he INSTANTLY knows he's Kira and I think that's great.
L left a legacy behind this case for Near and Mello. N investigated on this subject for whole 5 years, as the timeskip proves. if anything, that totally wasn't a cheap ending, Near is great and doesn't deserve near-ly the hate he got
L was always under a bad handicap. He not only had to constantly be one step ahead of Light. but, also prove that he was Kira over the law and with proofs. This is in addition to the fact that I feel that a part of him legitimately wished that Light wasn't the murderer or wast lying to his face. The emotional burden of not really being his friend and companion after the investigation
OMG. L was planning ahead of time and decided to put light in an inescapable almost impossible trap to escape from by leaving it to his successors, his death was totally part if his plan
@@username.exenotfound2943 TBH it would have made perfect sense if L had planned his death. Why? L was aware that Kira had a good idea of who L was, what his capabilities were, how he thought. Meanwhile, L only had a vague idea of how Kira was killing people etc. By letting Kira kill him and leave the rest to his successors, he'd 1. have a chance of winning valuable and potentially conclusive information about Kira's MO and 2. make Kira fight a new enemy, one who had information on him but he was absolutely clueless about, essentially tipping the scales in the good guys' favour.
i actually think this aspect of the show is a really interesting commentary on the criminal justice system. in my opinion, both Ryuzaki and Near know with 100% certainty that Light is Kira for basically the entire show. however, as Near says in one of the final episodes, it's not just about finding out evidence against Light - they have to actually trap him into unequivocally revealing himself. this is a commentary about how oftentimes, in the criminal justice, people who have a lot of evidence against them manage to evade justice because the evidence is circumstantial, or the legal system doesn't consider the evidence to be conclusive. Light could have been caught a lot earlier if people payed more attention to the evidence. the show is therefore saying that the justice system we have now is inefficient, and often evil people are allowed to get off scot-free because we don't pay close enough attention to the evidence. that's my interpretation of events, at least. i love this show and how many layers and themes there are to everything.
Lol I remember watching this episode and I’m like “WAIT HE JUST RATTED HIMSELF OUT” . But I supposed it was a dubbing issue. So I ignored it- since you have to ignore a lot of things in this show for the plot to progress.
after watching the series, i feel that the reason why L had such a strong hunch that light was Kira was based off his reading of Kira's personality and light's personality. So he would hypothesise "Based on my analysis, Kira acts in this way, and light actually acts in the same way". L also notices that once Light had regained all his memories, he was a completely different person with a completely different moral compass. L always knew that all the personality-based evidence pointed to the fact that Light was indeed Kira, but just couldn't use it to prove his belief to others
I'd like to start this reply by apologizing for responding to a 4 month old comment. I think that it's definitely true that L noticed the similar personalities of L and Kira. However, while L definitely noticed something strange personality shift when Light regained his memories, L had no way of telling that Light lost any memories to begin with. To L's knowledge, the isolation time eventually got too much for Light. Also, while Light definitely shifted a bit in personality, his moral compass technically stayed the same in the eyes of L. He was still hell-bent on catching Kira. That scream though when Light regained his memories was kind of crazy. Maybe L can empathize with Light though, L was freaked out when there was talk of shinigamis being real. That's just my thoughts on it.
@@JoeSmith-zm9ur well, guess what you're saying is that L had suspicions, but there were factors that made him doubt/weaken his original hypothesis. Well, guess that's fair enough since at certain points in time L wasn't entirely sure if light was Kira.
Interesting theory's here, i guess it's goes back to the fact that even though L was a super genius, Light obviously had these supernatural advantages with the death note and shinigami in play to constantly tip the scales slightly in his favour. But obviously in the end overconfidence was Lights downfall. Not that I sympathising with light, but in reality it would have been awful having to lie 24/7 and keep all his stories straight for so long, without slipping up. Still what an incredible show, it's a shame there's not been many animes this interesting.
@@riyuphoenix4533 Overconfident to the point that he relied the most crucial factor onto his ally, resulting to human error. Light is still amazing for me since it was basically 1v2, Near will never exposed Light without the help of Mello and last Kira's mistake (i forgot the name). This was proven by Near, he said that Light could've actually won but The Last Kira changed his systematic schedule, resulting from fake death note leak.
@FuTfax_editZ I've been meaning to watch that for a while now. Its sounds great, I miss some of the flair and mystique these slightly older animes give.
I recently re watched the anime series, and realized how much of a genius L was. He had figured the psychology of Light from the start, when he killed Lind L Taylor. L realized at that moment that Kira plays his moves in an offensive fashion, and played on this exact weakness to get closer to Light. He used every single action of Light to get closer and closer to him. 1. When he realized that Kira was receiving police information, he used the FBI to investigate the police families, fully knowing that Kira would come out and make some mistake, getting L closer to him. He didn't count on the power of the death note, and that Kira could kill ALL of the FBI agents. Still, he took advantage of the situation, and managed to narrow down the list of suspects significantly. 2. He also seized on the disappearance of Naomi Misora (fiance of Ray Pember), something that Light hoped would pass off unnoticed. He used this to narrow down on to Light as a prime suspect. Again, the suspicious disappearance meant that evidence was non existent. 3. While Light thought that he was taunting L with all his experimentation, L realized that these were in fact, the limitations of his power, where he had control over the actions of his victims, even before death. He practically worked out the principles of the Death Note before he even came across one. 4. Once L became reasonably suspicious of Light being Kira, he didn't do the mistake of sending out a proxy or observing from afar. He went in himself, putting himself in the firing line. He directly approaches Light and introduces himself as L, with a fake proxy name of Hideki Ryuga, which makes it impossible for Light to kill L. In fact, Light even confesses that L had "got him", highlighting that going on the offensive had put L at an advantage over Light. 5. Even while being friends with Light, L keeps testing him to see whether he slips up: a. In the first test, the set of letters were given with a slightly different printing order, to see how Light reacts. Light slips up, saying that the printer numbers were wrong, instead of saying that the message looked incomplete in the order of printing. This was a slip up, caught by L. b. As mentioned in this video, Light slips up and mentions Ray Pember, even though no one had fleshed out the details yet. L catches up to this, but keeps quiet, as he lacked further evidence. 6. After all this, L managed to arrest Misa Amane because of the evidence on the tapes, and was close enough to get to Light, if Misa Amane had confessed. 7. After the mechanism of the Death Note was laid bare, L looks at the partially torn piece of the notebook, and figures that the last two rules are fake. He arranges for the execution of a death row inmate with the Death Note to test out the 13 day rule. Had he been able The only reason Light managed to escape was because Rem cared for Misa too much, and helped Light multiple times. Once when Light wanted to shift ownership of the death note for proving his innocence, and the second time, when Misa Amane was cornered, forcing Rem to kill Watari and L, and sacrificing her own life. Note: Many people had said that Light intentionally pushed Misa to become Kira specifically to attract L and force Rem to kill L. But the thing is, even without that event, L would have seized on the torn piece and realized that the last rules were fake, pushing him to investigate the 13 day rule and trapping Light and Misa again under suspicion. Or else, if Rem had cooperated with L, the entire rules of the death note would have been laid bare, and Light would have been caught. Light only got away because of Rem. Also, people call the ending as unfair to L, as no one believed L while everyone believed Near. The reason is that the concept, rules and observations about the Death Note were fully understood by the investigative team at the time Near made his conclusions. Thus, the same logic used by L made more sense for the investigative team, when explained by Near.
Near was practically spoon fed everything, and never made a mistake almost a bit unrealistic unlike L where he was smart but still made a couple of slip ups
@@WiSHNUKEs Near isnt as smart as L, because he had so many advantages, like a less smarter alliance with Kira, and relying on them to slip up other than Kira.
@@WiSHNUKEs technically not true. Near played things very defensive and almost never placed himself into action (completely different from Mellow & L) which is kind of the point. So to say he didn’t make mistakes isn’t accurate. It’s more to say that he was more passive; patient and behind the scenes that there was less chances to make a mistake. Near almost fucked up before the final confrontation. If not for the actions of Mellow and the mistake by Mikami, he would have loss. It was by chance he succeeded as he did.
I saw an edit of a scene that excluded inner monolouges light has and it is really interesting and makes those long passes feel a bit more suspenseful as they just stare at each other.
I get how this may have been a slip up, but to me it seems more like Light finishing L's statement. From the perspective of him not being Kira, he might have just assumed based on the context of the conversation that Raye was following him, which is why L brought up the details before his death. It might have tipped him off a little bit, but to me it sounds more like Light demonstrating his deductive reasoning skills in conversation.
And thats where Light made his mistake. By trying to prove himself when there was no need to. This was an occasion where playing dumb is the smarter choice. L was just just laying out the tracks, but it was Light who was ran the train fullspeed.
@@lelouchvibritannia2300 there is no way he would hv know that it was reye investigating him and not the 11 other fbi agent.. Light knowing exactly which one of the 12 fbi agent was following him was a big slip up
@@mahshshsrklingfa7031 there is a way... He deduced from the fact that L was specifically talking about this agent and his death. In the context it makes a lot of sense, Light's basically just finishing L's thoughts here. Which is why he compliments him.
He had so much reason to suspect him. Knew Kira was a student, knew he had access to the police information, Ray dies and he is only investigating a handful of people. Light being highly intelligent and able to think like Kira when asked. The only thing he didn’t have was tangible evidence because you can’t prove a shinigami exists in court at that time
@@trompette4485 IIRC didn't they have a CCTV recording of Raye actually being followed by light on the station?? That basically narrows down the list of suspects to everyone ray was investigating.
@@Vishnu_Karthik Ok, but Light was wearing a beanie and a hoodie when following Raye, so they couldn't recognise him. Also Light was following him from a distance, and there are a lot of people in a train station, so how would they see if Raye was being followed ?
@@Vishnu_Karthik No. The only reason L deduced that Raye was the one to reveal the names of the FBI agents was because of the squinting that he did towards the train right before he was about to die and the fact that he lost the envelope that he was holding in between entering and exiting the train. Light was seemingly smart enough to either avoid the cameras or could work under the assumption that the police and L would never believe that Kira would show up in person to perform the killings, instead believing that he would either hire or control someone to do so. Light then had all the FBI agents killed after all of them were sent the same file by the chief of the FBI, therefore making Raye not stand out as to be the one leaking info. The only reason that Light was suspected was because there just so happened to be a camera looking directly at where Raye died. If there wasn't, no one would have though that Raye was the one to leak info, meaning that any of the people the FBI were investigating could be Kira, meaning Light would get away with the gambit with no suspicion.
@@meguminbestgirl9983 a HUGE problem with L is his obsession with being right and winning above everything else he is so confident that Light is Kira at first he greatly struggles with the idea that Light might not be kira thus making L having lost in his own mind thus he mindlessly pursues Light against all logic and reason to the point he starts to push away everybody else who start to see him as desperate for his first guess to not have been wrong in the latter half of the story L starts acting like a very bad detective not pursuing other options only looking at the evidence he wants (aka if it makes Light look guilty he overhypes it...but if it makes Light look innocent it gets discarded and means nothing) and thus he falls into a trap of his own making were yes Light is Kira but L has become so blindly obsessed with proving light is Kira he lost all objectivity and became a tantrum throwing brat what he needed to have done is pursue and be open to other ideas while keeping a eye on light...hell let Light think L is convinced he cant be Kira so Light relaxes and slips up
@@d-rabbitfor5398 i think the point is that staying cool and just observing and analysing could possibly have saved his life as instead of fixating on the idea he wouldve been able to build solid case aganist Light because he didnt rush to conclusions causing him to overlook things. From the standpoint of the writing Lights greatest weapon was L being just human and he utilized this to the fullest. L profiled Light pretty fast but gave him opportunity to do the same.
The point is that getting lucky by making the correct guss and being able to prove you're right are very different things in police work. Especially when you're actively trying to prove one particular person is to blame. If you're doggedly pursuing one suspect it's easier to make evidence fit your narrative.
The funny stuff is that if you mute the conversations-in-their-mind, you can see that light behaves like he’s guilty af lmao. Btw haven’t caught that moment with lights slip in this episode though. Nice detail
@@RegemYT Light always wanted to kill him ever since he introduced himself. Because even before Light was convinced he was legit, he knew he'd be an obstacle either way. He just never got his name.
@@RegemYT Actually he did have a plan. The first stage was to get involved in the investigation. Plans also take time to enact and develop when you're the one at the disadvantage. By the way. Light is smarter.
This show never fails to impress me with the attention to detail. The incredibly subtle foreshadowing in that statement Light made about being suspected as being Kira really shocked me when it was pointed out. That's what slips a lot of criminals up in interrogations. L complimenting Light right after he slipped up is a great detail as well, as that's a tactic used in criminal investigations as well to get the person they're interrogating to slip up even more, as was explained in the video.
light didnt slip up L already knew he had great deduction skill and if Light were to play dumb here it would be quite suspiscious of him since he knew at the moment he was a suspect becouse L told him that already thats also the reason L brought up raye penber why would L out of nowhere talk to Light about this keep in mind he is a suspect why would someone out of the blue talk about that he just finished his sentence by deducting what was the most obvious thing like its not that hard to get especially for someone as smart as Light not a slip up maybe even the opposite
@@dotchas4133 It's still suspicious to me. It would have been better if Light just shut his big mouth. It's like Light is secretly mocking him like "yea I did it but you got no proof Mr. World's best detective and nobody will believe you lol".
@@josephinamungaray6118 ofc it was suspicious and it also was intentional but he didnt give full proof loghts character is a big portion about him mocking his enemies you cant just write a perfect character and have good writing
@@dotchas4133for real! also in the original japanese version Light didn’t say that Ray Pember was investigating him the way he said it in english dub (so basically as a well known fact) but like a guess he made from the deduction so arguments like “how did Light know this” make no sense
I think L found out Light was Kira when he sent that message on TV about 1500 investigators coming to Japan, and Light just smirks and indirectly taunts L saying that Kira would know that's a obvious lie with a smirk on his face. L laughed right there, and he knew that was a direct taunt to him by the one he's chasing. That's why every thing L did since than was aiming at getting Light to work with him in the special police force.
Exactly! As soon as L saw this he smiled and said "Mr. Yagami, your son is quite clever, isn't he." In a way Light's response was too clever for his own good, because L already figured out Kira must be pretty smart to pull off all these murders without getting caught. Now Light fit the profile: a smart high school student with a connection to the police (and thus, access to classified police intel) who Ray Penber was following before his death. Sure, that's not HARD evidence of his guilt, but flaunting his intelligence so arrogantly caught L's attention. I also think on some level Light really wanted to stick it to L, as if giving him a big middle finger, mocking his plan and pointing out how it was stupid. It gave the impression that Light was openly mocking L to his face, which made him look even more suspicious.
As "equal" as L and Light are, it's only when you realize that Light literally has a magic book that controls you before you die, and an invisible death god that can manipulate things in the physical world, that you realize just how uphill of a fight L had. It'd be like saying Goku was equal to M Vegeta while actively ignoring the fact that he can go SS3
Well I have to disagree with this. Evidence - when Light had his memories erased, he showed incredible deductive skills that L was impressed by, so much so that in that moment L respected Light as his equal and wanted him to become his successor. Also, Light manipulated the emotions of a death god to kill L. It can be difficult to manipulate a human, let alone a death god. Furthermore, Light's whole memory erasing plan was genius, which really threw L for a loop and it was so confidently calculated that everything happened according to plan.
To be fair Light was just some student who stumbled across those powers ny chance and found a sadistic desire to "cleanse" the world. L was a world-renowned detective that nobody even knew the identity of during his time being one. His literal career was dedicated to catching people like Light and he was probably the best in the world at what he does. The fact that Light was able to keep up with L's pace and tactics while also experimenting and learning about the death note is extremely impressive.
Stop trying to use literal plot points as some kinda excuse to discredit Light. The shinigami was basically neutral the whole time and didn't give two shits if Light died or not. And the whole point of the story was to figure out who's using the *DEATH NOTE*. Not to mention L had the police force, fbi, etc on his side.
@@TheFellHeart tbf ryuk did find all the bugs in lights house and warned him about being followed, those are the only 2 things i can think of off the top of my head maybe theres more, but rem a death god was the one to kill L in the end i think light was smarter in the end despite a couple of his mistakes but L knew he was kira the whole time he just had no physical evidence especially with the fake 13 day rule he didnt get the chance to test
It would be interesting to see how this compares in Japanese. The English definitely sounds very suspicious, but Japanese leaves a lot of meaning to implication and Light may have been able to use that to his advantage in this scene. That said, while this was a Mistake, I don't think that Light thought it was. He's always ready to show off how smart his pants are, and he wouldn't have said this if he couldn't prove he could deduce his way to it. But like with so many other things, he's missing the point--the problem isn't about whether or not he can explain how he came by his deductions, but why he feels the need to be ready with both his deductions and a ready-made explanation for them. A scene I find at least as damning is the one with L showing him the messages. Light gets so prickly and defensive the instant he's told he's "wrong" about a message HE WROTE, instead of immediately accepting the new information as if it comes from the same source as the rest. But L pretends not to notice how suspicious this is and just patiently tells him he *failed* to account for a fourth note, further agitating his superiority complex on purpose and increasing his frustration with being told he's wrong when he KNOWS he's right. After all, Kira is childish and hates losing.
When you actually analyse light's and L's intelligence, you will understand that this is not a slip up. For better understanding, lets forget that light is kira. Remember light caught Ray was an fbi agent in the bus scene. I'm sure Ray reported that incident to L. When L showed the footage to light and told him that Ray was investigating people related to the police, light recognised him from the bus incident and understood that he was the one of the people who were being investigated (bcz the investigator has to keep a close eye on thier suspect and there were only so many people on the bus). That is why he said this to L. Now, L knows that light is intelligent enough to deduce this on his own (even if he is not kira). So this isn't actually a slip-up, this is an exchange between two ridiculously intelligent people and so most of us birdbrains don't understand the depth of this scene and label it as a slip-up and try to think we're so smart.
If you actually analyze this properly you'd realize this is a slip up. A person should be skeptical they were investigated rather then with certainty. It isn't without reason for anyone else to have been followed. To assume so quickly it is 100% you likely means you are aware you're doing something bad at the very least.
@@Dragoonsoul7878 yes, it's not impossible for someone else to be followed but L told him that people connected to the police were being monitored, and light's dad was in the police so he was ONE of the PEOPLE that were being monitored, I've written this in my original comment also, if you would've actually read it thoroughly you'd have noticed
No. Actually L and Raye didn’t have any connection and they never spoke in person. The only person they both mutually knew was Raye’s fiancé Naomi. Even her at the time when she died, L hadn’t spoken to her for years since the LA BB murder case that they worked on together. L didn’t know that Raye was investigating Light… of course until Light said it to him. But from the way the FBI agents died L concluded that Kira must be one of the people that was being investigated by them in a specific time period spanning 3 days. L literally mentions this in the show. Light himself said he just needs to make sure no one finds out he came into contact with Raye (on the bus) because at the time when he said that no one actually knew that he did, even Naomi didn’t know that Raye was investigating Light. All she knew is that he was working on the Kira case.
Thats not a slipup in the least. Light - a very intelligent person no doubt, which L is perfectly aware of - merely finished L's thought process, as one would expect. Considering Light (not even considering he truly *is* Kira, just Light) is already aware of being suspected by this point. This is just a normal conversation to L too. Hes talking about the strange behaviour of Ray; and Light (without being Kira) deducts that this strange behaviour must have been the reason he has become one of the prime suspects. By laying out the facts as he did, L just gave away that his suspicion of Light stems from Ray's death, which naturally tells Light that Ray was the one observing him. Theres no slipup on Lights part, and this wasnt even a trap on L's part to begin with. You just misunderstood the scene.
I think it would've been more natural for Light to say "So I take it that Raye Penber must've been following me for you to harbor such suspicion about me," or something along those lines rather than state it as such a fact because Light shouldn't know this beforehand (but he does.) To have deduced his way to that conclusion would've made sense but Light spoke it as something he was already aware of.
Yes, thank u, that's my point. Light got it wayyy too correct from pretty much out of no where. If he was followed my raye then y would L only suspect him 1% (obviously L was lying but it have to much higher like 80% for this to be a plausible deduction)
Exactly man, that's what I thought right when I saw the video, Light just understood really fast L's point in the conversation, it would be weirder of Light just pretended he doesn't understand what L is trying to say.
I don't think people properly understand this line - the idea is that Light is pretending to have "deduced" that he must have been Raye's target, since L is saying Raye's targets were the prime suspects, and the prime suspect was Light Yagami, thus, Raye's target was Light. Hence why L responds by complimenting his deductive prowess. If he'd been saying matter-of-factly that he already knew that he was Raye's target, his line wouldn't have been deductive at all - just him stating obvious facts, which would make L's next line strange. L probably did know that Light was Kira by his point in the show - Death Note 13 makes that fairly clear - but this was hardly a slip-up by Light, and couldn't have been used to ascertain guilt.
Thats what i thought as well. Light saw penber standing outside his house, following him into a bus. L would probably think Light is either pretending or or truly quite stupid if he didn’t figure out penber’s goal
This was a slip-up though, to believe you are 100% the one being followed is not normal. You should have some doubt, the fact he states it as fact means he recognizes he is suspicious and fits the profile but the fact he made note of it enough to recognize he is being stalked by a professional means he is on the look out. He shouldn't recognize this so easily on his own unless he has something to hide.
It’s a result of the english dub. The tone Light has in the japanese dub is of him formulating a thought. He’s not ‘slipping up’ about knowing about Rey Penber, he’s making it come off as if it’s due to his deductive reasoning. L even compliments Light’s deductive reasoning afterwards. It’s just how the tone of his voice comes off here in this dub.
people are blind in their delusion of hyping L that they try to give him non sense merits. Light did everything correct here, every smart person would've said what Light said here as not being Kira.
Even with this English dub. This isn't slipping up. This would mean he was briefed beforehand off-camera. Or that Light remembers his face from he was being followed.
@@iwatchwithnoads7480 Just like L said, Light just showed in this clip again his high level of deduction skills. The whole point about this scene is that Light and his father are annoyed why L keeps suspecting Light even though Light has clear "alibis". THEN L answered them by saying Raye Penber, one of the FBI agents following members of the japanese police, acted weirdly when he died. By default anyone who is a little smart in Light's position, even if being completely innocent and no knowledge about Raye's case, would deduct that he was one of the persons Raye was following. Its complete non sense to act like Light was supicious here or L smart. In fact it would be more sus if Light acted dumb and kitchy.
@@josiahgonzalez942 this is literally an L fangirl video and comment section you clown. if you have no arguments you come with this non sense? pretty pathetic...
L was far more superior to Light in intellect. Light had full access to death note's abilities, while L had to figure out how the method worked using the cases he had in front of him. He even figured out quite earlier that Light needs a name to finish people off. The reason why L dies is because being a lawman, he needed to prove Light was Kira, he knew it all along but he couldn't prove it. Lastly I would call Light's circumstances extremely lucky, happened to be the son of the chief of police who worked with L, made it more difficult for L to restrain him without conclusive evidence. Had another death note user Misa Amane as his lackey and then the Shinigami (which never happened before, fell in love with her) and Light used that hack to kill L. Lucky encounter with Ray Penber's wife. Not saying that Light wasn't smart, L was comparatively easily Light's superior. L's hands were tied whereas Light had all the luck a person could get.
I actually think L had a massive advantage. He had a lot of experience taking on strange and dangerous cases and was literally raised to do that. Light was a high-schooler that never had an antisocial bone in his body. Given that Light won despite L's clear advantages, when Light was L's prime suspect no less, I'd argue that Light was smarter. In fact, ultimately, nobody outsmarts Light throughout the whole story. His arrogance just becomes his tragic flaw.
this show is such a classic bc there has never been a battle of wits between two ppl at this level with this detail and this vibe, every second was a vibe
L had things pretty much figured out the first time he saw anything related to Light. The problem was finding the proof since Light did a good job hiding all the proof, and L didn't know what kind of proof he'd need in this case since he didn't know how Light was killing people.
Pretty much. Even when Light managed to kill L, the effort he did for this supernatural case is so tremendous you don't need another L to solve it, just a less smarter L is enough. They just need to catch him red handed and the case is closed. Meanwhile even if L caught him, because of the supernatural nature, people would think he went insane instead
"They were instructed to follow people connected to the japanese police" Light is of course connected to someone of the japanese police. And as for him wanting to join the investigation, yea that is what L wanted, and it's also what Light wanted. Everything between them is a constant struggle of, if Light doesn't do some things L would suspect of Kira then he's obviously trying to dodge being Kira, there are a lot of instances of that in the show, and that's what I personally love about it. Light nibbles on the bait L sets, but never fully bites down to let L reel him in. Also despite everything, L needs to actually prove Light's guilt, which is near impossible. So regardless of how conclusive this, or anything Light has done, might have been in L's mind, it is nothing but suspicion or coincidence outside of his mind.
That’s what I’m sayin lol, I think some ppl just want to prove, in some way, that L was smarter when they were almost equal. If they’re not equal though then I’d say Light was slightly smarter due to him being able to Outplay L the whole time and him winning in the end with the resources he had
@@unLokii- given his main resources where litteraly outside of this world, a case could be made that L was smarter. Not to say that Kira is dumb, but in the end he doesn't outplay L, he outplay Remu, because he can't win L's trust no matter what. Seeing them fight on even ground despite one having access to magic, makes me give a slight edge for L. This anime was so great (well... before S2).
@@lecoutcritique8854 light might have had magic but the resources L had at his disposal far outweigh the magic that Light could use against L, especially since Light didn’t even know Ls name so there’s nun he could’ve done yet. I believe they’re both somewhat equal in intelligence and if not then Light was slightly more, with the little resources he had he was able to beat L himself and even trick L at some points
@@unLokii- L had access to a lot of resources, but none that exceed the boundaries of realism. I mean Kira have access to an all purpose spy (paid with apples...) which is invisible, as well as the BS powers of the deathnote. Kira have access to his dad info network, Ryuuku, Misa & Remu... that's a lot.
@@lecoutcritique8854 L has access to almost all govt intel, media, govt resources, police forces, a super computer, he can plant camera and even hack cameras from wherever, he coulda made the most efficient task force if he wanted, and really he has access to anything he really wants tbh. And Lights ability to ask ryuk for help was extremely limited and even if ryuk didn’t help then Light already knew he was being watched anyways so he just would’ve been more cautious about what he was doing. Also Misa was a big help in some cases but she also did almost get Light caught as well so it was a double edged sword. Light had the least resources and also he was only a high school student as well
This actually wasn't a slip up, as Raye Penbur had told Light he was investigating him. Although, the fact that Light knew this does make him very suspicious. I'm surprised he never brought this up. If he was recording this, I think this could've been used against Light as evidence
he wasn't supposed to tell him though. didn't they agree that they weren't going to tell anyone that raye was investigating him? i may be misremembering but i do believe it was a slip up since they didn't say he knew
@@-jools-789I just watched that scene. Yes, Light and Ray made sort of a gentleman's agreement to not tell anyone. As to how much you'll believe Ray is up to you.
imagine L faked his heart attack to see what Light would do
Have u see death note the last name?
@@RegemYT no
It's the second part of a film series retelling death note with that ending
That's what I thought when he fell
i thought that when he fell!
Pfftt, this is nothing. I figured out that light was Kira since the beginning
I thought I was smart for figuring out out by episode 4
i didn't even watched the series until 2018 and still knew light was KIRA :"
Jokes on yall i knew light was kira before i even knew about the anime
@@dashforwardklein2934 u realize that was a joke..?😐
I used to think L is kira before i watch the anime.
They had me in the 1st half ngl.
I love the fact that ryuk is the only one enjoying he whole series like us spectators.
That was the best part his menacing ass laugh everytime L outsmarts light 🤣
ryuk wrote the entire story in his death note and watched it happen in real time
Well, entire series happened because he was bored.....
While eating some juice human world apples
We are literally seeing the story from his POV I'm pretty sure, cause at the end doesn't it end with him concluding the story to a fellow shinigami, meaning the whole series was him recounting everything that happened?
"Who said Raye was investigating you?"
Good God 💀💀💀
No Bro, it's because he auto-assumed that's what L was trying to say
nah bro cuz they alr knew that light was soichiro yagamis son so he was technically close to the police but yeah light auto ssumed
It is heavily implied by L, why would he bring him up otherwise? Any person with an above average intelligence would have realized that. It would have been suspicious if Light pretended he didn't get it, because L knows he's smart enough to arrive to that conclusion.
Light wouldnt be suspicious for this, L was literally about to say it
But he didn't@@duckwithabs4537
L: "Hey Kira"
Light: "Yeah?"
Deathnote: Fin
Omg that’s perfect
That would've been amazing
Light: "Yeah? Where?"
Easy save.
That wouldn't work....most ppl will answer you even if they're name isn't Kira
@@thottydagod457 who the heck answers yeah after kira …
*Episode 3*
L: "Hey, Kira"
Light: "Yeah?"
L: "Got you, you're under arrest"
*Directed by George Lucas*
😂😂
😂😂😂😂😂
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Lol
Pretty much the main conflict of Light vs L is that L knew from the start that Light was Kira, but he needed to obtain concrete evidence of Light's methods and didn't expect literal magic. And even when he learned that it was literal magic, he had to figure out how it worked for sufficiently demonstratable evidence.
Which really goes to show how impressive L is. The guy started from an extreme disadvantage against Light and was at the cusp of winning until literal divine intervention bailed Light out (although granted, this was set up by Light manipulating Misa and Rem so Light should be given credit for this).
Disadvantage lul what? If not for wealth, authority and reputation and influence, L wouldn't be never be able to catch Light. It was Light who was struggling alot against the real and supernatural worlds.
@@qazweriopkoiljhow on earth was light struggling? He literally had unprecedented power of killing with 0 evidence. There was no objective way of confirming how he was killing but L managed to circle him by sheer logistics. L was superior in every way. He literally had to be killed by divine intervention.
@@qazweriopkoiljSo to be clear... is having a magic murder book where you can kill anyone without a trace not an advantage... or did you not get that far?
@@williamt2700 what advantage? L can literally just shut up and Light doesn't have any win condition. L definitely outsmarted Light more than the other way around in their encounters, imo, but saying Light starting with an advantage is not exactly accurate, when Light had absolutely no way to kill L from the beginning
I liked Ls death very much
In "Death Note 13: How to read manga" the authors made it very clear that L is a liar and he essentially knew from the start.
I believe the very first time L meets Light he points out that there is a "less than 5% chance that Light is Kira", but How to read 13 points out that "His percentages are never legitimate. Any time L feels the need to even bring up percentages at all, it means he considers something to be 90%+ likely.".
That means the very first time L met Light, Light already fit the profile in Ls mind so perfectly, that he more or less instantly went "ok, that's the guy".
That's also why, during their first meeting, L trolls Light by giving him a message consisting of 3 photos, only to then go "your deduction is wrong. there were actually 4 photos". The Lind L. Taylor debacle showed L that Kira was not actually all that smart. He had some amazing power or powerful tool, but he was easy to provoke and extremely impatient if he feels challenged.
So all L wanted was to check if Light would feel the need to stroke his ego by "figuring the message out" and if he would get combattive if told his deduction is wrong. Light instantly gave him all that.
finally someone with brains lol, the game of cat and mouse wasn't for L to knew if Light was really Kira, if it was, L would never suspect so HARD, he literally never let Light go, not because he was Kira, but because he "KNEW" he was pretty much Kira, same with Light, Light main objective wasn't actually find out who L was, it just happened that L showed himself to Light, their game is "who will lose first?" will L be able to prove Light is actually Kira to the entire police department? and will Kira be able to kill L first without getting suspected? that's their game.
I always believed that L knew early on. In the beginning, he just found kira's methods as interesting so he kept going with the "act". Later on, he saw that light could somehow keep up with him thereby letting him experience the feeling of having someone as friend and equal. Which why we had 40 episodes when L could have ended it in less than 10. Makes me think how the story basically happened because Ryuk and L were bored in the beginning of the series.
another slip up he made in episode 13 was when him and L were talking about the diary page. He knew that the second Kira wanted me meet up at Aoyama, and he accidentally mentioned this to L
@@ushsproject no. L couldnt have wrapped it up in 10. he needed actual proof. "im sure he is the killer and does so with voodoo magic" is not something that will hold in court in most places of the world.
It's rather strange since we hear L's thoughts saying "You got 7%". Obviously this is for the audience but still strange
Love how deathnote fandom is still alive.
The legend of kira will never fall
Is the one shot manga canon?
Me too, cause I watched it few weeks ago and loved it
@@froztify154 of course it's canon. It's by the same author. The events in the manga take place several years after kira's death
And it will never die 💪
Recently completed the manga once again and it's so obvious L knew very early on. He just needed the physical evidence to back it up. Which is almost impossible to do when you're dealing with the supernatural.
Yeah, that was L's biggest drawback is he needed to not only figure out "who?" but also "how?". And in this case, the 'how' involved magic.
@@taragnor Still this guy has huge balls, even after knowing the enemy have superpower, he never went back. It's like Batman vs a Smart Superman.
Has a kick ass butler comes from an orphanage and is hella rich . He's like Bruce
still, he accepts the death note as a real thing instantly and mostly because it just fit with everything else. he was ahead of Light every time but Light had more information.
That was his flaw he could have said "Light is Kira" but everything he had wasn't concrete evidence and just speculation and who L thought was Kira based on the evidence and clues left behind.
Death Note is such an amazing piece of fiction. Even years after its release, people are still discussing it.
Kinda.. I know lots of people who tuned out after Missa came in after episode 11. Also the fact the 1st act is far superior to the 2nd till the end imo
I wish the author had made Misa actually likable. She's so annoying and such a brat!
about 2 decades omsksk
@@kamatari1220That's the point lol.
@@selfimprovement5873 I know that's the point 🙄. There's nothing wrong with wishing she was more likeable.
I noticed L also underplayed the percentages that Light could be Kira. If it was truly a 1-7% chance then L wouldn't be dedicating most of his time focusing on Light.
Which is why Light said "1%? Nicely worded." He said it that way so that Light wouldn't guard himself too much.
everytime L says that something is x% sure, he considers it to be 90%+, it was stated in the manga
1-7% is a big percentage when you have millions of suspicious.
bro, there was nothing much to be focused. There was almost no other suspect
@@migueljardimvera3921Not really, it's be different if instead of suspicions they were suspects.
Idk how people can argue that Light was smarter than L. this just proves L is way more intelligent than light can ever be
Yes, and L has the harder task
Yup, L could be win if Rem didn't wrote his name. And remember, L plays a game that he doesn't know what the rules are
@@hvitserklothbro8298 and is playing 1vs3 and odds are against him :^ ryuk won't help kira ofc
But who wins when L get 2 allies?
@@hvitserklothbro8298 How exactly?
one L mistake that cost his life: he didnt trust his own guts and took a more agressive decision towards Light, but he wanted to be patient, he wanted to be 100% sure, i bet he was 99% percent sure, but as the perfect detective he waited and played a little longer. its not about pride, or showing everyone that he is the best, its because there was also that 1% chance that Light was just a innocent, and he considered that (and wanted that, because deeply he liked Raito and wanted to be his friend).
I think L just wants light to admit it himself.
No, I'm sure L was positive it was Light. But him being sure wasn't enough. He needed it proven. He needed to win, and to strip away any doubt others may have that it was in fact Light who was Kira.
What are you guys talking about? L and Light just wanted to “play”. It was obvious for L who Light is, but he wanted to continue their battle. If L only was a detective who wants to catch the killer, he wouldn’t wait until Kira kills so many people. He didn’t care of them. L just wanted to enjoy the game.
@@maxburmab7962 bad take, because eventually this fun little battle would lead to either one of their lifes to be ruined, L literally dying and Light jail for ever or death sentence. L has a huge sense for justice, that is, not punitive justice but one that abides the rule of law and trial imo. So people being killed because of the will of one person is like the worst thing imaginable to him.
Or maybe just maybe he was sure that light was kira he just needed enough proof
I mean you can know that somebody is guilty but if you can't prove it then its pointless.
The fact that L discovered how Kira kills is just one impressive achievement alone. With that information Kira was bound to be caught eventually
I think the initial moment at which L first suspected Light was while he was doing surveillance on Light's house. While the family ate dinner, he had them run a news update about how America was so outraged by Kira killing FBI agents that they're sending 1500 new agents to Japan. Light's immediate response was to laugh and tell his family that there's no way that could be true. If it was true, then they'd never admit to it on TV, they would just do it secretly. He even said "I bet this was a cheap attempt to make Kira panic, but he'll probably see right through it."
As soon as L saw this he smiled and said "Mr. Yagami, your son is quite clever, isn't he." In a way Light's response was too clever for his own good, because L already figured out Kira must be pretty smart to pull off all these murders without getting caught. Now Light fit the profile: a smart high school student with a connection to the police (and thus, access to classified police intel) who Ray Penber was following before his death. Sure, that's not HARD evidence of his guilt, but flaunting his intelligence so arrogantly caught L's attention. I also think on some level Light really wanted to stick it to L, as if giving him a big middle finger, mocking his plan and pointing out how it was stupid. It gave the impression that Light was openly mocking L to his face, which made him look even more suspicious.
I think at that point L was hoping he had found Kira but wasn’t sure until Light killed lesser criminals while under surveillance in the potato chip scene. L realizes that Kira’s behavior changed only as Light was being monitored.
True, L is not afraid of playing the fool to bait others into making mistakes.
@@jaketurner1502: The potato chip scene is still one of Light's most brilliant moments. L never figured out how Light did that (since he'd need to know about the shinigami finding and reporting all the camera locations to him, otherwise it wouldn't make sense for Light to think the inside of the potato chip bag was the one angle not being monitored). It was also such an incredibly excessive plan, literally sealing an expensive miniature television inside a potato chip bag and then throwing it in the garbage lmao. Light was really wild sometimes.
Light was a master of offensive tactics but he blundered when it had to deal with being cautious. All the problems that got Kira into L's suspicion were caused because Kira himself exposed by being too aggressive.
Kira's tactics focused on winning battles L's tactics were focused on winning the war.
Arrogance, lack of wisdom bc he's young, lack of humility, having a huge ego, lack of competence to maneuver innocuously was why Light lost. It all logically adds up eventually being caught to the point it's unavoidable.
L is quite literally the smartest person in the series but the fact that Light is anywhere close to that shows how much of a genius he is in itself
it’s stated that light and L are the same intelligence
@@bleedingg So if it was stated that Light and Misa were the same intelligence would you just believe that?? I think its very subjective who is smarter based on what happened
I think the way they'll handle things will be different, L is a detective while light is a student, I think the experience matters, but ngl those two are geniuses
Light also had help of some "accessories"
@@free3793 You have to be joking lmao, L being stated to have similar to lower intelligence in regards to Light is nowhere near Light being compared to Misa. Should you believe in the author or should you form your own headcanon?
It would be interesting if the story started off from L's point of view and we as the audience didn't know Light was kira. Throughout the show we wouldn't know if light was actually kira or not and everyone would be debating about it. It wouldn't be until L dies and Light smiles evily at him that it would be confirmed.
Different show though, this one is about the car and mouse chase.
Damn thats actually a very nice idea, but this would be a completely different show
@@LoLFilmStudios yep true
What I wouldn't do to see a show like that....
Too obvious lol. After L dies, we literally has no one as main suspect for Kira
L knew from the very beginning on intuition alone. The second he discovered Lights existence he knew. Even when Light had no memory of the DeathNote, he still suspected him but if he continued to say that with all odds against him no one would trust him at all. Even in the rain scene he asked Light if he's even gone a day without telling a lie. After that he tells light he will be parting ways with him soon. He knew but since it was supernatural he couldn't prove it
When L died everyone knew that the end is NEAR
I hope this is your authentic comment, because i wanted to write the exact word. You have my like
Light didn’t just say this out of the blue, in he hospital L tell light he suspects him and then started to explain the ray penber situation. L was gonna say that ray penber was one of the people investigating him but Light just cut him off and said it for him
Which only L, the FBI and Kira knew about. It's not solid proof but it's a huge red flag L would've picked up on I think.
@@RegemYT this added to l's suspican, but the problem was for the most of the story l knew light was kira, he just couldnt prove it
Ls plan was to wait for light to slip up and reveal himself, this could've been good evidence against light not enough for L but still...
@@RegemYT there is only 1 reason L would reveal himself to Light, it is only if Light was the one the alleged "FBI agend who died unusually" was following. L knew Light was smart enough to figure that out after he heard the FBI agents. Or maybe the in-series explanation is something even simpler. Maybe L told Light while they were going to the hospital or during other off-camera times. This, in no way, was a slip up by Light, and at most, a slip up by the writers, as maybe they forgot to add the scene in which L told him.
@@RegemYT he was testing his detective skills
if L was to tell it to light
then hed have given a whole list of informtion about the FBI agents
but it is obvious with soichiro yagami and light together that raye penber was investigating soichiro's family
and L knowing about the number of cases light helped the police department
light was bound to tell so
if he did not
L's suspicion would increase more because light would then be hiding it from L
despite his brilliant mind he used in other police cases
and L already knew as i said, that light was capable and smart enough
so no sense of this video
cuz light did not slip
light did slip in the near arc
not in this arc
the fact that this could’ve all been avoided if light was just a little more creative and didn’t go for a damn heart attack all the time
he wanted to be known i believe. He used the heart attacks like a sign i guess
@@para7935 and thats what hurt him. He has a god complex.
The heart attack? Please. All he had to do was simply not to try to kill the fake L when he appeared on television. That was all. Why kill him, anyway? He was not a criminal, and Kira had no idea who L was or why he was important. It was just hubris. HAd he not killed him, he would have remained a faceless ghost. By allowing L to restrict the seartch zone to a very specific part of Japan, he all but effed himself up.
@@Origami84 That's because he just thought he was the smartess, he mistake was his cockiness
@@Origami84 that was almost a plot hole, but without that scene we wouldnt have any death note series
Counterargument: It was obvious that Light was one of the main suspects at this point, which only makes sense if Light was one of the individuals investigated by Ray Penber, since L highlights 'unusual circumstances'. Light could deduce that even if he wasn't Kira. And he is arrogant enough to immediately show off his deduction even before L says it.
I’m 24 turning 25 and I will shed a man tear that a fandom that’s been around since I was 11 is still alive today 😭 (man tear i mean baby tears 😭 😭)
when L broadcast only in japan to see if kira is in japan or not that sys it all that L is much smarter than kira if the note didnt wipe the memories of light the series will be 12 episode
No. That doesn't prove anything. It's actually easier for the detective to use tricks like that than it is to foresee them as the criminal.
L had a multilayered plan that was clearly orchestrated long before it was aired. Light had absolutely no plan.
There are multiple errors in L's plan. What if Kira was visiting friends or family? Or on vacation in Japan? That doesn't prove he lives in x region, or even in Japan. It only proves that he's in Japan at the moment and in x region at the moment of airing.
Don't get me wrong. I love the scene a lot. But you give L too much credit here.
Not really, it's quite a basic tactic lol doesn't mean that he's "much smarter than Kira"
If you think L is smarter than Light, then you do not understand the story. They are equals. That's the whole point.
The only difference is that one of them is willing to kill the other and Light was cunning and evil enough to manipulate a god of death to kill L. Now that is genius.
@@pandaeyez L didnt want to kill Light,je just wanted to put him behind and mostly know was he doing this
I dont remember any memory wiping in the show
This is how I would catch Light
Me (looking at Light) - Hey Kira
Light - Yes?
Me - Gotcha
Finally, Ls successor
😂 near lite
Omg thats galaxy brain
Still better than the last few episodes of the show.
LOL
I don't think that was a slip up. He took what L was saying to its logical conclusion and finished what he was saying. It was more of a flex about working it out, again, to try and get in with the task force. That being said, the fact that he did that added to L's suspicion
U missed the whole point . Light wouldn't have known he was being tracked
@@kalanitanoi7259Light just figured that was where L was going with the conversation, thus finishing what L was going to say. Like OP said.
@@kalanitanoi7259but didn’t light meet ray inside the bus ? , even if he does not know about the investigation,I don’t think it would be hard to guess that a foreigner ,would be following him for no reason.
@@kalanitanoi7259Light absolutely could've known this.
L: "Hey Light, you're a suspect. We sent a bunch of investigators to Japan, they all died, and Raye Penber died unusually."
Light: "Oh, so I guess I'm under suspicion because I was one of the people he was investigating?"
It's the only reasonable conclusion based on what L was saying.
I always felt that L was smarter than Light overall. Light had far more to work with. A supernatural tool to kill whoever he wanted. An invisible death god he could bargain with and sometimes manipulate. The complete loyalty of another person with even greater killing power and her own loyal death god. Even direct access to the very investigation about his crimes. Light had so many advantages but L nearly cornered him a handful of times without having all the answers himself.
light being cocky was the problem
It makes me wonder how intelligent tsugumi ohba himself his. I mean we know that L and light are incredibly intelligent but what does that make the writer? He created these characters and came up with all of these ideas,deductions, twists and turns. It’s like he’s a detective himself, but then he also writes the opposite role extremely well with kira being the criminal or suspect. It really amazes me that he could write such a complex story, I wonder how much research it took and how long it took to complete death note
True ending was trash
He has very concerning views about women, which is reflected in Misa's character.
He may be intelligent, but he's not a person to look up to
Doesn't mean the writer is intelligent. He had a lot of time to come up with these interactions. We think they are smart because they think so deep so fast, but the writer had a long ass time to make it that way.
When it comes to logical puzzles, de- and encoding stuff, coming up with a puzzle is far easier than solving it. You know which logic you used for creating the puzzle, everyone else has to try and figure it out, and in a badly designed puzzle especially, there could be multple solutions to the solver while the creator knows how he intended it to go.
@@thegreatfitzgerald2660 what you are saying is a stretch and we don't even know the identity of the creator, we can't be sure that the writer is a he and not a she.
I believe L was smarter than light because he was completely unaware of the idea of death note and its functioning, yet somehow managed to deduce that kira needed a name and a face to kill, the presence of a second kira and how they are actually able to pass on their powers. He only didn't have an evidence. L from the starting KNEW light was kira, but couldn't prove it.
Idk if any of you guys agree or not but, there is something about Light and L's character, that attracts you towards them and makes you admire them.
I think Light is smarter, because he was able to get L killed before he could prove his point. And no one really suspected him after that until the end. But it is what it is.
The thing about Light, he was able to surpass human-thinking limitation, he manipulated Rem's affection to Misa and turned it into his advantage.
@@AdonisTheGreat198 ahe seriously manipulated L for that long which make me admire Light
But at the same time L knew who was kira but was late to get proof plus Ligh had support of the Shinjgami I just admire both of these characters sooooooo much for their intelligence and abilities
@@AdonisTheGreat198 Just because Light won, doesn't mean he was smarter. He just had more information and resources to work with, such as knowing the Death Note's real rules and Rem's love for Misa. When odds are stacked against you, there's a good chance you will lose, no matter how smart you are. Near himself simply said L lost the game, not that Kira was smarter, just that L simply lost.
Its easy to dectuct that what else can be happend
"I had a feeling you'd say something like that"
It only made sense Light knew lol. Remember the scene in the bus where Light asks for the agents ID. L probably knew of that, because the agents would have to report unusual events, like the one in the bus.
watching this made me realize that L knew in his gut Light was Kira, but he also knew that there was no way to prosecute him without tangible evidence; and it also made me realize that this case was probably the most invested he ever got to a case and to other people, and that he had an intellectual respect for Light…so I bet L probably made the choice to play the long con, let Light joint, set up/build a HQ, and wait it out until he could figure it out and prove it but all the while enjoying the friendship of someone he saw as his equal, and realizing all of that makes my heart break :(
It was truly confirmed when Misa hugged light and uni informs of L before she got arrested. That’s why L was smiling so much because he knew his suspicions were correct and light was Kira. Then he played it off as he was just a super fan of Misa but in reality he already researched her because he knew she was the second Kira. But that was the moment L knew who Kira was, now he just had to figure out how he killed and convict him.
I feel like Light saw L as a friend too , even though technically speaking they were rivals. The ending of the series where L is standing there while light dies is where I get the vibe from.
@@jingle9657 I think that applied while Light had lost his memory.
Which was when he was free of the Death Notes influence (which was probably a big part why he went crazy to begin with, obviously).
And when he dies, free from it's influence again, that's when that thought came back.
I think it was confirmed that L genuinely never liked light or misa and is a borderline sociopath. That apparently he actually despised light
@@RichardGrayson14 I can't remember that, I'd believe he has antisocial tendencies (duh, not exactly subtle), but he is shown to care about people. And Light was probably one of the very few people who understood him to an extend (while he wasn't god high).
The author of Death Note did say whenever L claims to suspect a person by a small percent he actually means by like 90%.
Lets say there are like 1 million students in Japan's Kantou region who could actually be Kira. It means an average student has 0.0001% chance of being Kira. If Light had a 1% chance it meant he is 10000 times more likely to be Kira than an average student.
@@bloodlustaxe1500 dude neat usage of extremely basic math but the original comment is just saying that when L announces percent chances he's really almost absolutely sure. Its not about the math, the author is just acknowledging L was pretty sure it was light the entire time.
@@BeAsTMoDE528 Dude, neat re-explanation, but the other guy didn't say anything to contradict OP.
@@bloodlustaxe1500 he was related to kira with 100%. 6 billion people, only one person was a suspect, but no proof. Capturing him for interrogation was enough to end him.
He also said the possibility of a 2nd Kira was 70% one time which would then mean he has absolutely no doubt.
As for the first point, I think Light "figured" Raye was investigating him because there's no other reason L would tell him about Raye's behaviour right before he died.
As for the second, L and Light met each other when Light was graduating at detective's college. To have Light accepting his invite to come in the investigation group was expected even if he wasn't Kira.
L knew Light was Kira because of the deduction test
L was more than a fantastic genius and detective, he was PURE THINKER
One of the things that always made Light a blatant suspect is how perfectly he answered so many of the scenarios L presented him with. His thought process and explanations were always so calculated to throw off suspicion that L believed only Kira would present. At the rooftop scene where it was raining is when it struck me that hardest, every time light had something to say L would think, that’s what I thought you might say, it was almost like talking to a robot.
Exactly. L's expression and the way he said _"Have you ever said the truth even once since the day you were born, Light?"_ felt like he was actually saying _"Dude, don't you realize that I got you figured out since the very beginning?"_
L only died because Light had a "kill any person in the world for free" card thanks to Rem's obsession with keeping Misa alive.
@@danielbueno8474 it's actually more depressing than you think. The only reason L lost was because he had the Anti-Kira Taskforce to deal with as well as Light.
Think about it for a second, a guy who has never at all failed to complete a case he's on tells you 'Light is Kira' and your thought is 'no, thats impossible' only should work for Soichiro his dad, everyone else should detach their knowledge of Light and see it in an analytical pov.
But they're stupid, they follow their Chief's lead and do as he does, they don't notice the changes in criminals like the 2nd and 3rd Kira's specifically are doing, they don't question that on hearing that 'Kira will want to be part of this taskforce' that the first thing Light does is try and get in - and succeeds.
The literal instant that there were Death Gods revealed should have been enough for them to start doubting Light again, but it took him openly admitting to it in front of all of them for them to realise. If L hadn't worked with the Japanese Police and stuck with only the FBI and through JP government, Light would've been caught within a month, he was way too arrogant.
@@UncensoredScion Yep. They say the worst kind of blind is the one that refuses to see, and L was dealing with a whole group of people like that + Kira himself in the taskforce. He had everything against him + some supernatural elements and rules that he died without knowing about.
I wonder if L saw that as some kind of challenge in and of itself, to make people overcome their own ignorance and make them accept the truth, and deliberately decided to stick with the japanese police to hunt down Kira because of that.
@@UncensoredScion It's stupid in our perspective since we know everything but it's understandable why they don't believe L.
@@danielbueno8474 It's a part of who L was. He, like Light, was never the sort of type to back down from an obvious handicap.
Remember this scene was in this very same episode.
L :- "If you were me, faced with someone who might be Kira, how would you go about establishing this person's innocence or guilt? You need to be absolutely sure."
Light :- "I would probably try to get him to say something that was never made public in any way, something only Kira could know."
Genius
Raye admitted to Light he was investigating him when the robber got on the bus. So, this could mean nothing.
@@Cobra658 I'm pretty certain that L isn't supposed to know this, though.
@@nnnnmhughuuhhjiijj9457 Raye did jot down a few things in his journal, maybe L saw some of it. Another things is that L always admired Light's intelligence, it would be obvious that Light would know someone was stalking him. But in the end I said this COULD mean nothing
@@Cobra658 If L knew Ray was in the bus w/ Light, Light would've gotten convicted and killed. I don't see how that changes anything.
What I like about this show is that L knew but he didn’t accept a “win” unless he convinced everyone else
I believe the only reason that L lost is because he worked with others on the investigation. If he had it completely his way from the beginning (especially since director Yagami was an accomplice and Light was still a suspect) L probably would've been able to deduce that Light was Kira from the beginning. L could've still been around and made his presence known, but since others were still following their morals as the JPF, and police, they constantly opposed L and made him second guess himself. I believe if L was working by himself (which he even mentioned and also tried to do) he would've been able to deduce that Light was indeed Kira. L got too close, found a friend in Light's persona, and ended up getting too emotionally attached. So what did he do? Create a situation where someone with a brain similar to his could pick up from where he left off (Near and Mello) and use whatever evidence he found to finish the job, someone completely disconnected from the JPF and Light. Excellent story.
Yeah, to be honest, the task force was compromised. They were actively defending Light, not based on lack of evidence or suspicion, but because they knew him. It is annoying that the characters had to be dumbed down to make the plot work.
So basically, Soichiro should not have been a part of the Anti-Kira task force at minimum?
L did not at all, even slightly, get emotionally attached to Light. Where the heck does this misconception even come from? Did we watch the same series?
Woah had no clue this comment was still up. Manga (and somewhat the anime) describe L's hesitance to actually giving the investigation his all because he really wanted for Light not to be Kira, because not only did L consider him the closest to "equal", and also a very valid candidate to becoming the successor to the L name, but also, he was saying that Light was his friend, and it was a genuine comment. Some people have different interpretations. But I don't call your point of view a "misconception", I call it a "point of view" or an "opinion", one others share to each-other for interesting takes on stories. @@mattwayne9128
@@mattwayne9128the foot massage is definitely not just for show. Meanwhile L treats Light with respect in all their dealings even though it would have been better if he used worse methods. We see his undoing done by worse people - L definitely had some kind of friend / admirer / curiosity about Light that was sincere. It wasn't all an act - had he wanted to, L could've used sensible methods to yank Light's chain at any time to just "see" what would happen.
It's easier to conceptualize this when you take in the idea that L can hate, and admire, Light / kira. It isn't mutually exclusive, life's complicated like that. The show isn't the manga and L has been depicted many ways. Life is sometimes just a dazzling mess. There's always the possibility L knew minute 1, but then had to really think to himself... am I trying to catch a killer or make him understand WHY he needs to be caught? L gave Light the benefit of the doubt, right up until the end. He treated him with kindness befitting a saint and we all know L not only suspected, but at least some degree knew.
The question was whether or not L wanted to kill Light - exposing him is a death sentence, so when it's all on you, do you kill a friend?
It isn't just a suspicion, the more you watch the more you see it plain. L had more going on than being a great detective.
He aspired to be a better person and killing Light wasn't necessarily the way - especially before he knew of shinigami. Light may be a killer, but his method could be more important than the entire case. Is L trying to catch Kira or solve the mystery of the shinigami? Which mattered more?
The foot massage says it all.
"You've been on the run, let me help you".
L had no delusions of grandeur or pride, he didn't care about people - he cared about bigger things. That's why people see him as sentimental because while he's cold and calculating, the man appreciates things. Gifts, cakes and pleasant talk.
... there's a kindness in that, he wanted to let people in. The darkness came with it but there's a reason it stings so bad when he's gone, and it has nothing to do with Kira.
There's an impossibly good person devoid of pride there. That's the feeling people get because while he can be cold, L also cared... which is why the idea of gods of death truly shocked him. His horror reflects the truth - L is human. He cares, even about Light, right up until the last second.
... and L knows if he fails what will happen.
His friends are not as kind, they won't give him the benefit of the doubt. He's toast.
But compassion, that virtue is there. It's just more subtle.
love how people still make theories about death note. really shows how much impact this anime did to the world
right? :D i have always wanted to watch it, and when i did in 2021, i understood why people loved it so much .
“0:16 they were instructed to follow people connected to the Japanese police”
Light knew Ray penber was investigating him because L said Rey was investigating everyone who were connected with police and lights dad was a Japanese police officer.
Of those who opposed Kira, so few remain
@@xpert4214 🤓
Totally agree. The show was a huge impact. I still remember after finishing this anime, it left me with tons of thoughts and emotions for days like i can't stop thinking about it.
I think L suspected light way before this. After Naomi disappeared, it would only take looking at the people Raye was following to know Light matched the profile.
True L did suspect him but in the scene just before the hospital, L thinks it's only a 7% chance he's kira.
@@RegemYT In the "how to read" manga guide, is said that when L says that he suspects someone by X-% (insert some small percentage here), he is actually with 99% suspicion on said person, so by that we can affirm that in the first moment L said he had a *small* percentage of suspicion on Light, he was actually pretty sure he was kira. He just don't tell his real percentage to gain a certain advantage, so he can mantain the suspect on check, making explicit that he still has a level of suspicion on the person, but not by much. The How to Read Manga was written by the creators of the Death Note series by the way.
@@Honorio-nz4ts have you ever heard human instincts?
@@Honorio-nz4ts yeah for example when L says 7% sure he actually means 93% sure
@@juanangelguevara5411 yeah
Both L and Light are amazingly well written characters
Agreed
10/10
The series should’ve either ended with either L or Light winning. The Near and Mello stuff kinda ruined it for me
Yup for sure...
@@KingTruffles 😢you have a point tho..
The writer will forever be a genius for a story like this.
it's too bad his recent show was a complete pile of garbage
@@alexsalazar5161 what is it?
@GorillaLMAO i think they are talking about “Platinum End”
@@aether4167 I actually only seen 2 episodes... was really getting into it, till my Crunchyroll subscription ended.
@@mitchelljulius5875 There is anily me even if you still have ads
L's plan is pretty foolproof when you realize recruiting Light into the investigation team had no downsides. If he wasn't Kira, then L would have another genius working alongside to apprehend Kira. If he was Kira, then being able to keep a close eye on him would help with gathering evidence. He truly read Light like a book.
Isnt it just Light saying his deduction that "so I was one of the people who Penber was investigating" based on this dialogue alone..?
Light is intelligent but he had a looot of luck on his side for majority of the show. L has always definitely been smarter
That and in any scenario it’s easier to be the mouse than the cat which is what their interactions were about
Both were equally intelligent. If their roles were reversed, I believe they would have played it similarly. The chase favoured Light because the police/justice side had so little information about the death note to work with
Too be fair, Light has less experience than L because Light was just a smart student at that time while L is a detective.
When L tested him with 3 pictures of Kira killed people in prison, he brought the other picture to trap Light and wants to test Light. He knew Light is Kira the whole time but Light is always oversmarted him.
They both are equally smarts but L is way smarter.
@@margarethmichelina5146 they both are equally smart but L is way smarter..... hmm ok
@@margarethmichelina5146 Not really, there was no single moment when L knew that Light was Kira, he just collected circumstantial evidence and they piled up at one point.
The 3 picture scene was indecisive because Light is actually intelligent and recovered with those words:
"I would try to make him say something that only Kira would know, kind of like what you were doing just now"
Implying that L didn't fake the fourth picture, but it was actually real and only Kira knew about it, so Light guessing it would mean that the chance that he is Kira is high. He made a perfect recovery.
Death Note fandom will never die because the anime is literally one of a kind. I wish I could watch it again for the first time.
That's what every fan says about their favourite anime.
@@ari3903 I watched death note years ago and it’s not my favorite anime 😆
You wanna see it again for the first time?
Ooh buddy! Do I have a 4-movie series, live-action drama show, musical, and Netflix bastardization for you~
@@Cinfonia. You are missing the point by saying that it's not your favourite anime.
Same but with Erased as well.
This is Light "making a deduction" and drawing that conclusion in-character
almost 20 years, and this anime is still being talked about and i love that
Nah this is just Light putting two and two together. Light knows he’s a major suspect, but doesn’t know why (from L’s point of view). He must know something big has had to have happened for him to be a major suspect. Now L is telling him about an FBI agent who suddenly died while investigating someone. Light deduces he must have been one of those people being investigated by him. This why L says he’s impressed with Lights deductive skills, since he’s able to deduce things based on information given so quickly.
Agreed 100%
Wooow
Exact this video makes no sense just some L fans
I'm glad u pointed this out
Thats exactly what I commented pretty much, and because we both came to the same conclusion means that this could definitely be true.
There's an earlier instance where L goes through a bunch of papers with the task force members and their families, where he's specifically shown focusing on Light's name. L only ever had 1 suspect and that was always Light. He knew from day 1 that Light was Kira, but couldn't prove it or even bring it up without being shouted down by the task force.
It's true. Even when he even mentioned that there might be a slight chance that Light was Kira, the entire task force disagreed or thought he was crazy, which is why he needed to gather enough evidence before proving anything.
Why though?
@@michaelscott3174 light’s the chief’s son and a model student who has also helped solve police cases, which in japan is held in very high regard cuz he has status, academics and proven skill
Yeah honestly he *knew* as soon as Light bragged in such a specifically arrogant way when being recorded the first time that it was obvious to anyone who knew what to look for. It’s like when Walter got drunk and bragged in Breaking Bad except L knew whoever Kira was would do or say something like that. L watched him say it and got incredibly excited, because now all he had to do was prove it which is crack for great detectives. Light just couldn’t resist. He assumed that both his bragging was just the right amount of inconspicuous and that the Task Force were at a much earlier stage of their investigation.
@@Reu8enofleon Tbf, if L wasn’t L, Light would have been correct about fooling them. But L was the perfect rival.
L always knew Light was Kira, he just had to prove it
"its, sad, we'll be parting ways soon"
"have you ever told the truth in your life even once" - L
This is easily explained away as Light completing the thought. He saw where L was going and finished explaining his suspicions for him. I think the reason it's odd is because of the line delivery. It isn't delivered in the way I believe it was intended. That just kind of happens sometimes with voice acting though; especially dubs.
Yeah, im suprised i had to scroll this low to find someone say this. Its so obvious. If i were in lights place(and not kira) even i would have figured out that reye lember was investigating me. It was a totally innocent thing to say. People just interpret it the wrong way.
@@fawazasif8641 Same here, had to scroll way too far. This was obviously implied. It would have been more suspicious if someone as smart as Light hadn't understood that he was one of Raye's targets. Light didn't slip up, it's the other way around, he would have slipped up if he had played dumb.
@@Arkayjiya Yup, in all honestly it was always a lose lose situation for L as with the perks of being a genius like Light "and people knowing you're a genius" You can even give guilty answers just because you're intelligent enough to figure things out. It's almost like a player admitting he gives off player vibes to girls, it's not denying it but making it known you're savvy to it almost gives the impression you're innocent.
Was looking for this
Tell me if I’m missing something, but thing that jumped out at me is when Light tells L that because Raye was investigating him, he’s an obvious suspect. Problem is, how would Light know that Raye was the specific agent investigating him if he was innocent? That seems to be the mistake.
i think one of my favourite scenes in the whole anime is the one where L and Light meet for the first time in the school hall. L looks at Light like he INSTANTLY knows he's Kira and I think that's great.
Light: *Breaths.*
L: You f*cking Kira.
The entire series would be over in an episode if L checked the camera feed in Lights school lol, some detective he is
Could you explain this point more, haven’t watched the series in long time?
I think it's a joke, it's hard for me to tell, because, in the uk anyway, there wasnt that many schools with cameras in in each room in 2006.
how many schools have full cctv networks, and even then light was smart enough to just avoid them
Yh, I dont think a genius would commit mass murder in front of a camera
Someone look up Japanese schools in 2003 and see if they had cameras in every room
L shouldn’t have died and should’ve caught Light at the end, Near beating light was disappointing to me. Felt kinda cheap
Yh, sorta felt like Ls death didnt mean much
@@RegemYT tbh near was just a walmart edition of L, same with mello
L left a legacy behind this case for Near and Mello. N investigated on this subject for whole 5 years, as the timeskip proves. if anything, that totally wasn't a cheap ending, Near is great and doesn't deserve near-ly the hate he got
@@yohani8352 Near put emotions aside unlike L and that was the most contributing factor that made him victor in the end
@@alphakira4473 that’s a good point, I wish we saw more of him studying the case tho. Nice pun lol
L was always under a bad handicap. He not only had to constantly be one step ahead of Light. but, also prove that he was Kira over the law and with proofs.
This is in addition to the fact that I feel that a part of him legitimately wished that Light wasn't the murderer or wast lying to his face. The emotional burden of not really being his friend and companion after the investigation
Damn thanks for making this video. I really didn't noticed it was L's plan 😊
OMG. L was planning ahead of time and decided to put light in an inescapable almost impossible trap to escape from by leaving it to his successors, his death was totally part if his plan
I don't think it was the main plan but definitely plan B
He planned for the possibility of his death while light didn't even consider that he would fail
Well said
@@username.exenotfound2943 TBH it would have made perfect sense if L had planned his death. Why? L was aware that Kira had a good idea of who L was, what his capabilities were, how he thought. Meanwhile, L only had a vague idea of how Kira was killing people etc. By letting Kira kill him and leave the rest to his successors, he'd 1. have a chance of winning valuable and potentially conclusive information about Kira's MO and 2. make Kira fight a new enemy, one who had information on him but he was absolutely clueless about, essentially tipping the scales in the good guys' favour.
@@trollzilla well said
i actually think this aspect of the show is a really interesting commentary on the criminal justice system.
in my opinion, both Ryuzaki and Near know with 100% certainty that Light is Kira for basically the entire show. however, as Near says in one of the final episodes, it's not just about finding out evidence against Light - they have to actually trap him into unequivocally revealing himself. this is a commentary about how oftentimes, in the criminal justice, people who have a lot of evidence against them manage to evade justice because the evidence is circumstantial, or the legal system doesn't consider the evidence to be conclusive. Light could have been caught a lot earlier if people payed more attention to the evidence. the show is therefore saying that the justice system we have now is inefficient, and often evil people are allowed to get off scot-free because we don't pay close enough attention to the evidence.
that's my interpretation of events, at least. i love this show and how many layers and themes there are to everything.
Except this was made in Japan, where the system is rigged against Defendants.
Near is shit
this was created in japan good sir
U have no idea how much I wanted to say this
Also made in Japan or not he stiLL has a point abt the justice system
Lol I remember watching this episode and I’m like “WAIT HE JUST RATTED HIMSELF OUT” . But I supposed it was a dubbing issue. So I ignored it- since you have to ignore a lot of things in this show for the plot to progress.
we need a death note 2, this anime was just so damn good
There was an excellent follow-up manga one-shot released a few years back.
after watching the series, i feel that the reason why L had such a strong hunch that light was Kira was based off his reading of Kira's personality and light's personality. So he would hypothesise "Based on my analysis, Kira acts in this way, and light actually acts in the same way". L also notices that once Light had regained all his memories, he was a completely different person with a completely different moral compass. L always knew that all the personality-based evidence pointed to the fact that Light was indeed Kira, but just couldn't use it to prove his belief to others
I'd like to start this reply by apologizing for responding to a 4 month old comment.
I think that it's definitely true that L noticed the similar personalities of L and Kira. However, while L definitely noticed something strange personality shift when Light regained his memories, L had no way of telling that Light lost any memories to begin with. To L's knowledge, the isolation time eventually got too much for Light. Also, while Light definitely shifted a bit in personality, his moral compass technically stayed the same in the eyes of L. He was still hell-bent on catching Kira.
That scream though when Light regained his memories was kind of crazy. Maybe L can empathize with Light though, L was freaked out when there was talk of shinigamis being real.
That's just my thoughts on it.
@@JoeSmith-zm9ur well, guess what you're saying is that L had suspicions, but there were factors that made him doubt/weaken his original hypothesis. Well, guess that's fair enough since at certain points in time L wasn't entirely sure if light was Kira.
Interesting theory's here, i guess it's goes back to the fact that even though L was a super genius, Light obviously had these supernatural advantages with the death note and shinigami in play to constantly tip the scales slightly in his favour. But obviously in the end overconfidence was Lights downfall.
Not that I sympathising with light, but in reality it would have been awful having to lie 24/7 and keep all his stories straight for so long, without slipping up.
Still what an incredible show, it's a shame there's not been many animes this interesting.
@@riyuphoenix4533 Overconfident to the point that he relied the most crucial factor onto his ally, resulting to human error. Light is still amazing for me since it was basically 1v2, Near will never exposed Light without the help of Mello and last Kira's mistake (i forgot the name). This was proven by Near, he said that Light could've actually won but The Last Kira changed his systematic schedule, resulting from fake death note leak.
@FuTfax_editZ I've been meaning to watch that for a while now. Its sounds great, I miss some of the flair and mystique these slightly older animes give.
I recently re watched the anime series, and realized how much of a genius L was. He had figured the psychology of Light from the start, when he killed Lind L Taylor. L realized at that moment that Kira plays his moves in an offensive fashion, and played on this exact weakness to get closer to Light. He used every single action of Light to get closer and closer to him.
1. When he realized that Kira was receiving police information, he used the FBI to investigate the police families, fully knowing that Kira would come out and make some mistake, getting L closer to him. He didn't count on the power of the death note, and that Kira could kill ALL of the FBI agents. Still, he took advantage of the situation, and managed to narrow down the list of suspects significantly.
2. He also seized on the disappearance of Naomi Misora (fiance of Ray Pember), something that Light hoped would pass off unnoticed. He used this to narrow down on to Light as a prime suspect. Again, the suspicious disappearance meant that evidence was non existent.
3. While Light thought that he was taunting L with all his experimentation, L realized that these were in fact, the limitations of his power, where he had control over the actions of his victims, even before death. He practically worked out the principles of the Death Note before he even came across one.
4. Once L became reasonably suspicious of Light being Kira, he didn't do the mistake of sending out a proxy or observing from afar. He went in himself, putting himself in the firing line. He directly approaches Light and introduces himself as L, with a fake proxy name of Hideki Ryuga, which makes it impossible for Light to kill L. In fact, Light even confesses that L had "got him", highlighting that going on the offensive had put L at an advantage over Light.
5. Even while being friends with Light, L keeps testing him to see whether he slips up:
a. In the first test, the set of letters were given with a slightly different printing order, to see how Light reacts. Light slips up, saying that the printer numbers were wrong, instead of saying that the message looked incomplete in the order of printing. This was a slip up, caught by L.
b. As mentioned in this video, Light slips up and mentions Ray Pember, even though no one had fleshed out the details yet. L catches up to this, but keeps quiet, as he lacked further evidence.
6. After all this, L managed to arrest Misa Amane because of the evidence on the tapes, and was close enough to get to Light, if Misa Amane had confessed.
7. After the mechanism of the Death Note was laid bare, L looks at the partially torn piece of the notebook, and figures that the last two rules are fake. He arranges for the execution of a death row inmate with the Death Note to test out the 13 day rule. Had he been able
The only reason Light managed to escape was because Rem cared for Misa too much, and helped Light multiple times. Once when Light wanted to shift ownership of the death note for proving his innocence, and the second time, when Misa Amane was cornered, forcing Rem to kill Watari and L, and sacrificing her own life.
Note: Many people had said that Light intentionally pushed Misa to become Kira specifically to attract L and force Rem to kill L. But the thing is, even without that event, L would have seized on the torn piece and realized that the last rules were fake, pushing him to investigate the 13 day rule and trapping Light and Misa again under suspicion. Or else, if Rem had cooperated with L, the entire rules of the death note would have been laid bare, and Light would have been caught. Light only got away because of Rem.
Also, people call the ending as unfair to L, as no one believed L while everyone believed Near. The reason is that the concept, rules and observations about the Death Note were fully understood by the investigative team at the time Near made his conclusions. Thus, the same logic used by L made more sense for the investigative team, when explained by Near.
Near was practically spoon fed everything, and never made a mistake almost a bit unrealistic unlike L where he was smart but still made a couple of slip ups
@@WiSHNUKEs Near isnt as smart as L, because he had so many advantages, like a less smarter alliance with Kira, and relying on them to slip up other than Kira.
@@totallyanonymous8514 thats what i meant by spoon fed everything
@@WiSHNUKEs technically not true. Near played things very defensive and almost never placed himself into action (completely different from Mellow & L) which is kind of the point. So to say he didn’t make mistakes isn’t accurate. It’s more to say that he was more passive; patient and behind the scenes that there was less chances to make a mistake.
Near almost fucked up before the final confrontation. If not for the actions of Mellow and the mistake by Mikami, he would have loss. It was by chance he succeeded as he did.
this is the only long essay comment i have ever been willing to read
This is the most smooth brain take on Death Note I have ever seen.
I saw an edit of a scene that excluded inner monolouges light has and it is really interesting and makes those long passes feel a bit more suspenseful as they just stare at each other.
I get how this may have been a slip up, but to me it seems more like Light finishing L's statement. From the perspective of him not being Kira, he might have just assumed based on the context of the conversation that Raye was following him, which is why L brought up the details before his death. It might have tipped him off a little bit, but to me it sounds more like Light demonstrating his deductive reasoning skills in conversation.
Absolutely.
And thats where Light made his mistake. By trying to prove himself when there was no need to. This was an occasion where playing dumb is the smarter choice. L was just just laying out the tracks, but it was Light who was ran the train fullspeed.
@@lelouchvibritannia2300 there is no way he would hv know that it was reye investigating him and not the 11 other fbi agent.. Light knowing exactly which one of the 12 fbi agent was following him was a big slip up
Yh you're right. I don't think it was a slip up at all.
@@mahshshsrklingfa7031 there is a way... He deduced from the fact that L was specifically talking about this agent and his death. In the context it makes a lot of sense, Light's basically just finishing L's thoughts here. Which is why he compliments him.
He had so much reason to suspect him. Knew Kira was a student, knew he had access to the police information, Ray dies and he is only investigating a handful of people. Light being highly intelligent and able to think like Kira when asked. The only thing he didn’t have was tangible evidence because you can’t prove a shinigami exists in court at that time
Ray does die, but so did the other 12 FBI agents at the same time.
@@trompette4485 IIRC didn't they have a CCTV recording of Raye actually being followed by light on the station?? That basically narrows down the list of suspects to everyone ray was investigating.
@@Vishnu_Karthik Ok, but Light was wearing a beanie and a hoodie when following Raye, so they couldn't recognise him. Also Light was following him from a distance, and there are a lot of people in a train station, so how would they see if Raye was being followed ?
@@trompette4485 L knows everyone Ray was investigating via FBI records.
@@Vishnu_Karthik No. The only reason L deduced that Raye was the one to reveal the names of the FBI agents was because of the squinting that he did towards the train right before he was about to die and the fact that he lost the envelope that he was holding in between entering and exiting the train. Light was seemingly smart enough to either avoid the cameras or could work under the assumption that the police and L would never believe that Kira would show up in person to perform the killings, instead believing that he would either hire or control someone to do so. Light then had all the FBI agents killed after all of them were sent the same file by the chief of the FBI, therefore making Raye not stand out as to be the one leaking info. The only reason that Light was suspected was because there just so happened to be a camera looking directly at where Raye died. If there wasn't, no one would have though that Raye was the one to leak info, meaning that any of the people the FBI were investigating could be Kira, meaning Light would get away with the gambit with no suspicion.
He knew since day 1 tbh. The only thing stopped him from catching kira was his righteousness and integrity as a detective and a human being.
The author of Death Note captured the back and forth between them perfectly. It's like two different people wrote this story.
That definitely wasn't a slipup. He's just finishing Ls thought process
Yeah maybe. But L realizes the truth long before he dies. He just wanted full proof
@@meguminbestgirl9983 a HUGE problem with L is his obsession with being right and winning above everything else
he is so confident that Light is Kira at first he greatly struggles with the idea that Light might not be kira
thus making L having lost in his own mind
thus he mindlessly pursues Light against all logic and reason to the point he starts to push away everybody else who start to see him as desperate for his first guess to not have been wrong
in the latter half of the story L starts acting like a very bad detective
not pursuing other options
only looking at the evidence he wants (aka if it makes Light look guilty he overhypes it...but if it makes Light look innocent it gets discarded and means nothing)
and thus he falls into a trap of his own making were yes Light is Kira but L has become so blindly obsessed with proving light is Kira he lost all objectivity and became a tantrum throwing brat
what he needed to have done is pursue and be open to other ideas while keeping a eye on light...hell let Light think L is convinced he cant be Kira so Light relaxes and slips up
@scott grasser but L was right?? Light was Kira. Wtf do you want
@@d-rabbitfor5398 i think the point is that staying cool and just observing and analysing could possibly have saved his life as instead of fixating on the idea he wouldve been able to build solid case aganist Light because he didnt rush to conclusions causing him to overlook things. From the standpoint of the writing Lights greatest weapon was L being just human and he utilized this to the fullest. L profiled Light pretty fast but gave him opportunity to do the same.
The point is that getting lucky by making the correct guss and being able to prove you're right are very different things in police work.
Especially when you're actively trying to prove one particular person is to blame. If you're doggedly pursuing one suspect it's easier to make evidence fit your narrative.
Light is the most creative genius
L is the most deductive genius
The funny stuff is that if you mute the conversations-in-their-mind, you can see that light behaves like he’s guilty af lmao.
Btw haven’t caught that moment with lights slip in this episode though. Nice detail
He always knew Light was Kira, he just couldn't prove it
If Rem were as cold as Ryuk, Light would've been so screwed halfway through.
Maybe but light never really had plan to kill L until misa came along
@@RegemYT Light always wanted to kill him ever since he introduced himself. Because even before Light was convinced he was legit, he knew he'd be an obstacle either way. He just never got his name.
Yes, light wanted to kill him, but he had no plan on how to do it
@@RegemYT or maybe he did or would have made one
@@RegemYT Actually he did have a plan. The first stage was to get involved in the investigation. Plans also take time to enact and develop when you're the one at the disadvantage.
By the way. Light is smarter.
This show never fails to impress me with the attention to detail. The incredibly subtle foreshadowing in that statement Light made about being suspected as being Kira really shocked me when it was pointed out. That's what slips a lot of criminals up in interrogations. L complimenting Light right after he slipped up is a great detail as well, as that's a tactic used in criminal investigations as well to get the person they're interrogating to slip up even more, as was explained in the video.
light didnt slip up L already knew he had great deduction skill and if Light were to play dumb here it would be quite suspiscious of him since he knew at the moment he was a suspect becouse L told him that already thats also the reason L brought up raye penber why would L out of nowhere talk to Light about this keep in mind he is a suspect why would someone out of the blue talk about that he just finished his sentence by deducting what was the most obvious thing like its not that hard to get especially for someone as smart as Light not a slip up maybe even the opposite
@@dotchas4133 yea
@@dotchas4133 It's still suspicious to me. It would have been better if Light just shut his big mouth. It's like Light is secretly mocking him like "yea I did it but you got no proof Mr. World's best detective and nobody will believe you lol".
@@josephinamungaray6118 ofc it was suspicious and it also was intentional but he didnt give full proof loghts character is a big portion about him mocking his enemies you cant just write a perfect character and have good writing
@@dotchas4133for real! also in the original japanese version Light didn’t say that Ray Pember was investigating him the way he said it in english dub (so basically as a well known fact) but like a guess he made from the deduction so arguments like “how did Light know this” make no sense
Gosh! Another reason I just love this story! I love the psychological gameplay!
I think L found out Light was Kira when he sent that message on TV about 1500 investigators coming to Japan, and Light just smirks and indirectly taunts L saying that Kira would know that's a obvious lie with a smirk on his face. L laughed right there, and he knew that was a direct taunt to him by the one he's chasing. That's why every thing L did since than was aiming at getting Light to work with him in the special police force.
Exactly! As soon as L saw this he smiled and said "Mr. Yagami, your son is quite clever, isn't he." In a way Light's response was too clever for his own good, because L already figured out Kira must be pretty smart to pull off all these murders without getting caught. Now Light fit the profile: a smart high school student with a connection to the police (and thus, access to classified police intel) who Ray Penber was following before his death.
Sure, that's not HARD evidence of his guilt, but flaunting his intelligence so arrogantly caught L's attention. I also think on some level Light really wanted to stick it to L, as if giving him a big middle finger, mocking his plan and pointing out how it was stupid. It gave the impression that Light was openly mocking L to his face, which made him look even more suspicious.
@@marvelsandals4228
Yup I remember L smirking at that comment too. That must've been the moment it clicked for him.
As "equal" as L and Light are, it's only when you realize that Light literally has a magic book that controls you before you die, and an invisible death god that can manipulate things in the physical world, that you realize just how uphill of a fight L had.
It'd be like saying Goku was equal to M Vegeta while actively ignoring the fact that he can go SS3
Well I have to disagree with this.
Evidence - when Light had his memories erased, he showed incredible deductive skills that L was impressed by, so much so that in that moment L respected Light as his equal and wanted him to become his successor. Also, Light manipulated the emotions of a death god to kill L. It can be difficult to manipulate a human, let alone a death god. Furthermore, Light's whole memory erasing plan was genius, which really threw L for a loop and it was so confidently calculated that everything happened according to plan.
I disagree, light is the one being chased here, this isn't a 1v1 it's light against the world and L
To be fair Light was just some student who stumbled across those powers ny chance and found a sadistic desire to "cleanse" the world. L was a world-renowned detective that nobody even knew the identity of during his time being one. His literal career was dedicated to catching people like Light and he was probably the best in the world at what he does. The fact that Light was able to keep up with L's pace and tactics while also experimenting and learning about the death note is extremely impressive.
Stop trying to use literal plot points as some kinda excuse to discredit Light. The shinigami was basically neutral the whole time and didn't give two shits if Light died or not. And the whole point of the story was to figure out who's using the *DEATH NOTE*. Not to mention L had the police force, fbi, etc on his side.
@@TheFellHeart tbf ryuk did find all the bugs in lights house and warned him about being followed, those are the only 2 things i can think of off the top of my head maybe theres more, but rem a death god was the one to kill L in the end
i think light was smarter in the end despite a couple of his mistakes but L knew he was kira the whole time he just had no physical evidence especially with the fake 13 day rule he didnt get the chance to test
It would be interesting to see how this compares in Japanese. The English definitely sounds very suspicious, but Japanese leaves a lot of meaning to implication and Light may have been able to use that to his advantage in this scene.
That said, while this was a Mistake, I don't think that Light thought it was. He's always ready to show off how smart his pants are, and he wouldn't have said this if he couldn't prove he could deduce his way to it. But like with so many other things, he's missing the point--the problem isn't about whether or not he can explain how he came by his deductions, but why he feels the need to be ready with both his deductions and a ready-made explanation for them.
A scene I find at least as damning is the one with L showing him the messages. Light gets so prickly and defensive the instant he's told he's "wrong" about a message HE WROTE, instead of immediately accepting the new information as if it comes from the same source as the rest. But L pretends not to notice how suspicious this is and just patiently tells him he *failed* to account for a fourth note, further agitating his superiority complex on purpose and increasing his frustration with being told he's wrong when he KNOWS he's right.
After all, Kira is childish and hates losing.
Nice chrono cross pfp
I didn't even catch that 🔥🔥 big brain tings
When you actually analyse light's and L's intelligence, you will understand that this is not a slip up. For better understanding, lets forget that light is kira. Remember light caught Ray was an fbi agent in the bus scene. I'm sure Ray reported that incident to L. When L showed the footage to light and told him that Ray was investigating people related to the police, light recognised him from the bus incident and understood that he was the one of the people who were being investigated (bcz the investigator has to keep a close eye on thier suspect and there were only so many people on the bus). That is why he said this to L. Now, L knows that light is intelligent enough to deduce this on his own (even if he is not kira). So this isn't actually a slip-up, this is an exchange between two ridiculously intelligent people and so most of us birdbrains don't understand the depth of this scene and label it as a slip-up and try to think we're so smart.
You're right. People who never really watched and understood desu noto trying to express their stupid opinion without actually remembering storyplot.
If you actually analyze this properly you'd realize this is a slip up.
A person should be skeptical they were investigated rather then with certainty. It isn't without reason for anyone else to have been followed. To assume so quickly it is 100% you likely means you are aware you're doing something bad at the very least.
@@Dragoonsoul7878 yes, it's not impossible for someone else to be followed but L told him that people connected to the police were being monitored, and light's dad was in the police so he was ONE of the PEOPLE that were being monitored, I've written this in my original comment also, if you would've actually read it thoroughly you'd have noticed
No. Actually L and Raye didn’t have any connection and they never spoke in person. The only person they both mutually knew was Raye’s fiancé Naomi. Even her at the time when she died, L hadn’t spoken to her for years since the LA BB murder case that they worked on together. L didn’t know that Raye was investigating Light… of course until Light said it to him. But from the way the FBI agents died L concluded that Kira must be one of the people that was being investigated by them in a specific time period spanning 3 days. L literally mentions this in the show. Light himself said he just needs to make sure no one finds out he came into contact with Raye (on the bus) because at the time when he said that no one actually knew that he did, even Naomi didn’t know that Raye was investigating Light. All she knew is that he was working on the Kira case.
"It's an act. There's no could be about it. You *are* Kira."
Thats not a slipup in the least. Light - a very intelligent person no doubt, which L is perfectly aware of - merely finished L's thought process, as one would expect. Considering Light (not even considering he truly *is* Kira, just Light) is already aware of being suspected by this point. This is just a normal conversation to L too. Hes talking about the strange behaviour of Ray; and Light (without being Kira) deducts that this strange behaviour must have been the reason he has become one of the prime suspects. By laying out the facts as he did, L just gave away that his suspicion of Light stems from Ray's death, which naturally tells Light that Ray was the one observing him. Theres no slipup on Lights part, and this wasnt even a trap on L's part to begin with. You just misunderstood the scene.
But he could have also been followed by anyone else besides Raye Penber. Light could have said he was probably one of the detectives following him
I think it would've been more natural for Light to say "So I take it that Raye Penber must've been following me for you to harbor such suspicion about me," or something along those lines rather than state it as such a fact because Light shouldn't know this beforehand (but he does.) To have deduced his way to that conclusion would've made sense but Light spoke it as something he was already aware of.
This is more correct. It wasn't a slip up. Obviously he'd be investigating light
Yes, thank u, that's my point. Light got it wayyy too correct from pretty much out of no where. If he was followed my raye then y would L only suspect him 1% (obviously L was lying but it have to much higher like 80% for this to be a plausible deduction)
Exactly man, that's what I thought right when I saw the video, Light just understood really fast L's point in the conversation, it would be weirder of Light just pretended he doesn't understand what L is trying to say.
L: literally doesn't move a single muscle in his body
death note fans: "clearly, at that moment he figured it out"
I don't think people properly understand this line - the idea is that Light is pretending to have "deduced" that he must have been Raye's target, since L is saying Raye's targets were the prime suspects, and the prime suspect was Light Yagami, thus, Raye's target was Light. Hence why L responds by complimenting his deductive prowess. If he'd been saying matter-of-factly that he already knew that he was Raye's target, his line wouldn't have been deductive at all - just him stating obvious facts, which would make L's next line strange. L probably did know that Light was Kira by his point in the show - Death Note 13 makes that fairly clear - but this was hardly a slip-up by Light, and couldn't have been used to ascertain guilt.
Thats what i thought as well.
Light saw penber standing outside his house, following him into a bus.
L would probably think Light is either pretending or or truly quite stupid if he didn’t figure out penber’s goal
This was a slip-up though, to believe you are 100% the one being followed is not normal. You should have some doubt, the fact he states it as fact means he recognizes he is suspicious and fits the profile but the fact he made note of it enough to recognize he is being stalked by a professional means he is on the look out. He shouldn't recognize this so easily on his own unless he has something to hide.
It’s a result of the english dub. The tone Light has in the japanese dub is of him formulating a thought. He’s not ‘slipping up’ about knowing about Rey Penber, he’s making it come off as if it’s due to his deductive reasoning. L even compliments Light’s deductive reasoning afterwards. It’s just how the tone of his voice comes off here in this dub.
people are blind in their delusion of hyping L that they try to give him non sense merits. Light did everything correct here, every smart person would've said what Light said here as not being Kira.
Even with this English dub. This isn't slipping up.
This would mean he was briefed beforehand off-camera. Or that Light remembers his face from he was being followed.
@@iwatchwithnoads7480 Just like L said, Light just showed in this clip again his high level of deduction skills. The whole point about this scene is that Light and his father are annoyed why L keeps suspecting Light even though Light has clear "alibis". THEN L answered them by saying Raye Penber, one of the FBI agents following members of the japanese police, acted weirdly when he died. By default anyone who is a little smart in Light's position, even if being completely innocent and no knowledge about Raye's case, would deduct that he was one of the persons Raye was following.
Its complete non sense to act like Light was supicious here or L smart. In fact it would be more sus if Light acted dumb and kitchy.
@Ryokogyu ok buddy we get if your a light fangirl. Move along now
@@josiahgonzalez942 this is literally an L fangirl video and comment section you clown. if you have no arguments you come with this non sense? pretty pathetic...
L was far more superior to Light in intellect.
Light had full access to death note's abilities, while L had to figure out how the method worked using the cases he had in front of him. He even figured out quite earlier that Light needs a name to finish people off.
The reason why L dies is because being a lawman, he needed to prove Light was Kira, he knew it all along but he couldn't prove it.
Lastly I would call Light's circumstances extremely lucky, happened to be the son of the chief of police who worked with L, made it more difficult for L to restrain him without conclusive evidence.
Had another death note user Misa Amane as his lackey and then the Shinigami (which never happened before, fell in love with her) and Light used that hack to kill L.
Lucky encounter with Ray Penber's wife.
Not saying that Light wasn't smart, L was comparatively easily Light's superior.
L's hands were tied whereas Light had all the luck a person could get.
Agreed
I agree they are both smart. But L was in a clear disatvantage
I actually think L had a massive advantage. He had a lot of experience taking on strange and dangerous cases and was literally raised to do that. Light was a high-schooler that never had an antisocial bone in his body. Given that Light won despite L's clear advantages, when Light was L's prime suspect no less, I'd argue that Light was smarter.
In fact, ultimately, nobody outsmarts Light throughout the whole story. His arrogance just becomes his tragic flaw.
@@AbandonedVoid Death note for Light is his easy way out, while L had to do the more difficult job.
It's confirmed in one of the books that Light has a higher intelligence than L
this show is such a classic bc there has never been a battle of wits between two ppl at this level with this detail and this vibe, every second was a vibe
Highly suggest crime and punishment
He a genie, of course he knows.
L had things pretty much figured out the first time he saw anything related to Light. The problem was finding the proof since Light did a good job hiding all the proof, and L didn't know what kind of proof he'd need in this case since he didn't know how Light was killing people.
No you're wrong and npc comment.
Pretty much. Even when Light managed to kill L, the effort he did for this supernatural case is so tremendous you don't need another L to solve it, just a less smarter L is enough.
They just need to catch him red handed and the case is closed. Meanwhile even if L caught him, because of the supernatural nature, people would think he went insane instead
I will never get bored of death note content...
Same
L knew from their first meeting. Most of this whole cat and mouse game was L trying to get enough evidence to prove it legally.
Biggest restriction is that he has no a certain evidence to prove it and also super natural things makes it more unbelievable
"They were instructed to follow people connected to the japanese police"
Light is of course connected to someone of the japanese police. And as for him wanting to join the investigation, yea that is what L wanted, and it's also what Light wanted. Everything between them is a constant struggle of, if Light doesn't do some things L would suspect of Kira then he's obviously trying to dodge being Kira, there are a lot of instances of that in the show, and that's what I personally love about it. Light nibbles on the bait L sets, but never fully bites down to let L reel him in. Also despite everything, L needs to actually prove Light's guilt, which is near impossible. So regardless of how conclusive this, or anything Light has done, might have been in L's mind, it is nothing but suspicion or coincidence outside of his mind.
That’s what I’m sayin lol, I think some ppl just want to prove, in some way, that L was smarter when they were almost equal. If they’re not equal though then I’d say Light was slightly smarter due to him being able to Outplay L the whole time and him winning in the end with the resources he had
@@unLokii- given his main resources where litteraly outside of this world, a case could be made that L was smarter. Not to say that Kira is dumb, but in the end he doesn't outplay L, he outplay Remu, because he can't win L's trust no matter what. Seeing them fight on even ground despite one having access to magic, makes me give a slight edge for L.
This anime was so great (well... before S2).
@@lecoutcritique8854 light might have had magic but the resources L had at his disposal far outweigh the magic that Light could use against L, especially since Light didn’t even know Ls name so there’s nun he could’ve done yet. I believe they’re both somewhat equal in intelligence and if not then Light was slightly more, with the little resources he had he was able to beat L himself and even trick L at some points
@@unLokii- L had access to a lot of resources, but none that exceed the boundaries of realism. I mean Kira have access to an all purpose spy (paid with apples...) which is invisible, as well as the BS powers of the deathnote. Kira have access to his dad info network, Ryuuku, Misa & Remu... that's a lot.
@@lecoutcritique8854 L has access to almost all govt intel, media, govt resources, police forces, a super computer, he can plant camera and even hack cameras from wherever, he coulda made the most efficient task force if he wanted, and really he has access to anything he really wants tbh. And Lights ability to ask ryuk for help was extremely limited and even if ryuk didn’t help then Light already knew he was being watched anyways so he just would’ve been more cautious about what he was doing. Also Misa was a big help in some cases but she also did almost get Light caught as well so it was a double edged sword. Light had the least resources and also he was only a high school student as well
The first time this anime impressed me was when L uses a trick to figure out that kira is living in the same city where the telecast happend
This actually wasn't a slip up, as Raye Penbur had told Light he was investigating him. Although, the fact that Light knew this does make him very suspicious. I'm surprised he never brought this up. If he was recording this, I think this could've been used against Light as evidence
he wasn't supposed to tell him though. didn't they agree that they weren't going to tell anyone that raye was investigating him? i may be misremembering but i do believe it was a slip up since they didn't say he knew
@@-jools-789I just watched that scene. Yes, Light and Ray made sort of a gentleman's agreement to not tell anyone. As to how much you'll believe Ray is up to you.