Death Note Motivation/Morality Analysis
L, far from trying to ensure justice, although perhaps a side motivation, sought to make the mystery of Kira more interesting for himself, and partake in the puzzle's fun. Light as Kira struggled to become a God. He was miserable in the world where he felt himself superior in intellect to everyone else and sought a kind of authority to compensate for his lack of empathy towards them. To these two men, specifically, the ordeal seemed like a game rather than a struggle of morality.
In this way, the underlying movements and clashing motivations of these characters had to do with their belief systems and states of mind, rather than ideals. L's belief seems to rest on the foundation that it is wrong to kill others for any reason; an idea that rests roughly on the idea of law holding us together, preventing an imbalance of power. Light's rests on the idea that the majority's sufferings can be eased by eliminating the minor percentage of wrongdoers; by eliminating the issues, you scare the rest into a kind of docile society based on harmony and obedience. One where Kira reigns supreme, a real God rather than an imagined one.
As the show progresses though, we see both of their "ideals" muddled. L captures Light and Misa and holds them in inhumane conditions for months. Clearly, he doesn't mind using someone for his own benefit. And Light kills innocent people just because they went after him. Proving themselves right was all they cared about. They went about selfless means in selfish modes of action. It is this duality of morality circling around the same modes of existence that makes the power struggle of Light and L so sincere and entertaining. And we see, too, that L and Light are of equal intelligence, L thriving under pressure and Light under slow, methodical means. They are in a giant chess match where they both know no one wins.
Eventually, we see them become friends, and root for Light to stay Light after he gives up the Death Note. There is friendship. There it is. How could you search for anything more? Anything more than that redemption. Still, Light gets his memories back, and the fun is over. The friendship was nothing more than a facade, empty relationships one after another. We see both L and Kira use people to get to their goal. And so who is right? Is it possible to separate a bias from any kind of morality? Or all we all stained from birth, unable to see our wrongs and hypocrisies even though they lie forever in our point of view? Was it in spite, or because of this, that Light carried on? Even though he knew he headed down a path of pain?
Clearly his life got cut short by Ryuk because he didn't want to wait around for Light to rot in prison. The moment Light dies is intensely emotional and existential, him peering through the rafters in some faraway port, so dismal from his vision of a Perfect World. Many people regard Light as a selfish, cloudy and immoral character who would even sacrifice his family in the name of his God-Complex. But at death, like everyone, he was scared to leave without finishing his goal. The crucial difference between L and Light is in their beliefs; they seem to have a similar personality. We have seen they have similar tendencies to use people. They both seem to enjoy intellectual stakes in a puzzle, L finding more joy in the puzzle and Light in his hopes. That's why Light had to win, at least against L.
Without going too far into the deterministic nature of the Death Note universe, it seems only the Death Note itself can influence death. And this is exactly what the Death Note represents; chaos. Freedom. The Shinigami only had a clue when someone would die, but they could guess, for instance, when Gelus looked down at Misa and gave her his remaining life. What L did under Light's influence was find fixation in the puzzle and small moments of getting closer. There was no goal. Light, the cynic probably didn't even find meaning in ridding the world of bad people. Not even in becoming a dangerous person. I feel he found satisfaction in the disgust of who he'd become. We only see Light cheerful near victory, as he feels he will best Near and finally go uncontested. But what is he left with? Once he betrays all his friends/enemies, he's left with only himself. He has the same mind. Forever unsatisfied. While L sought satsifaction in the game for something immediate and constructive, Light looked for some unattainable and vague perfection, becoming content with what he'd become. Corrupt, imperfect, someone who, in the eyes of others, would be idolized for sacrificing himself for the greater good.
It is in this way we separate the person from morality, through their hypocrisies. We then see that L, far from wanting to be idolized, or even remembered, only found a "childish" joy in victory by any means, but not even that; he found joy in the process. Risk was fun for him. Light, however, found the same joy in victory, only if he would be remembered. This is why he was so sad about his father being killed. However cold he was, he slowly would realize his search was as empty as L's. When he died, it was not the regret of a perfect world he would care about, it would be about how bitter and what a shell of a person he had been. How he abandoned his family, forgot delicate moments of friendship, all for some futile perfection. While his idea and actions and corruption eliminated most of the world's crime, and "saved the world" he could not save himself, and neither would attaining his dreams.
Death Note is filled with empty people trying to fill the gap. Except Near. He is a dumb character. I can't lie. I wanted Light to win. Even though he was my favorite, I wanted L to die. I did not like Light by any means, or his methods. I just wanted to see the world perfect. If it would really happen. It annoyed me whenever Matsuda declared Kira's perfect world "not true peace." Even though all his team would do is solve petty crime without bothering to enact genuine change. However, it also annoyed me when most of the world followed Kira. They were lazy, stupid people. People who would not learn and see change for themselves but always pursue what's easy.
People say Kira realized how small he was when he died, that the irony was he was only an insignificant part of a cosmic encounter. Light was powerful though, and there is something to admire in that itself, disregarding all else, taking a kind of unapologetic power over a situation, and following through without contradiction. Unfortunately, this would come back to kill him. I feel sad that the middle part of the show didn't last forever. It was so nice to see them all get along, the team, towards a common goal. What exactly is it Light sought? Power was merely a side effect. After all, if power was our goal as people, why would a wise person not pick up the Death Note and kill, even in silence? Did all Light want was to be known? I maintain Light just wanted an adventure, like all of us do, and decided what he saw best, never bothering to reflect or criticize himself; he kept moving forward, appeasing-no, merely playing a role, entirely himself and completely unlike himself. He changed history forever, seventy-five percent.
L famously said; "good guys always win." I still think Near is an annoying child, but good won in the end. However, good was neither L nor Near, nor did it flow through them. Curiosity was L's factor, vengeance Near's, Light's? The dark. Light wanted to shunt the darkness of his ordinary life away. He threw away any affection he received in order to form a world where, hopefully, love would flourish. But not for him. Do selfish means make a selfless end wrong? Is the majority always tainted with a group mentality? Should you lose everything to gain power? Who knows, or cares? It's just a show. This is just my opinion. If Light killed silently, he wouldn't have gained experiences to regret. But that's a platitude."At least it happened." I support Light's idea. I support L's joy. People see them as some kind of duality between any means necessary and lawfulness. They both use whatever means. They both are lawful. Near is more of an opposite of Light than L. That's why Near annoys me. Near truly has a god complex and sees himself as totally right, someone who believes in victory over his enemy but cannot direct his energy to actual problems, nor can he have fun like L. What is it to be moral? To be a clean slate, forgive, act selflessly selfish? I'd say the only way we can be moral is to think about what it means to be moral, what it means to mean something, then forget about it, and do something. People speak about something not existing without its other. Good, not without evil. If Ryuk didn't put everything into motion. If the Death Note (freedom) was not introduced, Light never would have made those friends.
The Death Note then, far from being a tool of neutrality, suggests freedom is inherently evil. It leads us to uncertainties, far from truth, only searching. Still, if only Light ever remained Light, if only those friendships meant anything at all. The only solid basis of morality to be found is in the lessons learned, in the regrets. That we shouldn't take life seriously or unseriously at all. That we should do with our freedoms is what's best; spend time with those we love. Let go of lofty ambitions, or even a rebellion against life's horribleness, of even the idea of letting go, of "just living" or any idea or system or mode of existence, and do the immediate, follow the impulse into the unknowable depths of time, so equal to the mind. To find joy in the menial, as L did, or in the grand, the idea of victory, as Light did, is uniquely the same.
Remember, most of this has nothing to do with the show but me. This is my blog after all. I only see questions. Perhaps because the show is illogical and the foundations of it can only exist in relation to us through metaphors, such as calling the Death Note free will, something that can influence death. But of course hypotheticals are impractical. What do we learn, though? I only see the value of friendship, and the related existence of power and giving up everything. We all need power over this sick life. Perhaps Light should've found that in building himself up rather than appearing as some kind of savior. He should've stayed Light and appreciated those moments with a kind of perspective you only get once you see the fleeting stagnate.
TLDR; Near is lame, and more opposite to Light than L; Light's real victory would've been friendship, peace could've been mediated through use of the Death Note to kill irredeemable people in silence, the law should've focused their power towards fixing institutional issues, directing money to real-world problems rather than Kira. But then we wouldn't have gotten the Light-L dynamic.
So for the best of both worlds, Light should've stayed Light and lived happily with them, capturing the fake Kira and The End. The lesson of morality here is moments of friendship, and trying not to hate each other is the best we can do with what perspective we have. The games we play are good and nice, but nothing matches up to the mystery of death. All that can hold a light to that is friendship, and losing those you consider your family without appreciating them enough is always the ultimate regret, even to those who are cold and corrupt, interior and exterior.
Thanks for reading.
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