Highlights

  • Death Note's Light Yagami is a criminal mastermind with a Robin Hood mentality, using the Death Note to kill criminals for the greater good.
  • Misa Amane is a loyal follower of Kira who becomes instrumental in Light's plan to murder L and protect his identity.
  • Misa's possession of the Shinigami Eyes grants her the ability to see the lifespan and names of others, making her a valuable asset to Light's cause.

Death Note's Light Yagami is perhaps one of anime's greatest antiheroes. With his incredible intellect and unflinching demeanour in the face of a challenge, Light becomes a criminal mastermind under the alias "Kira". His Robin Hood mentality of committing murder using the Death Note for the sake of the good garner him a worldwide cult following.

To his followers, he is a god who is saving them from crime. However, one particluar Kira follower held more information than met the eye, and was even considered the Second Kira. Her name is Misa Amane, and Light coming across her worked out very well for him.

What is Death Note About?

The anime character having thoughts in the class (Death Note)

Bored high school brainiac Light Yagami stumbles across a black-covered book entitled "Death Note", a mysterious notebook with a curious set of rules. It turns out that this book belongs to Ryuk, a death god (or shinigami), who dropped it on Earth out of boredom. Shinigamis end human lives by writing their names in their Death Notes, but these powerful books in the hands of human yield deadly results for them, as exemplified by Light. He ends up using the book to kill criminals under the name "Kira" to create a new utopian world. He is also being chased by L, an anonymous brilliant detective who wants to catch this mysterious serial killer, who somehow can kill people without being near them. The chase between Light and L combined with their masterful manipulations of the Death Note and each other make this anime and manga an absolute classic.

Who is Misa Amane?

Death Note_Anime_Misa

Kira eventually becomes a controversial figure across the globe, with some calling him a vigilante hero while others are calling him a murderer. Despite his methods, crimes have drastically decreased worldwide because of Kira as criminals are afraid to die at his hands. His followers worship him like a god and believe in his brand of justice. One of these followers is a young and gullible girl named Misa Amane, who became loyal to Kira after he killed the criminal who murdered her family. After she gains a Death Note of her own and takes the Shinigami Eye deal, Misa seeks out Kira to express her gratitude. Her new abilities helped her identify Light as Kira, and she offers her services to him, including the real name of L.

Misa's Shinigami Eyes

Misa Shinigami Eyes

Misa posseses the Shinigami Eyes, which allow her to see the life span and name of every person she sees. When Light learns this information, Misa becomes instrumental in his plan to murder L and get him off the case to find Kira.

Misa asks Rem, the shinigami whom Misa's Death Note belongs to, grant her the Eyes in order to identify Kira. When she finds him, she tells him that he can use her as he pleases, even to kill L. With her Eyes, Light uses her to do just that. She ends up giving up Rem's Death Note and loses her memory, only for her to pick up Ryuk's Death Note that Light left for her to find in the forest.

Light's Plan to Halve Misa's Life & Halve It Again

Misa Amane, Death Note

When Misa had Rem's Death Note, she took the Shinigami Eye deal. A harsh price of taking the deal is halving your own life span. Now after picking up Ryuk's Death Note as orchestrated by Light, Misa makes another drastic decision in the name of Kira.

To further Light's cause as a devotee to him, Misa takes the Shinigami Eye Deal again with Ryuk. Bare in mind, this is after she has already halved her life with Rem's Eye deal. So now, Misa's life has been quartered by Light, however this means nothing to Light. To him, Misa is a player in his game that asks no questions but possesses a lot of power. He knows that he can get her to do anything for him and he has, as evident in her drastically-shortened life span now.

Misa's desire to be Light's girlfriend

yagami and misa hugging

With her Shinigami Eyes, Misa sees that Light has a Death Note due to his life span being hidden from her. She deduces that he is Kira and immediately falls in love with him. After meeting him at his home, she asks him if she can be his girlfriend. Light being the calculating boy he is knows that she made tapes pretending to be Kira that were leaked to the public.

He asks her where her partner that she made the tapes with is, to which she shows her true intentions. She tells Light that if he requests it, she will kill her partner if it proves her loyalty to him. Light has intentions of using her for his own gain, but Misa does not care. Out of adoration for him, she tells him that she does not care if all he does is use her. To her, all she wants is to help him in his cause as Kira. To Light, this is music to his ears.

Light Considers Betraying Misa

Misa Amane from Death Note anime

Light is a character who is willing to do heinous things in the name of justice, including killing Misa, his most loyal follower. It is ironic that in the quest to rid the world of bad people, he in turn seriously contemplates killing someone quite close to him. Misa a talkative and sometimes annoying young lady, which causes Light to think about killing her.

Rem is the one who convinces him not to kill her. Misa is willingly at Light's beck and call for all of his schemes towards creating his utopian world, however, she is just as disposable as the rest in his eyes, despite her loyalty.

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