The mega-hit series Death Note is undoubtedly in the anime Hall of Fame. It is a classic for a reason, with its complex themes of life and death, intriguing characters, and gripping story-telling. If you ever asked for a recommendation to start your anime journey, chances are that an anime fan forced you to watch Death Note.

The original manga that the anime is based on turns twenty years old this year, while the anime is seventeen years old. It has been a long time since we saw Light's death at the hands of the shinigami Ryuk and his Death Note, however, did you know that Light's fate is handled differently in the manga and anime?

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Light's Death in the Anime

Under the alias Kira, Light becomes famous for killing criminals. In fact, he establishes a cult following. His supporters call him a god, erect shrines for him and praise him as a deity for erasing bad people from the planet. One of these followers is a young man named Mikami Teru, a criminal prosecutor who believes that Kira's sense of justice mirrors his own. He publicly shows support for Kira, to the point that he is chosen as the "Hand of Kira" and aids Light in events leading up to his death.

In the final moments of the anime at the Yellow Box Warehouse, Light and Near had their own plans afoot leading up to this last confrontation. These resulted in Mikami arriving at this meeting with a Death Note; Light believes it is real while Near knows it is fake, as he swapped the books previously. Light overconfidently rants about victory as Mikami writes all the names of the police and task force in the Death Note except for Light's. When it is revealed that the book Mikumi is writing in is fake, Light is exposed as Kira. Near's plan was victorious.

After six years of being so calm and calculated, Light breaks down into a manic episode. As Light cackles and admits that he is Kira, he tries to convince everyone that his actions are to make a better world. In his eyes, he is justice. His argument is that it is unwise to kill him, for wars and global crime rates have decreased substantially under his form of justice. Why would you kill the person who has brought a utopia to the world? Despite Light acknowledging that murder is wrong, he implores everyone to see that only he is worthy of culling the truly rotten humans. Unfortunately for Light, no one is buying what he is selling. Near calls him a blatant murderer, with the "worst murder weapon in history". He is nothing more than a serial killer who is confusing himself with God.

In a fleeting moment, Light tries to kill one last time by pulling out a scrap page from Death Note in an attempt to write Near's name. His task force colleague Matsuda stops this by shooting him, rendering him incapable of writing. Matsuda confronts Light, asking what all this was for. Light's own father, a policeman, was killed at his hands in order for his world order to be a reality. Light once again tries to write Near's name on his page from the Death Note, until Matsuda shoots him multiple times to stop him. Desperate and writhing in a pool of his own blood, he begs Mikami to kill everyone and ponders what happened to everyone in his life, like Misa.

Out of horror and despair, Mikami commits suicide by stabbing himself. As the police tend to him, Light quietly slips out of the warehouse and flees. Near tells his team not to chase after him, for he won't get very far with his wounds. As he runs away into the sunset, his life flashing before his eyes, Ryuk watches him and laments their time together. As a rule between the shinigami who owns the Death Note and the first human to pick it up, it is Ryuk's duty to write Light's name in it when it's his time to die. Ryuk sees that Light has lost and does not want to wait around while he gets arrested, for who knows when he will die in prison. Subsequently, Ryuk writes Light's name in the Death Note and he dies alone on some steps, bathing in the colours of the sunset.

Light's Death in the Manga

Similar to the anime, Light breaks down completely as his plans fail in front of him. Who was once a cool criminal mastermind has now become a blubbering mess of a man, and Light is exposed in front of everyone for the lowly human he is. The events in the manga are the same as the anime, leading up to after Matsuda shoots him. In the manga, Light shrieks at Mikami to write everyone's names in the Death Note and kill them, for it is his "role". To this, he questions how he can do so if he is holding a fake Death Note. Mikami does not kill himself like in the anime in this moment, but instead rejects him as a god and yells "You aren't a god at all!". Light even cries out for Misa's help, who is not even there. Many characters at this point have their own coments on the unraveling of Light, including Ryuk.

Out of panic, Light begs Ryuk to kill everyone with the Death Note. The task force panic, but Near is relaxed, for his logic is that if Ryuk wanted to kill them all, he would have by now. Light pleads with Ryuk to kill them all, saying that he is the only one who can help him. Out of feat, the police shoot at Ryuk and fail, for no earthly creature can harm him as a shinigami. Light laughs, thinking that Ryuk will be on his side. He taunts Near as he lays bleeding that he should have killed him sooner, and now they are the fools facing their deaths. However, to Light's horror, Ryuk says "No Light. It's you who is going to die.".

This monstrous plot twist shocks Light to his core. Using all the energy he can muster, he attempts to stop Ryuk from writing his name in the Death Note. As Light tries to stand and falls, Ryuk tells him that he loses no matter how he views the situation. He wanted to see how Light gets himself out of this mess, but instead, he relied on Ryuk. Light yells that he does not want to die, and Ryuk literally looks down on him. He says that this person he has become is not like him at all.

As per the rules of the Death Note, Ryuk writes his name in the Death Note, depite Light's pleas not to. As his heart attack impends, Light falls apart even more. His meltdown continues in his final seconds of life, painting his character as embarrassing and desperate. In his head, he repeats that he does not want to die, until he eventually does at Ryuk's feet. Light dies in an undignified manner, which is a stark contrast to the quiet isolated death in the anime.

Light's death in the manga seems much more gruesome in comparison to the anime. In the anime, Light disappears from everyone and dies alone. Even Ryuk seems sorry for him, which may be attributed to the fact that they have known each other for six years. He has seen the real Light, and is possibly saddened by the person he became in the end. He kills Light away from people and says farewell. The anime depicts this scene in warm sunset colors, indicating the end of the daylight and the end of Light. It is almost peaceful, how his demise is potrayed in the anime.

Takeshi Obata, however, makes a point of humiliating Light as much as possible in the manga. Light's death is completely in front of an audience, where he is also crying and begging for life. All the players in his capture have something to say about him. Mikami calls him a false god, Near labels him as a plain old serial killer and even Ryuk expresses disappointment in him. He sees the bombing of Light's character and wants nothing to do with it. Ryuk teaches him the ultimate lesson, that he is not a god. At the end of the day, one of Death Note's lessons is that no human is divine and that playing god yields no ethical outcome.

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