Death Note Episode 9 Discussion / Poll

[Guido]

For me the most priceless moment for this episode....

Spoiler:

Comes when L sitting next to Light at the Toudai Welcome ceremony secretly whispers to Light not to reveal...

(L in an automated rush turns to face Light and his face is dead as stone)

... that he's 'L'.

The way the camera fixed the angle on L's fast neck movement and his stone-cold face achieved a marvelous, creepy effect.

It ranks to the top five most memorable moments in Death Note, on par with the drama effect of the potato chips that Light ate on the previous episode.

L knows that Kira won't be giving himself away while suspecting the surveillance cameras inside the house, thus playing with L's rules.

But I think that limiting and decreasing his activity with the Death Note and thus warranting the death of minor criminals, Light unintentionally had L's eyes sighting on him.
For L it was also either unintended or not part of the plan; I'm not saying that L suspects outright Light. However, by playing with L's rules, on the long run Light had himself compromised into a sensitive dilemma.

I knew that L would had either sooner or later to expose his identity, however, both his odd personality and quirks, although made him to stand out as a gross and off-put character by the standards of Japanese society, came both as a life-saver and punch kisser.
At first look on him, Light underestimated L to be an idiotic character just to be dismissed, however, when L approaches him to outright reveal his identity it served the purpose.

That purpose was to psychologically imbalance his targeted, potential suspect, though if putting on Kira's shoes L knew better that Kira would not had allowed his emotions to give him away.

I must commend Light for keeping his composure and not letting his honne blowing up his tatemae, perfect image.

This is more evolving into a battle of wits and images to judge how each character keeps their frail covers standing to insiduos, sneer assaults aiming more to outsmart each other and forcing one another to give into the pressure.

It might be weird, but to the girl who picked-up L as her idol, I think she made her choice fine, and how she liked it.

I'm very fond of L because of his off-the-way manners and quirks. It doesn't matter if he stands out from the rest of the crowd, L acknowledges himself to be quite childish but true to his personality and thoughtful of his limitations.
He walked right into the wolf's den, though still Light has not been revealed as Kira, but shook his opponent with fear and forcing Kira to change his plans.

[Itachikun]

Originally Posted by Jinru

Holy sh!t, that was crazy... so many plot twists in one ep.

To the poster above me, Death Note is surely a top notch Anime in it's genre. But my vote still goes to Monster, being the best crime/murder thriller.

Haha, I say give it time. It's still only 9 episodes. It gets better and better, and by the looks of the preview for episode 10, we get to see them play some Tennis!!! Cool
________
Maine Medical Marijuana Dispensary

[porchoky]

Yeah, seriously... a 9.45 temp rating in anidb.... holy crap.
Intersting episode... if Light cant kill L, looks like hes going to have to wait until he graduates or something. L's too smart to give away any information regarding his group of detectives.

[Pakxenon]

l33t episode. The first half was a little boring, but the second half put this one at 12/10. Having to compromise with the first half, it comes out as a 10/10!~

Totally l33t. You've got your wacky pet shinigami, first? hair color changes, evil laughter, and the call of friendship! Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. ^^

[hitokirigirl]

Originally Posted by Guido

For me the most priceless moment for this episode....

Spoiler:

Comes when L sitting next to Light at the Toudai Welcome ceremony secretly whispers to Light not to reveal...

(L in an automated rush turns to face Light and his face is dead as stone)

... that he's 'L'.

The way the camera fixed the angle on L's fast neck movement and his stone-cold face achieved a marvelous, creepy effect.

It ranks to the top five most memorable moments in Death Note, on par with the drama effect of the potato chips that Light ate on the previous episode.

That's what freaked me out ^^"

L whispering voice is so......creepy.

[Deathkillz]

haha! yes that was the best scene! i was surprised that light didnt have a mental breakdown! XD
but then again he did have a babish tantrum when he got home

[Papaya]

Originally Posted by Deathkillz

haha! yes that was the best scene! i was surprised that light didnt have a mental breakdown! XD
but then again he did have a babish tantrum when he got home

That tantrum scenes is one of the worst in the show, in my opinion.
It's supposed to show how psychotic Light is, but all it does is leave some questions unanswered and in a way destroy how the viewer perceives Light (as a calm, calculating killer).

[musouka]

Originally Posted by Providence.

That tantrum scenes is one of the worst in the show, in my opinion.
It's supposed to show how psychotic Light is, but all it does is leave some questions unanswered and in a way destroy how the viewer perceives Light (as a calm, calculating killer).

And the inward maniacal laughing while opening a bag of potato chips didn't already paint him as a bit off the deep end? Or how about his reaction to Lind calling him evil?

Light's tantrum was absolutely in character with what we've seen from him so far.

[Papaya]

Originally Posted by musouka

And the inward maniacal laughing while opening a bag of potato chips didn't already paint him as a bit off the deep end? Or how about his reaction to Lind calling him evil?

Light's tantrum was absolutely in character with what we've seen from him so far.

I never said it was out of character.
I said it was a bit over-the-top and really added nothing to the flow of the story. I'd say more, but then I'd be bringing up the manga.

[FatPianoBoy]

So, I guess round one goes to L. Introducing himself to Light was absolute genius; so obvious and ballsy that it doesn't even enter most people's heads. However, like Light kept spazzing about, L basically just got free life insurance. L probably didn't notify the police department that he'd do this, so Light could off him if he got his name, but Light has to assume he did. I think even Ryuk is a little concerned about where it'll go from here.

[anselfir]

I dont think this is proper behavior by L at all. Remember he does not know about Kira's full capabilities, and to cast himself as a suspicious suspect for being L, who is hunted by a guy who can kill through undefined means, in such a direct fashion, is a highly risky move. Take out Light's reactions, and consider on what basis L made the move, and it seems clear to me that this is an artificially created dramatic moment.

the critical irrationalities in L's thinking are:

1st, believing he has the necessary leverages over Kira, which includes:

a highly specific, presumed limit on kira's powers. how does he know that kira cannot have tricks up his sleeves? The shinigami eye deal for example, or some other way of killing or finding out names. Everything here is possible for Kira, or at least L must consider all that is strictly impossible, which is still pretty dangerous. He has the burden of proof, not kira. Why doesn't kira simply bust out some moves to kill L? because it would ruin the story? when was he aware that he's in a contrived story in teh first place? Any time that the "this is a story" argument is used, you don't have a story. For something like an undefined power like the death note, the ability to produce limits on kira's powers are unlimited, and one would be tempted to do so just to get a situation of interest, but do it less obviously please. -__-

according to Light's take on the situation, which we can assume to be L's way of saying how he would put risk on kira. We have some sort of semi official police investigation against a killer with unnatural powers. Why does he presume that the police is enough to catch or kill kira, and why does he think what kira tries would necessarily attract the police attention.

then, we have the assumption of a risk-valuing kira. No matter what L does to deter the potential kira, it is still a deterrence by risk. If kira ignores the risk, then L is basically fucked. gg no re. What makes L so sure that kira is not reckless, as he had shown with the taylor situation?

2nd, believing he can prevent a rumor from circulating
frankly, if this is done in a normal college, it would be spread as a rumor, and L would cause complications for himself. Certainly a story can be made of a curious student following L around or something, and here some more "this is a story" argument are needed.


That the situation turned out in his favor as a stalemate is more luck than anything else, in other words, a contrived situation. That the story is set up as a cooly conducted criminal investigation and not a wtf is happening and everyone freaks out situation as suggested by the undefined power of the supernatural deathnote is just an adherence to an irrational rationalism that plagues much of intelligent society today, a simple and comfortable intepretation of the world that has but arbitrary truthfulness.

[Darashinai]

I did not see that coming whatsoever...

...but I knew L was going to do something interesting when he was thinking internally after meeting with the officers. He rationalized that Kira, as frightening and unfathomable as his powers are, is not a god, but a human. He acknowledged that he could use this as an advantage, but also that someone would have to get killed. Not the dozens of people Kira's been killing, but someONE he could observe, as in himself or someone in the position of Lind. So instead of putting someone else's life on the line, he put his own.

But anselfir mentioned this before I could, and that's right - what guarantee does L have that Light won't tell this to anyone or that someone might have overheard him? (There were lots of eyes on them even as they were sitting down). I'm sure not only Kira wants to kill the agent known as L.

And for that matter, why is L's admition important anyways? No Japanese person would ever be named L. Let's be realistic...just this once.

[anselfir]

Before this episode there were contrived moments, but only insignificant details, such as the potato chip tv (looool, seriously) and 64 cameras (buy one get one free yo), but to set up a major plotline like this is pretty risky, hopefully they will execute it well.

[Darklightz]

Originally Posted by anselfir

the critical irrationalities in L's thinking are:

1st, believing he has the necessary leverages over Kira, which includes:

a highly specific, presumed limit on kira's powers. how does he know that kira cannot have tricks up his sleeves?

When Kira killed Lind L Taylor,L found that Kira would respond to confrontation.But when the FBI agents died,it told L a clear message that Kira is afraid of being caught,meaning that he can get caught.A person with a completely fullproof way of killing wouldn't care how many detectives were watching him.

When the 2 families were under surveillance and Kira only killed 2 minor criminals,it told L that Kira cannot simply kill anyone he wants,he needs to gather information first.The fact that Kira only killed 2 minor criminals shows that as his access to information is restricted,so is his range of targets.

Additionnally,through all this L came to know Kira as someone methodical who careful think each of his moves.With all this information,L could put his life on the line,knowing that if he died at the school ceremony or shortly after,then Light is Kira,because he would be the only one to have information about him outside the investigation team,but also the assurance that if Light is Kira,he wouldn't dare kill him yet.


I really liked how L whispered to Kira during the ceremony.It sounded really creepy,but with a face like his,I guess he can make anything sound creepy!

I"m looking forward to the Prince of Tennis episode.

[Papaya]

If so, then why did L himself do it? Why didn't he send another of his men?

Unnecessary risk.

[FatPianoBoy]

Originally Posted by Providence.

If so, then why did L himself do it? Why didn't he send another of his men?

Unnecessary risk.

Age. None of the other detectives could pass for college students. Going to Light's school is a good way to keep close tabs on him without being too blatant about it. Yes, he is being blatant by telling him that he's L, but that's a necessary move to get close to him. If Light backs away from someone he admires, it's a giveaway. Therefore, Light has no choice but to keep L around. L is even safer than the other agents working on the case, because if Light were to kill him, he'd dig his own grave as well because Light has to assume that the rest of the force knows what L is doing and are watching to see what happens. Even if Light were to write up a death other than a heart attack, it would still be extremely suspicious, and considering the department has no other leads at this point, they'd be after him in full force.

[Papaya]

That's a terribly poor excuse.

Since he planned to tell Light he's L, there's no need to actually enroll in the school. If I remember correctly, they don't even really share any classes.

Besides, an older cop could go as a grad student or a teacher. As a teacher, he'd have even more administrative access. L DOES command the world's police, after all. He should have no problem setting these things up. Silly he had to take the test too.

The way I see it, this entire encounter is contrived and does nothing more than serve as a cheesy dramatic device. It doesn't really add to the storyline. It's just convenient to pull off for some "wow!".

[Deathkillz]

Originally Posted by Providence.

That's a terribly poor excuse.

Since he planned to tell Light he's L, there's no need to actually enroll in the school. If I remember correctly, they don't even really share any classes.

Besides, an older cop could go as a grad student or a teacher. As a teacher, he'd have even more administrative access. L DOES command the world's police, after all. He should have no problem setting these things up. Silly he had to take the test too.

The way I see it, this entire encounter is contrived and does nothing more than serve as a cheesy dramatic device. It doesn't really add to the storyline. It's just convenient to pull off for some "wow!".

2 words...psychological warfare...
how long do you think it will take anyone to breakdown when he/she is being looked upon all day everyday waiting for you to make a wrong move? L is trying to taunt light into doing something stupid and by giving him the crazy "death stare" it adds pressure for light not to screw up...his brain will be working overtime and hopefully loose it...but knowing how smart light is im sure he will try to think of something to come back...

[FatPianoBoy]

Originally Posted by Deathkillz

2 words...psychological warfare...
how long do you think it will take anyone to breakdown when he/she is being looked upon all day everyday waiting for you to make a wrong move? L is trying to taunt light into doing something stupid and by giving him the crazy "death stare" it adds pressure for light not to screw up...his brain will be working overtime and hopefully loose it...but knowing how smart light is im sure he will try to think of something to come back...

Beat me to it

Also, L is much sharper than anyone else on the force by a mile. The other officers may miss something. Plus, it's just his personal hunch. It could be that he wants to take responsibility for the FBI agents and not put others in danger on his whims.

If you've ever played the game Go (as in Hikaru no Go), you'd see what was going on here. L has basically just created life for himself. This show has been compared to chess, but I think Go is a much better parallel.

[Papaya]

Blargh, you guys win.

I still don't like it as a plot twist though. Now that anonymity is lost, it's less interesting to me at least. It's probably the converse for most of you =P