Death Note - A Retrospective (All Arcs Reviewed)

Today, I look through Death Note and review all the arcs throughout the whole series
#deathnote #anime #lightyagami
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Time Stamps
0:00 - Intro
0:26 - Kira Arc
2:35 - L Arc
8:45 - Second Kira Arc
13:42 - Confinement Arc
14:55 - Yotsuba Arc
19:04 - The End of L
23:07 - Mello Arc
27:58 - X-Kira Arc
33:55 - The End of Kira
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Tags
Death Note, death note, kira, light yagami, anime, anime video, video essay, death note anime, misa amane, ryuk, death note video, death note manga, manga, death note video essay

[@coolnugget]

Sorry about the washed out colors and the footage being flipped. KZbin was really annoying with copyright on this one. Thanks for watching!

[@rlc_-of4rg]

Naomi is one of the most intelligent characters in the show, but at the end acted emotionally, her love for Pember and the thought of avenging him were stronger

[@ninjaguyYT]

I, too, watched the movie.

[@gowiththeflow363]

The reason Light goes to tell Raye Penber that Light is Kira is that Serial Murders chase fantasies. In real life anyways. Think about it. Standing over your biggest personal rival of yet as they die and letting them know YOU are god and have ended their life when they were just in the grasp of catching you. For Light Yagami, or Kira, this is practically climax.

[@diobrando1501]

(27:02) because Light doesn’t know Mello’s face.

[@randez626]

Ty

[@creeperman1295]

To be a bit more specific for those curious, he does technically know Mello’s face through an FBI sketch of him which is why Takada is able to recognize Mello later. At the same time though there’s a rule that says drawings don’t work as a prerequisite for seeing a face with the Death Note no matter how realistic.

[@Nightshadow998]

Light couldn't kill Mello because he has never seen him, the drawing he has isn't good enough though a photo would have worked.

[@dhonorable195]

Funny enough, the note says that no matter how perfect the drawing (which his sketch was), it can’t work as a face and only photos work in that regard

[@ChiePet_]

Im pretty sure Near won legitimately. Iirc, You cant use the death note to write that someone will kill someone else. Also said that you cant get someone to do something they dont know about, so having Mikami bring a fake notebook that he assumes is real wouldnt work since he doesnt know its fake. Idk, i love Near and his ruthless "i know you're kira, im just figuring out how to expose/humiliate you." And his calm snarky attitude towards Light is icing on the cake. Light got to comfy to believe near was up there with Lawliet.

[@ChanelU.]

He could’ve just written something like “bring the black notebook that you have hidden at the bank” and it would’ve worked.

[@cringewyrm]

I think it's stated you can't control somebody with shinigami eyes, so it's debunked anyway.

[@masonhunt5887]

​@@cringewyrm the show/manga itself shows that you can in fact control someone with Shinigami eyes though. Misa controlled the mobster with the eyes. Thats how Light knew where their base was at

[@euriditia]

Great video! Death Note retrospectives and reviews will never ever get old. I love hearing other's thoughts and interpretations of how they viewed the series. Keep it up dude!

[@coolnugget]

Thank you !!!

[@randez626]

​@@coolnuggetterrible video

[@dhonorable195]

Light couldn’t write Mello’s name bc he never saw his actual face, just a sketch of it

[@JohnMezzo]

"Well Near, looks like I win" Is my favorate cliffhanger as well

[@v.thirteen5504]

Through the video I was really immersed in your editing and standpoints, and I finished it and it stuck with me for about an hour. I came back to it and saw the views and likes and was in disbelief, I for sure thought it’d be one of those videos with 3 digit thousand numbers (368k for example). The quality of this is amazing, and I hope you keep growing, I came back to look at your other videos as the first one I watched was earlier today from the JoJo’s retrospective video. I’m going to keep following you through your journey and I’m rooting for you.

[@coolnugget]

Thank you so much 😭😭 this is the nicest compliment I have ever received. I'm so glad you enjoyed and I look forward to making more content !!!

[@v.thirteen5504]

@@coolnugget And thank you for the incredible content, and as do I look forward to seeing what you come with next!!

[@razkanaz]

Holy shit, you are so damn right

[@berdfragz8354]

One of the best retrospective ive watched and not just Death Note. Thanks for the video and well done!!!

[@Finngrinder]

Near won because Gevanni gained the asspull superpower copying the exact handwriting in a language that has Kanji and never was his mother tongue, all with gaining and returning the note in a single night

[@nyx8823]

And also by Mikami using the f*cking Death Note in public

[@doodoocaca3936]

very eloquent analysis 💪💪💪

[@logancota4325]

Great video!!

[@coolnugget]

Thank you so much !!

[@lipika2841]

Another Death Note video essay?? Bro I eat that stuff up cuz I love this anime so much. I've pretty consumed most of the top results videos that cover it, so the more of them I get, the better.

[@p0ker_m]

Sorry but you are slightly wrong about Near and Mello's win. While it is true that it was thanks to Mello disrupting everything that Near found out about the fake notebook, Ohba, the author of Death Note, has stated in an interview that there was no way for Light to mess up or make a mistake, since he is indeed smarter than both of them, even if they work together, hence why he struggled of how to find a way in which they could beat him. In the end he decided that he HAD to make another character make a mistake. While Mikami was never told that Light had in secret a piece of the death note, he had explicit instructions from Light to NEVER act unless he's told. No matter how you look at it, it was Mikami who messed up. And while yes, you can say that Light also did a mistake by underestimating Near due to his arrogance, like when Light thought to himself that L would have thought about the fake notebook (and had it been L in front of him, Light would have thought about a plan B, but since he 'underestimated' Near, he didn't), that is also not true, because Light was correct about Near, he was correct about Mello, even when Mello tried to create chaos. Light didn't need a plan B (even though it would have helped him here obviously) because his plan was going to work just fine if Mikami simply followed his instructions. If you are interested, I can find the interview for you.

[@ainsleigh351]

I’ve always had trouble explaining my love/hate for misa and you nailed it! I sympathize with her greatly and admire when she has her smart moments, but then am disappointed as fuck when she acts like a child for no reason other than to attract lights attention. It’s so degrading to her character and neglects the depth she may have. Thanks for recognizing this, most people write misa off as a dumb desperate submissive girl, but it’s not her fault!!

[@BlazingAuras]

20th anniversary of Death Note WOOO

[@jdizzy192]

What a dope video

[@tlotrfan3791]

Yes! I like your analysis! I also want to say that a lot of people’s complaints would be reduced if the anime had a higher budget and didn’t cut 30% of additional content about Near and Mello’s arcs in the manga. It really damaged their characters and gave the fandom a negative impression about them. The second half became a final third because of all that was cut. Light and Near are my favorite Death Note characters :)

[@Jacqli-Rivoli]

I just want to thank you for finally explaining perfectly why Kira's world order would never have worked in the long term. Never mind that we humans shouldn't have ultimate say to cast judgement on the actions of others. Trying to hogtie the world by indiscriminately killing anyone who commits a crime, regardless of their reasoning for why it was committed isn't healthy nor is it right or just. The person who is killed because they had to steal bread to feed their starving children would not believe it was just. Only people not knowing or understanding hardships or suffering consequences for their actions would be able to flourish in a world made to cater to them. It is also unfair to kill off anyone who is deemed a "burden" to society as there can be several factors for why someone could be a "burden" such as being born with disabilities and falling ill through no fault or control of their own. It's not just nor fair to take the life of someone away who did not choose to be born as such or who did not choose to fall ill. And while I can understand why those whom have suffered through the justice system or at the hands of criminals and thus have become disillusioned with the concept of justice support Kira and want this world he offers them, they are not thinking of anyone or anything else beyond their own bubbles as evidenced by Near showering them with money and most of them being more preoccupied with themselves instead of helping to bring about a new world for everyone. For Kira, there was no gray area and he sought to control the world through fear while only simply disguising it as justice. He was an egotistical man who desired nothing more than to be worshiped for his greatness and to project his own opinions of what is good and what is evil, molding the world into what he thought it should be and not what it actually is. He's just a crazy serial killer who was given and incredibly dangerous way to kill others. Kira is just a murdering sociopath and that's all there is to it and this is the story of the downfall of Light Yagami.

[@bealu9459]

10:07 Rem loves misa as a mother would love her daughter and die for her

[@DustyyBoi]

yes, but why

[@CinemaSongscovers]

I'd never thought that the ending implied that Misa killed herself, but I guess it would kinda make sense. I mean, she did say she couldn't imagine living in a world without Light. It has made me wonder though, if she somehow knew that Light had been killed, since she looks saddened in those final scenes.

[@CinemaSongscovers]

It also makes me wonder. Ryuk tells Light that a user of a Death Note can neither go to heaven nor hell when they die, so where do they go? The only possibility I can think of is they go to the Shimigami world and become Shimigamis themselves.

[@logancota4325]

@@CinemaSongscoversI’m pretty sure there’s a point where the show reveals that when humans die there’s just “nothing” and when ryuk tells light he won’t go to heaven or hell that’s him referencing that neither even exist

[@tacicalchannel7225]

I feel that Ray Penber's in decision in the L arc make little sense. First the bus Jacking, he didn't have to tell Light he was an FBI agent. He could have told Light to not do his attack the hijacker. Plus why would he give his name to the suspect he's following? He already knows Kira needs a name. Another is when he's at home with his fiancée he complete dismisses and ignores Naomi. I get he didn't want her involved but he would have at least let her finish speaking about what she had to say. It seemed so out of character since their both detectives. Finally is why did L remove the cameras and then confront Light? He could have kept the camera's their for a couple days or at least remove a a lot of the camera's that could be found. This would have put Light in a lot more mental stress. Great video!

[@bryanlariviere5702]

Light couldn't kill Mello, he didn't know what he looked like.

[@dwayneasher6765]

I love the video

[@Lvalid-lg5si]

That’s not Miss at the end of the manga, it was confirmed not to be by the author in the bonus 13th volume.

[@So.am.i.]

Death Note will forever be a nostalgic anime for me. Although it's not in my top 5 favourite anime any more, it's an interesting story and I still like a lot of the characters.

[@p0ker_m]

38:33 You say that Light doesn't take into account any circumstances for crimes, and this is factually incorrect. In reality, the reason why L and Memory Loss Light deduced that the second kira and the third kira were different from the first was exactly because of that. According to both the manga and the anime, Light investigated each crime before killing them and had a very strict criteria about who he would kill. Under excusable circumstances he wouldn't kill them, and given that Light is as smart as L, it is extremely likely that 99.9999% or even 100% of his judgement/investigation was correct. To know the exact criteria (he had a few points), I'll link this part of death note overanalyzed from episode 21, to see all of them. kzbin.info/www/bejne/p2XblaGsea2Iorcsi=K9qysM8DvFUuDXiT&t=1033 Btw. I do think Light was delusional and was actually evil, but Light to himself genuinely thought that he was a good person doing a necessary evil.

[@linusuchiha8968]

I think I agree on everything but not the end. The fact light dies in a such bad way, I mean it’s a logical end but not an satisfaying end wich holds the key of the series: the mind games, wich stop when N comes in.

[@DeadTried]

Great Video, your retrospective and review added to my experience of the show and now I know why i disliked the parts that I did. didn't realise that the female characters were just really poorly written and neglected. Hope for my more quality videos like this

[@coolnugget]

Thank you !!!

[@thedrifter3892]

Light didn’t kill Mello because he only ever saw a sketch of him and never saw his face at anytime in the series

[@MxmentoMxri]

The point of Light and L manipulating everyone is to showcase their intelligence. Male, female, it doesn’t matter, Light and L make everyone seem dumb and insignificant. It has nothing to do with Ohba being sexist. Also, it’s as if you don’t take personality’s into account for people’s “stupidity”.

[@lyfekodomo9826]

I’ve watched the full thing five times but I’ve re-watched up to episode 25 a good 15 maybe even more

[@lunpun3159]

POGGERS

[@daydreamishh]

Great video. Absolutely agreed on how questionable the women are written. Ppl always come up w excuses for why they aren’t, but it simply is what it is

[@bealu9459]

does it really matter tho

[@daydreamishh]

@@bealu9459 it does.

[@bealu9459]

​@@daydreamishhnah this story is about the death note L and kira no one else

[@daydreamishh]

@@bealu9459 that’s such a dumb argument. That’s like saying none of the side characters contribute to the story and therefore can be excused if they’re written like shit. It DOES matter.

[@Gilbert_Dice_Gottfried]

Death note isn’t even close to the worst at writing female characters. Just about every shonen anime (at least the ones I’ve seen) write female characters so badly that it feels like straight up sexism. Also, the side characters of death note are well written despite that L and Light are by far the best written and most focused on in the series. L and light being the main focus was intentional on the writer’s part. I really like a lot of the side characters though. Matsuda shooting light was such an impactful scene and it gave him a really great and underrated character arc. He is an example of how side characters should be written.

[@dracmanish]

While I do like the ending both from the manga & anime I personally prefer the way the japanese live action films handled it more specifically the Last Name. It's mostly adapted from the manga but with L & Soichiro being present when Light is exposed as Kira which thematically is great while also taking Light's tragic downfall in the anime and incorporating it to his death. Not to mention that while L still dies the way he defeats Light is incredibly smart. Also for those who love the dub like I do they brought back a majority of the cast back for those movies.

[@bealu9459]

37:27 wait untill you hear the spanish dub, peak voiceacting

[@danijeljovic4971]

12:25 Misa is my favourite character in Death Note but how is this an example of her being smart? She just used supernatural powers

[@logancota4325]

Using a disguise, using a rule to her advantage, not going up to light immediately, and leaving a message only Kira would understand is pretty smart imo

[@VERGIL...-]

For me i hated the gigantic ass pull in the ending being how Near outsmarted Light Near stated how he had Giovanni make a perfect fake replica of the real Death Note after figuring out it's existence Only problem is that he only figured that out a day before the scheduled meeting,meaning that it would be physically impossible for Giovanni to write down all the names that the X Kira had written down perfectly in X Kira's own handwriting without the X Kira even noticing in,all under a day And Near even specifically stated that ONLY Giovanni did this all on his own and that no one else helped him This feels like they had to bend reality or smth to defeat Light which makes it extremely unsatisfying A more thought out way to outsmart Light would have been a lot better and woulda felt like they actually managed to defeat him but the way that they stuck to felt extremely cheap and because of it all too much dissatisfying which i'd say ruins the ending for me

[@kirkkek]

NOVEMBER 10TH BIRTHDAY GANG!!!!!

[@lunpun3159]

WATCHED THIS WITH MY BESTIE RIN

[@drenchdrizzle9750]

i wanted light to win , bad guys should win sometimes , would be a nice change of pace

[@cesramm1120]

of course this show is perfect its different from every other anime

[@hyphaex]

I've watched this show 🫨👍👍

[@lolacat4752]

I love how even a MAN was able to bring up how bad you can write women

[@nindroid2125]

bro says that the author cant write good female characters, but Sachiko, Sayu, and Weddy are certainly good characters. I think the female characters around Light are meant to showcase the manipulation skills of Light. You can't just nitpick certain female characters and say they are all bad.

[@Roy_Dudson]

None of them are good characters. Sayu is decent.

[@coolnugget]

Sachiko doesn't even have 50 lines the entire series, Sayu is similarly unimportant as anything other than a plot device, wedy is okay, but similarly to Sayu is just a plot device. It's okay to admit that there are problems with a show you like.

[@diobrando1501]

@@coolnuggetI’ll even go a step further and say Wedy isn’t even that important. She planted cameras after Everyone already figures out info she would have got. What info did Wedy even give that pushed the story? She follows Higuchi around when he’s trying to stop that broadcast?

[@bigfatpug_s1465]

You’re saying this like sachiko and sayu aren’t entirely underused

[@nindroid2125]

@@coolnugget​​⁠Sachiko has as many lines as makes sense for her character, why would we focus on the daily life of the house wife of the detective going after Kira, it just doesn’t make any sense, this ain’t the sopranos. And the argument that sayu is only a plot device is invalid because at the end of the day, it’s fiction. Every word, every character, every page is a plot device so what are u talking about. We literally see Sayu change from innocent young girl to innocent young woman to traumatized young woman. Thats not nothing. And wedy is one of my favorite characters even though she is a background character. And as a background character I would say she has more than enough scenes of badass shit that she does. I understand that I have the ability to recognize where a show is faulted, but I simply just disagree with you. Your entire argument is that they are plot devices which completely falls short of a true argument.

[@cesramm1120]

the women were written to be seen how light sees them the kiara worshiper gets a lame backstory about how he is an incel nerd

[@arian6565]

Wrong

[@dhyan3753]

A

[@GOOOOOOOOOOOOODDAY]

all of the women in the series are written pretty well id say, you're missing the fact that almost all of them minus naomi are literally there because they wanna bang light, that alone shakes up the dynamic significantly and i think its pretty realistic if you arent already biased towards thinking they're written badly. I've met women that are identical to the women in this series but ive never met an L or a higuchi, so if realism is the only goal you could even say they're some of best written in the series. very good video though, you're gonna pull big numbers one day

[@richunclepennybags1532]

Saying that the women are well written because most of their main motivations are almost entirely related to wanting to bang the main character is an insane take

[@coolnugget]

This is the point I was tryna make in the video. Having every single woman want to bang light does NOT mean they are well written. Quite the opposite.

[@GOOOOOOOOOOOOODDAY]

@@coolnugget Yea thats fair, but it still strikes me as pretty realistic regardless, they are only in there because they wanna bang light, and if this was the real world it would probably be the same way with only 11% of the force being made up of women in japan. The women that are there wouldn't really work being there if they DIDNT wanna bang light cuz then they literally do nothing for him and hes the one bringing them in. Naomi could've been replaced with a dude and I think it would change nothing as well, she/he would be extremely broken and not thinking correctly, and i do think most people would've given light their info a lot earlier than her anyways. I just dont think theres a real way women could be written into the story in an organic way without seeming like its inclusive for the sake of inclusivity regardless of the real life counterpart being different. Kinda like battlefield 1 adding women soldiers and being inaccurate, its fine, but the women in this series just add realism for me

[@GOOOOOOOOOOOOODDAY]

@@richunclepennybags1532 Nah I don't think thats why they're well written, they're just believable human beings in every other capacity with very realistic emotional responses to things, in my opinion the method used to bring them into the story and keep them doesn't affect how well written the character actually is unless they're just 1 dimensionally horny for light, which they aren't. its something a lot deeper than that

[@saysalla]

*complains when Misa is shown to be smart* *complains when Misa is shown to be impulsive* *complains when Misa is shown to be resilient* Maybe you just hate women bro

[@bealu9459]

fr

[@ainsleigh351]

His points are in favour of writing flawed and strong women, but WELL written ones. I think this is the opposite of disliking female characters. Misa is shown countless times to be a dumb little girl who just wants lights attention, which negates her intelligent moments in the show when she does something childish for the sake of light. Yes it’s a flaw, but it’s a degrading one, and I wish misa had been more carefully written so as to not simply portray her as a stupid desperate girl while ignoring other facets for her character growth (like Rem dying, light getting increasingly more abusive with her, the weight of killing people, etc). We can make variable and flawed women without making them the prime candidate for a misogynistic target

[@superslimjim6483]

I hate Misa. So. Much. She is just so obnoxious.

[@abominationdesolation8322]

Your complaints about the female characters are cringe.

[@novelsaul6691]

Maybe u just don’t like women bro

[@randez626]

This was terrible and boring. U thought the dub was good? Smh 👎

[@Andres.Duran.J]

What