For the longest time, many believed Light picked out the name Kira in Death Note for Killer in Katakana. Some would also understand that Kira means to shine and twinkle in Japanese, so Tsugumi Ohba essentially played with Light’s own name to announce himself as a killer. The impression left by the character is that of one who wreaks havoc in the blindness of his own ambitions.
Every ambition isn’t good, and all that glitters isn’t gold. Light has always symbolized power and what can be done when the right people or the wrong people get it. He sees himself as God, an adjudicator in a world where law and justice have failed many. With the Death Note’s power, he becomes the judge himself and the rest does not seem to matter thereafter.
Death Note: You Either Die a Hero
Kira means to shine and glitter, Light is his name. Death Note is the story of a man who flew too close to the sun. Seeing his father as this big detective, Light Yagami always had a strong sense of justice. However, he also carried an even stronger superiority complex. When he first acquires the Death Note, his goal is to bring justice to people who have to wait years upon years for it.
He is on the lookout for killers and criminals, removing them from the world with his newfound power. However, it is human nature to be greedy. When power comes to a man who has barely tasted it, things can go awry, and abuse is more than likely. The same was the case for Light Yagami. When at first Kira was this hero for the people, he let that fame get to his head.
Once a hero, he very quickly turns to his antagonistic tendencies. The game was no longer about bringing justice to people, it was about saving himself for the God he viewed himself to be. Kira and Light became one, and their intentions and motivations became one. When they changed was something perhaps even someone as smart as him could not answer. Nevertheless, it didn’t let him stop.
Or Live Long Enough to See Yourself Become a Villain
The myth of Icarus and Daedalus has always been one known by most. Son of the man responsible for building the famous Labyrinth, both he and Icarus were imprisoned by King Minos after being accused of helping Theseus escape. As an attempt to free themselves, Daedalus creates wings of wax with the warning not to fly too close to the sun.
However, Icarus wasn’t one to listen, seeing that his entire life he had been told that the fates held greater plans for him, he was the one destined for greatness.
Light Yagami, for all his short life, was told the same. He was viewed as a man too smart, worshipped by people like Misa Amane, and even glorified by the likes of L. The interesting thing about stars is that no matter how bright they shine, eventually they fade and die. For someone who personified power, ambition, and determination; Light’s own goals blinded him.
Kira, to shine, was too bright that it blinded him. His downfall came through his own hands. He was no God and neither was Icarus. In a world of Gods and Monsters, they were but humans. However, they had long forgotten their own limitations, thinking that they could become like the Gods they find themselves seeing every day. In his own name, his fate was hidden. The twinkling star that once was the light shall fade when his time was over.
Death Note is available to watch on Netflix.
