'I feel like it's overdue for a revival.';

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'finally some good fuckin threat';

'I have a folder full of death note fanart I saved from this very board circa 2007/2008 and almost all of it is very bad.';

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'I can't believe it's taken me until now to learn of the english-language demo tapes for the death note musical, and that they pre-date the japanese musical. They're kind of amazing?

I like the fact that Ryuk kills Light shortly after Light kills L. The two should die together. What's even the point after your only peer is gone? The manga and anime should have done the same.';

'still mad that Ohba discarded the sword fight in the original script for the sake of L and Light playing with balls';

'>>3854812
Wait, it was originally fencing before a tennis game? Why the hell would he change that?';

'>>3854800
speaking of musical I'm still so frustrated that the japanese one it's basically impossible to find online, some of the songs are so fucking good
>>3854785
I'd love to see them regardless, I want that whiff of cringy nostalgia';

'>>3854814
asking myself the same question lol dunno maybe Ohba thought that fencing wasn't masculine enough so he chose the sport where to get a score you moan like a whore with every swing of the racket';

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'/ᐠ_ ꞈ _ᐟ\';

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'>>3854785
Same! These two were my initiation into homo guys way way back in the day. Still my favourite pairing, conceivably.';

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'>>3854943
>>3854944
>>3854947
>>3854951
>>3854953
>>3854955
>>3854959
>>3854961
now that's the good stuff';

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'>>3854943
Nothing ever hits quite the same as your first ship, does it?

>>3854816
>I'd love to see them regardless, I want that whiff of cringy nostalgia
I will try to sort out some of the more worthy.';

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'>>3854994
Absolutely not!
The best fanart had this incredibly cool ambience, these guys being edgy in midnight bars or on fire escapes or in alleyways or wherever else
Very Bruce Springsteen, grab your guy and jump in your car and get out of town
Matt barely existed as a character but that was his whole appeal really, you could just imagine whatever you wanted';

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'>>3854618
I legif have a folder with 700~ images of Light Yagami. my time has come';

'>>3854618';

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'>>3855155
I always thought Matt had the best design. I can see why you latched on to them, anon.';

'>>3855169
Please anon, unleash your power!';

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'>>3855169
maid Light best Light';

'man, through out those years this ship still got it's iron grip on me, their dynamic is so deliciously fucked up';

'>>3855206
Yeah, it's super cool. Very Hot Topic, looking at it in retrospect, but 2007 was a different time desu';

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':3';

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'>>3855207
Moar.';

'>>3855271
so true anon.';

'>>3854618';

'>>3855316
even moar';

'>>3855318';

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'>>3855272
relatable anon';

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'>>3855323
good to know that not only my brain got rotted by these two';

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'>>3855331
they changed my brain chemistry seriously. I cant escape them';

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'>>3855334
me neither';

'agh';

'>>3855340
the words cannot describe how much I love this artist's work';

'>>3855341
same anon, one of the best';

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'>>3855343
true true';

'meido duo';

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'>>3855348
*kira kira*';

'~~';

'>>3855000
the urge to make it my desktop wallpaper again like I did when I was babyfugo>>>>';

'my beloveds';

'0_0';

'the amount of cunt Light is serving in this pic';

'>>3855272
For some reason when I read this 15+ years as a young fujo I was kind of ambivalent to the L/Light ship. But I've recently had a come-to-jesus moment about them. Maybe my time in the Hannibal fandom has just made me realize the potential of the serial killer/detective dynamic. L and Light are literally the perfect pair. Yin and Yang. Like mirror images: opposites, yet the same. Outwardly, Light is the paragon of the perfect son: attractive, popular and exceedingly intelligent, but underneath he's rotten, narcissistic and devoid of empathy. L's an oddball with autism pouring out of his ears, and his bizarre mannerisms would make him seem even more untrustworthy by Japan's conformist values, but he clearly cares deeply about the well-being of the people around him. L's the only one capable of understanding how Kira's mind works and even seems to empathize with, and Light is the only one capable of outwitting L. The two of them both think they are on the side of Justice. And underneath it all, both of them are truly just desperate to stave off the boredom of always being the smartest person in the room. A boredom that, ultimately, they can only cure through the other.

Anyways, fanfic recs would be greatly appreciated. Especially ones that don't humanize Light too much.';

'>>3855387
well, you and me anon definitely have very different interpretations of their characters but I'll share what I got. I have a lot of super old fanfics saved on ff.net but I haven't gotten around reading them (have been on a different fujo wave as of late). Admittedly I don't even think there's a multichapter lawlight fic that has ever really stood out to me? (old fandom = a lot of shitty fanfiction lol) Though I can recc you some oneshots. The author that has some of the best characterizations for me writes a lot of tranner porn and that probably isn't exactly up your alley lol.
from the top of my head:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/23822881 (oh I Love this one, not smut centric)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/28245870 (pretty tame smut but I liked it iirc)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/37275790 (also pure smut but I found it pretty fun)

o7';

'>>3855435
>well, you and me anon definitely have very different interpretations of their characters
Oh, really? I'm kind of curious, because I'm not that familiar with the popular fanon interpretations of their relationship. This is just my impressions from a recent re-watch, maybe more than a little influenced by the musical score. I love the way "Playing His Game" really highlights how they can get into each other's heads. Maybe is strays more from the canonical depictions of their dynamic than I thought?

Thank you for the fic rec, anon. I will definitely give them a read!';

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'>>3855472
Oh man, I really gotta watch the musical myself. I love "playing his game" too. I don't really care for most fanon interpretations either haha, most of them are very out of touch to me

I think a big factor is that I'm a manga reader. Lights characterization in the anime is very different from the manga (especially in the beginning). I definitely get why people who interact with dn with an anime lense would see Light as a narcissistic sociopath, but that is actually very far from his actual motivations in the manga. He's definitely deeply messed up lol, but he doesn't fall under any of those character archetypes. No offense intended, I'm just a geek who has a light yagami shaped hole in her heart. <3';

'>>3855481
Really? I haven't read the manga since the 2000s, but when I think of the difference between manga and the anime, I think of the addition of the rooftop/footwashing scene and the way they changed Light's death. I guess it's true that the anime emphasized how unhinged Light was through the voice acting and animation, but imo the added and changed scenes actually made him more sympathetic. The rooftop scene, I think, illustrated that at some level an emotional bond of understanding and almost friendship had developed between Light and L. Even though he never says anything to directly imply remorse, the almost bashful way Light deflects L's question about lying, and the way he seem taken aback by Light's words and actions leaves room to interpret some twinge of regret for the way things turned out between them.

And then with Light's death, I think there's no question that the anime was more charitable to him. He's allowed to die peacefully, with dignity, thinking back with regret to he life he could have lived, remembering the person he was before he found the Death Note. In the manga, there are no flashbacks, no sad swelling music. His last ally renounces him as a god, and he's left writhing on the ground, begging Ryuk to kill everyone for him. And when Ryuk writes Light's name in the note instead, he's screaming. He cannot accept that he is human, fallible, and going to die. And when the heart attack hits, his eyes are wide as if still unable to comprehend how things ended the way they did.';

'>>3855490
(cont.)
People always talk about the debate over whether Kira was right or wrong, but I've always thought it was pretty obvious Kira only killed for his own self-satisfaction. Maybe it is possible to improve the world through carefully selected assassinations, but not the way Kira did it. He killed prison inmates who were unable to harm anyone if they wanted to, and people whose only crime was to oppose his new world order. When it became impossible to kill murderers, he killed people who had committed minor offenses like purse snatching, just because he needed an alibi. He saw the world as divided into two classes of humans: those unworthy of living in his new world, and those who were willing to submit to his rule. His "law and order" only worked by fear and subservience.

To me, the more interesting question is if Light was always Kira, and was only waiting for the right moment to show his colors, or if Kira was the Death Note and the ability to kill with impunity, and Light was a victim that became corrupted by it. I think that's what L was really asking when he asked Light if he had "ever told the truth once in his life". Personally, I think Light was always Kira, and even when he lost his memories he was still masking and hiding his true personality. But I think the anime wants us to think that Light without the Death Note would have been good and honest and just.

I am genuinely curious anon, because I find the topic really interesting. In what ways do you think the manga took a more sympathetic approach to his characterization? I will have to go back and read it.';

'>>3855490
>*the way he seems taken aback by L's words
So frustrating to type the tl;dr posts when they both have 'L' names.';

'>>3855491
There's a very good analysis about this over at tumblr :^)

https://www.google.com/amp/s/casuistor.tumblr.com/post/148774472866/two-boys-one-post-or-why-anime-light-is-not-the/amp
It goes into how differently Light is introduced in the anime vs manga.

This person has written a lot of very good (manga) Light analyses, if you ever feel like it, I'm linking you another work of theirs too: https://www.google.com/amp/s/casuistor.tumblr.com/post/148728910661/supernova-a-light-yagami-analysis/amp

I believe it could enlighten you!

I will say: The anime does paint the picture that Light was always Kira, and was only missing a way to enforce his skewed way of thinking. The manga on the other hand...

I also want to comment on episode 25: I am glad it exists, and I'm grateful for the yaoi they gave us lol, and it also majorly changes the way Ls death comes about. In the manga it's extremely sudden and abrupt, while in the anime it's implied L feels his incoming death. Ultimately that's why I think he talks to Light the way he does in the rain scene - I think it's a sort of bid of connection, like "We both know what's going to happen, so why won't you be honest to me for once?" That's how I see it anyway.

L's death is something that deeply solidifies Light's change in character - more specifically his God complex. ("God complex? I find it quite simple...")I think that's the moment where he truly "becomes" Kira, if you will. Or, I would say it starts from the moment he gets his memories back. Augh, I have many thoughts about the helicopter scene.

Yotsuba arc Light... is, something, and it's also one of the facets of Light's character that really enforces the idea that, if the situation hadn't called for it, /if he really didn't find it absolutely crucial and necessary to do so/, he wouldn't have become Kira. Hell, during Yotsuba arc Light literally /cannot/ imagine why he would possibly do these things.

I hope you check out the posts anon!';

'>>3855518
Oh and also, I definitely prefer the manga ending lol. It's what he deserved, I mean it in the nicest way.

In general, I have a lot of, err, dissatisfaction, with the latter half of the anime. It really doesn't do the arc any justice. I am a huge Near and Mello fan, and Man the anime really messes up the final arc, it makes me sad =_= . (OF COURSE, I love the final eps, etc etc. But still...) It wasn't until I read the manga I really appreciated Near and Mellos characters, that are really just as developed as the others, even within that shorter timeframe. In the manga I honestly enjoy the latter half just as much as the first. Near even sits close next to Light as my favorite character.';

'>>3855491
>He killed prison inmates who were unable to harm anyone if they wanted to, and people whose only crime was to oppose his new world order.
He killed people in and out of prison also people in prison aren't as harmless as you'd think. There are plenty of gangs that operate within prisons.
>When it became impossible to kill murderers, he killed people who had committed minor offenses like purse snatching, just because he needed an alibi
He did that once on accident.';

'>>3855560
quickly adding onto this: the only reason Light was killing prison inmates was so that the NPA and thus the FBI would realize the existence of Kira, so that he could wipe out potential threats asap. Once the NPA (and ultimately L) noticed the killings of the prison inmates, he stopped. Also, majority of those inmates were most likely on death row or being prosecuted for violent crimes.

Yes, it's true that Light did kill some minor criminals, but that is only because he absolutely had to. In Light's mind: the ends justify the means. He only killed them because it was the only way for a peaceful future. You'd actually find that his mindset is less radical than that of other characters, such as Mikami, who believes that even being a lazy member of society constitutes being judged by Kira';

'>>3855518
Okay, I read the first post you linked, and I also re-read the first chapter of the manga. I think the tumblr post makes a good point about how the anime overtly emphasizes Light's more antisocial traits through the framing, the music and the lack of interaction he has with other people. It does feel pretty jarring in the anime when we see Light conjure up a group of friends and start dating the most popular girl in school when he has shown no social inclination before that point. And I agree, they did him a disservice by not showing his thought process when selecting his first victim, and not showing how using the Death Note was initially affecting him.

However, I think the examples that person used are pretty cherry-picked. They seem to be suggesting that manga-Light did not feel disgust and resentment towards his peers in the way anime-Light did, or he did to a significantly lesser extent. I've gone through and clipped out some panels from the first chapter that I think illustrate the fact that Light harbored the exact same feelings of disgust, superiority and resentment towards people who's only crimes were being stupid, rude or bullies, and believed that their deaths would be an appropriate punishment.

I could only find this scanlation on short notice, but the text of the last few panels varies greatly from my official Viz translation. I don't know which are more accurate, but I'd like to take them both into consideration. In the Viz version, Light says "while people who obviously deserve to be punished are dying of heart attacks, I'll gradually be killing off immoral people and people who harass others through illness and accidents", showing that he never intended to stop at just the most heinous criminals, and wanted to kill everyone he thought was "rotten", regardless of the severity of their crimes.';

'>>3855804
(cont.)
Then he says "Even that will eventually be noticed by the idiot masses. They'll realized they'll die if they don't change their ways. I'll make this a world inhabited only by people I decide are good!" Light's aim is to create a new world order enforced by fear. Again, this is all in the first chapter of the manga, and the first 1-5 days of using the Note. I think it's clear that Light's narcissistic and "sociopathic" traits were present from the very start.

He is freaking adorable in the manga, though. I'll give him that. The anime did not capture it.

>>3855560
>>3855574
I think it's a pretty big leap to assume that all the prisoners Light killed were mafia kingpins remotely running criminal enterprises. And there is no "justice" in killing people who are already on death row. I also don't see him saying anywhere that his goal was to get the attention of the NPA and the FBI early so that he could wipe them out quickly. All he says is that he wants people to know that the deaths are caused by Kira so that they will be too afraid to commit crimes. He killed people in prison because he thought prison wasn't an adequate deterrent, and decided they deserved death instead. And I'm sure the possibility of innocent people who were falsely imprisoned never occurred to him either, because guilty or innocent they were still the dregs of society that didn't belong in his new world.

>He did that once on accident.
A miscalculation maybe, but he then went on to kill more minor criminals to make himself look less suspicious. I'm sure he saw it as a necessary sacrifice, but I think it's clear from the things he said before that it wasn't really much of a "sacrifice" at all. He'd have killed them all, eventually.';

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'>>3855804
To understand why Light thinks/says the things he does particularly in the beginning it's important to look at it within the context of what situation he has exactly found himself in. The panels you've attached tell a lot about Light's thought process but it's crucial to note he begins thinking this way after he finds the Death Note and might/might not have killed a person.

Looking at the moment where Light tries out the Death Note for the first time, we see that Light never wanted or even entertained the idea that the Death Note would work. Light did easily select a criminal to write down in the note. He obviously had preexisting prejudices towards those he finds morally inferior, and this in big part can be credited to the fact his father is a cop and just like him has a very strong sense of justice. It's safe to assume Light is more familiar with crime than the average kid. That said, this doesn't mean that at this point Light believed these people had to die.

We see him shocked and panicked when the first criminal dies. At this point: Light cannot surely confirm the Death Note is real and wether he's a murderer. Its after this moment that Light actually starts entertaining the idea that these people would be better off dead. Because now he's faced with the prospect that he /might/ have killed a person. Its an attempt to rationalize what he might have done.

(I'm going to take a quick detour here because I don't know where Else I'd fit it: Light really admires and looks up to his father. Light's attitude when he's around his father is different than around the rest of his family: Because he wants his father to respect him and take him seriously. He knows that his father will never stand with Kira but he likes to imagine that he would be proud of him if he understood. There are a lot of panels I would add about this but I've filled up the thread with enough of my rambles lol. I'm saying this to counter the idea of Light being some heartless psycho)';

'>>3855822
(picrel) After he kills his second victim, We see Light on the brink of throwing up. I would say Light is nearly horrified. He has killed 2 people. Light understands the value of the human life. We see him contradict himself in the matter of seconds. He is actively convincing himself that what he did is right because he cannot live with himself if it isn't. Light being anything but the perfect exemplary righteous model student and citizen who never makes mistakes literally makes his brain short circuit. It just isn't possible. Up to this point Light has never faced failure, real hardship, and has performed outstandingly in just about anything he put his mind into. Actual /strangers/ praise him. At this moment Light's entire self image shatters. As Light goes from questioning wether he killed a person, to having killed two people, we see Light's internal monologue change from "they would be better off dead" to "they SHOULD die".

I'd also like to note: Light doesn't instantly develop a full fledged God complex. At the beginning, he thinks of himself as a martyr. He sees himself as sacrificing his own sanity and humanity for the world. This is just another attempt of his in rationalizing what he's done. In the aftermath of his decision, we see light having night terrors, not getting sleep, losing weight. It's not a dream come true by any means.

Ultimately: His rationalizing and mental gymnastics are thoroughly self contradictory. Just like Light's entire character and belief system. It's one of the things his character boils down to. Light is put in a situation where everything he believed about himself and everything he's worked hard to achieve is ripped from his hands. A person cannot recover from damage like this and will do whatever they can to protect themselves from it. +';

'>>3855823
I haven't fully read the analysis post I attached b4 in a long time (or the manga for that matter.) but it definitely goes into greater detail than me If that piques your interest. this is the most linear understanding of Lights character, for me anyway.

forgive any mistakes or repetitions, I wasn't reading over it very carefully facepalms

And just one last note from me: Light absolutely had all the predispositions to develop the God complex he has later on, and become the deeply corrupt and unsympathetic person he is by the end of dn. This is just about who he was before he began acting as Kira. going to upload some images now as an apology for all this text orz';

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'>>3855805
>I think it's a pretty big leap to assume that all the prisoners Light killed were mafia kingpins remotely running criminal enterprises
That wasn't my implications, they're not kingpins but they are working for criminal organizations within prisons.
>And I'm sure the possibility of innocent people who were falsely imprisoned never occurred to him either, because guilty or innocent they were still the dregs of society that didn't belong in his new world.
Or maybe he felt that the benefits would outweigh the flaws.
>but he then went on to kill more minor criminals to make himself look less suspicious.
He stopped once it was no longer necessary.
>but I think it's clear from the things he said before that it wasn't really much of a "sacrifice" at all. He'd have killed them all, eventually.
Given what he said I'd come to the exact opposite conclusion because he frequently gave shit to Mikami for killing minor criminals.';

'>>3854943
The first ever yaoi ive witnessed was a light x L doujin uploaded in parts on youtube. Man, i really cant believe death note was my introduction to the genre';

'Jeez, it barely took a week to max out this thread. Let me finish it off.';

'>>3855924
A blessed beginning.';

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'Thank you all for posting DN with me. No reason to stop now. I've made a new thread: >>3855934';

'>>3854785
>>3854943

could you make it into a mega dump?';

'>>3858881
Sure, anon. Why not? But I'll be posting it in the new thread. If you reply, please post it there.';