Like of course ACAB, but at the start at least they frame it as opposing ideologies, where either the ends justify the means or they don’t. So at least L and the cops are sympathetic. But holy fuck does that deteriorate fast.
spoiler
So his father pulls a gun on him, which would give literally anybody intense psychological trauma and PTSD, and yet you’re supposed to still be on his side? Like, he’s objectively not a good guy, and should be fired and jailed. They set up security cameras in homes, including the bathrooms?? What the fuck? And everyone’s just...cool with it, eventually? L himself says there’s only a minuscule chance of Light being the perp, and yet goes to tremendous lengths to prove it, breaking a myriad of laws and inflicting emotional and even physical harm on people? How the fuck are you ever supposed to sympathize with “the good guys” when they’re unrelenting assholes who operate with no oversight, burning through funds to achieve a dead end cause. L built a fucking skyscraper to catch one guy. That’s millions, if not billions of dollars wasted, when it could have gone into oh I don’t know, infrastructure and welfare and literally anything that actually materially helps people? Light is completely justified in his actions, and the cops immoral and excessive actions only serve to further prove it. But the worst part is that the show doesn’t seem to understand that what the cops do is wrong at all? Admittedly I’m not quite finished yet, but goddamn this shit sucks.
ACAB, ABAB, literally fuck this show
Then don't watch it? It's super entertaining because Light becomes an irredeemable bastard and L does everything he can to take him down. I don't think you're supposed to cheer for anybody. You just wait till Light finds out L's real name or L (or the cops) finally catches him because it's fun and the music is good
Yeah don’t get me wrong, I’m enjoying it for that exact reason. It just seems to be written by people really disconnected from reality, intentionally or not
This is the only correct take. Also applies to the new death note story that came out this year
The whole show was one big status quo affrimer. Would have been more interesting if Light went after Epstein like figures instead of petty criminals using detective skills and the death note but he privileged af only see individual actions instead of the system that makes criminals.
With L I always thought he wasn't doing this for good but just to amuse himself deep down. The police just didn't like being undermined so have to flex their power. If either side win I doubt much would change tbh.
Really? I've always interpreted it as Japan and it's allies i.e U.S still run rough shot over the world just that anyone labeled a war criminal by western media was killed off by him. Kind of like that Steve Plinker or what ever his name was saying we in the greatest time of peace even though the imperial machine still going. Got a feeling Evo and Maduro would have been killed by Light if you get what I'm saying. Maybe I'm thinking too much tbh.
I'm not sure if it's so much "power corrupts", because Light had some delusions of grandeur, if not an outright god complex, before he even got the death note. More like, power reveals.
This is also made more clear by their one shot they released a while ago where another kid gets the death mote and sells it to the highest bidder instead.
Mm, I'm gonna have to disagree with this take. Literally nobody is written as a good guy except for Matsuda, and he's the only one that questions whether or not he's doing the right thing. I think the point of the show is to simply ask whether or not the ends justify the means, which is why there's so much overreach on the part of the cops, and why we end up kinda rooting for Yagami even though he's a straight up psycho.
I mean, it's written for teenagers, it's not going to be insanely politically nuanced, but I don't see anything too problematic with it. It does lightly touch on political corruption and corporate greed, but the story is hyper-focused on justice, which is why basically every character is intentionally written as absolutely resolute in their own interpretation of justice, to a fault .
The only real issue with the series, and it's a big one, is that it seems to assume that evil is an innate human feature, and doesn't ever imply that bad people end up bad due to material conditions. There's a lot of catholic imagery and undertones which seem to outline the basis for the ethics of the series. I won't spoil the ending, but I wished the the show dwelled more on the problems inherent in Light's vision of the world, as it's inherently quite a fascistic one.
Because Light's the son of a cop, and most likely would've been a cop himself if he didn't get the death note.
Yeah uh. Finish the anime I guess. Death Note is a great anime because literally every character is awful. There is no good person. Not even one. They're all awful and it manifests in different and interesting ways. Death Note never pretends the cops are the good guys.
