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Death Notefans have always debated the role of Light Yagami as a protagonist in the series. Some fans believe that his actions by the end of the series make him an antagonist, while others believe that he was still a good guy, but he got astray from his path and went on a killing spree to save himself, developing a God complex.
The creator of the series, Tsugumi Ohba, also thinks the same. In an interview, Ohba revealed that he refused to let Light Yagami become the bad guy, which is why the entire blame was put on Mikami for making a mistake. This way, even if Light became the villain of his own story, the blame would still land on Mikami rather than Light.
This was one of the series’ most shocking surprises, as well as a fitting conclusion toDeath Note’sintricate plot, leaving fans to decide Light Yagami’s role as the series’ primary character.
Tsugumi Ohba Did Not Like The Idea of Light Yagami Being The Villain inDeath Note
A transcript taken from an interview with Ohba was shared byGaiaonline, where the creator talked aboutDeath Note, the variety of characters, and the narrative of the series. When asked about the controversial ending of the series, Ohba revealed that he did not want Light’s failure to be the central plot of the conclusion.
Light Yagami was More of a Villain than Fans Realise with the Amount of Innocent People He Killed in Death Note
Ohba stated:
“I did not want a plot told of Light’s failure because of his own mistake. I had to think extremely hard for a plot that relieved Light of most of the blame for his own failure. Hence, we had Mikami make the fatal error.”
Tsugumi Ohbaexplained that because Light was the protagonist, he did not like the idea of him taking the blame for all the terrifying things that had happened in the series. This is why he created a plot that would take away all the blame from the protagonist and relieve him of his failure. This would save Light’s image as the protagonist ofDeath Note.
Light Yagami Was Filled With Flaws By The End ofDeath Note
When the narrative ofDeath Notebegan, Light Yagami was an aspiring character who was not only a brilliant student but also a good human being. However, whenhe got his hands on theDeath Note, he started developing a god complex because of the ultimate power to kill anyone by just knowing their name.
Although he started by killing the criminals, he got so invested in doing the “right thing” that it forced him to sacrifice some good people, too. Later on, his God complex became so big that it didn’t matter to him who he was killing, as long as it kept his identity as Kira hidden from the whole world.
Much Like Thanos, Light May Have Been the Villain of Death Note But He was Not Exactly Wrong
While he believed that he was doing the right thing, in his heart he knew that the world wouldn’t accept his ideology because it was morally wrong to kill anyone, be it a criminal or a person of good character. Ultimately, his role as the main character (whether good or bad) ofDeath Notewas left to the viewer’s interpretation.
You can watchDeath Noteon Hulu and Netflix.
Tarun Kohli
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2959
Tarun Kohli is the Senior Anime Writer at FandomWire, with over 2,900 published articles. He currently specializes in critiquing One Piece and other Shonen anime. A passionate fan of the genre, his love for thoughtful analysis reflects his genuine appreciation for the art of anime. His deep understanding of anime culture has earned recognition from industry figures such as Adi Shankar and the creators of Blood of Zeus.
