How human is Light really?
Summary:
- Although Light was portrayed as a monster, there was something good in him, too.
- The manga and the anime explore his humanity in different ways.
- In some scenes, the anime humanizes him more.
- The manga has a better portrayal of him, though.
The topic of Light’s humanity is quite controversial in the Death Note fandom. He became a complete monster by the end of the series, but the thing that is still not 100% clear is whether he was a monster at the beginning of the story, too.
No matter how many horrible things Light did, it’s hard to deny that there was a good part of him, we just don’t know how big it was. The manga and anime both explore his more human side, but as it turns out, they do it in different ways.
Light Saves a Girl
Back in Episode 1 of the anime, Light was still doubting the Death Note and didn’t know if it was real. He had to experiment and see for himself, so he wrote down the names of some criminals he saw in the street. They died, and there was no doubt for him anymore: the Death Note worked.
However, the manga and the anime approach this situation in two different ways. In the anime, the criminals were especially disgusting, it was obvious they were going to rape the girl if no one intervened. Light chose them as victims not only because he wanted to test the notebook, but also because a girl was in danger.
In the manga, the scene looked a bit different. The bad guys indeed harassed the girl, but there was no attempt to rape her. Light didn’t seem sympathetic with the girl, experimenting with the Death Note was the only thing on his mind. So the anime made him more human.
Humanization of Light
That wasn’t the only time the anime tried to make viewers like Light more. The finale of the series also tried to make fans sympathize with him. His death was executed in a poetic way, while the manga just showed how pathetic and broken he was.
The strangest thing about this is that the manga was actually much better at humanizing Light in other cases. He had real friends, while the anime only showed him using the girls who had crushes on him. He felt true remorse for his actions as a Death Note user.
Light wasn’t a complete monster in the manga, there was some good in him. That’s why it was possible to believe that justice was really his intention initially, but the Death Note corrupted him somewhere along the way.