I think a lot of people ignore the main issue with Death Note. I don’t view it as depicting how anyone would be corrupted by power.
Light Yagami started out with an overinflated ego and impaired self control by virtue of being a teenager with good grades. He likely was also already a psychopath (though you can’t give that diagnosis to a minor). He’s effectively the male Japanese version of Elizabeth Holmes. That’s what led to him becoming a megalomaniac.
Not everyone starts off with that set of circumstances, and conversely not everyone would go down the same route. But that’s not the story the author wanted to write nor the story the audience wanted to consume. A good person using the Death Note to fix the world would get old really fast because there’s little tension and intrigue. But someone being correpted by power down a path of evil? That’s a story that can be interesting
There are two extra stories that show what could happen. One is of a good person trying to do ‘good’, they killed themselves as soon as they were challenged.
If the story started with Light killing government figures and business moguls world wide, it would have to answer a lot of questions. It was a tighter story keeping it local.
Light Yagami started out with an overinflated ego and impaired self control by virtue of being a teenager with good grades. He likely was also already a psychopath (though you can’t give that diagnosis to a minor). He’s effectively the male Japanese version of Elizabeth Holmes. That’s what led to him becoming a megalomaniac.
Should be noted how Misa Amane isn’t really corrupted, just gulled into Light’s cult of celebrity and used up by his machinations.
I think a few more characters with a hand on the Death Note would have made the story better, to play out it’s influence on the user.
I think a lot of people ignore the main issue with Death Note. I don’t view it as depicting how anyone would be corrupted by power.
Light Yagami started out with an overinflated ego and impaired self control by virtue of being a teenager with good grades. He likely was also already a psychopath (though you can’t give that diagnosis to a minor). He’s effectively the male Japanese version of Elizabeth Holmes. That’s what led to him becoming a megalomaniac.
Not everyone starts off with that set of circumstances, and conversely not everyone would go down the same route. But that’s not the story the author wanted to write nor the story the audience wanted to consume. A good person using the Death Note to fix the world would get old really fast because there’s little tension and intrigue. But someone being correpted by power down a path of evil? That’s a story that can be interesting
There are two extra stories that show what could happen. One is of a good person trying to do ‘good’, they killed themselves as soon as they were challenged.
If the story started with Light killing government figures and business moguls world wide, it would have to answer a lot of questions. It was a tighter story keeping it local.
Should be noted how Misa Amane isn’t really corrupted, just gulled into Light’s cult of celebrity and used up by his machinations.
I think a few more characters with a hand on the Death Note would have made the story better, to play out it’s influence on the user.