DEATH NOTE / First Impressions

Summary:
A bit surprised by L’s appearance, the police group introduces themselves, but L warns them to be more careful in giving away their names since Kira can kill with a name and a face. In order not to be interrupted, L asks them to turn off their phones and put them aside. He also insists on being called Ryuuzaki instead of L. Matsuda suggests that they just not release information about the criminals, but L thinks that Kira would then kill ordinary people since he feels that Kira is a childish person who hates to lose. L admits to being the same way and recounts how Kira killed the initial fake L on TV after being challenged and how Kira’s killing patterns are as if he were responding to their moves. He thinks that Kira would just hold the world hostage while blaming the police for withholding criminal information. Instead of going with Matsuda’s idea, L suggests that they announce the killings of the FBI agents causing an1500 additional international investigators to come to Japan, even though it’s not true. He hopes that this will pressure a reaction out of Kira.
L then reveals a few more things he’s figured out including how Kira is acting alone and how Kira can manipulate a person’s actions before death. He pulls out a pen and starts writing days, outlining what happened between when the FBI agents entered the country and when they were all dead. This time line includes the people Kira killed to test the extent of his power, and L concludes that Kira must be someone the FBI was investigating. The police group is quite impressed by all this, though Light’s father asks L if revealing himself is an acknowledgment that he failed against Kira. L does indeed feel that way, but he also thinks that he and justice will definitely win. Around this same time, Light is at home going over what he did on those same dates. Both L and Light know that it would only take one mistake for things to turn against Kira.
Confident that he hasn’t made any mistakes, Light offers to take a change of clothes to his father at the police station for his mother. Just in case, he brings with him a piece of the Death Note. When he gets there, he sees a woman at the front desk who is asking about speaking to the investigators on the Kira case. After he hands over the clothes to the receptionist, Light reveals that he is the son of the head of the investigation and offers to let her talk to him when his father calls. The two go outside where Light starts discussing Kira, but then realizes that he doesn’t know the woman’s name. Light intentionally introduces himself with his full name, including how it’s spelled out in kanji, which prompts her to tell him her name – Maki Shouko – in the same way.
Armed with that knowledge, Light pretends to have a theory that Kira can control someone before he kills them. Maki had the same idea and also thinks that Kira can kill people with ways other than heart attacks. As she reveals that she had an FBI agent fiancé who probably met Kira, Light realizes that she’s talking about Ray Penbar. Her own investigation has led her to link the bus hijacking with the deaths of the FBI agents and her belief that Kira’s killing methods are not limited to heart attacks. She’s sure that the hijacker was controlled before he died because Ray had told her that he had to show his FBI ID to someone on the bus, thereby leaking the existence of the FBI in Japan. Light tells her that these thoughts might allow them to capture Kira because the person who saw Ray’s ID has to be Kira. Thinking to himself, Light realizes that it would have been dangerous if she had gone to the police with that, but he feels that there’s a god who’s not a Shinigami helping him.

Preview:

I’m glad that L is shown here in all his fidgety glory, not that I expected any less from this anime adaptation. I still find him to be a rather likable character, especially with that ghoulish smile. Anyway, we can see in this episode that Light isn’t perfect, especially since he seems to be underestimating both L and Maki Shouko’s deductive capabilities. But while L keeps himself hidden, Maki already made the grave mistake of revealing her full name to Light, meaning that he can kill her anytime, especially since he’s carrying a page of the Death Note on him. Or so it would seem…
We’ll find out what happens to her in next week’s episode. 🙂

53 Comments

  17. Man I just love th way they´ve made this anime….is just like the dark side of GANTZ but seen by the thinking side of the story!!
    that CRAP anime Spiral bond of interference should have been like this!!!
    does anyone here still remember the lame phrase ” NARUMI NO OTOTO!! ” 😀
    ” CLAIR WA DOKODA!!?? ” I love this one to 😀 😀
    ” GAJIMA TO NINGEN DEWANAI HITO WA HITO DA ” (LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL)
    Pleaseeeee….could some one from namco hire some decent story writers PLEASE!!!!!!!T_T

    tensai_otaku
    Reply

  19. ARTEMIS, IF YOU READ THE MANGA, YOU´LL HAVE SEEN THAT L’s APPEARANCE IS JUST LIKE THAT, AND WHO SAID THAT A GENIUS NEEDS TO BE SOPHISTICATED OR ATRACTIVE?, L IS COOL BECAUSE OF HIS MIND AND HIS PERSONALITY SO SHUT UP! ¬_¬

    i dont get why people find L creepy, i mean, the anime is being very faithful to the manga, and L seems exactly like that in the manga, so why is everyone so scared?, is the same thing with colors, the only thing weird is that he has no eyebrows

    Fairy
    Reply

  22. Dude, the best part about L is that he looks and acts like a FREAK. I remember the first time I was reading the manga, I was expecting him to be another “hot” bishounen, and then when he’s finally revealed, I was like “……..This is even BETTER!”

    Geniuses with odd quirks = teh awesome.

    CSakuraS
    Reply

  28. Yeah, i dont know why but he always sits like that, poeple were expecting a bishounen because of they he was revealed in the dar of the room in front of the macintosh lol, in the anime they even take a step further by giving him a cool voice, and then…chan chan… L appears lol and he is nothing that people were expecting, he is always bent over, he grabs things in a funny way, he sits funny, he is WEIRD lol
    …he is quite strong tough….

    Kimimaro
    Reply

  29. *whitey-chan: she’s Light younger sister, Sayu. (pretty hawt in that shot :3)

    anyway, for me being a Kira-ist, I really liked the idea of L being a WEIRD dude… I mean, if there was another cool, bishounen guy with the same attitude on the show, Light’s greatness could’ve been stained XD.

    Yagami Iori
    Reply

  30. “lol OMG L looks like a mental bum, amazing what being smart can do for people…his eyes are very big and he looks like he’s on crack lol!”

    you are right man he is on DOPE…….and CRACKED for knowledge… 😀

    Woodstock phrase time:

    ” LET´S SHARE OUR KNOWLEDGE MAN!!! ” 😀

    tensai_otaku
    Reply

  37. L is a weirdo, Light is a psychopath… what a great combination! 2 eccentrics with unpredictable brain capacity battling it out… brain battles instead of chakra or reiatsu… much better, less predictable also…

    psychohare
    Reply

  43. pls don’t be so mean saying unkind things about L. As a L’s fan, I’m rather offended. He looks exactly like the L in the manga. For now, you just see it with colour and animated. that’s the differences and he is supposed to be eccentric in a good way. Maybe his fringe concealed the eyebrows from your view. that’s all I can think of.

    passerby
    Reply

  49. @wcfreedom: “How the hell dose he sit like that!!!!????” well in Japan toilets are squat-style so I guess they kinda have training for sitting like that.

    And all of you who haven’t read the manga run now to get it, you will enjoy the anime more after reading it.

    squatter
    Reply

  50. I gotta give it up to L; he’s a mad genius if I ever saw one, lol. But the smart ones are always the most eccentric. Give that boy some sunlight! Light is cunning in his own right, but his arrogance and disregard for human life have shown how much of a monster he can be (it’s always the pretty boys in anime). The fact that Light doesn’t show a shred of remorse whatsoever even after meeting the fiance of the man he so callously killed just to protect his own identity shows just that. Light likes to think he’s in control, and he definitely crossed the line when he tricked Penbar into killing his own colleagues before killing him himself. I’m rooting for Maki and L, and really hope she survives Light’s next move. Looking forward to the next ep! Oh, and Light’s sister is too cute!

    Ryuma
    Reply

  51. L is a very interesting character. I’ve never seen someone who is so endearing and likeable yet so decidedly creepy looking at the same time. Does he not sleep or something? Cause those bags under his eyes are pretty defined.

    Blah
    Reply

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