DEATH NOTE / First Impressions

Summary:

With the investigation team having moved into the new building, Aizawa finds security particularly tight and ends up having to strip down to get through. L is currently watching over Misa and Light on their date in Misa’s room. Misa really wants to be left alone with Light, but L notes that it’s not possible with all the surveillance in the room. When Light changes the subject to how L hasn’t been motivated since they moved, L admits that he’s been depressed. He had thought that Light was Kira and still has his suspicions about it, but he also thinks that Kira could have controlled Light so that L would be suspicious. In response, Light points out that even if he and Misa had been controlled, then they’d still technically have been Kira. L agrees with this and explains that he feels that Light was Kira until he was imprisoned. Someone else then became Kira, meaning that the power can be passed on. This is where L gets stuck because it’s useless for them to keep catching people who lose their memories after the power is transferred away. As a result, L has lost his motivation and doesn’t want to put his life at greater risk.

Not wanting to see L this way, Light punches him and yells about all the people L’s already gotten involved in all this. L counters back with a kick and explains that the real reason he’s depressed is because the theory of Light being Kira and Misa being Second Kira doesn’t solve the case. Light concludes that with such reasoning, L wouldn’t be satisfied unless Light himself was Kira. L quickly realizes that this is true: he wanted Light to be Kira. The two continue fighting, but are soon interrupted by a call from Matsuda to inform them about Misa’s growing public popularity. Two months later, Light finds something that stimulates L’s interest: three heart attack deaths that have helped the Yotsuba Corporation. The two conclude that Kira must be killing criminals now as a cover to kill others that help Yotsuba. At the same time that they are figuring this out, Yotsuba’s eight businessmen are figuring out the limitations of Kira’s power through the few killings that ended in heart attacks instead of how they had originally specified.

When Light’s father returns to the investigation building later, Matsuda tells him the new of them finding out about the Yotsuba Corporation. Souichirou connects that to what he just learned from the vice-commander about Kira bribing politicians, but he also goes on to explain that the police are backing down from the investigation as a result of Kira offering not to harm any politicians. Souichirou has decided to resign from the force so that he can continue the investigation, and he gives the other members the same choice. With the exception of Light, L feels that they should all return to the police and promises to bring them Kira’s head. He needed the investigators because they were his police support, but if they’re no longer on the force, they can’t play that role anymore. Despite this, Light’s father remains determined to stay on with the investigation and plans to find a new job afterwards. Matsuda is also fine with staying since his job right now is as Misa’s manager anyway, but Aizawa has a family to worry about, so he can’t afford to not have a paying job.

In hearing Aizawa voice his frustrations about how he wants to stay on the investigation, Watari suddenly interrupts to remind L of the fact that all the team members have lifetime benefits guaranteed by him even if they get fired. L knew about this all along, but he claims he was intentionally not saying so that he could test them. This gets Aizawa so pissed off that he decides to go back to the police after all. He says that he hates L, but L replies that he’s always liked people like Aizawa. Though they’ve now lost another team member, the investigation continues and Light’s father notices that the accidental deaths have occurred mostly on the weekends recently. It becomes clear that they need to thoroughly investigate Yotsuba Corporation. In order to help them out now that they’re short handed, L decides to call in a pair of real criminals that he trusts: a professional con artist named Aiber and a professional burglar named Wedy. While this is going on, Aizawa has meanwhile accidentally met his family in the park after having left the investigation. As he’s telling his daughter about all the time he has off and all the places he can take her, Aizawa starts crying.

Preview:

I always felt really bad for Aizawa after this since it was L’s attitude and treatment that made him leave. If L had just been a little more diplomatic about whether he was testing them or not, then this probably wouldn’t have happened. L’s still got at least one friend left in Light though, as odd as it may seem. Their fight showed that Light cared about L and the investigation enough to knock some sense into L, though it’s hard to say if Lights thwarting his own master plan. By that, I mean that old Light’s plan to give up the Death Note had succeeded in confusing and demotivating L, but the current Light without the Death Note memories is the one who gets in that fight and the one who first finds out about the Yotsuba group. It makes me wonder if Light calculated all this before he went through with the plan that got him imprisoned.
The speed they’re progressing through the manga also picked up a bit this episode. For the first time in many weeks, three chapters were covered instead of two, and although it did lead to plenty of shortened and skipped material (like the new Kira’s conversation with Rem), it would also seem to be an encouraging sign. I’m still doubtful about whether they’ll finish the series in the allotted 37 episodes total, but at least at 3 chapters per episode they can get pretty close without having to cut out major parts of the next arc.
Next week, Matsuda gets to contribute to the investigation.

25 Comments

  4. I might just have to download them episode for Ligh-L fight scene. It’s such a funny scene.

    But It appears they don’t have the hilarious shot of him and Light gettting interrupted by the phone call as tyheir fighting.

    Avisch
    Reply

  10. Yeah, they aren’t fighting over Misa. Misa is just there because she has to be…kinda. But that kick was awesome to see in the manga and now I want to see it animated into full action.

    blind_assassin
    Reply

  18. bah, I love death note but besides the I and Light fight this episode was pretty boring lol. Light being good is really annoying me I cant wait for him to get his death note back. Which of course he will Light with his master plans and I always twiching trying to top him. ^^
    Bleach was awasome though, rukia got ichigo out of his funk yet again lol.

    chaosdemon06
    Reply

  21. i couldn’t stop laughing when they’re fighting XD
    decent comedy relief during such a weird situation..T_T
    all the stuff that’s been happening so far is too mind boggling -_-
    i just end up sighing then stop watching…but i suppose i’m addicted because i always come back O_O ahahahaa

    currybreadman
    Reply

  22. Oh my gosh, I was wondering how L survived that punch to the eye! I swear, I thought he would start bleeding or something. That’s pretty incredible! Oh my gosh! Yay! I love Matsuda! He’s my favorite character! lolz I can’t wait until the next episode comes out! ^_^

    Toki-chan
    Reply

  24. Geez, what is L’s skull made out of. Light hit him pretty hard, and not a scratch. Also, the way L’s seiyuu rolled off that line about being depressed while he had a fork dangling out of his mouth was perfect.

    Yuri Rocks
    Reply

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