Light Yagami

**Light Yagami** (夜神月, *Yagami Raito*) is the main protagonist of the *Death Note* series. After discovering the Death Note, he decides to use it to rid the world of criminals. His killings are eventually labelled by people of Japan as the work of "Kira."

## Appearance

Light is a young man, standing at above average height with light brown hair and brown eyes. He tends to dress very neatly and formally, often seen wearing his school uniform or a suit. He is considered to be quite handsome, a trait noted by Misa Amane and Kiyomi Takada, among others.

## Character

Light is characterized as hardworking, talented, and a natural genius. Highly perceptive and good with problem solving, Light was a skilled planner and good at mapping out scenarios. Furthermore, Light was very popular among peers and adored by his family members. However his high intelligence and constant praise from adults laid the foundation for an intense level of hubris was quickly produced after obtaining the notebook.

Similar to his father, Light has a strong sense of justice but this quickly becomes warped after he becomes tainted by the notebook’s power. Believing the world to be "rotten," he uses his Death Note as a means by which he can enact his will to rid the world of evil people. Light's main goal is to create a new world that is free of injustice and populated only with people he deems honest and kind, thus becoming the "God of the new world". Light is decisive and driven to achieve his ambitions, without faltering one bit in his beliefs. Despite knowing the criminality of murder, Light would consider his actions the ultimate “sacrifice” to help the world.

Through use of the Death Note, Light quickly begins to develop a cold and ruthless nature. As a utilitarian, he will take any means in order to achieve his goals. His actions do put his family in harm’s way, though he does continue to love them regardless. This is demonstrated when his sister is kidnapped; he prevents his father from taking drastic action as a way to keep his sister safe.

Additionally, the series shows that Light was not born remorseless. After relinquishing the notebook and losing his memories to temporarily avoid suspicion, Light’s demonstrates compassion, a reluctance to manipulate others and an intense unwillingness to kill. Once his memories return, however, he reverts back to his ruthless Kira persona and remains that way until his death.
The degree of Light's hubris varies by adaption. In the manga, Japanese films and musical, Light is steadfast in his decisions as Kira and rarely expresses any doubt in his actions. In the anime, however, Light reflects upon his decisions and the life he could have taken as he tries to escape capture in critical condition. The drama and Netflix film adaptions sow even more seeds of doubt in Light's character as, in these continuities, he is far less confident, is hesitant to kill and considers turning himself in numerous times. Nevertheless, Light has consistently been portrayed as an idealist and an individual is willing to go to extreme measures in order to defend his idea of justice.

## TMNT X Pokemon

Light works with Shredder as he believe he could help him salvage the world from all evil criminals. Though he never uses the Death Note if necessary, Shredder will use it as a warning if anybody fails a mission.

## Trivia

* The name Yagami literally means "night god."

* Light is portrayed in a crucified-like position on the twelfth and final manga cover. This position is mimicked by Light during the second ending sequence in the anime and again when he is portrayed as a secret Nendoroid figure for the *Death Note Case File* merchandise line. This position connects to Light's desire to be a Messiah figure of the human race similar to the Christian Messiah, Jesus Christ.
* In the anime, certain characters take on stylized hair colors while the viewer hears their thoughts; Light's color is red.
* In *Death Note Relight 1: Visions of a God*, an unnamed Shinigami appears in the Shinigami Realm. This new Shinigami asks the others where the Rogue Shinigami named Ryuk is. Some members of the fanbase believe this unnamed Shinigami to be the reincarnation of Light Yagami (more information about this can be viewed on the Myths page or on the Light's Reincarnation Theory over at the Death Note Fanon Wiki).

* Light is one of the Death Note characters that were made into Nendoroidfigures. The Light Nendoroid comes with small Death Note and a pen which he holds and three faces: a laughing face, an angry face, and a normal face.

## Quotes

* “*I'm going to make the world know I'm here… that somebody is passing righteous judgement on them.*” (Chapter 1)
* “*I will reign over a new world.*” (Chapter 1)
* “*"I'll make you trust me. And when you've told me everything I need to know, I'll kill you.*” (Chapter 19)
* “*You can't ever win if you're always on the defensive, to win, you have to attack.*” (Chapter 20)
* *(To Ryuk, regarding the Death Note)* “*I've never considered finding that notebook and gaining that power a misfortune.*” (Chapter 22)
* “*This… is the first time that I actually want to punch a girl.*” (Chapter 31)
* “*I'm going to get more intimate with Misa and make her fall helplessly in love with me.*” (Chapter 32)
* “*The thing I hate the most is to trample on other people's good will.*” (Chapter 37)
* “*Exactly as planned.*” (Chapter 53)
* “*Follow the teachings of God and receive his blessings, and so it shall be that the seas again become bountiful.*” (Episode 1)
* “*I'll solve equations with my right hand and write names with my left. I'll take a potato chip… and eat it!*” (Episode 8)
* “*Under normal circumstances, humans should have continued to evolve as the greatest creatures upon this earth, but we were actually regressing. A rotten world. Politics, law, education… Was there anybody around who could correct this world? But someone had to do it.*” (Episode 37)
* “*I understood that killing people was a crime. There was no other way! The world had to be fixed! A purpose given to me! Only I could do it. Who else could have done it, and come this far? Would they have kept going? The only one… who can create a new world… is me.*” (Episode 37)