Death Note is one of the world's greatest manga series in many people's eyes. It told the story of a boy named Light who changed the world with a notebook that can kill. Throughout the story, Light went from being someone who wanted justice against criminals to a psychotic mass murderer who wanted to rule the world, known as Kira.
Light is one of the most interesting characters in the series. However, there are a lot of things that his fans may not know about him, such as how his character changed in other adaptations and how he may have killed a character in the franchise that most fans do not even know about.
10 His Birth
Light was born on February 28, 1986. Tsugumi Ohba, the writer of the series, planned the character's intelligence and youth from the very beginning. Takeshi Obata, the artist of Death Note, was able to decide what Light would look like all for himself. It did not take long for him to decide what Light's appearance would be as the description he was given, "A brilliant honors student who's a little out there.", gave him the idea right away. Light would end up being one of Obata's favorite characters to draw. He was not in the Pilot chapter, replacing the main character, Taro, in the main series.
9 He Was Torn
Most fans often forget that when he first found the Death Note, he was actually torn about the notebook's powers. At first he thought that it was a joke, similar to a chain letter.
He first used it in order to save a group of hostages, unsure if it would actually work. After killing that man and one other, he realized that the Death Note was real and was torn about whether or not to use it. Eventually, he decided that he was the only person worthy of making the world a better place in his eyes, even though he had considered not using it.
8 He Didn't Go To Heaven Nor Hell
When Light died, he didn't go to Heaven nor Hell. Ohba had planned from the beginning that there was nothing beyond death. However, according to one fan theory, Light ended up in the Shinigami Realm. In Death Note Relight 1: Visions of a God, a film that retells the events of the anime series, a Shinigami asks Ryuk about what happened when he dropped his notebook and went to Earth. Fans believe that the Shinigami is actually Light due to his appearance and his desire to go to the Human World.
7 L Beat Light
One of the most important moments in the series is when Light killed L. He put Misa in danger so Rem would save her by writing L's name in her notebook. In nearly every adaptation, Light defeats L. However, there is a story called L: Change the WorLd, L wrote his name into the Death Note so he would have enough time to catch Light before dying. Not even Kira could see that kill coming.
6 He May Have Killed One Of L's Greatest Enemies
In the prequel novel, Death Note: Another Note: The Los Angeles BB Murder Cases, L met Naomi Misora. The two of them teamed up in order to stop a murderer that came from Wammy's House, Beyond Birthday. Before Near took over as the next L, BB was supposed to take L's place. However, he decided that he would rather be L's enemy than his successor. Born with the Shinigami Eyes, BB found people to kill at the exact moment they were destined to die. The novel ends with BB dying in jail due to a heart attack. As he was a criminal and died from the death note's most common way to kill, many readers believe that Light murdered BB.
5 He Was In Death Parade
Madhouse, the studio that made the anime adaptation of Death Note, worked on another series called Death Parade. Though it hasn't been confirmed, many fans believe that Light had a cameo in the series. A man that looked just like Light was briefly shown and one of the characters had to choose whether to kill him or someone else. Nobody knows what happened to him, but due to Light not being able to go to Heaven nor Hell, he would be one of the few people in the world who wouldn't suffer from dying. He would simply stop existing.
4 He Was Also In Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid
Light has also appeared in an anime that does not have the word "death" in the title. In Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid, multiple characters from Death Note can be seen in the sixth episode, "Edge of Heaven".
L and Misa are also in this cameo. Even though the art style is a little different, fans could clearly tell that some of their favorite anime characters appeared in the third Full Metal Panic! anime.
3 The Death Note Ruined His Life
Ohba has stated that Light's life was ruined when he picked up the Death Note. If he had never touched it, he probably would have turned out to be very similar to both his father and L. When Ryuk met him, he even told Light that he will suffer in ways nobody else could imagine. It is no wonder that he turned into the greatest killer in history and his own worst enemy.
2 Other Adaptations
Light is a very different character in some of the other adaptations of the franchise. In the film series, he had a girlfriend named Shiori, who had a very important role in the first film's plot. In the live-action drama, he is a lot more emotional than he is in the manga and anime. The biggest change of all, however, was the version of Light from the Netflix film. Light Turner is an emo teen that does not share Light Yagami's genius mind. He kills people in a much more gruesome fashion. Most fans did not enjoy this adaptation of Light and like him in the manga a lot more.
1 His Deathdate
Light died on January 28, 2010. As Ryuk told him when they first met, he would end up writing Light's name in his Death Note. Obata has stated that Light's death was one of the most difficult things that had to draw in the entire series. Even after he died, his followers still worshipped him and he fulfilled his goal of being a God to those people.