So I was a big fan of Death Note when it came out. Obata’s art style is just fantastic (huge fan of Hikaru no Go as well), and the premise is edgy and intriguing— with characters and plot also capturing the imagination.
That said Death Note always felt a bit hollow and in retrospect it’s pretty clear why—
Despite a morality-packed premise—killing for the sake of making a better world— the story is almost amoral; it doesn’t delve into or consider moral questions at all. Light feels guilty and throws up a couple times in episode 1. L makes a few highly postured “naughty naughty” declarations a couple times but is no philosopher or moral anchor in the story— the story treats their conflict as a game, and L acts more interested in playing than justice. The story becomes entirely one of strategy and nothing of moral conflict— there almost is no good and evil in the story.
And the world doesn’t change or care either— because why would it? Light is only killing “criminals,” and then only poor/working class/regular people at that. No one of consequence to the governance of society or business. The governments of the world stop caring, the police don’t care, and the anti-Kira task force runs out of resources— no one cares because, why would they? Leaders don’t care in real life either— we the readers following all this with 100% knowledge of Kira also stop caring at all about the morality of any people in the story dying.
But I think Death Note ending up morally vapid is entirely Light Yagami’s fault; because Light is such a right winger— he’s the privileged son of a police chief that aspires to be a police chief, who shows great reaction of disgust against imperfect people; you just know he’d be the kind to internal monologue the word “degenerate” a LOT if he were an English speaker. And just like any reactionary hog, give him power and first thing he thinks of is to kill criminals and degenerates, go fascist, and create a monarchy.
And L, just like any centrist, status quo liberal, doesn’t really act like a foil to Light’s fascism, isn’t a challenge to its moral premise— if anything the story mostly draws more and more on how similar the two are; and indeed the differences are almost superficial.
So that got me thinking— what if Light had been different? What if he hadn’t been a reactionary right winger?
Like what would have happened if the Death Note had landed at Huey Freeman’s feet?
Black Nationalist, self-described Radical Leftist— and like Light, a calculating, brilliant youth with both incredible practical intellect and deep convictions in his view of morality.
Huey’s enemies are entirely different from Light’s— they are elites, they are world leaders, leaders of enterprise, systems of oppression and historical racism— and in terms of individuals are people for whom it is literally impossible to hide their names or faces.
Do we think that the Death Note affects Huey?
Does having that power at his finger tips bend him— to use it?
Or maybe Huey doesn’t even hesitate to use it.
What kind of story do you think it becomes?
If Huey does decide to use the Death Note and become Kira, what’s his strategy? Who does he use it on? How? Timing?
How does the world or story of Death Note change with Huey as Kira?
How do the people of the world react to potentially countless corporate executives, world leaders/politicians, and financial tycoons dropping to heart attacks (or whatever means Kira ends up using)?
Do you think it would become literature with more interesting moral questions than the original?
My guess is yes— because socially we’re trained to de-humanize the kinds of people Light killed, but strangely humanize the people Huey would go after even if objectively they’re responsible for much more death or human suffering; so my guess is questions of ethics systems pop up immediately.
The other thing about the original Desth Note is that despite it (and Boondocks) happening in pretty much a parallel version of the real world, Death Note doesn’t use history at all. It really doesn’t need to for its premise, and like other Right Wingers Light really doesn’t think about/care about history, and like some crazed edge lord Sam Harris, Light makes his moral judgements of people and the world devoid of consideration for context and history.
Meanwhile Huey is the exact opposite. By the nature of who he considers enemies and how he views the world, real people of real context, and analysis of the world’s history would immediately be forced to the center of the story; and whether readers agree or disagree with Huey’s analysis of systems and history with it—
—nah but realistically if this was actually a published story, 99% of readers reading the protag’s internal monologues would probably be learning most of the history written for the first time.
One thing’s for certain I think L would have a LOOOOOT more men, resources, and support from the world’s governments. At least initially; maybe they lose and Huey breaks their nerve and breaks them to bits. People in power so vulnerable and so terrified for their lives that they’re groveling for Kira’s mercy.
Hard to say!
Do you think they would get Kira/Huey?
Opening the floor to speculation.
Edit: Rounding this premise out and make it fair to Huey, let’s make him the same age as Light when he gets the Death Note. Since Light was 17 when he got it, and Huey was born in 1998–
Our story starts in 2015– let’s say it’s January 2015 when Huey gets the book.
Or feel free to speculate on if it was more modern. In 2024, Huey would be 26.
That said Death Note always felt a bit hollow and in retrospect it’s pretty clear why—
Despite a morality-packed premise—killing for the sake of making a better world— the story is almost amoral; it doesn’t delve into or consider moral questions at all. Light feels guilty and throws up a couple times in episode 1. L makes a few highly postured “naughty naughty” declarations a couple times but is no philosopher or moral anchor in the story— the story treats their conflict as a game, and L acts more interested in playing than justice. The story becomes entirely one of strategy and nothing of moral conflict— there almost is no good and evil in the story.
And the world doesn’t change or care either— because why would it? Light is only killing “criminals,” and then only poor/working class/regular people at that. No one of consequence to the governance of society or business. The governments of the world stop caring, the police don’t care, and the anti-Kira task force runs out of resources— no one cares because, why would they? Leaders don’t care in real life either— we the readers following all this with 100% knowledge of Kira also stop caring at all about the morality of any people in the story dying.
But I think Death Note ending up morally vapid is entirely Light Yagami’s fault; because Light is such a right winger— he’s the privileged son of a police chief that aspires to be a police chief, who shows great reaction of disgust against imperfect people; you just know he’d be the kind to internal monologue the word “degenerate” a LOT if he were an English speaker. And just like any reactionary hog, give him power and first thing he thinks of is to kill criminals and degenerates, go fascist, and create a monarchy.
And L, just like any centrist, status quo liberal, doesn’t really act like a foil to Light’s fascism, isn’t a challenge to its moral premise— if anything the story mostly draws more and more on how similar the two are; and indeed the differences are almost superficial.
So that got me thinking— what if Light had been different? What if he hadn’t been a reactionary right winger?
Like what would have happened if the Death Note had landed at Huey Freeman’s feet?
Black Nationalist, self-described Radical Leftist— and like Light, a calculating, brilliant youth with both incredible practical intellect and deep convictions in his view of morality.
Huey’s enemies are entirely different from Light’s— they are elites, they are world leaders, leaders of enterprise, systems of oppression and historical racism— and in terms of individuals are people for whom it is literally impossible to hide their names or faces.
Do we think that the Death Note affects Huey?
Does having that power at his finger tips bend him— to use it?
Or maybe Huey doesn’t even hesitate to use it.
What kind of story do you think it becomes?
If Huey does decide to use the Death Note and become Kira, what’s his strategy? Who does he use it on? How? Timing?
How does the world or story of Death Note change with Huey as Kira?
How do the people of the world react to potentially countless corporate executives, world leaders/politicians, and financial tycoons dropping to heart attacks (or whatever means Kira ends up using)?
Do you think it would become literature with more interesting moral questions than the original?
My guess is yes— because socially we’re trained to de-humanize the kinds of people Light killed, but strangely humanize the people Huey would go after even if objectively they’re responsible for much more death or human suffering; so my guess is questions of ethics systems pop up immediately.
The other thing about the original Desth Note is that despite it (and Boondocks) happening in pretty much a parallel version of the real world, Death Note doesn’t use history at all. It really doesn’t need to for its premise, and like other Right Wingers Light really doesn’t think about/care about history, and like some crazed edge lord Sam Harris, Light makes his moral judgements of people and the world devoid of consideration for context and history.
Meanwhile Huey is the exact opposite. By the nature of who he considers enemies and how he views the world, real people of real context, and analysis of the world’s history would immediately be forced to the center of the story; and whether readers agree or disagree with Huey’s analysis of systems and history with it—
—nah but realistically if this was actually a published story, 99% of readers reading the protag’s internal monologues would probably be learning most of the history written for the first time.
One thing’s for certain I think L would have a LOOOOOT more men, resources, and support from the world’s governments. At least initially; maybe they lose and Huey breaks their nerve and breaks them to bits. People in power so vulnerable and so terrified for their lives that they’re groveling for Kira’s mercy.
Hard to say!
Do you think they would get Kira/Huey?
Opening the floor to speculation.
Edit: Rounding this premise out and make it fair to Huey, let’s make him the same age as Light when he gets the Death Note. Since Light was 17 when he got it, and Huey was born in 1998–
Our story starts in 2015– let’s say it’s January 2015 when Huey gets the book.
Or feel free to speculate on if it was more modern. In 2024, Huey would be 26.
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