Death Note has a place among the best anime masterpieces for many reasons, including the incredible battles of wits found in this anime. These are indeed battles because for every instance where Light Yagami triumphs over the FBI or L, he also has a close call due to either his own fumbles or L’s own genius. Before his eventual downfall in that warehouse, Light had a number of close brushes with capture or worse, and he never forgot it.
Light never started to doubt himself or his mission to enforce justice as Kira due to these near-disasters, though these experiences did rattle him. Several times in Death Note‘s story, Light was humbled and forced to accept the fact that he’s not the only cunning schemer in the room, and he must not take L, Mello, or Near too lightly. Most critically, Light’s close shaves with defeat led to some of Death Note‘s coolest plot twists of all, such as the arrival of new allies for Light or new tactics on his enemies’ part.
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Raye Penber Was Assigned to Investigate Light
Light Had Faith Light Was Innocent, However
What’s funny about Light Yagami the anime genius is that he often acted more than he needed to, and thus made himself more exposed to L than necessary. One early example was when L sent in the FBI to look into the Kira case suspects, with detective Raye Penber being assigned to look into the Yagami family, most of all Light himself. Raye spent some time shadowing Light, but just when Raye concluded Light was innocent, Light acted.
Without truly needing to, Light concocted a brilliant ploy involving a staged busjacking to force Raye’s hand. Light did what he wanted by getting Raye’s name and thus controlling him in the next sequence, but it also made Light stand out that much more. This directly led to Light being a target in Naomi Misora’s eyes, with the busjacking being too convenient in her eyes.
Naomi Misora Almost Zeroed in on Light as Kira
Light Had to Act Fast to Escape His Doom
Light’s near-capture at this phase of Death Note‘s story was a two-part affair, with Light’s busjacking antics being the first step. Light drew too much attention to himself with the busjacking and the subsequent killing of Raye Penber and the other FBI agents, so naturally, Naomi Misora took note. She was heartbroken about her fiance’s shocking death, but she had no time to grieve, not when she had investigative skills of her own.
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On New Year’s Day, Light ran across Naomi by sheer chance, just when Naomi felt confident about presenting her findings to the Japanese police. Light realized the trouble he was in, and used every trick he had to keep Naomi away from the police HQ at all costs. That was when Light got Naomi’s name and wrote it in the Death Note, but not before Naomi’s fake name nearly undid Light’s desperate plans. Light took Naomi too lightly, not realizing someone in her position would of course use a false name to keep Kira at bay.
Light Found Cameras and Bugs in His Room
Light Ate Potato Chips to Evade Capture
Being a stubborn investigator who hates to lose, just like the popular genius Light Yagami, L took things a step further with the hidden cameras and bugs in both the Yagami and Kitamura households after Naomi Misora’s demise. Light could have easily blundered into this trap and given himself away as Kira with the Death Note’s usage in his bedroom, but he had a trick to narrowly escape that fate.
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Light had already set up subtle traps on his bedroom door to know whether anyone had been in there, and even to determine whether the intruder was a savvy detective or not. The evidence pointed toward a skilled cop’s intrusion, so Light immediately and correctly assumed the room was being watched. Only with Ryuk’s aid did Light find the cameras’ positions to make sure he could sneakily kill criminals and have L see it a certain way.
Light Turned Himself In After Misa’s Sudden Capture
Light Spent Weeks in Confinement Alongside Misa
The biggest near-capture for Light by far was the time when his lovestruck ally Misa Amane got herself captured on suspicion of being the second Kira. To Light’s shock and dismay, L swiped Misa’s phone to cut off her connection to Light, then informed Light of Misa’s arrest. Right after that, Rem pressured Light to save Misa at any cost, so Light decided to evade capture by actually getting captured, but on his terms.
Light devised his most ingenious plan in all of Death Note, setting up all kinds of things before handing himself over to L’s investigation team. Light’s acting ensured he was accepted as a guilt-ridden civilian rather than as Kira himself, and then the confinement began. For a time, L was certain Light and Misa were guilty, only for Light’s plan to get into motion and “prove” his innocence wonce Kyosuke Higuchi began his own Kira rampage.
L Figured Out How the Death Note Worked
L Pieced Together Light’s Potato Chip Trick in Particular
After Higuchi’s capture and sudden demise, Light made sure Misa started acting as Kira again to get L’s attention. It was a risky ploy, since there was no guarantee Rem, the supernatural monster, would react as intended, but Light’s gambit paid off. As a Shinigami with protective feelings, Rem wrote down L’s and Watari’s names to protect Misa, all while L was this close to deciding that yes, Light really is Kira.
That’s because, while he had Higuchi’s notebook to toy around with, L figured out quite a bit. Even with Rem being told not to give away too much, L was making serious headway toward realizing Light had always been the notebook-using Kira. In particular, L concluded Light could have used his potato chip bag to hide pieces of the notebook, a realization that may have brought L within a hair of arresting Light as Kira all over again.
Mello Pressured Soichiro Into Revealing the New L
Matsuda Took the Fall to Protect Light
Some of Light’s close calls were only in the excellent Death Note manga, which the anime adaptation glossed over. For example, after Mello got his hands on the notebook in the manga, he started using its powers to apply leverage to Light’s new investigation team. Mello mainly did this with threatening phone calls to Soichiro himself, including a demand to hear the new L’s name.
Light knew that Mello knew the current Kira was an imposter, and Soichiro had no way out of it, not with Sayu’s life being threatened. Light might have been doomed, or he might have escaped at the cost of Sayu’s life, only for Matsuda to help. Not for the first time, Matsuda clumsily yet effectively changed the course of events with a reckless act no one saw coming. Matsuda volunteered his own name as the new L’s identity, and fortunately, both Light and Matsuda got away with fooling Mello like that.
Aizawa Started Investigating Light After the New York City Debacle
Misa Almost Became Light’s Biggest Liability
Light already had his hands full with fighting Mello and Near, but things got much worse when Aizawa practically betrayed him. Light failed to corner and kill Near’s SPK team in New York City, which left Light terribly vulnerable. It was increasingly clear that Light Yagami, L, and Kira were all the same person, with Near and Aizawa each figuring out certain pieces of this puzzle. Near had his strong suspicions and theories, and then Aizawa piled on.
To Light’s dismay, but perhaps not his surprise, Aizawa declared his intent to investigate Light all over again, with Mogi gladly helping him. In fact, if Light hadn’t acted fast, he would have been busted once Aizawa and Mogi investigated Misa next. Just in time, Light had ordered Misa to give up her notebook ownership and all evidence of her Kira career. This meant Aizawa and Mogi came to a frustrating dead end once a memory-deprived Misa greeted them at her front door.
