_PROS_

*Concept* - There is a notebook in which whosoever name you write will die. A very simple yet truly original concept. And such rich story they've managed to build on it, that at no point do you feel its been overstretched.

*The Anti-Hero* - At the end of first episode itself you are hit hard when you can't decide whether to root for the hero or not. And very soon its the protagonist's name you would most want to write in your death note.

*The Rivalry* - Its Kira v/s L. The mind boggling games these two play will have you stumped. At each point they are trying to outsmart the other, trying to think what the other is thinking and then think of a way to out-think him.

*The Twists* - The story in general is so tight and unpredictable. Personally, while watching anything, I've always had this problem of thinking too hard about the next turn in story and eventually ruining the surprise. Here though, there was no way I could have guessed the twists.

_CONS_

*None*

Death Note has taught me a couple of things.

There is no justice in the Death Note Universe, no good or bad, no villain or heroes, just people.

Justice itself is very subjective.

Remember this quote by Light?

“If we catch Kira, he is evil. If he wins and rules the world , the he is justice.”

This quote may not seem a lot but believe me this single quote is quite significant in the Death Note Universe.

First, What is Justice and Just?

An action is defined as Just when it is based on or behaving according to what’s morally right and fair.

Justice is the quality of being just; righteousness, equitableness, or moral rightness.

A person’s version of justice may differ based on their morality which is in turn dependent on their culture and social nurturing.

But that itself is the root of the problem with justice in death note. The common perception of justice is that it should be carried out in a cause and effect manner almost like natural law dealing out punishment or consequence comparable to the severity of the crime to those who deserve it in order to restore balance and moral righteousness.

This is a concept that is present throughout all kinds of media or fiction. Let’s see a few examples:

-Voldemort was always going to be defeated by Harry.

-Super Man will always prevail against his enemies.

-Power Rangers will ultimately prevail.

In short the good guys always win. This is where the beauty of Death Note lies:

They took this concept and turns it on it’s head with what it presents within the story. All the characters believe that righteousness will win in the end, that good will come out on top and that the morally wrong will lose in accordance to what most people believe or as i like to put it what they believe.

However, the problem is that the majority of the characters regardless of their allegiance believe this.

Take a look at Kira’s large supporters who praise his stance and then there is a collection of people like the Japanese Task Force who are on L’s side.

Now obviously there is no complete or objective standard for what is right, but when it comes to justice within society a common ground must be found ideally. For lack of better terms a mix of subjectivity and objectivity.

There is no chance of us humans unanimously agreeing on what true justice is due to how many variables there are behind it, but it is reasonable to expect some sort of inter subjective perception of it.

Yet in Death Note due to the emergence Kira the lines are drawn.

What is Justice?

Is it self determined retribution or as murder atrocious regardless of context?.

Is it wrong to kill or is it necessary ?

This where a divide lies and any compromise on what justice is in the story is impossible due to the people on either side of that divide. Justice as an ideological concept is concerned fairness and what is right. Most societies today have an untold inherent notion of inter-subjectivity, which means that to a certain extent traditional justice has an element of Absolution(Law).

When we talk about controversial things like Capital Punishment or other things then this element of absolution fades away and backs up the messages of Death Note.

The way we are brought up for generations with regards to morals there is a certain level of objectivity when it comes to what is just , but the minute something controversial arises sides are taken and Death Note has such a big divide that this perceived pseudo objectivity is rendered useless.

This means that Justice can’t be true for both sides because by this logic it must be absolute to an extent.

Due to how subjective justice is if justice exists for everybody it exists for nobody.

This means that one side has to be wrong in their opinion of what is Justice?

When we look at Death Note the idea of justice can divide people into such polar opposite ideals , yet no one is wrong , be it Kira, L , Near or Mello.

So does Justice exists in the Death Note Universe and Real Life?

Now coming Back to the original quote that Light had said:

What he means to say is that justice is claimed by the victors, it is obtained through victory but it does not lead to victory.

Let’s take a look at history itself. These books always claim that the Just side won but they only cite that because justice is grasped through winning. This can be captured by the countless wars we have fought and the historical events.

The greatest example of this would be the French Revolution. In the end it served no one justice yet people claim it was successful simply because they won.

Who was good? The protesters that caused chaos and storming of Bastille that eventually lead to a chain reaction throughout Europe? Or was it Louis the 16th who starved and looted his own people?

So by implying light’s note it is nothing but a joke in Death Note to justify his carnal instincts of murders.

Anyone who has read the Death Note One Shot knows this:

There is a scene where Near reflects on L having said the following:

“What drives him?”

To which L replies:

“It is not the sense of Justice. Figuring out difficult cases is my hobby. If you measured Good and Bad deeds by current Law, I would be responsible for many crimes. The same way you all like to solve mysteries or riddles, or clear video games levels quickly. For me too, it’s prolonging something I enjoy doing. That’s why i only take up cases that pique my interest. It’s not Justice at all. And if it means being able to clear a case I don’t play fair, I’m a dishonest cheating Human who hates Losing.”

L and Light are two figure heads , each representing justice for their respective sides.

Light through Kira seeks justice through punishment and retribution while L seeks to capture Kira. Both have their critics as well as their defenders based on what these people view as justice, but the problem is justice has become farce for these 2 men as well. Both probably had Justice in their mind when they took on their roles but what was at first an ideological and moral battle for what was right and what was wrong soon became a battle of pride with each man wanting to be the winner than anything else.

And this where the larger picture pertains.

There is no heaven or hell in the Death Note Universe, no matter what you do when you are alive everyone goes to the same place once you die. Death is Equal to all.

This is not me making it up, this is an actual rule in the Death Note Universe.

Now how is this significant to Death Note Universe and Justice ?

When you die and go to MU(Nothingness) no matter what you do weather good or bad it makes the concept of evil and good seem like fallacies and no matter what each person’s views on the subject are the writers seem to indicate that Light was in some ways corrupted by the power of the Death Note rather than being as sadistic as he was from the start and this holds great meaning as this downplays the whole notion of people being inherently evil. he author always said that Right and wrong would not be a part of Death Note.

There is no Justice, no retribution, no heroes and no villains, no absolute good or absolute evil, just people shaped by circumstances and harboring what are considered to be good and bad traits, to a differing extent.

Society is not bettered by moral rightness , it is bettered by efficient analysis and correction of it’s flaws and fighting against so called evil for the sake of principles is nothing but a fruitless task or nothing but a way to mask ulterior and carnal motives.

Light being caught by Near towards the end promotes the idea of justice but i disagree. Yes that serial killer had to be caught and this had to be done but did justice prevail? Were Kira’s pursuers convinced they were doing the right thing? was balance really restored? Does anything change for good?

In the final episode when Light is caught by Near there was no talk of justice or righteousness , it was all about winning and losing and this the best way to know what Death Note tries to tell it’s viewers:

When One side wins they rationalize it with talk of justice, but justice doesn’t exist.

Light wasn’t defeated because he was morally wrong, he was defeated because he made a mistake.

Those opposing him may say justice prevailed but it’s only because they won, and thus their idealistic needs were satisfied.

This is Death Note’s take on justice and personally mine too.

So what is good?

It’s up to you to decide.

What is Justice?

Whatever you want it to be.

Not Dead Yet...