7 Personality Facts about Light Yagami from Death Note

Are you a Death Note fan? If yes, Light Yagami may be one of your favorite characters from this blockbuster anime show. Being the main protagonist, it’s no wonder that he has a lot of hold in the minds of the audience. But is that in a good way or a bad way? A lot of credit goes to his multi-dimensional personality. So let’s go through all the traits.

1. He is a genius at planning and problem solving

Light Yagami's problem-solving skills are evident throughout the show. Not only is he good at planning, but also visualizes different scenarios for a specific situation. Moreover, you can see how popular he is among his family members and class fellows for his intelligence.

He gets praised by adults a lot, which knocks a sense of pride into him. And it’s also one of the main reasons that he is so confident about experimenting with the notebook called ‘Death Note’, once he finds it lying within the campus premises.

2. He has a God Complex

Light Yagami wants to make the world a better place and that sounds good, right? But he pushes himself to the point where he wants to become God by getting rid of all the bad people in the world. He has an air of responsibility which leads him to believe he should set out to eliminate all evil people in the world. It’s this trait of his that is further triggered by the Death Note. And that leads us to another point.

3. He sticks to his inner values but lacks true empathy

Although Light Yagami wants to finish evil from the world, his method to do so is unethical. He prefers to kill bad people rather than handing them over to the supposedly flawed justice system. It’s pretty clear that Light is guided by his inner values and what he feels about the growing wickedness of the world. But again, it’s his God complex that makes him crave power over empathy.

4.  He loves and protects his family

Regardless of his God complex, Light takes up the role of a ‘superhero’ and puts his family’s life in danger too. We can see that he has become cold because of being obsessed with his goals. But despite that, he continues to protect his family. He shows them love and even risks losing the Death Note to Mello, so he could save his sister Sayu from the kidnappers. But…

5.  He is also a narcissist

While he did have love for his family, his character turns around after coming across Death Note. He slowly falls for narcissism, only thinking of himself and rarely considering anybody else. So loving others becomes out of the question once he learns about the powers of the Death Note.

And there’s proof of his lust for power and lack of empathy. At one stage, he decides to almost kill his sister, Sayu. While he doesn’t put that plan to action, he turns into a mass murderer in the following episode. And in that massacre, he kills his father too.

6.  He is manipulative and controlling

The relationship between Light and Misa is another example of narcissism. Narcissists try to control everyone for their benefit. They use fake emotions to manipulate people and sadly, Misa falls for this trap by Light Yagami. 

Misa even tries making Light happy at one point by wearing lingerie as a surprise. But clearly enough, Light isn’t interested in connecting with her. He only keeps her around to elevate his power. Misa becomes used to this dynamic and after Light dies, she senses deep depression and ends up killing herself.

7.  He reflects on his actions and shows remorse

Light Yagami's character comes with diverse traits indeed. Although he becomes attached to his goals with the Death Note, he shows remorse at one point too. Right before he dies, he begins to wonder how things would have played out differently. How would his life be had he not picked up the Death Note? He understands his idealism to save the world but feels remorseful over his actions and the flawed idea of empathy.

So, what do you think about Light Yagami? Which traits do you find good and bad? And what do you think would have happened if he hadn’t taken the Death Note seriously? Let us know in the comments!

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