Death Note: Did Light Yagami Become a Shinigami?
Death Note is one of the most interesting thrillers that every single otaku came across once in his life. It is one of the most popular series, which is famous for its extremely smart characters. One such character is its protagonist named Light Yagami who is also known as Kira. He found a Death Note and hence was capable of seeing a Shinigami.
According to many fans, Light’s life came full circle and he became a Shinigami himself. So, is this theory true? Did Light Yagami become a Shinigami by the end of the Death Note series? Keep on reading to know the answers.
What is Death Note About?
Before we dig deeper into the theory, let’s start with the details of the series. Death Note is a psychological anime series that follows Light Yagami. He is a genius but was bored with his monotonous life. That is until he finds a notebook named Death Note and encounters its owner Ryuk, the Shinigami. Ryuk explains the power of the Death Note to Light, by which he can kill anybody in any possible way after writing their name and visualizing their face.
Starting as a boy who wants a peaceful world, Light was overwhelmed by the authority he gained over the world through Death Note. This turns him into an arrogant, egoistic, and self-proclaimed God.
Though this chaos turns into a big mind game when an FBI agent named L was introduced. He solved almost every mystery of Kira and even managed to find out his real identity.
The story is a masterpiece anime and even considered the best anime in the world. The characters, conflicts, strategies & mind-blowing psychological twists and turns in each episode are bliss to watch.
Who is Light & Kira?
Light Yagami is the main character of the Death Note series. He is the one who found the Death Note after it was dropped by Ryuk. When Light got to know about the strange powers of the notebook, he decided to use it to end the criminals and evil among society by killing them.
Light Yagami changed his name to Kira and became a mysterious killer who wanted to create a peaceful world. He used the Death Note along with continuing his normal life to fool the investigation agencies and government. His main objective was not to make a name for himself but to establish fear among criminals to suppress the upcoming & rising crimes.
The fear of Kira spread successfully and he managed to keep his original identity hidden, and also joined the police department to stay close to the operations which were schemed against Kira.
Did Light Yagami Become A Shinigami?
When Light’s plan to kill Near crumbled, and Near’s plan to drive Light or Kira to the corner was successfully executed, Light turned hysterical and confessed everything in overconfidence. But ultimately Light failed against Near and lost his life.
It was Ryuk who wrote Light’s name in the book to end the story. The OVA of Death Note Relight 1: Visions of God featured an unnamed shinigami. Unlike other Shinigami, who have made their appearance in the series, their names were also revealed in the canon manga’s extra chapter.
So, according to the theories, this Shinigami was none other than Light Yagami. It was said to be his reincarnation because it resembled him very much, but there was no official confirmation of it. The Shinigami also resembles Ryuk in nature, who is bored and wants to amuse himself in the human realm in the same way Ryuk did.
For this purpose, he finds Ryuk, & Ryuk narrates to him the whole incident and suggests finding a suitable man for himself if he wants to do the same.
It is possible that he might’ve lost his memories after being reincarnated. But, if fans remember the user can forget about the Death Note and incidents that followed it, if the ownership is changed. So, it is possible that he forgets about the previous Death Note after getting his own, & his slight sociopath & arrogant nature followed him, which is now inspiring him to plan the chaos again.
In the Death Note’s spin-off novel Death Note: Our Truth, which takes place 9 years after Light’s death, the unnamed Shinigmami appeared again. He made an appearance in the Justice arc & Truth arc and was named Raght in the novel.
He is the one who manipulates Ryuk many times in the novel to please himself and he also plans to give an extra Death Note to someone on the earth just like Ryuk did.
The doubt of fans became much more logical after his name reveal which sounds quite similar to Light, and also his slick obsession with the Light’s & Ryuk’s actions on the Earth.
In conclusion, the possibility of Light being a Shinigami is very high. Though, we can probably expect another mind & death game as a sequel and expect the unnamed Shinigami to return and follow in the footsteps of Ryuk. If this happens, then all the mysteries will be answered.
