Ok, I've been watching Death Note for a little while now. ( Just finished ep 30.) For those who haven't seen it I wont talk about the details as much as possible to prevent spoilage.

So my question/the topic I want to discuss is this.

What is your opinion on Kira's actions and his methods? Also what is your opinion of him over all?

My thoughts are this. IMHO Killing is wrong regardless of its purpose. Like for punishment for example. For those who have been killed in RL by the death penalty. Justice may have brought for whatever crime they have committed, but what does it accomplish? I feel nothing. Its glorfied/legalized revenge in my book. Plain and simple. Also those who are on death row or have already met their end who were actually innocent, are being murdered. I mean there is the chance of a pardon and other things changing ones fate. but how often does that happen?

But enough of that ranting. I can see the good behind Kira's actions. He wants a world where people dont have fear of being robbed, raped, murdered, etc. Where people are good not only to themselves but others as well. But by doing what he does he makes himself no better than those who he passes judgement upon. Also not all of his victims were criminal. He has also manipulated/killed others for his benefit which I feel truly portrays him as an evil person.

My opinion of Kira in general is as follows: Kira has a noble pupose in what he does. He is extremely brilliant and does not waste his knowledge/abilities. I honestly contantly find myself torn between whether I support him or not. I guess you could call it rooting for the bad guy.

All in all Death Note is a great Anime and for those who haven't seen it, you should. You might just like it. The story is great and always has you guessing. I also like how they portray the main character of the series.

Sorry for making you read all that please feel free to share how you feel about it. This is an open discussion but please keep it clean and civilized. Thanks!

(Warning my spelling/grammer can be terrible at times. My apologies.)

The story is amazin ....

I think Kira 'is a disturbing phenomenon reflecting the darker side of humanity cloaked under the deception of justice.'

Anywayz I love both L and Light n letz not forget Near ...

Light is really clever his abilities 'could' have been used in a good way however he chose the evil side himself.... He killed L which I will never forgive him for lol *I'm a big L fan * lol

Some see Light as smart but immature kid with a childish sense of justice.

Then again some think that Kira is truly Justice ....

Light wants to create a utopia ... he plans on doing this by killing of the criminals....
hmm.. living in fear = utopia? I don't think soo....

At first I thought that Light wasn't doing anything wrong until he killed of innocent peopel such as ray penbar ................

At the beginnin I felt the same way Draconis112 ....I didn't really know what to think *such a great anime/manga* But I decided after he started to go slightly *mad* that he wasn't doing the right thing...

Light is great though so is L

I was beginning to think this thread was gonna be dead... lol Thanks for sharing your thoughts! You really put into words about Light what I was thinking. I also agree that L is great as well. I like near too but sometimes it seems he may have a bit of a dark side as well.

Also your statement :
I think Kira 'is a disturbing phenomenon reflecting the darker side of humanity cloaked under the deception of justice

is very true as well. I personally believe that humanity has a darker side than we are willing to admit/believe.

Once again thanks for sharing your insight on the matter.

I've read the manga, watched the live action movies, but have only gotten to about episode 13 of the anime. ><

It's easy to say that what Raito was doing as Kira was wrong (note: I regard Raito and "Kira" as two separate personalities), but that doesn't change the fact that he was very successful in lowering crime rates.

You have to think about the victims of the criminals that Kira killed. Like for Misa, Kira was achieved something that "human justice" could not (I won't bother going into her God-worship of him). It's a relief to know that that person won't be there to commit the crime again. Good people feel safer knowing that punishment will be handed out to those who break the rules. And people will be less likely to commit a crime (murder, assault, robbery, etc.) knowing that they could very well die from it; with the severity of the punishment, it's even less likely that someone would attempt to commit a crime. (It's is my opinion, however, that death is a rather extreme penalty for crimes that did not/ does not result in death of the victim).

The fault with Kira is that he is human... a fact that he can no longer see after finding himself with a power of a God and worshiped as such. He got too caught up in the power and keeping the power, that in the games with L, Near, Mello, etc., he lost sight of the goal that he started out with -- creating a world where justice prevails -- and he only saw himself as the ruler of his utopia, the ultimate judge with the power of death.

My opinion of Raito is that he's an ambitious and intelligent individual who's far too narrow-minded to see that he's become the very person who he'd strived (before receiving the DN) to defeat.

In thinking about Raito and "Kira", I'm reminded of a quote:
"The road to hell is paved with good intentions".

Hmm.. Your words hold truth and wisdom... The reason for your lack of feelings towards society's justice system is because justice does not exist... Bringing a matter into justice through their "rightful" judgement does not change the past nor does it bring back those who are lost...

His actions - or any for that matter - cannot be considered good or evil... The world Kira wishes for according to you..cannot be attained in reality...without fear, courage cannot exist..without hate, "love" cannot exist if it ever did... As for Kira's murder of what you may call innocent people... all purpose demands a sacrifice...just as all action has consequences... Some must be sacrificed for a purpose...that is all there is to it..

Kira..or Light... he is a rare individual who barely exists in the growing society in the world... Light knows the Truth about the world and those who exist in it... Furthermore, he understands the inevitable outcome of the world due to the course it partakes now and is determined to restore the world anew...