Here are my ten favourite tricks in Death Note. These are in chronological order of appearance in the series. Spoilers ahead.
1. Determining Kira’s Location
Performer: L
This was the pivotal scene where L outsmarts Kira in the beginning, when the broadcast is aired to the “world” (it was only aired in the Kanto region of Japan). From this scene, L gains three valuable pieces of information. One, that Kira exists. Two, that Kira can kill without being there in person but cannot kill under other circumstances. Three, that Kira is in the Kanto region.
2. False-Bottomed Drawer
Performer: Light
Light came up with an ingenious way of hiding the Death Note. If an intruder tried to ransack the drawer in his room, the Death Note would go up in flames.
3. Fake Name
Performer: Naomi
Naomi manages to dupe Light by giving him a fake name. He is unable to kill her at first because of this, and Ryuk finds it very amusing.
4. Checking the Door
Performer: Light
Light suspects that there are video cameras in his room and around the house because of two reasons. One, he placed a piece of lead at the door and it broke. Two, he tilted the door handle at a certain angle. The intruder put the door handle back to the angle he left it, which could not have been done by a family member (it’s too careful, a family member would have put the handle to its normal position).
5. Writing in a Blind Spot
Performer: Light
This is one of the best scenes in Death Note, where Light takes a potato chip and eats it! He dupes L and the police on the taskforce by appearing to be studying in front of the video cameras, when he is actually writing down names and listening to the news hidden in the potato chip bag.
This scene is unforgettable because of its intense music and emotions. The cinematography of the animation is brilliant. It also shows us again how intelligent Light is, and what a great character he is.
6. Profiling with Tennis
Performer: L
The tennis match between Light and L was really fun to watch. It was interesting because at this point in the anime, L already revealed to Light that he was L and that he suspected Light to be Kira. Both are super competitive so there was that dynamic present as well.
7. Memory Control
Performers: Light, Misa
Both Light and Misa gave up their Death Notes, which resulted in them losing their memories of the Death Note. This helped them later on when they were interrogated by Soichiro and L.
8. Fake Sakura TV Show
Performer: Matsuda
Matsuda plays a key role in the series, especially in his involvement with Higuchi. The fake Sakura TV show brought forth Higuchi’s death as one of the Kiras.
9. The Fake Notebook
Performer: Mikami
Mikami made a duplicate Death Note, which was a replica of the real Death Note. This was done to fool Near because he knew that he was being watched.
10. Switching the Notebook
Performer: Gevanni
Gevanni, who works with Near, broke into the locker where Mikami hid the real Death Note. Gevanni switched the real Death Note with a copy he made, which ultimately brought down Light’s downfall. Gevanni is a heavily underrated character, in my opinion.
There are almost 90 tricks in the series! You can see why Death Note is such a great anime, and why it’s one of my top three anime. What were your favourite tricks in Death Note? Thanks for reading.
Wretched and Divine 