"To put it coldly, he misunderstands everything."

adult. death note blog. i mostly mikamipost.

[mars-ia]

for posterity

[kiranatrix]

As much as I love the anime for Death Note, I will always feel it did a disservice to the story by moving Christianity references from aesthetic, mythological, and integrated with other religious concepts (as in the manga and official art) to more literally referential and exclusive. This leads to Western viewers seeing more direct parallels with Christianity’s concepts of god, afterlife, morality, etc than what the manga portrayed— for example, thinking that Light wanted to be that kind of god, that Heaven/Hell existed, or that the foot rub scene was meant to evoke Jesus or Judas’ betrayal. Part of this is the Western gaze that is used to seeing biblical subtext in media and perhaps the limited exposure to other religious mythology, but watching the anime, I can hardly blame people for seeing those parallels.

But it’s a mischaracterization of the Death Note manga which did not mention Christian concepts (other than Ryuk saying there is no Heaven or Hell), and did bring in other religious ideology like Zen Buddhism (the concept of Mu, the number of chapters, etc), Japanese folklore (shinigami), and the Shinto concept of god(s). Kami, the word Mikami and others use for Light/Kira, does not invoke the idea of a single omnipotent, omnipresent, unerring god of Christianity. It refers to the many gods in Shintoism which can include aspects of nature, ancestors, spirits, or concepts. Emperors or great leaders often become kami in Shintoism, which sets up the context for Light’s declaration that he will become god of a new world. He is not proclaiming to be as the Christian god but rather as a kami which is awe-inspiring, has supernatural powers, and interacts with the human world but is hidden from it. Another important distinction is that kami are often flawed and capable of making mistakes, doing wrong, essentially acting with human-like intent. They can bless or curse humans. The goal of Shinto believers is to have a pure and sincere heart (magokoro) which kami can guide them to. All of this is such interesting and important background information for understanding the type of god Light aspired to be, protecting the ‘pure’ and innocent and using supernatural powers to guide the world but stay hidden from it as Kira.

[nellysteaparty]

Mikami sketch!!!

can you tell that I love drawing his hair…

anyways the quality is shit because that’s just how procreate is

[mars-ia]

for posterity

[smallsinger5901]

listen i don’t agree with the people who say ‘near’s the worst he’s a cheap copy of L!!!!!!!’ But unfortunately. I think near would.

[kiyomitakada]

oh my god wait i missed mikami's death day

[kiyomitakada]

(gore, suicide cw)

i think he died by bashing his head into the walls of his cell so forcefully and so many times that there was brain matter on the floor somehow. like there's no way he had a weapon with him that's the only method i can think of.

[kiyomitakada]

do you think mikami is determined to never drive due to his tragic childhood backstory or does he just think public transportation is more convenient

[idontlikemanga]

[geminis186]

Exercise day, part 3 ❤︎ (quick doodle)

[kiyomitakada]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Prompt: Kira wins, Light and Teru get together and, at some point, Teru has to meet Sachiko and Sayu for a dinner. --- Sachiko’s eyes land on Teru at last. He tries not to flinch. “Mikami-san, I’ve heard so much about you! Come in, come in.” “It’s nice to meet you,” Teru says, doing a graceful half-bow as he shuffles inside. The Yagami house is beautiful, all natural wood paneling and rustic decor, exactly what you would expect from a residence in the countryside. In his peripheral vision he notices Light looking around almost as much as Teru is. “I’ve heard a lot about you as well.” This is technically true and also a blatant lie. Light had laid out what was essentially a biography of his mother’s life yesterday as though reciting facts from a history textbook.

deanonymizing my mikalight fic please enjoy

[kiyomitakada]

compiled some of the posts in my mikami tag 'cause i miss him

[gemini-d0ll]

death note/secretary (2002) au where mikami is edward grey and light is lee holloway

[theoldworldsrunnerup]

[tinycrescent]

the worst people you'll ever meet

[annaisthemoon]

Mikami was Light's Renfield

[kiyomitakada]

i love that he has a set of scales on his desk and then another bigger set of scales looming in the foreground. me in my law themed law office

[wiliecoyotegenius]

Renfield in pop culture: "Yes Master, insult me, for you are the Messiah, my salvation, and I am but an insect! You can kick me like a dog, and I will roll over, and then say 'thank you,' Master. My devotion is all-consuming!" Renfield in the novel: "You leave me on read for days? And expect me to serve you? DIVORCE FOR MASTER. No more Mr John the Baptist. I will get my own immortality. With blackjack. And spiders. Actually, forget the blackjack."