Apologies if you've talked about this before, but what is your opinion on Light's relationship with his father? Do you think his affection and emotions towards Soichiro were genuine (specifically during Soichiro's death scene), and what are your thoughts on the comments he makes about his father being a fool in the warehouse scene after Matsuda shoots him?
This… is an ask that I left sitting for half a year, so I sincerely hope by some miracle, you still find it, anon…
But to answer: yes, I think Light sincerely loved his father. In fact, I would argue that Light’s adoration for Soichiro is the key factor behind him becoming Kira in the first place, which makes their relationship all the more sad.What Light says in the finale actually only goes to confirm this, in my view.
“Overtly earnest people like him always end up the loser. Do you want a world where people like him are always made fools of?”
I think in shouting this Light is more honest than ever about the nature of his ‘boredom’ and why he feels the world is rotten.
Light grew up admiring Soichiro’s policework and wishing to follow in his footsteps as a great policeman, yet as he grew up he learned to see that crime is endless. His father was fighting it so hard (to the point of being away from home very often), but he never achieved lasting change.Light’s boredom is the boredom with a world that is always the same, always rotten, always restarts the cycle of crime and punishment. He feels defeated at the prospect of living a life that won’t hold long-term meaning. Light loves and admires his father, but he can see his struggle is futile. That stings him, that makes him belief the world is rotten.
Light also takes his whole personal morale from his father. Soichiro is the living embodiment of “you have to make personal sacrifices for the greater good” and regularly proves this by placing his family second behind his job.This is something that his children both internalize greatly. Sayu blames herself for the trouble her kidnapping, essentially saying she should have known better and doesn’t want to prioritize her personal feelings for the greater good.Light employs this sacrificial logic when he justifies becoming Kira to himself. Before meeting Ryuk he rationalizes it as sacrificing himself (his peace of mind, his time, etc) for the good of humanity. That is in line with Soichiro’s teachings because self-sacrifice is good, right?
Soichiro’s influence is also the cause of Light’s visceral reaction to being called evil.
When Lind L. Tailor says it, Light initially looks vulnerable before getting angry, because evil is not something he can ever allow himself to be. A later scene with Soichiro provides context for this:
It’s one of Soichiro’s mantras and Light lives by the man’s teachings. His self-esteem is partially reliant on feeling worthy of his fathers approval, which is not something he ever had to call into question before.
