Light Yagami is a genius in this thrilling manga series ‘Death Note’ who is appalled by the current state of the world and decides to use a peculiar book called the Death Note to clear out all the people he deemed bad. With a target on his back, does Light end up dying at the end of the Death Note?
Light Yagami dies in Death Note after being exposed as being the vigilante ‘Kira’ and shot by Matsuda. Ryuk writes Light’s name in the Death Note like he said he would in the beginning and Light dies of a heart attack.
Why would someone who holds great power die by the same means as his victims? I will shed more light on how Light died.
What Episode Does Light Die in Death Note?
Light dies in episode 37, the last episode called “New World” that concludes the anime series. In the previous episode, Near suggests that Light and the special task force meet him at a warehouse called the “Yellow Box”. Light agrees.
Light’s spokesman Takada dies in a fire and once the news is aired, there is a frenzy on who the next spokesperson will be. As Light approaches the yellow box, he is confident that he has everything in order. He plans on killing everybody that knows about the notebook.
So Light planned that when everyone enters the yellow box, Mikami will bring the original Death Note, peek inside the yellow box, write down the names of everybody in the room except his name so that they will all die.
Near notices that someone has peeked inside the room and has written all the names. So he tells Mikami to come inside. Mikami is skeptical at first but he enters the room. Light asks Mikami how many seconds it has been since he wrote the first name and Mikami says 30 seconds.
It takes 40 seconds for the person to die if their name is written in the book. Mikami starts counting down the remaining 10 seconds and when Mikami reaches 40, Light says to Near, “I win”. After 40 seconds pass, nobody dies because Near has the original Death Note and The one Mikami has is fake.
Light is shocked that his plan did not work and that his cover has been blown. The whole room is surprised that they did not die but Near is not because it was his plan after all. Near collects the fake Death Note that Mikami and checks to see the names he had written. Mikami had written everyone’s name in the room except for Light.
Light is confronted as Near and the special task force suspects that Light is Kira because his name is the only name not written in the Death Note.
He begins to panic and shout that it is a setup. But the evidence is glaring because the Death Note has been tampered with by Near. Near had collaborated with Mello and detective L to capture Kira because Near knew that alone he could not capture and reveal the true identity of Kira.
Light begins to laugh as all the evidence leads towards him being Kira. Then he admits plainly that he is Kira and that he is the god of the new world. He explains that the world needs Kira and that he is the justice and only hope for mankind.
He pours out his frustration that despite trying to clear out the criminals in the world that there are still people that are rotten and that his work is not yet finished until the whole world is cleansed.
He says that he knows that killing people is a crime but that is the only way he can cleanse the world. That is his duty to do it and he is the only one who can.
Light stylishly tries to pull out a piece of the Death Note from his watch to write Near’s name when Matsuda sees him and shoots his arm. Matsuda is enraged that Light would not show apathy over his father’s death.
Light attempts again to complete the name he is using his blood. This time Matusda becomes very angry and shoots Light multiple times and Light falls to the ground. Light is enraged but is too tired to get up.
As Light continues to lay on the ground, Mikami slits his wrists with a pen and starts to scream in agonizing pain. The task force rushes towards Mikami and tries to help him stop the bleeding but there is nothing they can do. Mikami would still die. Light uses the distraction as an opportunity to escape the warehouse that they were all staying in.
The task force is about to run after Light when Near stops them and tells them not to bother. Near does not believe that Light has another notebook hidden and believes that Light will die soon with all the gunshot wounds.
But the task force does not take Near’s orders and returns to pursuing Light. Light staggers on steadily as he tries to find cover. He is in so much pain and slowly dying. It is painful to watch this scene as I fear that his life is really going to come to an end. Light begins to have flashbacks of his younger days and all he had been through up until that moment. The sun is setting and sober music is playing in the background as Light Yagami continues to run.
Light begins to hallucinate and he sees his younger self on the day he finds the Death Note and is curiously going through it on his way home. Then the hallucination stops when entering another warehouse.
Ryuk has been watching Light from a tower. At this point, Light is truly exhausted from the run and the gunshot wound. Ryuk finally writes Light’s name in the Death Note just as he is about to ascend a flight of stairs. Light Yagami has a heart attack and dies.
Why Did Light Die?
The Shinigami named Ryuk writes Light’s name in his Death Note after Light has been shot several times. Ryuk tells Light that people’s names being written in the Death Note go to neither heaven nor hell.
Light finds it hard to believe that he is going to die by the same book he used to kill the people he called criminals and deemed rotten. Ryuk feels no remorse after he kills Light. Ryuk only wanted to have fun so if Light were to go to jail it would not be so much fun so he killed Light instead.
Ryuk drops the Death Note into the human world because he is bored of his activities. He is looking for some excitement and decides to come to earth to find it. Ryuk’s plan from the beginning is to kill the person that finds the Death Note and unfortunately for Light he is the first human being to lay his hands on the notebook and is doomed from the very beginning without even realizing it. He takes the Death Note home and eventually unravels the powers that the book holds. Light becomes obsessed with the Death Note and what it can be used for.
Light had to die because humans should not have such power to take lives as they please and the power the book held got to Light’s head which made him make a series of costly mistakes and he eventually had to pay for it with his life.
How Old Is Light Yagami When He dies?
Light Yagami is 23 years old when he dies at the end of the anime series. He was born in February 1989 and died in January 2013. He considered himself to be a god and had to pay the price for holding that sort of power that the book gave him.
Light was being hunted down by then special forces headed by detective L who was hell bent on finding out the real identity of Kira. They wanted to arrest him for his unlawful killings but Ryuk knew that Light would suffer so he decided to kill him instead.
This book was initially owned by the Shinigami Ryuk, who decided to drop the book into the Earth because he was bored and was searching for a bit of fun.
What Happens to Yagami Light after He dies?
Ryuk told Light Yagami at the beginning of the series that the person that uses the Death Note goes to neither heaven nor hell.
Therefore Light Yagami ceases to exist after he dies. I do not think that Light will become Shinigami like Ryuk after he dies because he is human and according to the manga series, after humans die they go to mu which is nothingness.
The series left us in a state of confusion as to what happens to Light after death but following the already laid down format of how manga series are, Light no longer exists.
It is very heartbreaking for me to watch Light die after all the measures he took to try and stay alive and anonymous.
