L or Kira?

[Oak]

Who do you think is evil? L or Kira/Light. (In Death Note, of course.)

I think L is evil because he wans to kill kira, just because kira kills evil, so regardless of whether or not kira is evil, L himself is evil.

 

[Like_Fahrenheit]

I think both are evil. sure they had good intentions, but they had evil ways of doing things, though i think Kira's a little more evil than L

 

[Treemo]

The line between good and evil is a very blurred one nowadays. I wouldn't consider either as "good", nor would I consider them "evil". However, I would consider L to be the correct one here.

Kira kills those that do evil unto others. While some may see it as poetic justice, it could also be seen as hypocrisy and murder. Regardless of whether he's killing criminals or kicking puppies, it still makes him a criminal and murderer that needs to be punished by law. It's no different than some dude committing mass homicide, because that's exactly what it is.

Meanwhile, L is a detective with the task of aiding the police in apprehending this murderer. Once more, regardless of whether you view Kira as being good or evil, it doesn't change the fact that he is a murderer and a criminal, and thus needs to be punished for his own crimes. L is supposed to make sure he's caught. In other words, L's just doing his job. Can't punish a guy for that (unless it's illegal).

 

[m1st3rand3rs0n]

The very concept of good vs. evil is far too linear of a concept to be discussed when talking about the Death Note series. It proves above all else that Justice is perspective. While Light was busy saving the world from evil, L was saving the world from Light (which in his eyes was the ultimate evil).

Evil is in the eye of the beholder. And I think that the only true EVIL character from the Death Note world would be B. Beyond Birthday was everything L was and more. Sure it led to his downfall, but the man was brilliant in a morbid sort of way. So much hate, so much effort, wasted just to prove that he was better than L. He wasn't killing to "save the world", he was killing to prove dominance over the rest of Wammy House. Did he consider hiself evil? Probably not. But would anyone?

(And to anyone that dosen't know what I'm talking about, take the time to read Another Note: The Los Angeles BB Murder Cases.)

 

[Oak]

Kira kills those that do evil unto others. While some may see it as poetic justice, it could also be seen as hypocrisy and murder. Regardless of whether he's killing criminals or kicking puppies, it still makes him a criminal and murderer that needs to be punished by law. It's no different than some dude committing mass homicide, because that's exactly what it is.

But if kira is evil for killing criminals, and L wants to kill kira... because kira kills other criminals, then then that means that L himself is evil because he is killing kira, who's only crime is killing criminals, and thus he is punishing a good person with the punishment the "criminal" put on his victims.
[QOUTE]Meanwhile, L is a detective with the task of aiding the police in apprehending this murderer. Once more, regardless of whether you view Kira as being good or evil, it doesn't change the fact that he is a murderer and a criminal, and thus needs to be punished for his own crimes. L is supposed to make sure he's caught. In other words, L's just doing his job. Can't punish a guy for that (unless it's illegal).[/QUOTE]
Except many times he has been given an escape clause, and since he could have escaped, it meant that he had knowledgeably done evil when given the choice. And also, wasn't there a point where the police said that police can't chase kira, and so that meant that L was no longer part of the justice system, but he was still finding kira for arguably evil reasons.

There is no difference between L and Kira, except for one causes much pain for inarguably innocent people to kill someone who may or maynot be evil. Thus L is inarguably evil.

 

[fate]

Not sure where this "Kira isn't evil" business started, but yeah, he is.

First of all, even when he was killing criminals, he was committing vigilantism. Then he started killing people he perceived as threats, innocent people.

And he had no remorse, he did all this without hesitation.

Additionally, he used almost everyone around to further his own ambition. Misa and his other lover (whose name escapes me), for instance. Even allowing the latter to die.

And let's not forget the whole "god of a new world order" business.

Oh, and L wasn't try to kill him. He was trying to apprehend him. Now, if it came to it, he would have used deadly force as any law enforcement officer would if the situation warranted. If L is evil for this, then law enforcement is evil... and well, no.

 

[Pantherstrike]

Although his motives are arguably unclear and his methods aren't always the best, L is the lesser of two evils for sure. I disagreed with Kira's mission from the start, but as time passed and people were killed for increasingly trivial reasons, I don't see how anyone could possibly say that L was worse. I know nobody is purely good or evil in Death Note, but Kira got darker and darker until I believe he was almost, if not completely, black.

 

[Oak]

Not sure where this "Kira isn't evil" business started, but yeah, he is.

First of all, even when he was killing criminals, he was committing vigilantism. Then he started killing people he perceived as threats, innocent people.

And he had no remorse, he did all this without hesitation.

Additionally, he used almost everyone around to further his own ambition. Misa and his other lover (whose name escapes me), for instance. Even allowing the latter to die.

And let's not forget the whole "god of a new world order" business.

Oh, and L wasn't try to kill him. He was trying to apprehend him. Now, if it came to it, he would have used deadly force as any law enforcement officer would if the situation warranted. If L is evil for this, then law enforcement is evil... and well, no.

L was trying to kill him. To quote him in the episode where he "reveals" his identity, "I will find you, and when I do, I will kill you," and there, he has just threatened to kill light, and so thus ANY killings light does to protect himself is justified. And the trivializations of reasons to kill, the most trivial reason he used was because they were in the way of him and justice. All the other ones were done by other holders.

Saying someone who wanted to get him killed is innocent is a lie, because they wish for kira to get killed. And he had no remorse, because, either they were a criminal and didn't deserve it, or they wanted him dead, and so kira couldn't afford to let them get away with it. Think of it this way: Someone has a gun pointed to your head, and you can save yourself, but at the cost of the life of the person who threatens youre life, would you let them kill you, or would you let them die? That is essentially why kira killed all those "innocent" police, because they were a threat to his life.

 

[fate]

Saying someone who wanted to get him killed is innocent is a lie, because they wish for kira to get killed.

No offense, but this is the silliest thing I've heard. And this is why...

And he had no remorse, because, either they were a criminal and didn't deserve it, or they wanted him dead, and so kira couldn't afford to let them get away with it.

... so it's OK for him to kill people that he perceives a threat, without a single ounce of remorse or thought, but it's not OK for law enforcement to take him down when he himself became a murderous criminal?

This logic makes no sense.

 

[lefege]

They were both good. According to their own point of view.
Who cares if they're gonna kill people, their intentions are good, in the end.

 

[Buizelfan!]

I think they both wern't 'evil' they just had bad methods of getting what they wanted. Though, I think the story positioned us to view Kira's actions as being more evil, eg. killing his father so I'll go with him...

 

[Kakuna Matata]

"Good" and "Evil" are all a matter of perspective.

Both Light and L viewed their intentions and methods as good, but many others disagreed, both on and off the show. Personally I think they're both evil, but Light was much more so than L.

 

[Misaka Mikoto]

I don't really know, but I'd choose L

 

[kiera2]

Kira was a naive brat with a god complex and no comprehension of moral grey areas. I wouldn't call him evil, but his attitudes towards society's problems were breathtakingly stupid.

 

[Dewgong Reign]

If you look at it in retrospect, Kira was seeking to become the God figure of his new world by eliminating all crime. By killing them. Whereas L was just taking on another case, attempting to bring a murderer to justice. Neither was good or evil, but they both had drastically different views of justice. If forced to choose though, I'd have to say Kira was the most "evil" of the two.

Also, for anyone who hasn't seen it, this deleted scene could have pretty much singlehandedly convinced me on its own.

 

[Oak]

so it's OK for him to kill people that he perceives a threat, without a single ounce of remorse or thought, but it's not OK for law enforcement to take him down when he himself became a murderous criminal?

This logic makes no sense.

Except the only people he was murdering were problems to society, who did things that made them deserve to die, so if some-one goes after kira before he actually kills innocent people, then they are evil. So while he's a murderous criminal, he is one who murdered only obstacles (and only those who chose to be so)to his goal, so it is not justifiable to go after him, and it is especially not okay to torture other innocent person, just to find a mass -murderer who killed only innocents.

 

[fate]

Except the only people he was murdering were problems to society, who did things that made them deserve to die

Apparently you didn't watch the series in it's entirety.

And even so, he has no right to make that judgment. He's just an egotistical maniac.

 

[bell02+]

This is what annoyed me with the Anime, but the whole point of the series was that Light and L were the same. Two opposite Sides of the same Coin. The series trolled you to choose a side and fall into the trap, but the reality was that you were only suppose to see the subjectivity of Justice, and what is "right" or "wrong" was a funny thing defined by Man.

Both Light and L killed innocent people, both Light and L had judicial authority on their side, both Light and L broke the law, both Light and L fought for "Justice".

The whole series was basically an attack on organized religion and capital punishment, and took some time out to laugh at Atheist at the end. That's (mainly) why it is controversial. The Author took a different look at society and painted a world where humans look especially silly.

 

[mj ike]

I believe the difference between these two is that L knows if you are born and live on this planet, you are guilty, end of story.

 

[kiera2]

This is what annoyed me with the Anime, but the whole point of the series was that Light and L were the same. Two opposite Sides of the same Coin.

I strongly disagree. Light and L represent two diametrically opposed ideas about morality: the absolutist and the relativist. Light believes there are absolute moral truths, and that he is intelligent enough to determine what these moral truths are and impose them on the rest of the world. L believes there is no such thing as a moral absolute, accepts that morality comes in shades of grey, and understands that justice is and should be an institution, not subject to the whims of any individual.

The whole series was basically an attack on organized religion and capital punishment, and took some time out to laugh at Atheist at the end. That's (mainly) why it is controversial. The Author took a different look at society and painted a world where humans look especially silly.

I wasn't aware there was any controversy over Death Note. What I saw was a pretty straightforward attack not on capital punishment, but on vigilante justice and the corrupting influence of power.