blAIRbender passed over Mail Jeevas to cosplay a mere God of the New World

For Month of Light Yagami, we're corralling all the Kira cosplayers into Death Note News to share their tips on being God. (Remember when blAIRbender sold out Matt and started cosplaying that Yagami bloke instead? We do.  The entire Mello and Matt fandom haven't stopped crying yet. The sadness. The horror. The betrayal in loss of all comfort and hope. The opportunities to troll during Gami-given moments like this - when the threat of a Force10 tempest couldn't give us pause to resist. Which is probably why Blair wrote her own introduction, instead of leaving me notes to compile one for her, like everyone else.) Here now to shed light on costuming Death Note's protagonist is blAIRbender - a cosplayer who has long-since had Kira all sewn up.

Human of the Year - Light blAIRbender cosplays Kira

blAIRbender on How to Make a Light Yagami Costume with Goodwill Alone

Do you/have you cosplayed Kira now or in the past? Yes - in the past Any anecdotes about your experiences cosplaying Light? Heh, Light was always fun to do. I would usually cosplay him while with Maru-Light and Anda-chan. Any time the three of us get together, some kind of hilarity ensues. Light was never someone I would act necessarily in character as while wearing. I mean, I would more or less act like a caricature of his personality. Especially when with Maru and Anda, we would make a lot of references to Patrick Bateman from American Psycho and a bunch of jokes surrounding that. The more bullshitting and banter, the better. How would you go about creating a costume for Light Yagami? I actually bought almost my entire Light cosplay from a Goodwill. He wears normal clothes, unlike the people I cosplay as nowadays. I was still in high school when I first cosplayed as him, so I had a very tight budget. Somehow I got lucky and found some pretty nice quality stuff that cost next to nothing. blAIRbender stars as Light Lights Up Light Light - Kira cosplay at its finest (Oh!  Hold on! That's also Matt trolling by cosplaying as Kira in a lampshade being light Light.  OMG! blAIRbender never sold out! She subverted from the inside.  HaX0R3d teh God of teh nub world! Gf! How could we ever have doubted her?  Matt Jeevas cosplayer supreme, inside AND out!)

What's Up, People? blAIRbender Light Yagami cosplayer, with L (Maru-Light), Mello (Anda-Chan) and Matt (KitsuneCowgirl) What clothing and/or props do you feel are essential Light Yagami costume items? A Death Note, red contacts, and a beautiful wig. Is there more to cosplaying Kira than the outfit? (Look/behaviour etc.) Well, I mean I would always act like an narcissistic asshole as Light. It's so much more fun that way. More opportunities for hilarious bullshitting. What's your professional opinion about ready-made Light Yagami outfits, such as those in the Death Note News Cosplay Store? Any other pieces in there decent enough for a Kira cosplay? (Be honest!) Never ever ever buy ready-made Light cosplays online. His clothes aren't unique. He just wears normal clothes that you could easily find in any store. It doesn't make sense to break the bank trying to cosplay as Light. Where would YOU source items to cosplay Light Yagami? Honestly, just go to a Goodwill or some cheap clothing store. It's so cheap and easy and you can find really nice looking stuff without spending a bunch of money. Any last tips for anyone reading, who wishes to create their Kira cosplay from scratch? Make-up, friends. It's crazy how much of a difference a little bit of contouring can make.

More from blAIRbender blAIRbender previously popped up in an older article about the things that can go wrong whilst in costume as a Death Note character: It Surely Must Happen to Mello Too - Death Note Secrets Gleaned from Cosplay

Cosplayers! Would you like to have a go at answering these questions yourself?  A different Death Note character forms the focus each month. If you cosplay Death Note - or indeed a cosplayer of any tale - and you're willing to share your tips, thoughts and advice with the fandom, then visit our cosplayer's questionnaire page to fill in the form. Thank you in advance!

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Our Lord and Saviour Represented by Fish: Piscean Light Yagami

Light's birthday remains unchanged in Death Note manga and anime alike - February 28th -making Kira a Pisces, as his sun-sign in Western Astrology. That's all we really have to go on here. In order to map the rest of his chart with any kind of accuracy, a time and place of birth would be required. Due to the location given for the teenage Kira in Death Note, we might guess that the erstwhile God of the New World's nativity occurred in a hospital somewhere in the Kanto region of Japan. There's a strong likelihood that it might be true, as nowhere in the narrative are we told that the Yagami family lived anywhere else. At the very least, it's practically certain that Light was born in Japan - which isn't big enough to mess too much with the precision of his birth location data. However, Tsugumi Ohba never mentioned a time of birth for Light Yagami. This is a far greater blow, as it constricts the accurate placement of Kira within the houses, ascension and moon configuration of Western Zodiac. A mean would have to suffice - placing his birth at noon or midnight on the basis that the worse that could happen is that the calculations for him are a mere twelve hours out. His parents DID label their newborn cherub with the kanji for Moon Night God - which seems a trifle strange if the future mass murdering megalomaniac arrived into this rotten world in the middle of the day. So perhaps we might be forgiven for opting for midnight as our mean for Kira's birth-time, but it hardly seems worth the hassle for a fictional persona.

The Zodiac Symbol for Pisces

Something Fishy about the God of the New World in Death Note

Here in the West, it's been quite a mystery why Japanese anime and manga profiles invariably list the blood type for characters and actors alike. Half of us over in Europe couldn't tell you our own blood group, let know know why we need to know yours. Today is Light Yagami's 30th birthday. To mark the date, we embarked on a mission to find out why Kira's blood was so important to his destiny. Other than the fact it was killing him at the end there; you know, leaking in great puddles on the floor like that. It seems that to the Japanese, blood groups are all about destiny, insofar as such things are driven by the personality. Asian Blood Type Personae: What They Do in Lieu of Star-Signs in the East Each blood type is associated with a list of character attributes; in much the same way as those in the West might ask for a star-sign, in order to quickly gain insight into a new associate's general complexion. Here traits of psyche, in all their virtues and flaws, are said to be clustered around certain dates of birth here; grouped into categories headed by the twelve signs of the zodiac; then randomly applied to all born under their auspices.  Virgos are tidy to the point of OCD; Scorpios will stab you in the dark; Cancerians are delicate, little flowers to be nurtured lest they cry; Librans are indecisive; Sagittarians are sporty; Leos are Kings and Queens of their lives, and yours; and Aquarians are dawning a New Age, where we'll all run around with flowers in our hair, letting the sunshine in. You know the sort of thing, stereotypes all. Nevertheless a kind of cultural short-hand for how anyone might act in any given situation; widely believed and relied upon, even against any data to the contrary, with no more empirical evidence than knowing a person's birthday.  Probably sounds a little mad to someone watching from Japan.

A Blood Type Personality in Death Note's Light Yagami

So where does Kira fit into all this?  Very well actually. But then it's quite a thing for mangaka to link their characters with blood group types, and to ensure that their personalities fit that classification precisely.  So widespread, there's a TV Trope entry calling them out on it. So Kira really should match his type here. Tsugumi Ohba reveals, in Death Note 13: How to Read, that Kira's blood type was A.  It could probably have been guessed anyway.  Apparently the A blood group is the most prevalent in Japan. Hence Light Yagami's personality should be pretty common amongst the Japanese.  Quite worrying that. However, no list of attributes associated with blood type A people has so far mentioned 'global slaughter on a massive scale' nor yet 'become God'.  It may mean that Kira is atypical amidst his inherited antigenic kin. Instead Light Yagami's A blood type personality should be: Outwardly calm/inwardly anxious; reliable; loyal; patient; fastidious; obsessive; punctual; polite; quiet; holding themselves to impossibly high standards; perfectionists; earnest; strict; responsible; mature; finicky; conscientious; stubborn; trustworthy; self-conscious; introverted; conservative; sensible; uptight; reserved; unsocial; cynical; sceptical; tense; prone to stress and stress-related stomach problems; stress weakened immune systems render them often ill

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Fausto-the-Endless Cosplays Kira - Wing of Death

The God of the New World
- Fausto the Endless Kira Cosplay

FaustotheEndless Cosplays
Death Note - Antagonism

Death Note - The Mightiness of Kira
Cosplay by FaustotheEndless

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(Report by Orangepunch) Once again the Japanese have proven their propensity to fall en masse into worshipping Kira.  Only this time it's reality, not manga, and a good deal better justified.  'You are Kira, aren't you?'  Fans reaffirmed to Miyano Mamoru, returning Death Note's Light Yagami top-ranked - by a Godlike margin - in a Goo Ranking poll to uncover anime voice actor's most popular ever role. With Miyano's career spanning from 1990 to now, a hefty number of performances were incorporated onto a list presented to fans. Each person could choose just one as their favourite. Miyano Mamoru - Japan's Star Seiyu That must have been a hard, nigh impossible task, given that Miyano has long been the leading voice behind some of anime's best known characters. With so many of the genre's most successful shows glittering across his resume, it's not like Kira is the only role for which he's known.  He's the seiyu for Tamaki Suoh in Ouran High School Host Club; Vampire Knight's Zero Kiryuu; and Rin Matsuoka in Free!, plus several dozen other equally prominent parts. Yet Kira slaughtered all rivals to net over a quarter of all votes.  His nearest competitor - Setsuna from Mobile Suit Gundam 00 - attracted a mere 6.4% of the fans to favour him into second place.  While Light Yagami held aloft his own percentage, a mighty 26.2%. [Which means 73.8% of the voting anime fandom hated him, or at least favoured someone else ~ Matti] [Stop pretending to know math;  by your logic 93% 'hated' 2nd place Setsuna - context and comparison validify the win ~ Orangepunch]

From LA to Tokyo: Everyone Loves All Singing, All Dancing Light Yagami Actor Miyano Mamoru - Particularly Men 'Newly Feminized' at Festivals by his Tunes

To his surprise, Miyano was loudly cheered by male members of the audience when he performed in a large-scale music festival last year. “After the event, many men made such positive comments to me as, ‘I found myself shouting’ and ‘I feel like I’m a feminized man.’ I was very happy,” Miyano said.
He told me about this experience as if he were whispering something confidential to me. I, a middle-aged man, was also instantly captivated by him.
~ Everyone loves Miyano: Voice actor dances, sings and fascinates, Makoto Tanaka and Yomiuri Shimbun, The Japan News, February 25th 2016

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Low-Down on Drawing Light Yagami with Nānākuli Graphite Pencil Artist Lei K

Do you/have you created Kira art now or in the past? Yes - in the past Any anecdotes about your experiences as a Light Yagami artist? I developed a strong appetite for potato chips, preferably Sour Cream and Onions. How would you go about creating a Kira drawing/sculpture? Find good references of Light. What I like to do is use the anime itself as a good reference for a Light. Also it's good to know what mood you want to give off in the drawing. It'll make it more visually appealing. What attributes, clothing and/or scenarios, do you feel are essential to include in Light Yagami artwork? His red eyes. I normally work with graphite pencils, but this time I added charcoal pencils into the mix. I wanted darker tones, so those red eyes could stand out. I also wanted the tone dark to give the drawing a dark vibe. Of course I had to have the smirk smile of his and the Death Note. Is there more to recreating Kira visually than the outfit? (Expression/stance/slogan etc.) Yes there is. I don't really want to quote another artist, but in this case it's the best answer I can give. Get his personality. It has to come across no matter what. Also get Kira expression right...either it's him writing names in the Death Note, doing the evil laugh or even eating a bag of potato chips. Having his expression right helps recreating Kira visually. What, in your professional opinion, are fundamental tips/advice in producing art that's recognisably Kira? Use good references and have them at a decent size. The larger the better, so you could zoom in on certain details. Also get all the references you might need beforehand. It's better to have references before you start, so they are ready for you to use while you are drawing. It’s a huge time saver. What are the common noob errors made in drawing/modelling Light Yagami? Not getting the details of Light right...like his eyes, hair, clothes, expression, etc. Having a reference from the anime, manga or even action figure is a great way to make sure you have the right details of Light.

Artists! Would you like to have a go at answering these questions on your own behalf? If you are a Death Note artist - or indeed an artist per se - and you're willing to share your tips, thoughts and advice with the fandom, then visit our fan-artist's questionnaire page to fill in the form. Thank you in advance!

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Kim Junsu began to speak with, “I would like convey words of thanks on behalf of the performance cast and production crew of 100 people”. Continuing, he also said, “‘Death Note’ had its first cultivation in Korea when it hit the stage last summer; and I am grateful that this award has more meaning, as much as it was C-JeS Culture’s first debut work,” and, “I am thankful to Baek Chang-joo who had helped the work go up, in the one word that I only want to do it, and to have been directed by Japan’s Kuriyama Tamiya who undertook the directing of its Korean version”.

Adding, he completed his thoughts, “Teamwork between the actors was important to proceed as a one-cast with my previous installment of 57 performances. I shall share this pleasure with actors & actresses Hong Kwang-ho, Park Hye-na, Kang Hong-seok, and Jung Sun-ah; who created the stage together with me. I am accepting this award with praise and encouragement for C-JeS Culture and I promise that I shall go forward in creating a better work in the future ahead”.
~ JYJ3.Net, [NEWS] 160219 3rd eDaily Culture Awards: Musical ‘Death Note’ seized top prize in Musical category… Kim Junsu “Will repay you with a better work” by Rilanna (Feb 19th 2016)

Photograph courtesy of @Ac_dog