Would Kira have been Kira if he wasn't Japanese? What if he'd been Welsh? Or Somali? From Uzbekistan or France? Would an American Light Yagami have targeted criminals with such gusto? Would a Tibetan Kira's motivation have been the same?
Death Note is a Japanese story, whatever its global appeal, and much of what occurs within it is infused with Japanese culture, morality and mores. Certain stances of etiquette, expectation and projected outcomes could only have happened in Japan.
Would an Icelandic parent have stood by and let their home and family be subject to such surveillance? Could a Briton have been persuaded to volunteer themselves for torturous weeks of detention without charge? And would the perpetrators have been allowed to get away with it, if their victim actually agreed? My cynical self says yes. But that's by the by.
Death Note is a Japanese story, whatever its global appeal, and much of what occurs within it is infused with Japanese culture, morality and mores. Certain stances of etiquette, expectation and projected outcomes could only have happened in Japan.
Would an Icelandic parent have stood by and let their home and family be subject to such surveillance? Could a Briton have been persuaded to volunteer themselves for torturous weeks of detention without charge? And would the perpetrators have been allowed to get away with it, if their victim actually agreed? My cynical self says yes. But that's by the by.
The Death Note really could have fallen anywhere in the world
It's wrong to generalize based on national stereotypes, but intriguing to surmise the outcome had the Death Note fallen anywhere else in the world. Or how much Light Yagami's inherent Japaneseness affected the manner in which it was used; the motivation, thought processes and justifications that he passed through along the way; and the profile of those he killed, however vague their points of commonality may be.
What if the shinigami's notebook of death had landed in Syria? Would war crimes have factored much sooner in the programme than it occurred to Light to do so? Would Mexicans have taken on drug barons? Or those in the Niger Delta started on the profit-ridden oil polluters of fresh water - environmental evils trumping thuggish anti-social behaviour in the street? Callous corporations and white collar criminality could well come first in many an Industrialised, Capitalist nation. While localised gangs and small-time, blue collar crime would occupy erstwhile Kiras from other lands.
How about your own? If the Death Note had dropped into your neighbourhood, how might Kira look then? And would (s)he act anything like Light Yagami?
The discussion is open.
What if the shinigami's notebook of death had landed in Syria? Would war crimes have factored much sooner in the programme than it occurred to Light to do so? Would Mexicans have taken on drug barons? Or those in the Niger Delta started on the profit-ridden oil polluters of fresh water - environmental evils trumping thuggish anti-social behaviour in the street? Callous corporations and white collar criminality could well come first in many an Industrialised, Capitalist nation. While localised gangs and small-time, blue collar crime would occupy erstwhile Kiras from other lands.
How about your own? If the Death Note had dropped into your neighbourhood, how might Kira look then? And would (s)he act anything like Light Yagami?
The discussion is open.
