Sociopath Profile: Kira

Real name: Light Yagami (Yagami Raito)
From the manga series Death Note (2003-2006) and its anime series adaptation (2006-2007)
Voiced by Mamoru Miyano (JP) and Brad Swaile (EN)

[EXTENDED SPOILER VERSION HERE]

Now, the ongoing debate within the fandom is if Light really is a psychopath. Speaking in the clinical sense, he probably isn’t. If so, then not perfectly. However, my profiles focus on the character type of a sociopath which has looser interpretations on the idea. It’s a character analysis, not a diagnosis. And whether or not he was one before he found the Death Note, it doesn’t take him long to become one once it’s in his possession and he realizes that it is the real deal.

Even in the first episode, Light has a disturbing amount of giddiness about all of the names he has written after his freak out. Some might say that it’s just him looking at his good work getting rid of evil, but that’s basically the same as looking at a pile of corpses of the people you just slaughtered. He rationalizes his actions by saying that they’re criminals and no one would care about them anyway, similar to Amanda Waller and how she uses Task Force X.

Make no mistake, Kira is evil. He may have good goals in mind, but his methods involve killing anyone who commits a crime - even ones not worthy of death - and cutting down anyone in his way trying to stop him and expose him. He’s trying to install himself as the god of his new utopia and if he were really as noble as people believe, that wouldn’t really be a concern for him.

And Light absolutely is a narcissist to no end. Again, his very prominent god-complex is one sign of this. He’s the only one who received the Death Note and thinks that he can rule the world with it. Misa did it out of admiration for Kira and Teru did it for that reason and a genuine desire to purge the world of evil.

Mikami especially shows off the problem with Light’s thinking because even before the Death Note, he was trying to get rid of what he perceived as evil. While it might be due to the fact that he didn’t get to develop a god-complex on his own, he didn’t let it get to his head even when he was handed this tremendous power.

There’s also the fact that Light just can’t help but manipulate and lie to people just to cover his own hide. People are tools for him and he will use those tools to the fullest extent. He has killed even his own supporters if it proves convenient.

And he doesn’t hesitate to kill whoever gets close to figuring out his secret. He had FBI agents killed just for trying to investigate Kira. And the problem is that Ray stopped suspecting him once the bus hijacking occurred. He never considered that he never gave himself away in the first place. His first thought was that he needed to die. Same goes for his fiance, Naomi. He even gloats about it by telling her that he’s Kira just after sealing her fate by writing her name on the Death Note scrap.

Light also displays symptoms of what would be called a reputation-defending sociopath - one that has traits of narcissistic personality disorder. Unlike most sociopaths, his grandiose sense of self-worth is still able to be shattered. And he’s willing to kill anyone who criticizes Kira. Let’s not forget Lind L. Tailor.

Whether or not Light shows signs of being one without the Death Note, there is no denying that Kira!Light is definitely pretty close to being one.

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