Why Does The Death Note Main Character Pick Targets Differently?

Every time I revisit 'Death Note' I get pulled back into how cleverly Light shifts his methods depending on what he needs: anonymity, control, or spectacle. Early on he's almost surgical—targeting obvious criminals and arranging ‘heart attacks’ that look natural because that lowers suspicion and builds public support. He knows the rule: you need a name and face, so his kills are conservative and calculated, minimizing traces that could point back to him.

Later, the stakes change. When L gets closer, Light becomes theatrical—staging bizarre deaths, timing murders to create alibis, and using proxies like Misa or Teru to extend his reach. There's also the whole memory-loss arc where he genuinely isn't Kira for a while, and that pause forces a different behavior when he regains control, colder and more ruthless.

Beyond tactics, I think there’s an ideological shift too. He starts as someone playing judge and becomes a dictator who uses fear and spectacle. So his targets change not just for strategy, but because his goals morph: from cleansing society to protecting a system he built. It’s equal parts rules of the notebook, chess-like strategy, and the corruption of his original purpose.

I binged 'Death Note' in one weekend and what really stuck with me is how pragmatic Light is about picking who dies. Early on he sticks to criminals and heart attacks because that’s low-risk and builds his image. As investigations close in, he switches tactics—more precise timing, public scares, and using other people to make it look like something else. The notebook rule—must know name and face—means he sometimes targets intermediaries or people close to suspects.

Also, the plot twist where he loses memory changes everything and later makes him colder. So different targets = different goals: popularity, survival, control. It’s tactical and psychological, and that blend is why the series never feels repetitive.

If you look at Light’s behavior through the lens of narrative function and psychology, the variety in his target selection is almost inevitable. Early ‘Kira’ acts like a filter: criminals first, because that builds legitimacy and buys him a buffer against being hunted. The Death Note’s constraints—knowing a person’s name and face, the ability to control cause and time of death—dictate what’s possible, but don’t dictate motive. So Light’s choices reflect both constraints and ambition.

Then external pressures—L’s investigation, the threat of exposure, and the need to manipulate public opinion—push him toward riskier, more theatrical killings. The memory-loss period creates a fascinating inflection: when Light loses ownership, he stops being Kira, which temporarily alters the player on the board; once he regains it, his selection becomes colder, more systemic, including killing investigators, rivals, even innocents who stand in the way. He uses proxies (like Misa and Teru) to distance himself and exploit rules—forcing deaths that either appear natural or are blatantly symbolic to terrorize opponents. In short, the shifting targets chart Light’s strategic evolution, the Death Note’s mechanics, and the moral erosion that turns a vigilante into an authoritarian force. Watching that progression always feels like watching a slow, brilliant unraveling.

I still get chills thinking about how the notebook’s mechanics force Light to adapt. At first he’s picky about targets because killing criminals with anonymous heart attacks wins the public and avoids police scrutiny. That’s smart PR and smart survival. Then he runs into L, and everything changes: he has to throw off detectives, engineer alibis, and occasionally sacrifice others to keep the bigger plan intact.

There’s also the emotional arc—when he briefly loses memory of being Kira, his choices aren’t even his, and afterwards he doubles down. Using other people to commit murders or writing very specific deaths becomes a way to manipulate investigation patterns and spread fear. So different targets are a mix of tactical necessity, notebook limitations (you need a name and face), and Light’s escalating morality—he gets bolder as he convinces himself he’s right.