Death Note hair color changes and other symbolism used in Death Note

TarunTejaMar 20, 202113 replies422 views

I've been a fan of Symbolism in literature ever since I read The Da Vinci Code. Death Not was the second Manga which I read and I became a fan of it, I recently started watching the anime and I think that the hair/eye color changes mean a lot more and do not exist just for the sake of aesthetic. I know I am not the first one to think like this So, here's a list of hair color changes along with Images for anybody who want's to discuss about it or write articles.

The main purpose of this thread is to discuss about Death Note's symbolism.

Light Yagami - Red

L - Blue

Misa Amane - Turquoise/Light Blue

Touta Matsuda - Yellow

Yotusba Group Members (Namikawa Reiji) - Purple

Japan Kira Task Force Members (Shuuichi Aikawa) - Dark Green

Teru Mikami - Purple

N - White/Light Blue

Only seen very rarely or in the opening sequence:

Ryuk - Blue, the same shade as L's blue (image needs to be attached)
There are scenes where Ryuk hair turns blue, but I do not remember the episode in which it happens. I shall add an image if it happens again

Kiyomi Takada - Dark Green

Mello - White/Light Blue

Teru Mikami - Jet Black

Light Yagami - Turquoise

Replies

Tea4Dragons5 years ago3
This is truly meaningful, the pictures with the purple colours, i cant believe i didnt noticed it before but the similarties.... They are on their phone, woah, the meaning of purple has blown my mind.
- TarunTeja5 years ago4
  I believe the being on the part is just a coincidece...
  But, Purple represents something which is High Quality, Trustworthy and Dependable which is what Light thought of Mikami. It also represents someone with Authority and Power which all the Yotsuba group member have and strive for.
  Another interesting fact is that Purple represents infidelity/cheating in Japan which could be applied to Namikawa who was the first to change sides from Yotsuba to L
- TarunTeja5 years ago1
  Not sure if you were trolling but there you go :)

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Death Note hair color changes and other symbolism used in Death Note — AniVault

malace05 years ago7

Light: The words that come to my head with red are deception and hatred. Light obviously has lied to countless people, and he has a general hatred of the world. This is why I believe this color was chosen for him.

L: The color blue makes me feel calm and peaceful. L deals with very serious matters all the time, but he does it in a way that calms everyone around him. He is very quiet and calm, only speaking when he needs to.

Misa: A word that light blue brings to my head is innocence. Misa is an extremely innocent person, and that is why she got into the mess with Light. She developed an obsession for a guy and took it too far without thinking of the consequences.

Matsuda: The color yellow makes me feel positive and happy. Matsuda was the comedic relief character so this one is quite self explanatory. He never failed to make me smile, even in the most tense scenes.

Yotsuba Group: When I think of purple, I think of a sense of superiority, thinking that you’re better than everyone else. The Yotsuba Group believes that they are superior over everyone, and I believe purple was chosen for them because of this.

Aizawa: Dark green makes me feel murky and depressed. At the beginning of the show, I would describe Aizawa as a light green. Pretty optimistic and positive. However, as the show progresses, his shade of green gets darker and dark, showing off his true color.

Mikami: Same with the Yotsuba group. A sense of superiority over others (except Kira).

N: The color white feels very pure. N has almost no experiences with real life and devoted his life to solving crime at a young age. Because of this, the color white matches him perfectly.

Sorry you had to read my essay of thoughts lol

TarunTeja5 years ago3
I feel like the Purple means different things in different cases-
But, Purple represents something which is High Quality, Trustworthy and Dependable which is what Light thought of Mikami. It also represents someone with Authority and Power which all the Yotsuba group member have and strive for.
Another interesting fact is that Purple represents infidelity/cheating in Japan which could be applied to Namikawa who was the first to change sides from Yotsuba to L.

grimdarkGenesis5 years ago7

drawing from color wheel pro for the associations.

red is associated with danger, power, determination, and passion. light, for all his strategizing, is emotional and intense (it's what leads to his downfall). he is in possession of the death note (an obviously dangerous weapon). dark red is more associated with negative emotions - vigor, leadership, courage, longing, malice, and wrath. light is treated as a leader by the masses, and longs to be the "god of a new world" (though he never exactly reaches apotheosis). the blue hair and red eyes may indicate that although he is puts on a detached front, he is actually volatile.
blue is associated with depth, stability, trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, and truth. l is intelligent, level-headed, and dedicated to finding the truth. most of his screen time is trying to figure out if he can trust light.
light blue is associated with health, healing, tranquility, understanding, and softness. outwardly, Misa is a sweet and peppy girl, if airheaded, but she's smarter than she looks and has absolute trust in Light. her eyes are red (eyes being the windows to soul), and the connotations of red fit her more than blue does. if you read light as a gay man, you could argue that light is seeing a watered-down version (blue > light blue) of who he actually wants (l) in Misa. i don't care about lawlight to elaborate, though.
Yellow is associated with happiness, intellect, and energy. Matsuda is upbeat and somewhat dopey. yellow used to connotate honor and loyalty, but has come to mean cowardly. Matsuda is presented as incompetent but well-meaning, but later becomes enraged at Light's deceit and shoots him.
purple is associated with royalty, power, luxury, ambition, wisdom, dignity, independence, creativity, and mystery. Reiji is a rich, intelligent, and ambitious businessman. purple is a combination of red and blue - light's ambition and L's cool detachment.
like above, Mikami is a combination of light and L's characteristics. black is associated with power, elegance, death, evil, mystery, and fear. Mikami is introduced as mysterious and dangerous (and of course, he is in possession of a death note) and he consistently dresses formally.
white is associated with light, goodness, innocence, purity, perfection, and safety. near is an ambiguous character with less personality than l (that we saw) and is colder and more efficient. unlike l who literally handcuffs himself to light, near meets light surrounded by people on his side and on light's, so light cannot openly behave like his true self. he is younger, and subverts the associations of youth = innocence, like how he does not fit with many of the usual white symbolism.
(i see Mello's eyes as blue-green, not light blue) green is associated with jealousy. though he tries to act like he's L's successor, his actual motivation is envy of near.
red and blue are often treated as opposites, even though they are not across from each other on the color wheel. l and light are more alike than they seem on the surface.
our key players (light, l, misa) are in primary colors. Matsuda is in yellow, both setting him apart from the key players and indicating that he is more important than he initially seemed.

TarunTeja5 years ago2
Woah you spent a lot of time on this, Your take on the symbolism is pretty interesting :) and thank you for pointing out the mistakes I'll make sure to fix them. (the blue-green eyes)
- grimdarkGenesis5 years ago
  thank you! yeah, this is about 500 words. i enjoy analyzing things a lot when I'm interested. i could've gone deeper but it would've doubled in length.