Death Note Creator had “Forgotten all about” the Only Other Character Besides Misa Amane Who Loved Light
Death Note is one of the most appreciated psychological thriller animes, starring the ambitious protagonist, Light Yagami, who seeks to transform the world with a supernatural notebook, “Death Note”, and become the god of the new world. With such a high ambition, Light gained numerous enemies along the way, and even his supposed allies worked against him at times.
Misa Amane, who was obsessed with Light, once threatened to bring everything Light built crashing down when she got captured and something similar happened with Mikami Teru, a fanatical attorney who accepted Kira as the one true god of the new world. Apart from them, Light had another femme fatale by his side: the beautiful and confident Kiyomi Takada. Although she eclipsed Misa after a point, even she was a stepping stone for Light in the end.
Why Did Tsugumi Ohba Forget About Kiyomi Takada?
In an interview with Tsugumi Ohba, the creator of Death Note, the interviewer posed the question of whether he had planned from the beginning for Kiyomi Takada to come to the scene after Mikami. Ohba responded by saying that he had initially planned to introduce Takada when the “Mello and Near” arc started, but he eventually forgot about her for a while. Ohba said,
“I entertained the idea of introducing Takada when the “Near and Mello” arc started. .. But as Near and Mello got into the thick of things, there was a period in time I forgot all about her (laughs). Fortunately, that idea returned and that was how Takada came into the story after Mikami. Letting her enter the scene as a news anchor was one of the many parts that I liked very much.“
Although Kiyomi Takada’s role was minor compared to other characters, she still played a crucial role in diverting the attention of L and other detectives from Light. She was one of Light’s trustworthy allies, but despite her efforts, she fell victim to Kira as well.
The Rise And Fall Of Kiyomi Takada
Kiyomi Takada made her first appearance in the story of Death Note as a minor character halfway through the cat and mouse games of Light and L. Light started dating Takada superficially when he became a student at To-Oh University, just to throw L’s detectives off Misa’s track and hide Light and Misa’s partnership.
Kiyomi was merely a pawn in Light’s game and she was unaware of it. She never found out the truth and respected Light greatly. She became a much more crucial character when Light reached out to her and appointed her as Kira’s new spokesperson. Kiyomi accepted the position and revealed her true nature: she became arrogant, and that was her hubris.
By this time, Light had nothing to do with Misa, and Kiyomi gladly flaunted her role as Light’s new sidekick. She took great satisfaction in edging out her competition and becoming Light’s new queen. However, it all came crashing down when Light abandoned her for his own sake, which is typical behavior expected of him.
Kiyomi had been so smug about her role as Light’s spokesperson that she didn’t notice that she had ironically become the second Misa and played right into his hands. By the time she realized that Light had merely used her for his own conquest, it was too late. Although she killed Mello, she soon followed after Light and Mikami wrote her name down in the Death Note so all evidence would be disposed of. Kiyomi failed to realize that there was no space for another person on Kira’s throne.
You can watch Death Note on Hulu.
