Death Note is not an action series. It’s a psychological genius that still gives out the most thrilling experience. The anime was a big hit and remained an unrivaled opponent to date. It takes elements of surprise to build up the storyline, only to end in more twists in the future. As aforementioned, Death Note does not have too many actions packed scenes or scenes that require complicated CGI to satisfy. Instead, it’s the constant game of cat and mouse that keeps everyone so hooked. Adding on to it are the wonderfully written lines that intensify the air around it. These quotes from Death Note make you wonder, question, and understand the world a little better.
Death Note is a series that is superior to many. Dialogues from the characters have left deep impacts on the readers and writers. The show explores the truth behind good and evil, truth and lies, and subjects with similar depth. As it explores them, it compels its audience to think along and find some answers for themselves. The best part of Death Note is how it places two sides of a coin without bias. It gives valid points to justify both good and evil and makes us want to question why good is good and why evil is considered bad. Thinking of binging the show again? Check it out on Netflix for a thrilling holiday.
40 Quotes From Death Note
Celebrating the intensity of the show, here are the 40 best quotes from Death Note that left us awestruck and thinking.
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1. Treasure Your Life
“Learn to treasure your lifes since it can be taken away from you anytime.” – L Lawliet
There’s a fair amount of dripping from this quote which makes it every bit impressive. We wake up every day and throw some days away without a second thought of how it could have been the last. An anime like Death Note, where death is a core unit of the plot, reminds us over and again to value the gift of life.
2. Death is Equal
“There is no such thing as heaven or hell. Whatever you do while you’re alive, everybody goes to the same place once you die. Death is Equal.” – L Lawliet
L Lawliet was perhaps not the most God-believing person in the world. Despite his beliefs, there’s not much I see wrong in what he claims through this quote. While I do not have anything to correct here, this single statement raises several questions in my head. This is the beauty of a superior psychological story like Death Note and in some of its best quotes.
3. The right and Wrong
“What is right from wrong? What is good from evil? Nobody can tell the difference between them. Even if there was a God. Even if a god and his world existed, I’d still stop and think for myself. I’d decide for myself whether his teachings are right or wrong. After all, I am just the same as you. I believe in my own convictions as to what I believe is right, and consider them to be righteous.” – Near
Near succeeded L, and we could very well see why. This is indeed one of the best quotes from Death Note and my personal favorite too. Near explores the truth behind a question everyone has asked at least once in their life. What is wrong? And what does it mean to be right? We live in a world where the two can never be separated like black and white. Every right comes with an underlying wrong and vice versa.
4. Peace, Love, and Money.
“You cannot buy peace or love with money”- Misa Amane
Misa Amane was several things in the series, and annoying was a primary one of those things. However, every once in a while, she too would drop in such deep lines that one can easily agree with.
5. The Work of a Childish Killer
“This is no divine judgement. This is the work of some childish killer who’s playing at divine retribution. That’s all.” – L Lawliet
This is the best way one could describe Kira. Kira was no God. He was no man of righteousness. I believe whatever his beliefs were, they were in the best interest in his perspective. But it’s an undeniable fact that Kira was born from one common feeling: boredom- of both Ryuk and of Light.
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6. You can’t change the world alone.
“Irrespective of how gifted you are… You cannot change the world alone.” – L Lawliet
I would be lying (and so would you) if you haven’t felt being against the whole world at least once in your lifetime. The world is huge, and if it took just one person to change it, things would have been very different today.
7. Imperfections
“Laws are not perfect, because humans who made these laws aren’t perfect. It’s impossible to be perfect. Yet, the laws are evidence of the human’s desire to be righteous.” – Soichiro Yagami.
This is not only one of the best quotes from Death Note but also one of the most powerful ones. Light’s father was a man of justice, and he spits nothing but words of wisdom when he speaks about the imperfections that people are bound to and the world they have created through these imperfections.
8. From one Murderer to Another
“Light, my son… from one murderer to another, I’ll see you in hell.” – Soichiro Yagami
Several quotes from Death Note are cold and would make any living soul shudder. This is one of such quotes. It is downright blunt and gets me goosebumps every time I come across them.
9. No Good or Evil for Murderers
“For murderers, there is no good or evil. I know that.” – Light Yagami
It has often made me wonder why a person would commit heinous crimes. This powerful quote from Death Note somewhat gives my doubts an answer.
10. Mikami Teru’s Universal Truth
“In this world, there is only good and evil, that was the first universal truth I understood from observing the world around me when I was a child. Every human being without any exception ends up falling into one of these categories.” – Mikami Teru
Mikami Teru was the next Big Kora follower who became another one of Light’s substitute Kira for a while. These lines from Mikami give out quite a lot of details for why he would make such a fine Kira.
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11. Loneliness is not really a curse.
“Being alone is better than being with the wrong person” – L Lawliet
One reason why I love quotes from L is that they are mostly relatable and very true. L makes a lot of sense when he speaks, and more occasions than once have I found myself agreeing to his ideologies and concepts.
12. Risks
“Risking your life and doing something that could easily take your life are exact opposites.” – L Lawliet
L gives fans a little disclaimer a bright difference between people being risky and people being stupid.
13. A lack of trust in the world
“In this world, there are very few people who actually trust each other.” – Light Yagami
Let’s admit it, Light is basically spitting facts the entire series. However, here, in one of the best quotes from Death Note, he speaks an undeniable truth.
14. To win, You have to Attack
“You can’t ever win if you’re always being defensive. To win, you have to attack!” – Light Yagami
If risking everything is dangerous, playing defensive all the time is equally foolish. One cannot also play safe and expect to have lavish results. To win, one must work.
15. Lies
“Humans aren’t perfect. Everyone lies. Even so… I’ve been careful not to tell lies that hurt others.” – Light Yagami
It often seems like Light has a very greyish sense of justice. I love this quote from Light because it reminds me of a kinder side of Light.
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16. Revenge
“In the end, there is no greater motivation than revenge.” – Mello
While encouragement can push people to do the impossible, people seldom notice that some negative emotions do the same. Anger, frustration, and revenge can break a person or push them to new limits.
17. The Boring World of Humans
“The human world is a boring place with boring people doing boring things.” – Ryuk
Yes, Ryuk, I understand. Things are not always exciting, and most of the time, we just breathe and survive through the day. The world of humans looks so plain until you let yourself into their minds and visit their fantasies. Quotes from Death Note, as such give us quick look at the tiresome life that humans live at times.
18. A rotten World
“This world is rotten, and those who are making it rot deserve to die. If someone has to do it, why not me?” – Light Yagami
Although filled with a considerable amount of aggression, this is, without doubt, one of the best quotes from Death Note. The anime does not shy away from speaking about the scum of the world, and one cannot agree more with it.
19. The Real Evil
“The power to kill people is the real evil. Anyone who finds himself with that power is cursed. No matter how you use it, anything obtained by killing people can never bring true happiness.” – Soichiro Yagami
Soichiro Yagami would occasionally drop in to represent the good conscience of a human mind. Kira might have convinced people that he was a righteous God, but Soichiro points out everything wrong with the power he had.
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20. The most iconic quote from Light
“I’ll take a potato chip AND EAT IT!” – Light Yagami
This has to be the most iconic quote by Light as he tries to convince L by pretending to be a normal high school kid in front of the camera.
21. Hating to Lose
“Kira is childish and he hates losing…I know because I am also childish and hate to lose.” – L Lawliet
L makes the most interesting character analysis of Kira throughout the show. I love how he does not hesitate from accepting his immature side.
22. Light Yagami’s God Complex
“Hear this: not only am I Kira, but I’m also God of the new world!” – Light Yagami
You won’t see Light Yagami’s God Complex kicking in any harder as he laughs maniacally. This is by far one of the best quotes from the show that left a great impact on its viewers.
23. Making Assumptions is part of the Job.
“Making assumptions is part of any investigation. If we’re wrong, all it’ll cost is an apology.” – Near
If you cannot think of a possibility, you won’t ever be able to discover the truth behind things. Sometimes you need to take the benefit of the doubt and explore further into the truth.
24. Simplicity and complications.
“Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple” – L Lawliet
Asking the right questions can be tricky. Sometimes one spends hours wondering what and how to ask a question, and the answer received is rather easy.
25. Torment and Terror
“There is the torment and terror that only humans who’ve used that note will experience” Ryuk
This quote from Ryuk hits differently once you’ve finished watching the stories and understand the consequences of using a Death Note.
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26. Goodwill and Light
“What I hate the most is to trample on other people’s goodwill.” – Light Yagami
I love coming across quotes that shade light on Light’s better side. This quote from Death Note fulfils my goal.
27. A Loser?
“If you can’t beat the game, if you can’t solve the puzzle, you’re nothing but a loser.” – Near
This may come off as quite blunt, but it is not entirely false either.
28. Food and L
“You can call me what you like, but I will be taking your cake.” -L Lawliet
If you felt Light’s potato chips was iconic, wait until you find out about L’s sweet tooth!
29. Food and L- II
“If you use your head, you won’t get fat even if you eat sweets.” – L Lawliet
Once again, L surprises us with another food quote to ignite the sweet tooth in us as well.
30. Feelings
“I can’t develop feelings. That’s how most idiots screw up.” – Light Yagami
Light was not the most emotional person in the world. He was not dense, he just couldn’t feel like us normal humans did. Seems like he was aware of the fact as well.
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31. Risk
“We put ourselves at a great risk by trying too hard.” L Lawliet
L’s perception about risk begins again, and we cannot help but agree with another fact he spits.
32. Kira
“If Kira gets caught, he is Evil. If Kira rules the world, he is justice” – Light Yagami
Light has a very interesting approach to Kira. He could see the evil he was harboring, but he saw it as a means of achieving a greater good.
33. Just a murderer.
“You’re just a murderer, Light Yagami. This notebook is the most dangerous weapon of mass murder in the history of mankind.” – Near
I love the sheer honesty in Near’s words with no filters of sugarcoating.
34. Understanding a Genius
“Not every genius is understood.” – L Lawliet
Every once in a while, geniuses are claimed to be an insane bunch of people. They are difficult to understand for people without a vision.
35. Lying Monsters
“Lying monsters are a real nuisance. They are cleverer than other monsters. They disguise as humans even though they have no understanding of the human heart. They eat even though they’ve never experienced hunger. They study even though they have no interest in academics. They look for friendship even though they do not know how to love.” – L Lawliet.
I love how beautifully states that he hates liars. After all, we have all been hurt by lies and liars!
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36. Making the First Move
“Nothing will happen unless someone makes the first move.” – Misa Amane
This is perhaps the mantra for a static life, a life without conflicts.
37. God of Death
“I don’t care if it is fortunate or unfortunate that Light picked up the Death Note. But, is generally an omen for a person to be followed by a God of Death.” – Ryuk
Ryuk cared little for those who died as long as he was entertained. This was kind of harsh even for a Shinigami.
38. Eliminating the vermin.
“Is there anyone out there other than me who’d be willing to eliminate the vermin from the world?”- Light Yagami.
Once again, we see Light’s God Complex kicking in at full throttle!
39. I’ll change the world.
“Using the death note, I’ll change the world.” – Light Yagami
Light did change quite a lot of things using the Death Note.
40. You have lost, Light.
“You have lost, Light. Didn’t I say, when you die, I’ll be the one to write your name down in a notebook? That is the deal between the Shinigami and the first human to get their hands on the note in the human world. When you enter prison, I don’t know when you’ll die. It’s annoying to wait. Your life is over, already. You’ll die here.” – Ryuk
Ryuk was not a good character or an evil character. He was a bored God of Death who took his opportunity to entertain himself.
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