When you watch "Death Note," you want to see Light wriggle his way out of seemingly impossible, completely deadly situations. And yet, you also await the moment he finally gets his comeuppance. He's just that fun to hate, and it makes him one of the greatest characters in anime history.
Light Yagami starts out as a bored high school student who stumbles upon the horrifying power of the Death Note. Before long, he's committed to using it to create a better world, firmly under his rule. Sure, this initial desire to do away with crime is somewhat commendable. However, as the series goes on and Light is continually one step away from being caught, his atrocious actions reveal his real, ugly personality. He never actually cares about creating an innocent world — he only cares about becoming a god.
While Light tries to hold onto his good name for as long as possible, the mask eventually slips and exposes the devil who's been hiding inside him all along. Eventually, everyone finds out that Light is willing to kill anyone who gets in his way, including his own family. When the time finally comes for his name to be written in the Death Note, he thinks about the "boring" life he threw away, all those years ago. He's a bad guy through and though, but it's hard not to be moved by Light Yagami's tragic end.
