New World (Death Note)
| "New World" | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Tetsuro Araki |
| Written by |
Toshiki Inoue (script) Takeshi Obata (comic) Tsugumi Ohba (comic) |
| Episode chronology | |
"New World" ("Shinsekai" ζ°δΈη) is the thirty-seventh episode and series finale of the Death Note anime. It debuted in Japanese on June 26, 2007; English on July 4, 2008; Hungarian on September 24, 2008; Italian on July 4, 2009; Spanish on October 30, 2009; and German on November 27, 2009. This and the previous episode are the only two to be rated TV-MA.
Plot
The last episode continues immediately after the previous one. Light Yagami and Teru Mikami are both shocked that no one has died after 40 seconds have passed, with the latter questioning "God" as to why. It is then that Near reveals that the pages in Mikami's notebook had been replaced with fake pages created by the SPK, with information from Mello serving as the catalyst. The notebook is confiscated, and as Light's name is the only one omitted, Light is exposed as Kira.
Terrified, Light first tries to claim the entire situation is a set-up. As everyone present heard him declare his victory just before the 40-second mark, no one on either the task force or the SPK accepts this claim. Out of options, Light laughs maniacally and confesses to being Kira and attempts to acquit himself by justifying his use of the notebook. When that fails, he tries to convince Near that the notebook the task force brought with them is also a fake, creating a distraction so he can write Near's real name on the piece of the Death Note hidden in his watch. Furious and betrayed by Light's apathy toward his father's death, Matsuda shoots Light several times, leaving him badly injured and completely cornered.
Moments later, Mikami stabs himself with his pen, and he quickly bleeds to death. His suicide creates a diversion, allowing an injured Light to take advantage of the commotion and escape the Yellowbox Warehouse. Near suggests that the task force refrains from going after Light, as his wounds are severe and it is unlikely he has other hidden scraps from the notebook, but Aizawa and the rest of the task force decide to pursue him anyway.
As Light runs away, he hallucinates a younger version of himself without the notebook passing him by. Ryuk, from atop a tower, reminds Light of his promise from the beginning: that Ryuk would be the one to write Light's name in his notebook. Ryuk reasons that he would be bored waiting for Light to die in prison but admits that their years together were interesting. When Light decides to hide in another warehouse, Ryuk writes Light's name down.
During the end credits, the fate of all remaining Kiras are shown. Mikami's corpse is left alone in the warehouse. Misa is standing on top of the old task force building's roof looking down. Light dies of cardiac arrest halfway up a flight of stairs, a figure of L looming over him.
Critical reception
Tom S. Pepirium of IGN wrote "New World really works best when watched immediately after 1.28. The final two chapters really work better as one. Overall though, it was a deeply satisfying ending", arguing that "Matsuda shooting Light is maybe THE stand up and cheer "holy sh*t" moment of the series." The site gave the episode a perfect score of 10 and provided a final retrospective on the series: "This was the greatest anime there has ever been. This was the greatest anime dub there has ever been. And I will seriously miss tuning in every week."[1]