V. The Legacy
Despite the series of murders that he has committed, there is a mixed reaction with regards to Light Yagami. In the Death Note world, Light has found many enemies as KIRA, from L and the Japanese police force investigating the case to Near and his own investigation team. However, Light also found many supporters in the general public since his killing spree has, in their point of view, been very beneficial in their lives; his accomplice Teru Mikami even believes that Light is a God ("Mikami Teru", n.d.). In the real world, many fans of the series were "rooting for Light the whole time" (Pepirium, 2007) while others such as Erika Toda, the actress who played Misa in the live-action film adaptation of Death Note, said that Light's actions were "criminal even if it’s to make the world a better place with fewer criminals" (Kitty Sensei, 2007).
Similarly, Ferdie's legacy has had mixed reaction over the years. Transparency International Global Corruption Report 2004 has ranked Ferdie as the second most corrupt leader in the world, behind Indonesia's Mohammed Suharto (as cited by "World's Ten Most Corrupt Leaders", 2007). However, a national survey conducted by Pulse Asia in 2005 noted that Marcos received the highest rating among the five recent presidents in the country, seemingly giving the impression that Filipinos perceive him as the best president of the country in modern times (as cited by Tan, 2005).
The two had the potential to be individuals who made a truly and undoubtedly positive contribution to the world and would have been judged by history as great and respected persons. As Death Note writer Tsugumi Ohba had said in Death Note: How to Read 13, Light would have been "one of the greatest police leaders in the world" had he not crossed paths with Ryuk and the Death Note (as cited in "Light Yagami", n.d.). On the other hand, many Filipinos insist that Ferdie was "the best President the Philippines could have had"; a former aide of Marcos was even noted at saying, "Nobody will ever know what a remarkable president he could have made. That's the saddest part." (as cited in Banos, 2006).
Light Yagami could have been one of the most outstanding leaders of his world. Ferdinand Marcos could have been one of the most outstanding leaders of our world. It is just sad to know that they had been led by fate to another path and live a dark and sad life that has led history to judge them unkindly.
