@Desbreko:

I think a great many Death Note fans would be crying out to know what happened next if Light had been left alive.

No argument there. Similar thing happened to Conan Doyle; he actually tried to kill off Sherlock Holmes and move on, but there was such a public outcry that he eventually brought Holmes back and kept going. So we're agreed that the fandom wouldn't be satisfied by any means.

As for the last bit, the reason everyone wanted Yagamu to lose was because he was the villain. Though he was also the protagonist—which was a unique angle from which to tell the story—because he was the villain the crowd automatically wants him to fail or die or something. In other words, Yagami is not the good guy, despite being the main character. And no one ever wants the bad guy to win.

Also lol @ 'wanker' used by an American. =D

@Allamorph:

I think a great many Death Note fans would be crying out to know what happened next if Light had been left alive. It wouldn't make sense for the world to just roll over and become Light's footstool after L died. There would always be more people after him; there would always be more story to tell until Light finally bit it, hence why the series ending with L's death and Light "winning" would not be a satisfying conclusion.

I don't think people care much about good always winning in the end, in this case. I think it's more about 1) seeing the whole story and 2) seeing Light finally get taken down since he's a wanker and everyone likes L more.

@Desbreko:

From a storytelling perspective, not really. The history would not be over, but the story itself would be, because a good story is about conflict, not retelling. As long as there is no one left to challenge him, the story isn't worth telling. If L was his only capable opposition, the best that could be managed would be a recount of his deeds as Kira, and the possibly something with him on his deathbed, perchance as he attempts to win his way out of Ryuk's notebook. That last bit might have been worth something, but not more than an epilogic episode, since there is really no way to manipulate that particular rule.

And remember my caveat about L's death marking his loss. I don't buy that; I feel that L could surely have seen this path coming and counter-planned for it if he indeed suspected Yagami's plan (which was the impression I was under), instead of his death being such a clean-cut victory for Yagami. I feel also that the conflict after L's death was manufactured to give Yagami a way to lose without allowing L to be a part of that loss. That rings hollow to me, and so unnecessary.

Also, is there really a fear of not knowing how the shadow is finally dispersed? The story wasn't so much about the Death Note as it was about Yagami. From that perspective, the climax is his 'victory' over his nemesis, L, and everything after that is just resolution. Anti-climactic, if you will. A secondary climax like the one added in simply does not have enough draw to retain interest.

@Allamorph:

It wouldn't matter how he died, sure, but afterward the world would go back to the way it was, regardless of how long it took. He could never really win. But until he died, the story of the Death Note wouldn't be over.

@Desbreko:

But that could be resolved with Yagami simply dying of old age. It wasn't required that he be defeated, just that he die.

Everyone dies. =P

Happy thanksgiving! :D

I have a suggestion/question. I hope you don't mind :P
A whole new section solely for announcing/posting contests. The contests would be sorted by deadline and the information given about the contest would be somewhat similar to the information the contest world gives. There will be more interaction between members and the section would simply promote holding and entering contests. Furthermore, a lot of people put more effort into a contest entry than a 'normal' artwork. ^^

I'd like to hear what you think. If it might be possible ^__^

@Allamorph:

The thing is, the story would not be over until Light died, as Ryuk stated at the very beginning that he'd be the one to ultimately kill Light by writing his name in his own Death Note. We knew from the start that evil was not going to win in the end and that Light would die sooner or later, with Ryuk reclaiming the Death Note. Not showing that would've just been the writers going, "We dunno how to write a conclusion to this story so we just won't lololol."

Mashed potatoes with gravy and turkey is sooo good. ^_^

I haven't seen either of the animes you are talking about so I couldn't say one way or the other.

-Sabrina

I haven't gotten past the part where Mello and Near have been introduced, but I almost wish that it hadn't continued as well. Would have been cool to see a 'villain' win, like Alla said.

Mmmm... mashed potatoes...

@Desbreko:

That's exactly the problem. The ending at 26 was fine for me because it showed exactly how far ahead Yagami played his cards, even those concerning his own actions after his memory loss. I was incredibly impressed with it, and also with the guts the author had to go with an ending where the villain won.

I think the extended bit with Yagami's defeat served only to placate the mass of people who pathologically need good to triumph. Which is funny, I think, in a culture that cries so heavily for individual definitions of good.

Now, I'm not saying the aired ending was bad, by any means. I simply agree with Adam that the better ending would have been the death of L, and possibly a 27th episode (or a ten-minute add-on to the 26th] detailing the events L might have laid in place to capture Yagami as a result of his death. That was the only sore spot for me about L's death: he knew he was going to die, and yet all his plans ground to a halt with that event. Yagami knew he was to be captured, and he played off of that to achieve his victory; could not L have done the same, given his familiarity with audio tapes and knowing others' motivations? Sure, he couldn't necessarily predict the actions of the shinigami—that was Yagami's advantage—but given his continual pinpoint deductions, despite Yagami changing the rules, I don't think an Epilogue victory for L would have been out of the question.

I simply don't see a reason to factor Mello or Near into the story.

Happy Thanksgiving to you too Adam!!

I'm currently on episode 25, the episode when *sniff* L dies. I can't believe it. Light can be so... cruel. I thought that he would have second thoughts about it and let L live, but no. And I hate that Watari died too, what a nice man. And my favorite Shinigami, Rem had to die too! All in one episode? C'mon!

To be fair, Death Note is pretty friggin' brief for a series based off a Jump manga, haha.

I do agree that the series wasn't nearly as interesting once L died, but I think Light needed to die to provide a decent conclusion. If it had just up and ended when L died it would have been even more annoying because it would have left the story completely open.

But then, with L gone, that posed the problem of, "Who else is smart enough to catch Kira if even L couldn't?" L was the best they had so it wouldn't make sense for the other guys to spontaneously manage it on their own. The story up to that point forced the introduction of another L-like character to finally reveal Light as Kira and put an end to it.

Basically, it seems like a lot of the story leading up to L's death would have to be rewritten in order for the series to end shortly after that while still providing a good conclusion. The only way I could see it happening would be Light somehow getting forced into killing L in a way that revealed him as Kira, thus leading to their mutual destruction.

If Vicious and Spike's roles were reversed, that'd be a pretty spot on comparison.

The anime followed the manga pretty well, so if anyone was grabbing for more money, it would've been the mangaka. I'm glad the story didn't end after Light's victory, but it was pretty hollow up till the end. Some characters simply can't be replaced by one that's anywhere near as intriguing.

I never sympathized with Light. Thank God. It means I'm not evil.

*glares at Light fans*
Y'all sick.

Mmmm... mashed potatoes... [Gee, now I'm hungry XD]

I understand what you mean about the last few episode of Death Note; the series would've been alright if it had ended with L's death and Light highlighting his upcoming success... but alas, what would happen to Matt? [what would happen to my avatar? XD]

Oh gosh, I don't want to think about that.... thank God that didn't happen to Cowboy Bebop... See you later space cowboy... [You gotta carry all that weight of 11 more episodes. 0_o]

And to all a good night!
And to Light... good riddance! *fistshake*