stressed you people miss the point. the fact that he's fictional doesn't change the ideals or the fact that his ideals where created by a real person, based on our society. The main theme of Death Note is to force the watcher to question our definition of right and wrong. DN is realistic in many different ways, societies flaws are no exception. The fact is that the saying "the end justifies the means" existed before the manga ever did. It was also the main belief of Hitler, it's called Fascism. I can tell you right now it's a truly frightening concept because it insinuates that you are not responsible for any negative actions you might have taken if a positive outcome occurs. it's like saying lets kill off all mankind to save the planet. In the manga it's used as a tool by Light to justify his actions. A common trait of many psychopaths. If you remember in the beginning he tests the notebook to see if it really works, on a man holding a group of school children hostage. He knew nothing about the man or his history yet never hesitated to kill him. this shows detachment from normal human characteristics like empathy. psychopaths are an interesting breed, they lack certain traits that prevent us all from killing ourselves, they understand the difference between right and wrong but don't care. This makes them dangerous and unpredictable. Light's so called quest to better the world was simply a forward for him to kill people. He felt he needed an excuse a reason that would justify his behavior. Also known as "playing the saint" after all, no one wants to be seen as the bad guy right? However, he raises the question of whether it's appropriate to use capital punishment on criminals. In an ideal world it would be simple. you kill the criminal and it's all gone right? WRONG, you cannot say that you know everything about a person, that you know all their motives, their history, what makes them happy, sad. If it's true that when we first come into this world we're a blank slate. then is it completely inconceivable that you could have ended up in their position? Criminal behavior isn't a gene, it can't be killed off because it's all mental. it's a way of processing data with our minds that is instilled due to necessity early in life. Eg. If you had to steal to survive early in life, it becomes part of your natural behavior latter in life due to necessity. when you reach a certain age it becomes extremely difficult to change said characteristics, so you get stuck with em. get it? that's why capital punishment was abolished in most places, because it's not just the individuals fault that they behave in said way but societies treatment of them. that’s why criminal activity usually occurs in problem homes. saying you simply kill off all criminals everything will be ok is borderline stupid. That is exactly what happened with communism. In theory it should have worked. but it didn't leave room for human mistakes. destructive behavior is natural part of human kind unfortunately The only true way to kill criminal activity is to create equality for everyone. but as we all know from communism that is something that can never truly occur..