Summary
Ryuk dropped the Death Note out of boredom, not out of malice or any specific plot. Both Ryuk and Light share the same thoughts about boredom, which affects their actions. Ryuk refuses to support Light's evil plans, choosing to observe the situation unfold for his own amusement.
Book Death has one of the most unique and fast-paced plots in anime, easily attracts viewers' attention with a mysterious whirlwind. When Ryuk, a Shinigami living in another world, dropped the Death Note diary, it fell into the human world. Light Yagami, an ordinary high school student, gets his hands on the book and chaos quickly ensues as he dedicates himself to exterminating every criminal in the world with the book's deadly power.
Ryuk is one of the most interesting and influential characters in Death Note. If he hadn't let the diary fall into Light's hands in the first place, the story wouldn't have turned out the way it did. However, some people do not realize Ryuk's real motive for dropping the book.
Although some may think that the Shinigami allowed Light to obtain the Death Note out of malice or some devious plan to end humanity, that is not the case. The real reason why Ryuk participates in Light's plan is much more innocent and surprising: he's just bored.
Ryuk allowed the light to touch the Death Note purely out of boredom
Shinigami simply seek entertainment
Death Note begins with this deliberate boredom, with mangaka Tsugumi Ohba choosing this emotion to influence the actions of both Light and Ryuk. The first chapter of the manga is aptly titled “Boredom,” which drives home the message that the characters are desperately searching for some form of excitement, leading to a diary situation Death Note occurs. Ohba stated, “had no hesitation in choosing the title 'Boredom' for the first chapter,” as he felt it was the best tone to start the story with as it made the characters' intentions clear from the start.
Ryuk feels trapped in a vicious cycle of monotony in the Shinigami world, so he dropped the diary to see if he could cause some trouble on earth, which was a goal he certainly achieved. Light himself was confused by Ryuk's motives, but the Shinigami were always very straightforward with his intentions and told Light that the Shinigami world was not as interesting a place as one would expect. Most creatures are lazy at tedious activities like gambling and sleeping, so there is no other way for Ryuk to spend his endless time.
Ryuk and Light's actions are both strongly motivated by boredom
Incredibly, these two very different characters have similar thoughts
Ryuk isn't the only character feeling bored. Light himself felt the same way, creating a fascinating link between these two different characters. Light is so smart that school often seems to bore him, and he happened to be staring out the classroom window the day the Death Note fell from the Shinigami world because he wasn't interested in what was going on in the classroom. class. Light got this diary purely by chance because he happened to find it first, but it seems like a surprising coincidence that he and Ryuk, two extremely carefree people, found see each other.
Since he is a terrifying Shinigami with a book that can kill people, some viewers may have started the Death Note series with the assumption that Ryuk is a villain or has some evil plot to do corrupt humanity. However, Ryuk made it clear that he was actually bored and will not attempt to influence Light's actions. He let the boy act as he pleased, only warning him about the rules of the Death Note. He refused to help Light and refused to reveal L's full name to help Light unless he gave Ryuk part of his lifespan, which Light would not do.
Ryuk refuses to help Light but also makes no effort to stop his evil actions
The Shinigami choose to simply stand by and observe the situation unfold naturally without ever intervening.
One of Ryuk's most popular quotes in Death Note is, “Humans are interesting.” This quote indicates that the Shinigami actually felt a morbid pleasure and fascination in watching Light destroy his own life and destroy the lives of others. Ryuk has the opportunity to stop Light's actions but chooses not to, instead deciding to watch the terrible situation unfold naturally for his own amusement. This is said to possibly make Ryuk the villain of the series. Although he takes a hands-off approach and lets Light make his own decisions, he doesn't try to prevent human suffering.
With Ryuk's help and power, Light is truly unstoppable, able to find out anyone's full name using the “Shinigami Eyes” skill that could have bestowed him. However, Ryuk refuses Light's request and refuses to help the killer unless he benefits from the interaction. Light also stubbornly insisted that he would not give up any of his lifespan to the Shinigami, so Ryuk did not support Light in his plan. just stood there looking and laughing. The Shinigami certainly got the dramatic scene he was hoping for, witnessing the demise of Light's life until Kira finally appeared at the end of the series.
Both Ryuk and Light are motivated by their own selfish desires
The internal motivations of these characters are surprisingly similar
Ryuk is different from other Shinigami in the series, such as Misa's Shinigami named Rem, and Gelus, who fell in love with Misa after observing her from the Shinigami Kingdom. Gelus and Rem are motivated by their love for Misa and a deep desire to protect her from harm. Both of them died for Misa, sacrificing themselves to keep the girl safe and happy. In this regard, Ryuk is very different, because he has never thought about dying for Light or anyone else.
Ryuk is a character driven entirely by his own selfish desires, which ironically makes him surprisingly similar to Light, despite the “savior” aura that the main character in that brings. Book Death tried to build around him.
