#in the anime at least: it's quite literally /himself/ that is his downfall. if mikami weren't such a perfect replica

[datastate]

with death note, one of the genuine attempts at criticism i don’t understand is: “Light shouldn’t have killed Lind L Tailor.” (or that he should’ve been more wary, etc.) ... i understand that you wouldn’t have done it, sure, most people probably would’ve at least waited! taking care to remember tailor’s name until the broadcast definitively ended - where tailor would (presumably) not be noticed as having died at all/in his sleep/etc.

but. light sees this outcry right after he gets the ego boost from the supporters online who have recognized that there is indeed some force ‘delivering righteous punishment’ - light never, from the start, intended to hide his power because he wants people to trace it back to someone who “truly understands what’s right and wrong” ... he openly taunts ryuzaki with the whole - “yes, so what if i can change the times of deaths or how someone acts before they die?” in confirming his suspicions and trying to urge out that feeling of hopelessness. ryuzaki states from the start that kira is childishly arrogant and hates to lose (especially where he feels as if he’s justified)

and, just from a writer’s perspective - how else are you meant to push the plot forward if the primary antagonist, L, has nothing to work with?