light yagami was clearly so miserable, chasing grades and suppressing himself, trying to fit in and emulate normal teenage behavior, popular based on his looks and abilities but unknown to everyone and generally detached, a child prodigy experiencing massive burnout not because everything was too hard but because it's ultimately pointless. sure he can become a cop/detective but the crime will never stop and people continue to suffer and who knows if thats even what his goal was or if he was just fulfilling what everyone expected of him. and then this kid who always had to be perfect because everyones counting on it, he needs to be #1 again and again and be a straight a student, be the top of his class, of everyone in the country.
like if death note werent a tragedy it would be a romcom where he finally meets someone smarter than he is and he's a guy who is the other side of the same coin, visibly unkempt, openly morally grey at best, doesnt try to mask his obvious neurodivergence, and light would hate him. hate him sooo much because he did all this work to be the ideal son, student, man, and heres the #1–#3 detective living authentically, detached from the society light hates, praised for his intellect, always coming out on top no matter what. and hes jealous. he hates his stupid bare feet and eyes that either dont meet his or stare too long that completely read him and have figured out exactly what he is and who he is despite his attempts to shove it all down.
