For me, Misa is one of the deepest and most complex characters in the whole Death Note.

I don’t like her, but through the story I think I see her.

I see a lost girl who desperately avoids taking responsibility. She wants someone strong and safe to lead her. She craves love and connection, but doesn’t know how to get it in a healthy way - or maybe she knows, but is terrified of rejection, to the point that she lies to herself (remember her coming out of that meeting with Kyomi, telling Mogi that she “won”).

It mentions the death of her parents maybe twice? And then mostly makes a mockery of her resulting trauma and codependency by using her as cheap and distasteful fanservice and comic relief. It doesn’t have too much interest in her besides the fact that she’s obsessed with this fantasy she projects onto Light, and doesn’t really care to explore what kind of person Misa was or could’ve been without the death of her parents.

It’s not the narrative that portrays Misa as obnoxious - it’s Light’s opinion of her. Also, I don’t see why the narrative should teach people how to think about a certain character.

I also don’t see how fanservice and comic relief makes mockery of her trauma. A character can be tragic and funny simultaneously. The parts that can be called “fanservice” can be also interpreted as a part of her personality - Misa is flirtatious and likes to get attention through being attractive. And in comic relief - I doubt she can match Matsuda and L. How is comic relief offensive?

Stories by default give you an impression on their characters based on how they interact and behave in universe, but whatever that might be will be interpreted differently based on the individual. Naturally, even though a lot of people dislike Light, I like him instead as my impression of him comes from a different perspective.

Comic relief can 100% be offensive because it’s subjective, which you’re entitled to disagree with. Doesn’t mean it can’t be perceived that way and just isn’t at all. That’s usually what it is that make people have a negative perception of her to begin with and why I described it as such. While I think Misa is a grown woman with agency, Ohba is still an author with a sexist bias that clearly influences how she’s depicted.

And I ended what I wrote by saying that it’s personal taste rather than poor writing to use her to drive the plot forward instead of giving her more attention and respect as a nuanced and complex character. I never said that it had to so, or that it was an objective failure not to do so.

You don’t have to agree or see it that way! I’m just shedding light on the feelings she evokes that leads people to the poorly expressed take that she’s badly written and that I can understand where it’s coming from.

If, as you say, it’s all about the interpretation, why do you say the narrative created by a sexist writer is what shows Misa as delusional and obnoxious?

It seems to me that the narrative shows us Misa’s personality from different sides, giving us every tool to understand her and think of her as someone far more complex than just a stupid obsessive girl. If the purpose of the narrative was to show her as simply irritating and obsessive, we wouldn’t have been told anything that would explain her or make us feel compassionate towards her.

If a reader doesn’t see her complexity, isn’t that the reader’s fault?

Also, I have decided to make a separate post about this issue. I think I’m onto something.

For me, Misa is one of the deepest and most complex characters in the whole Death Note.

I don’t like her, but through the story I think I see her.

I see a lost girl who desperately avoids taking responsibility. She wants someone strong and safe to lead her. She craves love and connection, but doesn’t know how to get it in a healthy way - or maybe she knows, but is terrified of rejection, to the point that she lies to herself (remember her coming out of that meeting with Kyomi, telling Mogi that she “won”).

It mentions the death of her parents maybe twice? And then mostly makes a mockery of her resulting trauma and codependency by using her as cheap and distasteful fanservice and comic relief. It doesn’t have too much interest in her besides the fact that she’s obsessed with this fantasy she projects onto Light, and doesn’t really care to explore what kind of person Misa was or could’ve been without the death of her parents.

It’s not the narrative that portrays Misa as obnoxious - it’s Light’s opinion of her. Also, I don’t see why the narrative should teach people how to think about a certain character.

I also don’t see how fanservice and comic relief makes mockery of her trauma. A character can be tragic and funny simultaneously. The parts that can be called “fanservice” can be also interpreted as a part of her personality - Misa is flirtatious and likes to get attention through being attractive. And in comic relief - I doubt she can match Matsuda and L. How is comic relief offensive?