Ryuk Had The Right Idea

yes!! i love this guy so much

matsuda & realistic headcanon: i think he’s really smart! he keeps up with L and light 90% of the time. i think he only comes off as otherwise because he a) talks without thinking and b) isn’t embarrassed to ask when he doesn’t understand something, whereas everyone else keeps quiet and waits for someone else to explain. sometimes he’s confused about things which are genuinely confusing and sometimes he could probably figure them out if he slowed down for three seconds and thought through them, but he lacks both the confidence and the impulse control to do that. (which is very much exacerbated by everyone else taking out their stress by snapping at him.)

matsuda & not necessarily realistic but hilarious headcanon: during the yotsuba arc, he once almost unravelled the entire kira investigation because he asked light about his cool graduation watch and light started showing him all the features. 

matsuda & heartcrushing headcanon: i think he’s kind of lonely! he’s so excited to stay in L’s apartment and hang out with everyone else. if he had any friends before, he’s lost them due to how much time the kira investigation takes up. i think sometimes he closes the door behind him in his empty apartment and feels absolutely crushed. makes himself a bowl of cereal then sticks the empty bowl on the counter right next to all the other bowls. 

(not that living alone is a bad thing — it’s my preference, personally — but matsuda doesn’t seem like the type who could cope with it, especially given how stressful and isolating the investigation already. his entire social circle doesn’t even call each other by their real names.) 

maybe a part of him didn't want to kill light, even then — as light begs ryuk to spare him a moment later, matsuda pities him

misa amane ᰔ𖥻 death note

Something that I found very striking about the high school scenes in the anime is that Light is almost always by himself. He doesn't walk to or from school with anyone and he eats lunch alone.

We know that making friends isn't something that is difficult for him, ( for example, he writes down his plan for the busjacking in the Death Note BEFORE asking a girl out, having no doubt that someone will go with him ) meaning that all this time alone is what he prefers and chooses.

This is significant because it is reflective of how he acts for the rest of the series, only getting to know people or surrounding himself with people when it is directly beneficial to him, rather than for any actual enjoyment.

( We never see any of these people before or after this episode lmao)

In the manga, however, even though they only appear in the first chapter, Light has friends that he walks home with, an interaction that is lacking any visible ulterior motive.

Even if it is a pretty small difference, I think it arguably creates two alternate perspectives on Light's character.

Anime Light's pattern of interacting with people only when necessary is present from the beginning and seems to just be a part of his personality. Although having this ability is useful to him when acting as Kira, it wasn't created due to necessity.