Author List

This post was written with the collaboration of Max Aguirre (Intro and Methodology), Elizabeth Chandler (Analysis of L), Zach Parrott (Author List, Tables, Conclusion), and Maggie Wallace (Analysis of Light).

Introduction

December 2003 marked the beginning of the Death Note manga series that would become one of the most popular and famous series to date. It would go on to be adapted into multiple media forms including an anime series and multiple movies, it’s popularity due to it’s well crafted story and distinct, well-written characters. Death Note follows Light Yagami, an intelligent high school student that stumbles upon the “Death Note”, which has the power to kill a person simply by writing their name in its pages. Light, bored with his life, decides to use this notebook to kill those he considered evil in the name of justice thereby becoming the new god of the world. After this phenomenon of criminals dying is discovered, a highly skilled detective, L, is enlisted to help with investigation efforts against Light. So begins a “cat and mouse” chase between the two characters, whose interesting dynamic garnered great praise for the series.

Methodology

For this analysis, we took a look at Volume 3 of the Death Note manga in Japanese, specifically because it is the volume in which Light and L initially meet. We thought it would be interesting to see how they acted on their own, and how they interacted with each other.

We read through the volume, looking specifically for gendered speech (or lack thereof) from the two characters in different situations, in order to see whether or not there were gender dynamics and play, and if there were, how they played out. We also took into account factors such as: What emotions could they be feeling in specific situations? How do they act when being around certain people? How do they talk to each other, and how does their gendered speech (or lack thereof) complement their character, and their rivalry dynamic?

Materials

Here is a table showcasing examples of specific instances of gendered-language in our sample. A key is provided below the table.

Key:
FPP = First Person Pronoun
SPP = Second Person Pronoun
SEP = Sentence Ending Particle
ADJ = Adjective

Analysis and Discussion:

Light Yagami
Light is the main protagonist and the wielder of the eponymous Death Note. He is recognized as a genius and seems like the ideal, polite, and hardworking child and student to everyone around him as he is always thinking ten steps ahead. His primary goal is to rid the world of all criminals and create a perfect, new world by killing them all with the Death Note. In the chapters we analyzed, Light has started working with his father and his team of detectives as well as the world-famous detective L to catch “Kira”, the name created by the public to attribute to Light’s killing of criminals using heart attacks, but of course, no one knows that it is him.

L

L is a brilliant, world famous detective who has worked with various organizations over the years to solve what were considered unsolvable crimes. He has the appearance of a young man, who is quite unconventional in many of his mannerisms, such as sitting in chairs by squatting, his choice of baggy clothing, and his love of sweet things which are oddly contrasted by his polite speech and, at times, disconcerting demeanor. The chapters we analyzed see Light and L interact for the first time in the series highlighting the two men’s different approaches to problems and how their speech patterns differ and express different aspects of their identities.

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Light Yagami Analysis
In the chapters we analyzed, the manner of which Light most often speaks to others, notably L, is quite neutral and informal, with the occasional masculine form peppered in. He will only use overtly masculine forms and words such as ふざけてる when he is angry. We also found one or two examples of him ending a sentence with ぞ, and using な when wondering about something. Usually, his speaking is otherwise neutral, ending most sentences with plain form and heavy use of the sentence final particle よ. This can be contrasted with how he speaks, or sometimes thinks, in soliloquy, either just to himself or around the Shinigami Ryuk. He also always uses the pronoun 僕. When speaking to himself, he makes a distinct change to masculine speech. For example, he refers to L as あなた to his face (unless he is calling him by his fake name 流河) but in soliloquy, he refers to L as おまえ. He also uses the negative command plain form + な.

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L Analysis
In stark contrast to Light Yagami’s (aka Kira’s) more masculine and aggressive forms characteristic of someone of Light’s age, L, a brilliant detective, is far more neutral, polite, and even at times feminine. The first and most obvious difference is in his choice of first person pronoun. L opts for the more neutral 私 (watashi) in comparison to Light’s more masculine 僕(boku) which is characteristic of a young man in his 20’s. L also uses a lot of honorifics and polite forms of speech: he almost always ends his sentences with です・ます(desu masu) with few exceptions, mainly when he is talking to himself. He commonly makes polite requests, ending with ください (kudasai), お願い(onegai), ましょう((mashou), or excusing himself with terms such as 失礼します(shitsureishimasu). He also uses full expressions, such as したのですが (shitanodesuga) instead of shortening them to their more colloquial forms common in Light’s speech patterns. In proper context, most of these forms aren’t strange in and of themselves, but given how he uses them, even toward status equals or inferiors, it makes L come off as slightly femnine or submissive in comparison to Light.

Conclusion
Although the use of gendered language isn’t too frequent throughout the story, the little bits of gendered speech that we do get help to exemplify the character’s personalities and emotions. Light’s use of mostly male speech and informal forms shows his character as rather confident and dominant, while L’s use of formal forms, neutral gendered expressions, and uncertain speech styles gives off the appearance of a more polite, submissive, and passive character. All of this information can be gleaned through their speech styles, rather than the actions and physical interactions between them.

Hello everyone, my name is Nicholas Olenich and I am a sophomore at the U of O. I am an advertising major minoring in Japanese, and I am excited to learn more in depth of the language of Japanese! I’m also looking forward to learn and improve my grammar skills. I am interested in Japanese Linguistics because I want to learn the history and construction. of the language.

My hobbies include taking photos, but more specifically film photography. I enjoy fashion and the history of it and find myself reading about it for too long.

よろしくお願いします

Hi my name is Lee, I am a Senior currently trying to get my dual major in Bio Anthropology and Japanese. I’m taking this class to fulfill the last credit requirement for my Japanese major, but I also am curious about the history and development of the Japanese language as well as better understand the structuring of Kanji. I have studied Japanese for about 6 years now and have been to Japan twice. I currently am trying to go over to Japan for at least a year after I graduate to teach English, however due to Covid, who knows.

My hobbies are playing games, photography, and pottery. I’m hoping to get back into doing pottery again now that the craft center is open.

Hello, my name is Dezi. I’m a junior who is majoring in Global Studies with a business concentration, and I will minor in Japanese, depending on how Japanese goes this year, I might try to major in it as well. I wanted to take this class to further my understanding of the roots of the Japanese language. Growing up I was close to my cousin who studied Japanese and would occasionally travel there, he would show me pictures and describe his trip to me and I thought it was really cool. So I decided to study Japanese no matter what once I got to college so I can hopefully travel there in the near future, and I also had to wait until college because Japanese was not offered at my high school, unfortunately. For my hobbies, I enjoy playing video games with my friends or brothers, watching anime with friends or brothers, playing sports, particularly baseball and basketball, and playing the kalimba. I’m looking forward to getting to know everyone here better over the course of this term.

はじめまして。

My name is Gwyneth Hardy (she/her), but you guys can call me Gwyn.  I’m in my third year at U of O and I’m majoring in anthropology with a focus in archaeology and minoring in Japanese. I’m hoping to get a job in archaeology after I graduate.  I’m taking this class for the minor requirement, and because it seemed really interesting.  I started taking Japanese in high school, and am excited to continue learning it with everyone!

My hobbies including crocheting and roller skating.  I want to learn to do cool tricks on my skates, but I can’t do any yet.  My favorite band is One Ok Rock, and you guys should definitely listen to them if you haven’t.  I also have a pet day gecko named Liz (short for lizard), here’s a picture of him!

よろしくお願いします。

Hello everyone! My name is Jingfei Wang and I use he/his/him as pronouns, I’m a junior student and my major is Japanese. Although I am currently majoring in Japanese, my future career will be related to education. In China, studying abroad is still a hot market, and I plan to work with my former teachers.

I took this class because of professional needs and I have always been interested in linguistic. In my sophomore year, I took an English linguistic course, which is difficult for me because as a non-native English speaker, it is difficult for me to understand Some concepts in English linguistic. Of course, I have always been interested in Japanese, which should be influenced by Japanese and Korean pop culture. Ten years ago, Japanese and Korean pop cultures such as animation, music, and TV dramas influenced China, and I was curious about Japanese culture since then. Later, I chose Japanese as my major and plan to stick to it for a long time.

My hobbies are video editing, animation, cooking, and stand-alone games. For me, cooking and stand-alone games are an indispensable part of my life. I was influenced by my grandfather and fell in love with cooking. My friends and I often try different kinds of games together which is very fun.

Hello! My name is Jamie Arpan and I am a sophomore. I am currently on track to triple major in Global Studies, Asian Studies, and Japanese. I don’t know yet which track I want as my focus for Japanese, but for Global Studies my concentration is international relations and diplomacy.

Before I knew this class was a requirement, an upperclassman told me about it and I thought it would be really interesting since I was already taking Japanese. So far the class has lived up to my expectations and it is giving me insights into the language that are aiding me in studying it (bonus).

When it comes to hobbies, I love stories, tea, art, and studying Japanese. Honestly stories is just a shorter way for me to say I like all the things containing them: books, movies, video games, etc. Furthermore when it comes to tea, I like collecting and trying new flavors that I can find. Eventually, I would like to create my own herbal concoctions.

Also I love my pet cat, Wailua.

Hey everybody!

My name is Jordan and I’m in my 5th year of undergrad. I’m majoring in Asian Studies with a focus on Japanese Literature. COVID put a little roadblock in my academic goals when it forced me to come back home from studying abroad at Japan Women’s University, so I’m very excited to continue learning about Japanese linguistics. I have only taken one Japanese linguistics class before, which was a very rewarding albeit challenging class. Eventually I want to attend graduate school for Japanese translation and localization, but I still need to improve my language skills a lot, so I hope to deepen my understanding through taking this class.

In my free time I like to paint, do yoga, and go for bike rides. Or if I’m feeling lazy I just play Animal Crossing and watch TV.

どうぞよろしくお願いします。