Anonymous
6/14/2025, 12:53:31 AM No.40526693
It's a question I've been wondering about for a while. In Death Note, Misa Amane is often shown with Christian crosses, Gothic motifs, and, in one specific scene, a portrait of the Virgin Mary hanging in her apartment. For those who want to check, it's in episode 12, around the 9-minute mark. So far, nothing surprising: it's an aesthetic that could be associated with the Japanese gothic-lolita style.
But here's the problem: at no point in the work, neither the anime nor the manga, is there any mention of her faith, or even any religious affiliation. So why such strong Christian imagery? Why would a figure like the Virgin Mary—who symbolizes purity, suffering, faith—be in the bedroom of a girl who worships a serial killer and literally sells her soul (and her eyes) to a god of death?
From an esoteric perspective, this raises quite a few questions. Did the author or the studio want to imply something deeper? A deliberate contrast between innocence and perversion? A reminder of sacrifice? Or is it just there for show, in a Japan where Christian symbolism is stripped of its spiritual meaning and used as mere decoration?
But we can go further: the crosses, the Virgin, the wings Misa sometimes wears in her photoshoots… All of this strangely fits with a "dark angel" aesthetic—a figure halfway between the sacred and the cursed. Isn't Misa, deep down, a kind of fallen angel in the service of an evil god? A complete inversion of the biblical myth?
So, if these symbols aren't there by chance… what are we really being told about her role?
I'm open to other interpretations. Does anyone have a more in-depth religious or esoteric interpretation? A hidden agenda on the part of the creators?
But here's the problem: at no point in the work, neither the anime nor the manga, is there any mention of her faith, or even any religious affiliation. So why such strong Christian imagery? Why would a figure like the Virgin Mary—who symbolizes purity, suffering, faith—be in the bedroom of a girl who worships a serial killer and literally sells her soul (and her eyes) to a god of death?
From an esoteric perspective, this raises quite a few questions. Did the author or the studio want to imply something deeper? A deliberate contrast between innocence and perversion? A reminder of sacrifice? Or is it just there for show, in a Japan where Christian symbolism is stripped of its spiritual meaning and used as mere decoration?
But we can go further: the crosses, the Virgin, the wings Misa sometimes wears in her photoshoots… All of this strangely fits with a "dark angel" aesthetic—a figure halfway between the sacred and the cursed. Isn't Misa, deep down, a kind of fallen angel in the service of an evil god? A complete inversion of the biblical myth?
So, if these symbols aren't there by chance… what are we really being told about her role?
I'm open to other interpretations. Does anyone have a more in-depth religious or esoteric interpretation? A hidden agenda on the part of the creators?
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