3 Reasons the Potato Chip Scene in Death Note is so Powerful and Iconic in the Anime World
Who on earth has not seen the most hilarious, the most intense and the most epic scene on Death Note?
The anime world will never be the same again when Light Yagami said I’ll take a potato chip and eat it.
Just in case you’ve already forgotten Death Note is hailed as one of the best anime series of all time.
It all starts when Ryuk, a death god (shinigami) realized that he’s sick and tired of his dull existence in the Shinigami World and decided that he wanted to have a little bit of fun.
Curious as to how a human would use a Death Note, Ryuk purposely dropped it in the human world.
Accidentally, Light Yagami, a genius high school student finds the Death Note at his school grounds and quickly discovers its deadly powers: The human whose name is written on the notebook will die.
Using this newly found power, Light Yagami declares himself as Kira and vowed to rid the world of criminals to create a new world where he can rule as a god.
Suddenly, the number of criminals dying of mysterious circumstances surged. The Interpol noticed it and decided to ask help from the best detective in the entire world with a code name- L.
As L tracks down this criminal killer, he zeroes into Light Yagami. L suspects Light Yagami as Kira himself. Now Light has to rely on his brilliance to outsmart L. Thus their epic rivalry and mind battle begins.
Now we are going to answer the question that actually nobody really asked.
Why is it that the potato chip scene is so powerful and iconic in the anime world?
Aside from the fact that it spawned endless memes on the internet and it was copied or spoofed in different anime shows,
The potato chip scene is actually:
an explosive battle of two intellectual geniuses
Usually, shonen anime battles are exchanges of blows and punches as well as a showdown of the magical or superpowers of two or more characters defeating their opponents in single combat.
Not on Death Note though, you won’t see anyone using chi, shakra, nen, or any kind of superpowers.
Because of the intense storyline combined with the camera movements and musical scoring, the potato chip scene gave us an explosive showdown of two intellectual geniuses who wouldn’t back down without a fight.
While L is trying to catch Kira, Light dodges his relentless pursuit by coming up with a brilliant and almost flawless plan of letting L be the ultimate witness to his alibi.
An unparalleled fight that can even rival any mind-blowing battles in the anime world
Most of the mind-blowing battles in the anime world are created in a way to show how powerful the two fighters are.
Like Yusuke vs Taguru in Ghost Fighter, Goku vs Freeza in Dragon Ball Z, Gon vs. Pitou in Hunter X Hunter, Naruto vs Sasuke in Naruto Shippuden, all of these epic fights reveal the strength of these characters.
Light Yagami vs L or Ryuzaki didn’t exchange blows or anything like that but their intense mind game was finely shown in the potato chip scene.
Remember if criminals would stop dying after L asked the police to install the hidden surveillance cameras inside Light’s bedroom then chances are L would deduce that Light might actually be Kira.
L already knows that Kira needs a face and a name to kill. So if Light couldn’t access a computer or television he wouldn’t be able to kill anyone at all.
Luckily the university entrance exam was 5 days away so Light devised a brilliant plan and executed it almost perfectly.
While his back is facing the hidden cameras all over his bedroom, he pretended to study for his entrance exam while eating potato chips.
Unbeknownst to L, hidden inside the bag of potato chips is a small portable television with a piece of the Death Note taped inside it that Light could use to access the names of the criminals.
If it hadn’t been for a small portable television hidden under a bag of potato chips, L would have noticed that after placing the surveillance cameras inside Light’s bedroom, like on cue, criminals would have stopped dying at that very moment.
There are two incredible things that Death Note fans have learned on this single scene:
Light Yagami can turn the mundane tasks of studying and eating a potato chip so epic.
Eating a potato chip is a novel and an innovative way of letting characters fight without actually letting them fight
Why is it that episode 8 especially the potato chip scene is so important to the rest of the Death Note anime series?
The brilliance of this episode lies in the fact that it’s an indispensable scene and a turning point in the entire anime series
After these two events on a single night:
1. After L broadcasted that the police are going to dispatch men who will hunt down Kira, Light taunted L by commenting how stupid the police are by broadcasting their next move on national TV.
2. After watching Light eat a potato chip while studying for his entrance exam,
L has suddenly decided that Light Yagami will be his prime suspect as Kira and actually meets him in person.
Thus, the rivalry of two intellectual titans was galvanized on a single night and this scene signaled the start of their intense psychological battle.
Conclusion:
Key takeaways:
There are two incredible things that Death Note fans have learned on this single scene:
Light Yagami can turn the mundane tasks of studying and eating a potato chip so epic.
Eating a potato chip is a novel and an innovative way of letting characters fight without actually letting them fight
The potato chip scene is so powerful and iconic in the anime world because:
It’s an explosive battle of two intellectual geniuses
It’s an unparalleled fight that can even rival any mind-blowing battles in the anime world
It’s a turning point in the entire anime series
Well since everything is said and done no matter how we consider ourselves cool, we will never reach the level of coolness of Light Yagami a.k.a Kira as he takes a potato chip and eats it.
So who’s up for a potato eating challenge right now?
