While Ohba very likely made a statement regarding Japan's ideal of a man's (and notably not a woman's) role in society being exasperatedly career oriented, recall that Soichiro was being paid by L and not the Japanese Police. Still, culture is ingrained in people, so in this instance what he did could be deemed as heroic.
Another topic entirely that I've noticed primarily in Death Note is the casual regard with which the characters treat the notion of suicide. Yeah, I understand that in Japan, suicide was considered an honorable death in the tradition of Bushido (hari-kari) and WWII's Divine Wind.
That's true, maybe I'm just being a bit hopeful here. I always thought Soichiro's actual moral conflicts were the most interesting part of his character, because he's the one most people confidently call "good". In fact, I wonder if his character and choices aren't just Ohba's way of saying the right choice isn't a black or white issue
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Right, and as vashti points out, I'm incorrect regarding Soichiro's source of paycheck/employment. While quick to point the discrepancy out, had I been correct, I don't believe it detracts from your point at all. In fact, I'd say that Ohba very much had that point in mind, especially given he found L (a character consistently straying in the gray) only a little evil
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*pokes head up* Just factchecking: Soichiro is only paid by L for the duration of the Yotsuba arc. After that, he's back on the NPA's payroll, as are the rest of the taskforce.
The Kira case is certainly personal for Soichiro, though - it's not about his career advancement. You can tell that because he *gives up* his career for it. Besides the whole "I will not bend to evil" thing that he has going on right from the start, he has to catch Kira to clear Light in his own mind. *headdesk*
Personally, I never thought about it from the perspective of being a Japanese society thing, though I suppose their community-oriented culture would definitely influence his ideals. I find Soichiro to be pretty much the most logically moral person in Death Note.
I think the Sayu-kidnapping incident went far beyond his sense of duty for his job. I think it went straight down to being a human being that can influence good or ill on the world. I have little doubt that he realized giving Mello the notebook could not only get many many people killed, but it could also potentially get them killed anyway (since all Mello would have to do is write their names after they'd traded).
So I'm sure Soichiro knew the most logical thing to do would be to refuse to give up the notebook. It would save so many people, while the other option might not even save anyone. But that was his daughter being held ransom... He just couldn't abandon her to her fate; that doesn't seem right, either. I can imagine the immense inner conflict at that point. I would
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I thought it a normal thing a parent would do. If they had the power to free their child from a kidnapper with the garantee that the child would be safe if the ransom was paid in full - than I have no doubts that a parent would do just that. So I didn't fine it odd at all that Soichiro chose his daughter over his job, or over the standard of his countries society.
I think that sometime during this whole fiasco Soichiro had to make a personal decision, if it ever came down to it, what would he do to protect his family. Maybe he felt that he failed when L was keeping Light hostage for that 53 day time span. Maybe he decided that he failed in keeping Light out of that situation but that he had to do something for Sayu, either get her out...or give her the fasted death he could and then follow her.
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Another topic entirely that I've noticed primarily in Death Note is the casual regard with which the characters treat the notion of suicide. Yeah, I understand that in Japan, suicide was considered an honorable death in the tradition of Bushido (hari-kari) and WWII's Divine Wind.
Is it still pervasive in Japanese culture?
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The Kira case is certainly personal for Soichiro, though - it's not about his career advancement. You can tell that because he *gives up* his career for it. Besides the whole "I will not bend to evil" thing that he has going on right from the start, he has to catch Kira to clear Light in his own mind. *headdesk*
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I think the Sayu-kidnapping incident went far beyond his sense of duty for his job. I think it went straight down to being a human being that can influence good or ill on the world. I have little doubt that he realized giving Mello the notebook could not only get many many people killed, but it could also potentially get them killed anyway (since all Mello would have to do is write their names after they'd traded).
So I'm sure Soichiro knew the most logical thing to do would be to refuse to give up the notebook. It would save so many people, while the other option might not even save anyone. But that was his daughter being held ransom... He just couldn't abandon her to her fate; that doesn't seem right, either. I can imagine the immense inner conflict at that point. I would ( ... )
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I think that sometime during this whole fiasco Soichiro had to make a personal decision, if it ever came down to it, what would he do to protect his family. Maybe he felt that he failed when L was keeping Light hostage for that 53 day time span. Maybe he decided that he failed in keeping Light out of that situation but that he had to do something for Sayu, either get her out...or give her the fasted death he could and then follow her.
That's just me though.
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