Death Note is full of religious symbolism, and more specifically, Christian symbolism. Its opening 1 showcases this perfectly. Let's go through some of the shots and see what we can find.

1. Apple as a symbol of temptation and sin

The connection to the Forbidden Fruit from the Bible. The apple presents temptation and dangerous knowledge. After Adam and Eve ate the Forbidden fruit, they became aware of themselves and were no longer able to continue living in Eden as they had been.

Similarly, after light picked up the Death Note, he went through a similar process - first, the temptation (wondering if the Death Note was indeed real), testing it (first two murders), and then finally, starting his murder journey and never being able to go back.

In the ss I sent, the apple is symbolically falling and Light grabs it. This could also be interpreted as "fall from Eden" that's ever so present in art and other types of visual media. If the connection wasn't clear enough, the apple turns into the Death Note at the end of op.

2. Creation of Adam - a wicked allegory

This shot of Ryuk handing Light an apple is a reference to the legendary painting of Renaissance genius Michelangelo Buonarroti - Creation of Adam.

Creation of Adam is a fresco painting of Sistine Chapel ceiling in Vatican, and it represents God giving life to Adam, the first man. Ryuk and Light illustration is quite a different, almost ironic, take on the original meaning of the painting.

Biblical God, the ultimate being, is replaced by a God of Death, who is surrounded by light, and Adam was replaced by Light, who's to become the metaphorical "original man", or the only man left - "A God of the New World" - the only one left standing after his murder spree.

This illustration also plays on the meaning of Light's name. Light is generally associated with positive things, while darkness is considered "bad", because it is full of mystery and we as humans dislike things we can't predict or foresee.

Ryuk, being showered with sunrays and Light with, well, light, is an ironic take on them being everything but "good", by traditional standards.

Light is represented as an angel (wings behind him), who is ironically chained to Earth.

Therefore he will never truly become a God, as he would like to believe. He is merely a human given a power of God. The chain could also be a reference to L: who represents a metaphorical and literal chain (going after Light and chaining himself to him).

3. Crows as prophesy of bad luck

Ravens and crows are symbols of bad luck and doom of death in many European mythologies, because of their tendency to eat carrion, terrifying screams, and dark feathers.

"If you see 5 crows, sickness will follow; see 6 crows and death will follow."

It is no coincidence that Ryuk's character design is inspired by raven/crow wings. He's the god of death, a bringer of bad luck. "Everyone who uses the DN will suffer eternally, but Soichiro (Light's father) never ended up using it, and therefore he died peacefully".

4. Naomi Misora and Raye Iwamatsu as Pietà

Death Note anime crew must've really loved Michelangelo (can't blame them), because they referenced not just one, but two of his pieces. This time, it is Pietà, Michelangelo's sculpture in St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City.

Pietà (or "The Piety" in English) means Pity or Compassion in Italian, and represents Mary (Mother of Jesus) sorrowfully contemplating the dead body of her son, which she holds on her lap, after his crucifixion, death, and removal from the cross, before he was placed in the tomb.

This is one of the key events known as the Seven Sorrows of Mary. In her utter sadness and devastation, she seems resigned to what has happened and becomes enveloped in graceful acceptance.

However, in the case of Naomi Misora, she has not only not accepted what happened to her fiancé, but she has decided to do the opposite. She goes after the killer herself. Therefore, instead of looking down like Mary, she is looking directly into the camera with determination.

5. Blue VS Red

Blue and red have many meanings in Death Note. Let's start with the easier ones to spot.

According to the Color Theory, blue is associated with wisdom and tranquility, and red is associated with rage and bold intentions.

Whenever Light was starting to go out of control with his evil intentions, the frame would go red, as he would be extremely passionate inside (because he can't show it externally for the most part). Similarly, when L was plotting a plan to catch Light, his shot would become blue.

But there's more. Light and L don't have exclusive rights to the blue/red dichotomy. For example, Death Note used blue to further emphasize Naomi's investigative and quick-witted nature.

Furthermore, red and blue tend to be associated with "Player 1" and "Player 2" in video and other types of games. This could be a reference to the "cat and mouse game" Light and L were "playing".

6. Light as The Savior

We've already established that Light sees himself as a "Savior", or a God. God is oftentimes portrayed as someone who's there to help, who will reach out their hand to those who need it.

This is what we see here too - Light is standing on a bridge, in the rain, reaching out to Misa, who had lost her way after her parents' death. However, unlike Biblical God and other figures with seemingly good intentions, Light only wants to manipulate and use others.

We can see that in this frame:

a) We can't see his eyes, they are completely covered by shadow. Eyes are a symbol of honesty, seen as a "mirror of soul". Them being invisible presents dishonesty and potentially evil intentions.

b) His hand is not positioned like that of a helper (palm completely open and "looking" upward), but it more resembles a handshake, implying Misa-Light partnership.

If you're not convinced by this second point, here's further proof.

Misa sees Light in the distance, and there is a clear shot of her positioning her hand in a way that shows her reaching out for help (palms downward), and in the first few seconds of light raising his hand, you see that he's putting his hand in the previously mentioned-

position (palms upward), but then the frame cuts to Misa and by the time we see Light again, he's changed his hand. This suggests his deceptive nature and tendency to tell/do what people want to hear/see, in order to lure them in.

(I made a gif for this specific thing lol)

7. Light and L - Before and After

Death Note openings are like mini-stories themselves. In the beginning, Light sees L as a public challenger (with that public stunt he pulled), they're "on top of the world" , where everyone can "see" them.

But they're far separated from the common man, and from each other, each standing on a separate raised platform. But then Light feels pushback from L, realizes he's much more than a simple obstacle (represented as a surge of wind he needs to fight), and then he's showcased to be-

in a tunnel with L, much closer to him, a walking distance even. He's cornered, and his only option is to confront L directly. And same goes for L. The camera movements are exactly the same, to show that their "game" is as intense as ever, but this time, they can both feel it.

The tunnel could also be interpreted as a symbol for "tunnel vision" Light gets after being confronted with L. He only sees L, and L only sees Light. Both are the ultimate obstacles to each other, and they care about nothing but defeating one another.