[Aquamarine_Riza]

Light is not Kira, nor has he ever been Kira. Misa is not Kira either, nor has she ever been Kira. This is because Kira is not a person, but rather a thing. Kira is murder, temptation, power, and corruption. Feel free to disagree with me, but I will defend my view. As evidence, I offer two pictures taken directly from the manga. In both pictures, Light is alone in his room with Ryuk. There are no cameras yet, and so he is free to speak his mind. The first is on page four of chapter three. The second is on page twenty-six of the same chapter. I will post the pictures here as soon as I figure out how.

[MikamiTeru]

That is actually somewhat true

Kira is not a person, Kira is a way of life.
It's like when L and Light were talking...
"...Before being caught Kira would just transfer his powers to another"
"But wouldn't that mean Kira could never be caught?"

The definition of Kira is someone who follows all of Light's ideals and beliefs. Someone who would eliminate the criminals of the world in the name of Justice.

[Rjina]

Yes, I agree with you. Though Light regards the term "Kira" as a title or a divine name, his perception of "Kira" differs from the views of the public. This is most likely due to the scheming and intense speculating behind "Kira"'s rise to power.

[MikamiTeru]

There is also the fact that Light said that Kira was just the name given to him by the public to designate that someone was performing these murders.
And besides, Light Yagami is only one of six different Kira's.

The title of Kira is also seen as just the person who possesses a Death note. Near was absolutely right when he said this new possessor of the Death note wasnt the same as Kira
which means, there are standards to being Kira, and like I said before. Those standards are the beliefs and ideals of Light Yagami.

[Rjina]

Originally Posted by Aquamarine_Riza

Light is not Kira, nor has he ever been Kira. Misa is not Kira either, nor has she ever been Kira. This is because Kira is not a person, but rather a thing. Kira is murder, temptation, power, and corruption. Feel free to disagree with me, but I will defend my view. As evidence, I offer two pictures taken directly from the manga. In both pictures, Light is alone in his room with Ryuk. There are no cameras yet, and so he is free to speak his mind. The first is on page four of chapter three. The second is on page twenty-six of the same chapter. I will post the pictures here as soon as I figure out how.

Hold on. Strike that. You may defend as vigorously as you wish
But I have to disagree with you. I've thought about the context of your words, and I was thinking...
Strictly speaking, "Kira" is an idea as you say. That's given. However, though Misa was definitely never "Kira", Light was. To the people, who have never seen Kira up close, Kira is an idea, and because Light is the manipulator of this divine figurehead, he in a sense becomes the idea. If the people had known that he was Kira, they would have treated the name much more literally. And remember, "Kira" started out as a vulgar derivation from the term "killer." Light said this himself. And because Light did kill many, many people (criminals, but humans nonetheless), he in that literal sense, indeed Kira.
You say, and I quote, that "...Kira is murder, temptation, power, and corruption." This is true. Light represents all of those things, so in a metaphorical sense (and in a literal sense, when considering the term "Kira" itself), Light is indeed Kira.

I apologize.
I've taken the liberty of checking up on your evidence as well. It is as follows:

Pg. 4/Ch.3
[Light monologue]: "All you hear about these days is talk about L and Kira. I can't escape it. But if I wasn't Kira I'd probably enjoy it too. 'Interpol Ringleader, Detective L vs. Kira, Psychic Killer.' That's not it. 'L, Kira fictitious. Police ploy to assassinate public offenders.' Same with the TV and the radio stations. Kira must be getting tired from all this too. Sometimes I've just got to take it easy and take a break."

Pg. 26/Ch.3
[Light monologue]: "After hearing that I haven't left this thing out of my sight. It is a lot more dangerous carrying this around, though... Until now, if my family ever saw it, I thought I could make the excuse that I'm just keeping tabs on the Kira case so I can study to be a detective. I'm walking on a tightrope either way. If Kira isn't careful... He'll end up... Killing his own family."

I see where you're coming from with your theory: that Light is not Kira, because Kira is an intangible metaphor for evil/corruption/etc... However, I beg to differ.

I analyzed Light's quotes and I found two constants:
1. He refers to Kira in third person
2. He treats Kira's feelings with an air of separation.

Though Light is speaking of Kira in third person as though he considered his alter ego "Kira" to be a separate component altogether, it is clear that he feels both selfish and possessive of the role as the savior of the world.

If he spoke of Kira in third person because he feels he is separate from Kira, then he would not have minded handing the role to someone else. Furthermore, it would mean that he was 100% out to save the world. Which we know cannot be completely true. There's an evident power-drive in all of his actions. Frankly, your interpretation of "Kira" et. "Light" would be rather OOC.

Secondly, I mentioned that the second constant was in the manner he spoke of Kira's sentiments. Light spoke of Kira's feelings with empathy; we may thus freely assume that he has accepted the figure of "Kira" as his own. I'm not saying that Light is a schizophrenic, referring to multiple separate personalities. I'm saying that, in his mind, his role as the global cleanser is so dear that he treats it with an elated sense of superiority. Basically, it's persiflage. Just a manner of speaking.

Light is far too conceited and egotistic in his actions. His words throughout the manga and his moves against both L and Near/Mello/Matt displays his utter arrogant objectives. It wasn't just about cleaning the world and making it a more inhabitable place. It was about being the 'god' of that utopia. Remember: Light states in the beginning that he feels that he's the only one for the job. He even states this in the very end toward his death, claiming that he's the only one that has the capability of managing the world and its balance. He was even willing to kill those who stood in his way.

Unfortunately, his step toward divinity was his first step toward doom.

Now let's talk about the importance of SCALE. In the "One Shot" epilogue of Death Note, Near encounters yet another "Kira" after Light's death. This might at first seem to fit your theory. However, Near rejects this "Kira" and says that he's not Kira at all--not even anything remotely similar to Kira. In fact, he rejects the investigation and refuses to pursue the killer.

Light's surprising (and, to me--mildly attractive) intellect and extremely enhanced ability of deduction and prediction gave his killings a flair and a personal quality. He was the first and only Kira the world had ever seen, and he was excellent at playing the role. Had anyone else gotten the ability and had gone through the same corruption, they would not have been the same as Kira, and therefore NOT Kira.

If it is true that "Kira" is merely corruption, evil, murder, greed, etc..., then the morality and plot of Death Note would have been extremely different, I promise you...

CONCLUSION: Light exceptional ability concreted his identity as Kira. Because no one else can claim the identity of "Kira" with Light's level of ability, Light was/is the only Kira. Kira is metaphorical ideals, but requires Light to convey them. So Kira and Light are co-dependent, and cannot truly exist without the other.

My evidence: The whole entirety of the manga.

I'm done.

[Aquamarine_Riza]

I was starting to wonder if anyone would argue. I want to say here and now, I haven't actually finished the manga yet, I'm working on it though. I would also like to present Light's time without his memories of ever 'being' Kira as more evidence. He was kind, caring, and showed no signs of Kira's lust for power and corruption.
It is my view that, if Kira must be given a physical form, it would be the Death Note itself. The Death Note tempts people into trying it, at least once, and than they're hooked on the power. Greed and power-lust are a part of human nature, Kira is the very embodiment of this nature.
Light, as well as the others who used the Death Note, were little better than tools. They were tempted and fell into corruption. Light's intellect set him apart, I'll give you that, and it is true it was his idea to eliminate criminals, but that was only the beginning. The FBI agents weren't criminals, he killed them just to keep from getting caught. The longer one uses the Death Note, the further they slid into corruption. This is Kira, not the person, but the very power of the Death Note and the temptation and corruption that comes with such power.

[ZERO PHOENIX]

You all pretty much said the same thing I was going to so I won't go into another one of my presentations. But I do agree that Kira and Light are two separate entities. The anime makes this even more clear than the manga does. Light's eyes and hair changes colors when he is plotting something insidious or something of that nature. His eyes are brown and his hair is brown but they both turn red. This is used purposely to show contrast between Light and his more sinister side brought on by Kira. Also in the anime, Light's tone of voice gets progressively deeper throughout the first 3 episodes until it is mainly the voice that we have come to hear which we might deem, the norm. Light's tone of voice was lighter and not as serious. After episode three however, it was deeper and much more serious but not in a good way. After Light relinquishes the DEATH NOTE, this contrast could not be any clearer. Light is completely different when he came to his senses as though he had been under a fog of some sort. After Light relinquished the DEATH NOTE he was free from power, greed, evil. Even more proof can be seen when Light gets the DEATH NOTE back and yes, yes I tell you that was one of the coolest scenes in all of anime. Ahem! So yes I agree that Light and Kira are two separate entitites.

[Rjina]

Yeah it was one of the coolest scenes in the anime (and the trippiest--I almost had a heart-attack watching all of the flashing lights and images xD)

But I'm confused.... "Kira" is evil, corruption, etc... And I recognize the changes in Light from the time he was Kira vs. the time he wasn't (I noted the bigger, shinier eyes, clear expression, lighter tone of voice)--but Light with his superior abilities essentially animated the figure of "Kira" and all that the name represents.

Doesn't that mean that the existence of Kira and Light is mutual, thus meaning that without one, we wouldn't have the other? I would agree with your point, but Near's reaction in the one-shot completely throws me off.

[MikamiTeru]

Actually, it is possible for one to exist without the other.

When Light Yagami gave up the Death note, he was redeemed of his corruption and sought to catch Kira. And at the same time, Kira still existed. That Kira was Higuchi Kyosuke.

Kira is an idea, a personality quality if you'd like. Mikami Teru is my prime example.

Because Mikami could mimic Light's ideals and thoughts, he became Kira while Light was under watch of the SPK and the Japanese police. Kira (both the idea and the notebook) has moved from person to person throughout the anime.
From Light to Higuchi to Mikami to C-Kira.

However, I cant help but agree with Rjina, Near, and L. Some people just are not Kira. Higuchi and C-Kira are the major examples.
These two were inferior to Light and Mikami. Not to mention Misa, who was branded as the second Kira.

Yet still, they were all considered a Kira (killer) of some sort. All of them were using the Death note for what they believed was the right thing (with the exception of Higuchi and Yotsuba).

[Rjina]

Ahhh--!! I'm beginning to understand now... so Kira is not an ideal expressed through Light alone...?

idk.... maybe it's because I idolize Light to some extent... my reasoning might be a bit biased.

And I'm glad you agree with me/Near/L (whoa that feels weird)... the key reason why I feel that "Kira" must be only Light is because--

I don't know... because Light was so skillful that he raised the bar and essentially claimed the master title for himself--Now that I think about it, my thoughts are like this because I feel that Light [including key players such as Mikami/Misa] was the only Kira that "felt" real. I actually believed that he had the potential to fulfill his goal.

Thanks to my partial affection for Light's character, I realize that it might be merely my opinion, after all...

And he is so closely tied to the Kira figure. To me, though he forfeited the Death Note at one point and actually fought against another Kira, his original initiatives was to save himself so that he can resume his plans in the future.

I feel scrambled, but I'm liking it