Conception and Development
Tsugumi Ohba, writer of Death Note, decided to create Misa to be the second Kira before the serialization began. Ohba felt that having the story solely consist of males would be "boring" and wanted "a cute female." Ohba, intending to introduce her with the Shinigami Eyes, described her as having to be "spontaneous and not too bright" and that he determined her personality "from the start." Since Light Yagami would never want to trade for the Shinigami Eyes, Ohba wanted another character to use to trade for the eyes, so Ohba decided to use Misa. Ohba said that the conception of the name Misa "was kind of random but I think it was from "kuromisa" (Black Mass). It must have been based on something".
Ohba ultimately decided to introduce Misa after the death of Naomi Misora. Ohba and Takeshi Obata, artist of Death Note, wanted to use the gothic lolita design to convey "gothic imagery of the Shinigami and that world". Ohba said that they're "into that fashion" and that having Misa first appear in unusual clothing would be "more interesting". Obata, imagining a mix of an "energetic Japanese artist" and a "foreign rock and roll singer", felt "set" when he drew Misa for the first time. Ohaberenbata said that he felt "apprehension" regarding the length of Misa's hair; personally he wanted her fringe (bangs) to be "straight across" but believed that creating Misa completely within the bounds of gothic lolita style would be "too much". Therefore Obata designed her so she looked "a little more natural" and to appear "cute" to people who "weren't into the Gothic Lolita style".
When the Near and Mello story arc began and Misa became a top idol, Obata decided to make her look like "a popular actress". Obata said that he remembered "having a lot of fun" while looking through gothic lolita magazines and drawing Misa. In response to a question inquiring about which characters the creators faced the most difficulty in creating, Obata selected Misa. Obata said that he had difficulty comprehending the concept of "doing anything for the person you love" and that he felt like the character controlled him when he drew her. Death Note 13: How to Read also states that Misa "required a lot of artistic variation" because of her "many expressions" that ranged "from goofy to serious".
In the manga, Misa wears jewelry with a crucifix theme; in the anime adaptation, she wears fleur de lis jewelry, although the cross is retained on the collector's figure included with Volume 5 of the DVD series.
When designing color book covers, Obata assigned colors to characters to "get the atmosphere right". Obata assigned pink and black to Misa.
Read more about this topic: Misa Amane
Famous quotes containing the words conception and, conception and/or development:
“We are weighed down, every moment, by the conception and the sensation of Time. And there are but two means of escaping and forgetting this nightmare: pleasure and work. Pleasure consumes us. Work strengthens us. Let us choose.”
—Charles Baudelaire (1821–1867)
“Through art we express our conception of what nature is not.”
—Pablo Picasso (1881–1973)
“America is a country that seems forever to be toddler or teenager, at those two stages of human development characterized by conflict between autonomy and security.”
—Anna Quindlen (b. 1952)