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Light was bored as everything was easy for him until he found the death note. So why didn't he skip a grade or two and graduate early? That seems like it would be the most logical thing to do for Light if he was bored.

Aki Tanaka
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sadi muntakim
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  • What? Light Yagami's 'intelligence' is not the same as the Sheldon Cooper kind of 'intelligence'. There are many 'intelligent' high school characters in anime/manga who get top grades and stuff but doesn't mean they get to just skip entrance exams/SATs and stuff... – BCLC Apr 17 '22 at 05:47

1 Answers1

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The answer is quite simple. It is not possible to skip grades in Japan.

There were very rare exceptions at some schools, but he attended University of Tokyo (I don't remember the name was same or altered), where it was not possible to enroll by skipping grades as of the time of Death Note (According to a source, it may become possible soon.)

sundowner
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  • You know (Gasai), this answer sounds like using complex analysis to prove the pythagorean theorem? Light is 'intelligent' yes, but not necessarily Sheldon Cooper/Terry Tao/Moshe Kai Cavalin kind of 'intelligence'. – BCLC Apr 18 '22 at 10:34
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    @BCLC Well, as far as I remember, Light was smart enough to be the top in a national pre-examination (there are exams run by private cram schools to test their probability of getting in this or that university). In real terms, if one can get the top score in a famous enough pre-exam (there are many such pre-exams), s/he has a good chance getting in U of Tokyo 1 or even 2 years earlier. – sundowner Apr 18 '22 at 11:03
  • I think Light was at the age like if Light was gonna skip grades to go to uni early, then e should've already been in uni by now. Or not? Forgot the show already...it says [here](https://deathnote.fandom.com/wiki/Light_Yagami) Light is 17...so spell it out for me please. How could Light have gotten into uni early? Like at the start as 17 to get in by 18? Or should've applied at 16 to get in by 17 (or 18)? – BCLC Apr 18 '22 at 11:36
  • @BCLC I don't think he got in uni early. When one starts the last year in high school (12th year in schooling), s/he is 17 yo. Next April, s/he gets in the uni if successful in exams at the age of 18. There was [a timeline](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/DEATH_NOTE%E3%81%AE%E5%B9%B4%E8%A1%A8) – sundowner Apr 18 '22 at 11:47
  • sundowner, yeah I know Light didn't. My question is how *could have* Light done so? – BCLC Apr 18 '22 at 16:22
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    @BCLC Simply by taking exams when he is in the 1st or the 2nd grade in high school. There are/were universities that allow 11 graders to apply. But again, University of Tokyo or any major university wasn't one of them. I'm not sure what you are asking... everything is just fiction and *could have* sounds vague. I understand the original question that Light should have skipped grades at some time in his life (which may be earlier than the beginning of the story). – sundowner Apr 18 '22 at 22:08
  • 'I understand the original question that Light should have skipped grades at some time in his life (which may be earlier than the beginning of the story).' --> Yeah that's exactly what I'm asking. I think at the start of the story it is too late for Light to apply to uni early. What I have in mind is the Yagami family could've had Light do it but they ultimately decided against it. So anyway your answer is maybe 1 or 2 years prior to the start of the show Light takes the exams? – BCLC Apr 19 '22 at 06:46
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    @BCLC Assuming skipping grades were possible (which is not the case), basically yes. – sundowner Apr 19 '22 at 09:22
  • sundowner WAIT is this kinda (like a little bit like) what Miyuki is about to do in Kaguya-sama ? Like leave early for Stanford? – BCLC Apr 29 '22 at 12:34
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    @BCLC It doesn't seem to be mentioned. Anyway it is fiction (including admission to Stanford), so it is possible. In reality, afaik, pupils going to overseas universities take half a year gap. – sundowner Apr 29 '22 at 13:17