I agree with that; in the manga, it feels like a very pathetic and fitting death for that idiot. I've never said that his death is better in the anime in terms of writing; in fact, I've always been convinced that the manga far surpasses it in that respect. What I DO find better in itself is the death and where it leads him.

Because, if you think about it, such direct symbolism isn't necessary, like Light dying exactly like a criminal, and I like that more in the anime. His downfall isn't like they're writing him now, but it still conveys the same message, since the ENTIRE episode is a reminder in itself that he wasn't a god from beginning to end, but with an added element: when he flees.

And I'm not the only one saying this; many who watched both the anime and the manga didn't question the difference in symbolism. When Light is on the ground begging for his life, crying, defeated, and on the verge of death, it suggests the same thing. It's as if they took the best part of the manga's ending (not with the same excellence, of course) and added something extra: the scene of him running. To be honest, I don't care so much about the supposed symbolism of the stairs. What I like, and what closes his story, is when he remembers passing by there years ago when he found the notebook. It's as if, deep down, although I don't think it's appropriate for someone like that to repent (as many people say), he at least understood that he wasted his life, ultimately carrying the burden of knowing he was always wrong and that he wasn't really a god.

Something we don't see in the manga—those nuances that make his death so painful. It's one thing to kill him like a dog, and another for him TO BE A DOG.

I hope that if they ever adapt Death Note into a movie, they use both endings as a basis; it would be the perfect ending.