list of DEATH NOTE characters

* 1 Main characters
o 1.1 Light Yagami
o 1.2 L
o 1.3 Misa Amane
o 1.4 Near
o 1.5 Mello
o 1.6 Shinigami
* 2 Supporting characters
o 2.1 Kira Investigation Team
+ 2.1.1 Soichiro Yagami
+ 2.1.2 Touta Matsuda
+ 2.1.3 Shuichi Aizawa
+ 2.1.4 Kanzo Mogi
+ 2.1.5 Hideki Ide
+ 2.1.6 Hirokazu Ukita
o 2.2 Watari
o 2.3 Kiyomi Takada
o 2.4 Kyosuke Higuchi
o 2.5 Teru Mikami
* 3 Minor characters
o 3.1 Aiber
o 3.2 Wedy
o 3.3 Criminals and initial victims
o 3.4 Federal Bureau of Investigation
+ 3.4.1 Raye Penber
+ 3.4.2 Naomi Misora
# 3.4.2.1 Conception and development of Naomi
+ 3.4.3 Steve Mason
o 3.5 Hitoshi Demegawa
o 3.6 Yotsuba Group
o 3.7 Yitzak Ghazanin
o 3.8 Koreyoshi Kitamura
o 3.9 Mafia
+ 3.9.1 Rod Ross
+ 3.9.2 Jack Neylon
+ 3.9.3 Other mafia members
o 3.10 Matt
o 3.11 Roger Ruvie
o 3.12 Special Provision for Kira
+ 3.12.1 Stephen Gevanni
+ 3.12.2 Halle Lidner
+ 3.12.3 Anthony Rester
+ 3.12.4 Other SPK members
o 3.13 Ryotaro Sakajo
o 3.14 Sachiko Yagami
o 3.15 Sayu Yagami
o 3.16 Sanami
o 3.17 Shiori Akino
o 3.18 United States Executive Branch
+ 3.18.1 David Hoope
+ 3.18.2 George Sairas
o 3.19 Beyond Birthday
o 3.20 Taro Kagami

Main characters

Light Yagami
Main article: Light Yagami

The main character of Death Note, Light is an extremely intelligent, yet bored 17-year old student who is not satisfied with the current justice system. When he finds the Death Note, dropped in the human world by the shinigami Ryuk,(on purpose) he decides to use it to kill all criminals and earns the title Kira. His ultimate goal is to cleanse the world of evil to create a world without criminals and then reign over this new world as its "god."

L
Main article: L (Death Note)

L is the world's top-rated detective and tasked with tracking down and arresting Kira. He often takes drastic strategies to confuse and force the hand of his opponents, and his disheveled appearance disguises his brilliance. He enjoys sugar, and in nearly every scene including him, he is found eating cake or confectionery and drinking highly sweetened tea. L often misleads people with his behavior as well as his appearance. He sits in an unusual position, and he always wears the same articles of clothing. He believes if he did not sit in his usual manner he would lose half of his investigative abilities. He has a habit of chewing on his thumb and holds things delicately. He has a few aliases, two being detectives Eraldo Coil and Denueve. Eraldo Coil is considered the second best detective in the world, Denueve being third. He likes the alias L best, therefore acting so L would be the best detective in the world. His real name is L.Lawliet, 'L' meaning "Last One" or "Lost One" which he was given at Wammy's House. L always suspected Light was Kira, but his suspicions weren't confirmed until his dying moment.

Misa Amane
Main article: Misa Amane

A girl with an immense crush on Kira, Misa is a popular Japanese idol. She is immature and tends to refer to herself in the third person in an attempt to be cute. She is completely devoted to Light, saying that she loved him at first sight, although the feeling is hardly mutual- since Light merely views her as a rather annoying asset. In the manga version, she kills herself after Light's death, which is implied in the anime's finale. What happens to her after the film version is uncertain- the only remaining characters whose fates are revealed are L and the Yagami family- although she is still devastated when Light is killed.

Near
Main article: Near (Death Note)

A calm and stoic character that appears in the second half of the series. He subtly represents a sheep-like figure with his white hair, and plain white clothes. In the anime and manga versions, Near is a primary candidate to become L's successor and calls himself N during the course of his investigations. He shares a number of similarities with L. Much like how L plays with things such as sugar cubes and forks, Near is frequently shown playing with toys or his hair, and he is constantly shown sitting in an unusual manner. Also, like L, Near likes to stack objects such as dice, while L likes to stack sugar cubes. If you compare the two, you can see they bear some resemblance in appearance as well. After L's death, he was asked to join forces with Mello, who refused (it is explained that Near lacks the emotional insight to beat L, while Mello is too emotional and impulsive). In the manga, Near accepts the fact neither Mello or himself can surpass L, saying that perhaps he lacked dynamics while Mello lacked composure. Near then gained the support of the Government of the United States and formed the Special Provision for Kira (SPK). In the 'extra' manga story, set after the end of the series, Near states that, while he respects Light's drive for justice, he can never find his 'Kira' actions excusable. His real name is Nate River. In the film L: Change the World L gives the name "Near" to a Thai boy who is a mathematical genius; L intends for Near to succeed him.[2]

Mello
Main article: Mello (Death Note)

Mello, a character present in the anime and manga versions, was an orphan who grew up with Near and Matt in Wammy's House, Watari's shelter for "gifted" children. Like Near and Matt, Mello was one of the candidates to become L's successor. Similar to L's fondness for sweets, he is often seen eating bars of chocolate. Although Mello is quite intelligent, he often lets his emotions get the better of him. His goal in life is to surpass L and Near. His real name is Mihael Keehl. Mello does not appear in the films.

Shinigami
Main article: Shinigami (Death Note)

Shinigami , or Gods Of Death, are demon-like beings who live in the Shinigami realm. Shinigami are functionally immortal, able to extend their lives indefinitely by writing the names of humans in their Death Notes. By writing the name of a human whose fated time of death has not yet come, Shinigami have their lifespan increased by the amount that human would have lived (e.g. a forty-year-old who would have lived to the age of sixty would yield twenty years). As Ryuk describes it, life in the Shinigami realm is incredibly dull; Shinigami do little more than gamble constantly with their remaining years, and using the Death Note is considered something workaholics do. The main Shinigami featured in the series are Ryuk, Rem and Sidoh. The only way to kill a Shinigami is through love for a human (e.g. if a human was fated to die from a murder and a Shinigami kills the murderer, the Shinigami will then turn to dust and evaporate, as Gelus did to prolong Misa's life).