The manga series Death Note features an extensive cast of fictional characters designed by Takeshi Obata with their storylines created by Tsugumi Ohba. The story follows the character named Light Yagami, who chances upon a supernatural notebook which grants him the ability to cause the death of anyone he writes in it. Light uses the notebook he finds in order to cleanse the world of humans he has deemed unfit for society. A team of professional investigators set out to find out the mysterious killer and arrest him, and thus many other characters are introduced until Light is eventually caught.
In the fictional stories featured in the Death Note universe, Tsugumi Ohba, the story writer, created characters that lived in a world featuring a notebook in which names written on it would lead to the ones named to die, typically the cause of death being a heart attack when otherwise not specified. Ohba chose names for his characters in a way that, as he described, "seemed real but could not exist in the real world", due to the fact that most of the characters were criminals or victims. Light Yagami, the main character, is depicted as the deadliest of them. Some character details differ between the manga and its anime, live-action film and drama adaptations.
Main characters
Light Yagami
is the main protagonist of the series. After discovering the Death Note and knowing its true powers of killing people after writing a person's name and face in the mind, he decides to use it to rid the world of criminals to make the world a better place. As the series progresses, he develops a God complex as he attempts to become the ruler of the new world he creates. His killings are eventually labelled by people of Japan as the work of "Kira." But after a few days of killing criminals/hostages, "L", the best detective in the world yet an absurd guy, gets the job to find "Kira" and punish him for the murders he is committing.
L
, known solely as L, is the world's greatest detective and the main antagonist of the series. He takes on the task of tracking down and arresting Kira. His most noticeable characteristic is the fact that he rarely wears shoes. His disheveled appearance and lack of social etiquette causes people to doubt his position as L. He lives in solitude, and only his manager Watari is able to contact him directly. L suspects that Light is Kira almost from the beginning, but is unable to confirm his suspicions to others after his death.
Ryuk
is a bored Shinigami that drops a Death Note, a notebook that allows the one in its possession to kill anyone simply by knowing their name and face, into the human world in order to have fun. It is picked up by Light Yagami, a young genius who uses it in an attempt to create and rule a world "cleansed of evil" as "God".
Misa Amane
is a popular Japanese idol, who is known for her Gothic-style of dress, hyperactive personality and devotion to Light, falling in love with him after he kills her parents' murderer. As a Death Note owner and the second Kira, she has the eyes of a Shinigami, which allow her to see nearly everyone's name and lifespan. However, she cannot see the lifespans of Death Note owners. As part of her career as an idol, she performs numerous jobs such as acting, singing and modeling.
Near
, whose real name is Nate River, is the young detective who succeeds L after his death. He is the head of an organization created to catch Kira, the SPK (Special Provision for Kira). A placid, pragmatic character with a sharp tongue, he has white hair and wears pale clothes. He constantly plays with toys, building towers of dice and playing cards, and illustrating his exposition with small finger puppets and Lego minifigs. He is seen completing blank puzzles, which emphasizes his problem-solving skills. He was the person who succeeded identifying and capturing Light as Kira.
In the anime adaptation, Near is voiced by Noriko Hidaka in Japanese and by Cathy Weseluck in the English version. He is portrayed by Narushi Fukuda in L: Change the World and by Mio Yūki in the television drama.
Mello
, real name is Mihael Keehl, grows up in competition with Near to succeed L. After L's death, however, he concedes the position to Near and leaves to hunt Kira through criminal means, eventually joining the American Mafia. His obsession with surpassing Near serves as the primary motivation for many of his actions. He has blond hair, dresses extravagantly, and is rarely seen without a bar of chocolate.