Death Note (Desu Noto) is a Japanese manga series originally written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. The series primarily centers around a high school student who decides to rid the world of evil with the help of a supernatural notebook that kills anyone whose name is written in it.
Light Yagami (Kira) (Yagami Raito)
The main character of Death Note, Light is a brilliant but bored 17-year old student. When he finds the Death Note, dropped in the human world by Ryuk, 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 utopia and then reign over this new world as its God. He calls himself Justice.
L Lawliet (Eru)
L is the world's three top-rated detectives (through two additional aliases), tasked with tracking down and arresting Kira. As such, he is Light's principal nemesis. His disheveled appearance masks his great powers of deduction and insight. L has many quirks, such as sitting in an odd manner (he squats on the edge of his seat, with his knees up by his chin), snacking on sweets in the middle of meetings, and holding his cellphone and other objects in a peculiar manner. He often takes drastic strategies to confuse and force his opponents, and on several occasions he has willingly disclosed several of his weaknesses to Kira at the risk of his own life in the hopes that he would lure him into a trap.
Misa Amane (Amane Misa)
A girl with an immense crush on Kira. She is a popular idol in Japan, and tends to wear clothing in many different styles, depending on what she is doing. She is immature and has a tendency to refer to herself in the third person (calling herself "Misa-Misa") in an attempt to be cute. Misa is completely devoted to Light, and she once said that she loved him "at first sight". Light, however, only views her as an asset to his plans because of her Death Note and her "Shinigami Eyes" (that she obtained at the cost of half of her remaining life span, twice). These "Shinigami Eyes" give Misa the ability to know people's names by looking at their faces, thereby giving Kira an edge in his battle against his enemies. Misa read in the newspapers that the murderer of her family was punished by Kira, explaining her total devotion to him, regardless of whether she thinks of his actions as good or evil.
Mello (Mero) Mihael Keehl
Mello was an orphan who grew up with Near in Watari's shelter for gifted children. Like Near, 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, unlike Near or L.
Near (Nia) Nate River
Near was 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. Near also sits in an unusual manner similar to L, but with some slight differences. He offered to join forces with Mello to fight Kira, but Mello turned him down. Near then gained the support of the US government and formed the Secret Provision for Kira (SPK).
Teru Mikami (Mikami Teru)
Mikami is selected as the fourth Kira by Light, after Light decides that it is too dangerous for the Death Note to be near Misa or himself, since he and Misa are currently under surveillance by Aizawa and Mogi. A prosecuting attorney and adamant supporter of Kira, Mikami shares many of the same ideals, thoughts, and priorities as Kira, and is ecstatic when he discovers that Kira, his God, has chosen him, proving that God is on his side and watching. He is completely devoted and loyal to Kira, believing that divine justice must be brought down upon the people. Little is known about his personal life; he appears to have no hobbies or anything else of the sort. He chants "delete" with each name he writes down in the Death Note due to events in his past when he thought God was "deleting" the evil people in his life. He, like Misa, has made the exchange of half his remaining years for Shinigami Eyes.
Matt (???, Matto)Mail Jeevas (???·?????, Mairu J,,vasu)
is a cohort of Mello's, first appearing in Chapter 83. He does some espionage work for him and is an accomplice in Takada's kidnapping. He follows orders without question, usually smoking a cigarette as he does. Not much else is known about him, other than he is a former resident of Wammy's orphanage. In Chapter 98, he fires a smoke bomb at Takada's bodyguards as a distraction to allow Mello to kidnap Takada; in the next chapter he meets face to face with Takada's bodyguards. Inside the back of his shirt, he hid a gun which he tried to take out until he is finally shot multiple times by all thirteen of the bodyguards surrounding him. Mello later sees the news of his death broadcast on TV and apologizes to Matt for his death.
Ryuk (Ryuku)
The original Shinigami who dropped the Death Note in the human world, which Light would pick up. Acting out of pure boredom, Ryuk begins the story of Death Note on a whim. It is stated that Ryuk found the second Death Note in the Shinigami world. The most important facet of Ryuk's character is that he is not Light's friend. Ryuk often refuses to aid Light and instead enjoys watching him struggle for his goal. He acts for his own interests and entertainment, and often fails to tell Light key details about the Death Note. However, Ryuk will aid Light if it serves his own goals, such as providing amusement or obtaining apples.
Rem (Remu)
The female Shinigami who first gives Misa her Death Note and "eyes." Similar to Ryuk, Rem possesses two Death Notes; however, she purposely gives one of them to Misa Amane. Rem inherited her second Death Note from Jealous, another Shinigami who died when he saved Misa's life, and thought it only right to pass it on to Misa. Oddly enough, Rem inherits Jealous' love for Misa as well and is prompt to defend Misa even at the cost of her life. She shows this when she openly shows her lack of trust for Light, stating that she will kill him if Misa dies before her time.
