What would you do if you could kill anyone by simply writing their name in a notebook? The answer is obvious to “Death Note” protagonist Light Yagami: he strives to use the Death Note to establish a utopia where injustice does not exist.
However, the old adage goes that good intentions pave the way to hell. Within a short time, Light turns into the nameless assassin “Kira” who will do anything to preserve his bloody reign.
Anyone who challenges Kira is met with a supernatural end, but suddenly L, a brilliant investigator with a sweet tooth, enters the conflict. Everyone from gods of death to high school students, models and police officers quickly find themselves embroiled in this conflict.
Even while Light Yagami’s collapse is the series’ driving force, “Death Note’s” wide supporting cast makes it so compelling. Some people are victims of Light’s cruelty, while others strive to end his evil reign.
How did Light Yagami make it onto our list of the top eleven most popular anime characters of all time? The popularity of Light Yagami demonstrates how much of an impact the anime’s characters have on the audience. Our list of the 11 most famous anime characters will interest you.
Even more people, including Ryuk, the Shinigami who delivers Light the Death Note, have front-row seats to the mayhem.
Who of these fantastic characters do you consider to be the best? Here is an orderly list of the 10 most well-known characters from “Death Note” from worst to best.
Mello
Mello’s introduction to the story occurs many seasons after his fellow Wammy House forerunner, L, has perished. His intelligence and determination to discover Kira’s true identity make him an immoral candidate for the role of new L.
Even though his fixation and methods ultimately led to his demise, his demise provided Near with the key piece of evidence necessary to successfully trap Light and secure victory.
Even though he was a horrible person, he did have a role in the team’s ultimate victory over Kira, it’s just a shame he wasn’t around to reap the fruits of his labor.
Near
It was a major bummer for me that Mello was virtually an exact duplicate of L because as annoying and intolerable as he was, at least Mello had his personality quirks. It appeared like Near was just a convenient way to resurrect L under a new identity.
His ingenuity was on display when he figured out how to capture Light and the fact that he solved a problem his predecessor couldn’t be wonderful, but he never really creates a tale of his own that sets him apart from L.
Teru Mikami
Later in the series when Light attempts to deflect attention away from himself, he uses Mr. Delete, alias Teru Mikami, as a stand-in for Kira. When I saw the scene where the prosecutor wrote down many names on the Death Note, I laughed, but I also understood why he had been chosen to handle such a powerful notebook because of his preoccupation with Kira and “deleting” terrible individuals.
Misa Amane
When I realized how Light and the others were taking advantage of her naivete, I began to feel sorry for her, even though she had first annoyed the hell out of me. Her developing feelings for Rem won me over and the fact that she was an unpredictable wild card who kept you on your toes made her character arc interesting.
Knowing how little Light genuinely cared for her it is terrible that she was never able to break free from her obsession with Light, as she is seen likely taking her own life after his death.
Soichiro Yagami
Light’s secret was kept from Soichiro even on his deathbed, which impressed me given the show’s gloomy tone and the prevalence of suspicions. I was fascinated by and shocked by the tale of the dad who had been seeking his own kid without ever knowing that he was the killer all along.
Even on his deathbed, he refused to write Mello’s name on the Death Note, refusing to compromise the morality that ultimately cost him his life and that his son did not share.
Ryuk
Ryuk is the personification of chaos, it is his boredom that drives Light to become a serial killer, his obsession with apples is hysterical and watching him respond to the world around Light never fails to make me laugh.
Unlike some of the other characters in the show, he doesn’t get much of a character journey, but that’s okay because he promised he’d remain impartial as a viewer and simply provide Light with occasional commentary on the sticky situations he finds himself in.
Rem
In contrast to Ryuk, we see a Shinigami named Rem develop feelings for Misa and ultimately sacrifice herself to protect her by killing L and Watari.
Aside from her raw honesty and stern personality that often at clashes with Ryuk, I liked her character even more because of her friendship with Misa and the extent she’d go to defend the pop sensation.
Touta Matsuda
Matsuda begins as a nave detective who occasionally gets in the way but as the years pass we witness him mature into someone who is self-aware about his flaws and willing to take risks.
He is one of the few who doesn’t try to manipulate Misa is loyal to Light’s father Soichiro and has sympathy for Kira as someone who started on the righteous path and diverted.
He’s one of the show’s more morally upright characters so it makes sense that he’s the one who kills Light the detective’s willingness to go to any lengths to protect his former mentor’s son finally broke under the weight of the betrayal.
“L”
An entertaining counterpoint to Light, the antagonist’s oddball personality and the ensuing battle of wits and strategies had viewers glued to their screens. Light was never able to relax because of his analytical mind and deductive ability.
Light had to go to unfathomable lengths to defeat “L” or “L” Lawliet and watching him perish without catching him was terrible.
For a reason, “L” made our list of the top eleven most popular anime characters. L Lawliet’s fame proves that the anime characters leave a lasting impression on viewers. You might be interested in our list of the 11 most famous anime characters.
Light Yagami
I had no idea his trajectory would take him from high school student to youngster to mass murdering serial killer. Watching him go from killing criminals to killing innocent bystanders who dared to get in his way or discovered his identity was disturbing.
Because of how well he manipulated and lied throughout the series, his eventual downfall is all the more rewarding. He’s the guy you root for at first, but then you’re like, “How the hell did he get away with that?” That, I think, is a testament to the show’s writers and his character’s growth.
It’s a show I forgot about for a long time, so I’m glad I got to watch it again and remember why Light is one of the best heroes turned villains in anime. This concludes our ranking of the top 10 best Death Note characters, from worst to best. Stay tuned to Lee Daily for more stuff like this.
