My Top 10 "Death Note" Characters Ranked, See If You Agree

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Mello comes in late into the series years after the death of his fellow Wammy House predecessor L, is killed. His high IQ and obsession with being the one to solve the identity of Kira lend to his immorality with the depths he's willing to go to be the new L. Although his obsession and tactics eventually led to his death, it's his death, that ends up being the information Near needed to finally trap Light and defeat him. So although he was a crappy person, in the end, he did help defeat Kira so, I guess that's a win for him, too bad he couldn't enjoy it. 

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Being almost a carbon copy of L was a big letdown for me, as even though Mello was painfully obnoxious and someone you couldn't stand, at least he was unique in his own way. Near just seemed to be a way to bring back L in a different skin. Although his intelligence was on display when figuring out how to catch Light, combined with the fact he solved the mystery his predecessor couldn't, was nice, but he never really develops a story of his own that separates him from L. 

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Mr. Delete aka Teru Mikami comes later on into the show as a proxy for Kira when Light tries to divert attention away from himself. His obsession with Kira and "deleting" evil people made this prosecutor drunk with power as his scene when writing down multiple names on the Death Note made me chuckle but also realize why he was selected to hold such a powerful notebook. 

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As someone who did annoy the hell out of me in the beginning, I started to empathize with her as you see how Light and others play on her gullible nature. It's her relationship with Rem that really turned it around and the fact that she was the wild card that kept you on your toes really helped me have a fondness for her development. It's a shame she never escaped the obsession over Light as after his death you see her presumably take her own life even which is tragic, knowing how little Light actually cared for her.  

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I liked the way they kept Light's secret from Soichiro on his death bed, it was something I thought for sure was going to be exposed considering the suspicions and the dark tone of the show. The story of a man who had been unknowingly hunting his own son but never suffered the heartbreak of knowing that he was the killer all along, was something that I really enjoyed and was taken back by. It's his morality that his son doesn't share that ended up costing him his life and was held true even on his deathbed as he refuses to write Mello's name on the Death Note. 

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As the embodiment of chaos, Ryuk's boredom is the reason Light becomes the serial killer he is, his addiction to apples is hilarious, and seeing him react to the situation around Light is always good for a laugh. He never really gets a character arc like some of the others in the show but it doesn't matter as he always stated he would be neutral in his spectatorship and would just chime in from time to time to Light about the predicaments he would put himself in. 

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Opposite of Ryuk, Rem is a Shinigami we get to see grow a fondness to Misa, to the point of even sacrificing herself by killing L and Watari in order to save Misa's life. Even after all her disdain of the human world, the relationship between her and Misa and the lengths she'd go to protect the pop star was something that made me like her character even more aside from her brutal honesty and stoic demeanor that was always at odds with Ryuk. 

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Matsuda starts off as an inexperienced detective who at times gets in the way but after the years pass we see him develop into somebody who is aware of his shortcomings but will take the risk regardless. He is loyal to Light's father Soichiro, sympathizes with Kira as somebody who started on the righteous path and diverted, and is one of the few people who doesn't try to manipulate Misa. He's probably one of the purer characters on the show, and to be honest, for him to be the one that shoots Light was a full-circle moment as that betrayal was the last straw for this kind-hearted detective that would've done anything to protect his former mentor's son.  

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The quirky antagonist to Light was a joy to watch as their back and forth battle of wit and strategy was what kept you on the edge of your seat and made the show so damn interesting. His skill in the power of deduction and his analytical mind always seemed to keep Light on his toes till the very end. It was tragic to see this character die without catching Light especially after being on his heels for so long but the fact that Light had to go to impossible lengths to defeat him shows how great an adversary L was. 

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His arc from high school to kid to the mass-murdering serial killer was one that I didn't think would go as far as it did. The slippery slope that he took from killing criminals to then killing innocent people who dared get in his way or discovered his identity was chilling to see. The way in which he is able to manipulate and lie throughout this series was astounding and makes it even more satisfying when he reaches his inevitable end. He's a character you first start cheering for and then wonder "How the hell did he get away with that?" which to me speaks to the writing of the show and his character development overall. It's a show I slept on for a long time and am glad I got to revisit it and remember why Light is one of the best heroes turned villains in anime.