This list contains information about characters for the story Warning Letter. For information about the characters from their home series, go here.
The Phantom Thieves of Hearts
Light Yagami / "Noble"
Light Yagami / Noble
Arcana: XX Le'Eon (The Aeon)
Persona: The Count
Weapons: Rapiers & rifles
Reformed Phantom Thief
Remove yourself from my sight, criminal
Count: So, you finally remembered the justice you sought? It's about time. You have kept me waiting long enough, my other self. ou once lost sight of it, and let it become warped. If you have the resolve to keep to the straight path, then let us make a pact. I am thou. Thou art I. You have already embarked on the path of blood, have you not? Then continue forward, even if you will be damned for all of eternity. Now, let all those who do not repent for their sins be dragged to the depths of hell!
Count: So, you finally remembered the justice you sought? It's about time. You have kept me waiting long enough, my other self. ou once lost sight of it, and let it become warped. If you have the resolve to keep to the straight path, then let us make a pact. I am thou. Thou art I. You have already embarked on the path of blood, have you not? Then continue forward, even if you will be damned for all of eternity. Now, let all those who do not repent for their sins be dragged to the depths of hell!
The protagonist of Death Note. Once an ordinary high school student with a bright future ahead of him, he became one of the worst serial killers in modern history following his discovery of the Death Note, a notebook that can kill virtually anyone in the world.
The oldest child of police chief Soichiro Yagami, Light is an honor student who, one day, discovered a black notebook in the courtyard of his school while on his way home. Upon further investigation, he discovered that this notebook had the power to kill anyone, so long as he had the name and face of his target. As he used the Death Note, he quickly became corrupted by its power and desired to become the god of a new world order, where criminals were either eliminated or forced to hide in the shadows, fearing for their lives.
His plans quickly go out the window when, by a mere twist of fate, his little sister overheard his ranting towards L's stand-in calling him out, which led to her requesting help from the Phantom Thieves.
- The Ace: Is absolutely flawless in what he does. Sadly...
- Lonely at the Top: As Light explains to Ryuk, his perfectionist behavior ultimately alienates him from everyone in Daikoku Private Academy. Everyone either approaches him because they want to be associated with the smartest person in school or they hate his guts. It also doesn't help matters that the teachers absolutely adore him and even allow him to skip school when the results of his recent change of heart start to become more noticeable, much to their ire.
- Adaptational Badass: In his home series, Light physically fought on a few occasions, primarily using the Death Note and his wits as his weapons. Here, he's capable of fighting Shadows after developing a Persona.
- Adaptational Heroism: After developing a Persona and learning the motivation of the Phantom Thieves, Light decides to atone for his mistakes as Kira by stealing the hearts of criminals, one at a time.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: We saw a glimpse of the person Light would have become had he not been tainted by the power of the Death note during the Yotsuba Arc, and that same personality emerges after Light's heart is stolen. For all intents and purposes, the influence of Kira is no longer prominent.
- Adaptation Origin Connection: He and Makoto were friends in childhood, due to their fathers being partners on the police force. His parents also used to be regulars at Leblanc and were on a first-name basis with Sojiro.
- Anti-Hero: Naturally the case since he joined the Phantom Thieves, but his Persona fits the trope even better, given that he is the most famous avenger in literature.
- The Atoner: After having his heart stolen and developing a Persona, Light wants to make up for all the deaths he caused by joining the Phantom Thieves.
- Awful Truth: Discovers that Makoto's father, who was Soichiro's partner back in the day, was actually killed by Kaneshiro while pursuing a lead. Out of fear that the Niijima sisters would go after the man in revenge, Soichiro buried the case and told them that their father was killed in a car accident. Light is torn between keeping this to himself or telling Makoto.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Sure, Light's back to his pre-Death Note self, but he's still someone you don't want to make an enemy of. If anything, him no longer using the Death Note has made him slightly less dangerous.
- BFS: Count wields a giant serrated broadsword that's as long as it is.
- Big Brother Instinct: He's fiercely protective of Sayu, and she was the initial reason why Light used the Death Note until his Sanity Slippage. And we would like to remind you that he is still in possession of the Death Note.
- Cassandra Truth: As discussed by the Phantom Thieves, Light revealing he is Kira wouldn't be taken seriously unless he used the Death Note, which he wouldn't use given that he's undergone a change of heart. This is zigzagged, in that while Light wouldn't be arrested, he would be made an official suspect.
- Clothing Damage: When the Demiurge loses his scales and is forced on the defensive, his clothes are reduced to tatters and his skin is being cut open, creating streams of black blood and even revealing some muscle tissue beneath the damaged parts.
- Cruel Mercy: While still operating as Kira, he actually decides against writing Kamoshida's name in the Death Note, reasoning that rapists like him wouldn't survive long among other prisoners to begin with.
- Deceased Parents Are the Best: Like his sister, Light loved Sachiko Yagami dearly. He even learned her signature dish, Fried Tempura Shrimp, which Soichiro notes that it tastes exactly like how his wife used to make it.
- Do Not Call Me "Paul": When the Phantom Thieves are trying to figure out what his codename should be, Light flatout says that he'll punch whoever calls him Kira.
- Didn't Think This Through: Stating that you were going to kill the guy who publicly called you out on live television while your family is home rather loudly turns out to be a bad idea, as his rant is overheard by Sayu, kickstarting the plot of the story.
- Didn't See That Coming: Light developing a Persona is this to the Phantom Thieves. It has been established in the game that a Persona-user cannot develop a Palace. Morgana, however, states that it is theoretically possible for the reverse to be the case, so long as they remember what caused their desires to be distorted in the first place and maintain a solid grip.
- The Dreaded: Even though he's still in the beginning stages of his story, Kira is every criminal's worst nightmare come to life. This has since become subverted when people start to realize that Kira's murders have all but stopped, which everyone starts to take notice of.
- Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Absolutely has nothing but kind words for his mother, who passed away due to cancer. His Treasure is a photograph of the family, which also shows his then-alive mother holding a baby Sayu Yagami.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Initially subverted, then played straight. Kira claims that, so long as his family doesn't oppose him, he would leave them alone and even thinks that they would support his ideals. However, following his defeat, Light's Shadow, who is reduced to pathetically begging for his Treasure back, asks how can he protect Sayu without the Death Note, revealing that she is the reason behind his initial tenure. His Treasure is later revealed to be a photograph of the entire Yagami family, including his mother, who is holding an infant Sayu.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Despite having gone nuts with his belief that he would become a god, Light was not without some morals. Out of the hundreds of thousands of criminals, the only ones he didn't target were those who were proven to be falsely accused, released from prison and successfully reintegrated back into society with no problem and those who were serving a life sentence. He also spares Kamoshida and Madarame on the grounds that they confessed to their crimes without having to be caught first and seemed sincere about atoning for their actions.
- For Want Of A Nail: Light's tenure as Kira ending much earlier, right before he is just about to kill Raye Penber, has not only spared the lives of possibly millions of criminals, but also sparks the interest of L, who now focuses his attention to the Phantom Thieves of Hearts.
- Forgiven, but Not Forgotten: While the Phantom Thieves do see that he's changed for the better, even more so now that he has a Persona, Light points out that he's still a murderer at the end of the day. Even he hasn't fully forgiven himself for his actions as Kira.
- Friendly Sniper: He prefers using rifles, and he's become rather sociable as of late.
- Freudian Excuse: His motivation for becoming Kira? When he was younger, the school Sayu went to was attacked and the students and teachers were held hostage. While no one died in the incident and Sayu was thankfully spared from the incident on account of having a fever that day, the incident shook Light greatly. Not helping matters was that he was stated to be too smart for his own good, even at that age, as he was quick to realize just how screwed up society was becoming.
- A God Am I: This was his mindset as the infamous serial killer Kira. This personality has since been given the boot when the Phantom Thieves changed his heart.
- Heel–Face Turn: Eventually abandons his serial killing ways in favor of becoming a Phantom Thief, intending to atone for his crimes by changing the hearts of Japan's corrupt elite.
- I Am a Monster: Light doesn't have a very good opinion of himself, even after he joins the Phantom Thieves. In fact, when Ren offers him a place in their ranks, he points out that he is stil the worst murderer in modern history.
- Mythology Gag: The Demiurge battle is this, referencing two bosses from Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth: the Merciful Clergyman and the Clockwork God. The former was a Barrier Change Boss who invoked "vows" and would punish anyone who broke these vows with huge damage. The later portion invokes a Time Based Mission where, as if invoking the Death Note from the Palace, the Demiurge activates a "death clock" that will kill the Phantom Thieves once the counter hits zero.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Though he's since retired and locked away the Death Note, criminals still fear the name "Kira."
- Odd Name Out: Unlike the other Palace Rulers, who are referred to as "Shadow [Name]," Light's Shadow is simply called "Kira."
- One-Winged Angel: When Light's Shadow becomes the Demiurge, he becomes a twisted parody of the lady justice, wielding a scale and possessing wings and dressed like some divine messenger, with a blindfold over his face to boot. However, he also looks like a demon, invoking the image of a demon-god thing and even has a sword stabbed through his head!
- Out-of-Character Alert: Light's subsequent 180 in terms of personality has also caught the attention of not just his father, but even L. The recent change of heart turns Light into a miserable wreck that can't even focus on school, which tips Soichiro off that something was wrong. It didn't help matters that the Kira killings started to stop right around then. Light suddenly becoming more cheerful was even more alarming, all but confirming for Soichiro and L that Light was Kira and that he has undergone a change of heart, which has them set their sights on the Phantom Thieves.
- Psychopathic Manchild: Light's early personality for the first three chapters display this, becoming upset when he learns that the Phantom Thieves are more or less stealing his thunder by reforming criminals and wants to get rid of them as soon as possible.
- Red Baron: "Kira," naturally. His Shadow is also referred to by this name, though the Phantom Thieves' calling card also refer to him by the name "Demiurge," which is the name of his berserk form.
- Seven Deadly Sins: As Kira, his was Pride. Unlike Madarame, whose sin was more specifically Vanity, Light's own pride is rooted in the assumption that he can fix the world's biggest problems, with any praise he gets, while welcomed, as a secondary goal.
- Spanner in the Works: Light's career as Kira being cut short becomes the source of various new wrenches in the grand scheme of things. For starters, since his actions had already exposed the world to the possibility that the supernatural exists, attention on the Phantom Thieves if higher than normal. When the Kira murders stop, a few are quick to realize that the Phantom Thieves stopped him, which in turn catches the attention of the Task Force led by L, who now turns his attention to them.
- Starter Villain: Light's Shadow, "Kira" is the first Big Bad the Phantom Thieves take on in the story, coming hot off the heels of Madarame.
- These Hands Have Killed: He has not forgotten what he has done with the Death Note, and is quick to remind Ren and the others when they offer him a spot on their team.
- The Extremist Was Right: Light's methods, however horrible they were, did have merit. Crime in Japan had virtually all but dropped to unheard of levels. Goro even lampshades this by showing off surveys and statistics for crime rates both before and after Kira's emergence. When criminals realize that Kira has "retired," crime rate shoots right back up in just a few months.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: He was going to kill Raye Penber by having him unknowingly write down the names of his fellow FBI agents on a piece of paper, which was from the Death Note. Afterwards, Light was going to off him. The Phantom Thieves stop him before he can enact his plan.
- Villainous Breakdown: Kira does not take his sudden disadvantage in his fight against the Phantom Thieves well at all.
- Even before the fight, Light himself doesn't take getting a Calling Card too well, though it's less because of finding out the Phantom Thieves are targeting him and more because they called him evil.
- We Can Rule Together: In his Palace, Kira offers the Phantom Thieves a place at his side, finding some worth in their ability to institute a change of heart. Joker isn't having any of it and promptly responds with a bullet that grazes his cheek, kickstaring the boss fight.
The Yagami Family
Sayu Yagami
Sayu Yagami
The youngest child of Police Chief Soichiro Yagami and beloved little sister to Light. She proceeds to throw a spectacular wrench into Kira's plans for a simple reason: she wants her brother back.- Big Sister Instinct: Inverted as she's the younger sibling, but when she learns Light spiralled into believing himself a god and murdering people by dozens, she immediately seeks for a way to bring him back to his senses.
- Break the Cutie: She's completely horrified to realize her brother is the greatest Serial Killer in human history.
- Exact Eavesdropping: Well, Light wasn't exactly quiet when he raged and ranted against L in his bedroom... Cue Sayu hearing far too much.
- Morality Pet: Even in the throes of his godly delusions, Light ultimately cared for Sayu. The only reason that he doesn’t turn himself in is so that he can protect her.
- Spanner in the Works: Kira never imagined his own sister could reject his wish of a safe, perfect world in favor of having the brother she loves back.
Soichiro Yagami
Police Chief Soichiro Yagami
- Adaptation Origin Connection: He and his wife were friends with Sojiro in High School, and Makoto's father was his partner when he was still a beat cop.
- It's All My Fault: He cannot help but think Light became Kira because his father let him grow up too soon and too fast, without ever taking the time to reassure his son that it's okay to fail sometimes, people are allowed to not be perfect.
- Lies to Children: He claimed his partner Masahiro Niijima died from being ran over by a drunk driver as he feared the man's daughters would be killed trying to avenge him if they knew it actually was a trap by a rising criminal. It unfortunately backfires when the eldest daughter learnt the truth and decided to cut bridges with him for it.
- Parents as People: He's painfully aware he's too absent from his children's lives in spite of loving them, outright wondering if it factored into his son's descent into madness.
- When You Coming Home, Dad?: He's more often at the Police Station at home, especially now that Kira and the Phantom Thieves have whipped society into a frenzy.
