Follow TV Tropes

Following

Characters / Death Note: Novel, Pilot and Movies

Go To

Main Character Index | Main Characters (Light Yagami) | Task Force | Shinigami | Side Characters | Novel, Pilot, and Movies | Death Note (2017)

    open/close all folders 

Novel & Pilot

    Beyond Birthday 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/beyond_birthday.jpg
The villain in the prequel novel Death Note: Another Note: The Los Angeles BB Murder Case.

    A 

A student at Wammy's House in the prequel novel Death Note: Another Note: The Los Angeles BB Murder Case.


    Taro Kagami 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/180px-TaroandRyuk_4307.jpg

The 13-year-old protagonist of the Death Note Pilot chapter (which takes place in a different continuity than that of the main series). Technically, this makes him the first of the Kiras.

Mikami's appearance, but not his personality, was based on Taro's.


  • Accidental Murder: He can't read the English on the notebook very well, so he uses it as a diary and in which he writes the names of the kids who bullied him. He doesn't make the connection until after the second set of bullies dies.
  • Back from the Dead: He dies at some point, then comes back to life, but not with his mind entirely intact, some believe. Ryuk asking him what he thought of the Land of the Dead brings out a rather shaky and suspicious smile.
  • Death is Cheap: The Death Eraser can undo the deaths of anyone whose name is written in the notebook.
  • Defeat Means Friendship: Taro and the main antagonist part on good terms, with the antagonist thanking Taro for stopping him and then apologizing for almost killing him.
  • Face Death with Dignity: Kind of. He allows himself to be killed with the death note to prove that he's telling the truth to the police officers. He even jokes a little when giving instructions on what to write for cause of death. Of course, he's quickly revived with the Death Eraser
  • From Bad to Worse: Even after he revives his victims with the Death Eraser.
  • From Nobody to Nightmare: Seemingly insignificant and unpopular kid who eventually has the entire student body scared out of their wits.
  • Halfway Plot Switch: At first, Taro is something of a Villain Protagonist who is trying to avoid being found out. Then, once he revives everyone he kills, he spends the rest of the pilot acting as a Kid Detective, trying to find the killer who has taken his place.
    • When you compare it to the main series, it feels like a condensed version of everything Light went through from the first chapter all the way to the end of the Yotsuba arc.
  • Happy Ending: The ONLY Kira who gets one of these, folks.
  • I Wrote Our Story: Cue Epileptic Trees.
  • Kids Are Cruel: Taro is a favorite target for the school bullies.
  • Lighter and Softer: When compared to Light. However, since he actually came first, you could say that Light is a Darker and Edgier replacement for him.
  • Long Haired Prettyboy: After the Time Skip.
  • Mirror Character: It turns out that the pilot's real villain is basically another kid who, like Taro, was constantly picked on and initially killed people by accident.
  • My God, What Have I Done?: He has nightmares about the boys he killed until he undoes their deaths.
  • Past Experience Nightmare: His victims haunt him in his dreams. Had he been the protagonist of the main series, it's doubtful that he could have gone as far as Light did.
  • Person of Mass Destruction: Potentially, though he isn't shown using the notebook this way.
  • 13 Is Unlucky: Our 13-year-old Woobie Protagonist.

Characters only in movies

    Shiori Akino 
Played by: Yuu Kashii

Light's girlfriend in the live-action movie.


    K 
Played by: Youki Kudoh
The Big Bad of L: change the WorLd also known as Dr. Kimiko Kujo.

    Daisuke Matoba 
Played by: Masanobu Takashima
The Dragon to K in L: change the WorLd

    Hideaki Suruga 
Played by: Kiyotaka Nanbara
The FBI Agent in L: change the WorLd.

    Sanami 
Played by: Miyuki Komatsu
A token female member of the Kira Taskforce added in the live-action movies.
  • Gender Flip: She's basically the movie-verse's version of Ide.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: She calls L out on the cruel and unusual treatment of the Kira suspects.

    F 
Played by: Kazuki Namioka
Another graduate of Wammy’s house that shows up in L: change the WorLd.

    Dr. Nikaido 
Played by: Shingo Tsurumi
An immunologist and the father of Maki Nikaido in L: change the WorLd.

    Maki Nikaido 
Played by: Mayuko Fukuda
Daughter of Dr. Nikakido. She's also one of the kids that L has to protect in L: change the WorLd.

Characters in 2016 Live-Action Movie

    Shien Yuki 

The antagonist of the 2016 film, Death Note: Light Up the New World. A cyber-terrorist who idolizes Kira.

Portrayed by: Masaki Suda


  • Affably Evil: Despite being a serial killer, he's very courteous to the people he executes.
  • Light Is Not Good: Early promotional posters for the movie depict him dressed completely in white. And he's the villain. Quite fitting, as he's emulating his predecessor Light Yagami, who was a literal example of the trope.
  • Multiple Gunshot Death: How he goes out, just like Matt in the manga and anime.
  • Walking Spoiler: Promotional blurbs for the film states that he "inherited the DNA" of Light Yagami. However, while it's revealed that Light had a child, Shien isn't that child.

    Ryuzaki II 
L's counterpart for the new film. Named as "Ryuzaki" in promotional material.
  • Anime Hair: A bushy moptop with blonde streaks.
  • Dark Is Not Evil: Dedicated to stopping the rise of a new Kira and an early poster for the movie has him dressed all in black, contrasted with villain Shien Yuki who wears white.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's pretty rude at the best of times, but he always comes around for his allies.
  • Malevolent Masked Men: A non-traditional example. He's not a particularly nice person, but not as amoral as his predecessor L and only uses the mask to protect his face.
  • Reincarnation: Early promotional material states that he "inherited L's DNA." Make of that what you will.

    Tsukuru Mishima 
A police officer who finds himself caught in the conflict between Ryuzaki and Shien.—-
  • Easily Forgiven: Ryuzaki forgives Mishima, even giving him the L legacy.
  • Get It Over With: When Nanase tries to kill him, as his status as Neo Kira meant that he killed her brother, he positions himself so that her gun is aimed directly at his forehead. He then tells her to pull the trigger, as he is guilty of being a murderer, and she does. However, Arma wrote Nanase's name in her 'Death Note' as it happened, so Mishima is spared instead.
  • Memory Gambit: It turns out he's the real Neo Kira, not Yuki Shien, and he pulled a memory loss trick a la Light Yagami, ten years earlier.
  • Red Herring: Throughout the movie, we're led to think he's the new protagonist and Yuki Shien the villain. But in fact, he's Neo Kira. And his real name is Ryo Nakagami.
  • Walking Spoiler: It's almost impossible to talk about him without revealing a major twist.

    Arma 
A newly introduced Shinigami for the 2016 film.

Voiced By: Miyuki Sawashiro


  • Butter Face: Inverted. While she has the anatomy of a giant insect standing on its hind legs, her face is quite pretty.
  • Expy: She's essentially a Gender Flipped version of Sidoh/Shidoh from the original series.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: She saves Ryuzaki and Mishima from being killed by Nanase, going out the same way as Jealous and Rem: disintegrating into sand.
  • Love Martyr: Her relationship with Ryzaki borders on romantic and he states that she may give up her life for him. She ultimately does.
  • Nice Girl: She's very pleasant, not taking pleasure in other's suffering like Ryuk does.
  • The Pollyanna: Never seen in a bad mood.
  • Trademark Favorite Food: Grapes.

    Sakura Aoi 
A Death Note holder from the 2016 film, Death Note: Light Up the New World.

    Bepo 
An original Shinigami for Death Note: Light Up the New World that accompanies Sakura Aoi.

    Light's son 
Light's son, introduced very fleetingly in Death Note: Light Up the New World. Very little is known about him.
  • All There in the Manual: Most of what we know about him comes from supplementary materials. According to the tie-in novelization for the film, he was an abusive, controlling and threatening individual, who treated Mikami, his foster father, as a slave.
  • Asshole Victim: Probably one of the least sympathetic Death Note users.
  • Creepy Child: A nine-year-old boy who's gleefully killing criminals and may well have killed his own foster father had said foster father not intervened.
  • Mysterious Past: We never do find out who his mother was, but it definitely isn't Misa.
  • No Name Given: We never do learn his true name. All that's shown on-screen is two characters from his name, the 神 from "Yagami" and 光, the latter of which can be read as "Hikaru," "Hikari," "Akira," "Teru" note  and "Mitsu" among other potential readings. He's only ever referred to in the novelization as "Light's son" and "the boy."
  • Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: How else to describe a boy who's not even ten and is maliciously killing criminals? It says something that Mikami felt it necessary to get him out of the picture, and not for villainous reasons.

Top