Light Yagami is an extremely intelligent, yet bored 17-year old student who is not satisfied with the current justice system. When he finds the Death Note intentionally dropped in the human world by the shinigami Ryuk, he decides to use it to kill criminals. He earns the title Kira, the Japanese pronunciation of the English word "killer". His ultimate goal is to cleanse the world of evil and create a world without criminals. He intends to reign over this new world as its "god". He is finally killed when Ryuk writes his name into the Death Note after Near proved to everyone that Light himself is Kira. In the Japanese version of the anime he is voiced by Mamoru Miyano and in the English version by Brad Swaile.
L Lawliet is the world's top-rated detective who takes on the task of tracking down and arresting Kira. He often uses drastic strategies to confuse and force the hand of his opponents, and his disheveled appearance disguises his brilliance and genius. He enjoys sugar, and in nearly every scene including him, he is found eating cake or confectionery and drinking sweetened coffee. L often misleads people with his behavior as well as his appearance. He sits in an unusual position, and he always wears the same articles of clothing. He has a habit of chewing on his thumb and holds things delicately. Watari is the only one who is able to contact him. He has a few aliases, two being detectives Eraldo Coil and Denueve. Eraldo Coil is considered the second best detective in the world, Denueve being third. L has many aliases, though he acquired the ones Eraldo Coil and Deneuve in a battle between the real detectives. The two were defeated, and so L claimed their aliases. L always suspected Light was Kira, but his suspicions were not confirmed until his dying moment in the hands of Light. The L is not only an alias but also the detective's first name [L Lawliet].
Misa Amane is a popular Japanese model. She is immature and tends to refer to herself in the third person in an attempt to be cute. She is completely devoted to Light, saying that she loved him at first sight, although the feeling is hardly mutual- since Light merely views her as a rather annoying asset and uses her. She is even willing to make the Shinigami eye trade for him twice, vastly shortening her lifespan. In the manga, she kills herself after Light's death, which is also implied in the anime's finale which shows her standing past the safety rail on a building. What happens to her after in the film version is uncertain, as the only remaining characters whose fates are revealed are L and the Yagami family.
Near A calm and stoic character that appears in the second half of the series. He subtly represents an albino-like figure with his silver hair, and plain white clothes. In the anime and manga versions, Near is 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, and he is constantly shown sitting in an unusual manner. Also, like L, Near likes to stack objects such as dice, while L likes to stack sugar cubes. If you compare the two, you can see they bear some resemblance in appearance as well. After L's death, he was asked to join forces with Mello, who refused (it is explained that Near lacks the emotional insight to beat L, while Mello is too emotional and impulsive). In the manga, Near accepts the fact neither Mello or himself can surpass L, saying that perhaps he lacked dynamics while Mello lacked composure. Near then gained the support of the Government of the United States and formed the Special Provision for Kira (SPK). In the 'extra' manga story, set after the end of the series, Near states that, while he respects Light's drive for justice, he can never find his 'Kira' actions excusable. In the film L: Change the World L gives the name "Near" to a Thai boy who is a mathematical genius; L intends for Near to succeed him.[2] His real name is Nate River.
Mello a character present in the anime and manga versions, was an orphan who grew up with Near and Matt in Wammy's House, Watari's shelter for "gifted" children. Like Near and Matt, 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. His goal in life is to surpass Near. Mello was also killed by minor character Takada Kiyomi as a sacrifice to help Near's case. The light novel "Death Note Another Note: The Los Angeles BB Murder Cases" is written out of his view. His real name is Mihael Keehl.
Shinigami or Gods Of Death, are demon-like beings who live in the Shinigami realm. Shinigami are functionally immortal, able to extend their lives indefinitely by writing the names of humans in their Death Notes. By writing the name of a human whose fated time of death has not yet come, Shinigami have their lifespan increased by the amount that human would have lived (e.g. a forty-year-old who would have lived to the age of sixty would yield twenty years). As Ryuk describes it, life in the Shinigami realm is incredibly dull; Shinigami do little more than gamble constantly, and using the Death Note more than once in a while is considered something workaholics do. The main Shinigami featured in the series are Ryuk, Rem and Sidoh. The only way to kill a Shinigami is through love for a human (e.g. if a Shinigami kills to save a human they love [which adds more time to the lifespan of that human], the Shinigami will then turn to dust and evaporate, as Gelus did to prolong Misa's life).