Death Note/Characters/Shinigami

Monstrous, inhuman creatures who inhabit the land of the dead, the Shinigami are Gods of Death who all own their own copy of the titular Death Note. The series starts when one Shinigami in particular gets bored with lazing around all day and decides to take a visit down to Earth.

These tropes are shared by most of the Shinigami:


 * Blue and Orange Morality: Of course Shinigami have no problems killing humans or with humans dying. Shinigami take human lifespans for themselves. Why should they care about the human world beyond it being their food source? In fact if a Shinigami does care about a human, that means they "failed as a Shinigami", and that is punishable by death.
 * By the Eyes of The Blind: A shinigami on Earth can only be seen or heard by humans who have touched his/her particular Death Note.
 * Cute Monster Girl: Averted: all of the female Shinigami are rather grotesque in appearance.
 * Deadly Upgrade: Any Shinigami on Earth can offer a human the Shinigami Eyes.
 * Intangible Man (or Woman): Although a Shinigami on Earth can temporarily become solid to manipulate objects.
 * NameDar: Shinigami eyes see everyone's name and lifespan.
 * OC Stand In: Most of the Shinigami who don't go down to Earth.
 * Punch Clock Villain: It really is only their duty to take humans' lives, and they only truly qualify as "evil" insofar as the occasional decision to kill a human earlier than intended - and doing so to save another is an offense for which death is punishment.
 * It's unclear if death is a punishment or it's simply what happens
 * Random Power Ranking: All of the known Shinigami are ranked from 1 to 13 (with the exception of the Shinigami King who doesn't have a rank). This could be subverted in that Ryuk is two levels below Rem, yet is shown to be more cunning and manipulative than her,
 * Shinigami: Obviously.
 * Stationary Wings: Some have extending wings despite being able to float like ghosts.
 * We Are As Mayflies

Ryuk
"Voiced by: Shidou Nakamura (JP), Brian Drummond (EN)"

Light's Shinigami sidekick, and the one who dropped Light's Death Note on Earth in the first place. Despite his terrifying appearance, he's mostly harmless (unless he gets bored), and has a fondness for apples. He tells Light about various rules of the Shinigami Realm, sometimes at extremely inconvenient times.

. -- Tropes associated with Ryuk: ""You know, you haven't been very nice to me. I might just write your name in my Death Note and kill you, just like that! ...I wouldn't laugh if I were you.""
 * A Protagonist Is Ryu
 * Affably Evil or Faux Affably Evil: Is a bit of both, as he can be genuinely nice to Light and Misa, but fits the latter in his malicious way of curing boredom.
 * Alien Catnip: Apples
 * Allergic to Routine
 * Audience Surrogate: "So interesting!"
 * Bigger Bad: He dropped the Death Note to Light in the first place, so everything that happened in the series is ultimately his fault.
 * Captain Obvious
 * Does This Remind You of Anything?: Ryuk is an apple junkie.
 * Interestingly, the potential symbolism of apples is one Ohba claims to have been unaware of.
 * The Dragon: To a certain extent.
 * Even Evil Has Standards: Ryuk tells Light at least once that he's even more evil than a shinigami, and generally, when Light does something particularly nasty, laughs mockingly in the background.
 * Evil Laugh
 * Fish Eyes: Depending on the angle of the scene. The rest of the time it's just a bulging stare.
 * Fun Personified
 * Glowing Eyes of Doom
 * Good Wings Evil Wings
 * Goth: Well, at least his clothes look like it. Personality, not so much.
 * The Grim Reaper
 * Hates Being Touched: More like he's rather bashful. When Misa tried hugging him, he blurred away from her, blushing and citing he's not used to it.
 * Hey It's That Voice: Ryuk's Death Note must have over 9000 names.
 * How Do You Like Them Apples: Juicy!
 * I Can't Believe It's Not Heroin!: He's a "triple A"; an Apple Addicted Asshole.
 * Intrigued By Humanity
 * Ironic Echo: Y'know that thing Ryuk warned Light about at the very beginning of this whole mess? Guess what!
 * It Amused Me/For the Evulz: Ryuk drops his Death Note into the human world, setting off all the chaos that follows, just because he's bored.
 * Jerkass Dissonance: Nearly everything bad that happens throughout the series is technically Ryuk's fault, but god damn if we don't love him anyway!
 * Jerkass Gods
 * Jump Scare: Frequently the one to make it happen.
 * Keet
 * Kid With the Leash: Inverted; Ryuk, and by extent, the rules of the Death Note, are often the only thing restraining Light from killing his opponents directly. Not that that stops him from getting around the rules.
 * Kill You Last:

""The symptoms are STAAAAAAARTING!""
 * Large Ham

""Hey Light, want to play some video games?""
 * Lightning Reveal
 * Looks Like Cesare and Looks Like Orlok.
 * Monster Clown
 * Monster Roommate
 * More Teeth Than the Osmond Family
 * No Sense of Personal Space
 * No Trademarks Were Harmed: He's totally not The Joker.
 * Not-So-Harmless Villain:
 * Not-So-Imaginary Friend
 * Obfuscating Stupidity: Ryuk conceals his knowledge of the rules of the notebook from Light in order to amuse himself.
 * Perky Goth
 * Pet Monstrosity
 * Plucky Comic Relief
 * Shooting Superman
 * Sidekick Ex Machina
 * Slasher Smile
 * Snarky Non Human Sidekick
 * So Proud of You: Tells Light this at his high school graduation.
 * Stop Helping Me: Ryuk has the bad habit of trying to conversate with Light in public.
 * Team Pet: Lampshaded by the other Shinigami "LOL, Ryuk is being kept by a human."
 * Too Dumb to Live: More Informed Stupidity; the other shinigami consider him the stupidest of their kind, but he's shown quite a bit of cunning at manipulating and tricking Light.
 * Too Many Belts
 * Trademark Favorite Food: Apples.
 * Villains Out Shopping:
 * Villains Out Shopping:

"Ryuk (sounding excited and happy): He’s not the least bit daunted by the fact that I’m a Shinigami! He doesn’t suck up to me, and he seems to have no problem giving me a hard time. (Grins, AWESOME!!)"
 * Vitriolic Best Buds: Light and Ryuk, arguably BOTH types 1 and 2.


 * The Watson: Occasionally.
 * What Could Have Been: His original design, before the creators decided that him looking more interesting than Light could cause the fandom to ignore Light's character.
 * You Bastard: Fridge Logic: he's the Audience Surrogate.
 * You Can See Me
 * You Didn't Ask: Ryuk amuses himself by explaining certain rules of the Death Note to Light at the worst moments. He even invokes this trope word-for-word in the movie.
 * You Have Outlived Your Entertainment Value

Rem
"Voiced by: Kimiko Saito (JP), Colleen Wheeler (EN)"

Misa's Shinigami, who is highly protective of her, bringing Gelus's Death Note to her after his death and generally watching out for her.

--- Tropes associated with Rem: "Light: *sighs*"
 * Affably Evil: As long as Misa's safety isn't in danger, she doesn't seem terribly threatening toward people. Although, the only humans she's interacted with have somehow been a potential cause of harm to Misa...
 * Bandage Babe
 * Cute Little Fangs
 * Dark Chick
 * Dark Is Not Evil: Although her morality is in question, she genuinely cares about Misa and is disgusted by.
 * The Dulcinea Effect: She sees Misa once and developes feelings for her so intense that she journeys to the human realm to give her Gelus's notebook.
 * Even Evil Has Standards: She has no qualms with Misa murdering innocent people, as well as murder being committed for her sake, but is repulsed by  greedy and obsessive nature.
 * Eyepatch of Power
 * Eyes of Gold
 * Facial Markings
 * Femme Fatalons
 * Four Is Death: The Rank 4 Shinigami
 * Friendly Neighborhood Shinigami
 * Gentle Giant
 * He's A Woman In Japan: Confusingly, the English adaptation of the anime chose to have her referred to as male. The manga bounces a little on this, with Light using male pronouns for her from time to time. Rem herself says in the English manga, "I'm female."
 * Hellish Pupils
 * Horrible Judge of Character: "Now that I think about it, Light may be as pure as you, Misa."
 * Humans Are Bastards: In her opinion, "humans are such ugly creatures."
 * I'll Kill You!: Rem vows to do this if Light doesn't protect Misa and make her happy, promising that if he tries to kill Misa she will kill him first even if it means she'll die too. However since Ryuk is supposed to be the one  she might have been bluffing.
 * I Want My Beloved to Be Happy
 * If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her: As Light notes, she is firmly on Misa's side and will take action on her behalf.
 * Love Martyr: Rem cares deeply for Misa and is even willing to die for her. Misa doesn't care.
 * Mama Bear: She is very protective of Misa. Considering that Misa had recently lost her mother (she tells Light that her parents were murdered a year ago) around the time Rem showed up, it's not too inconcievable that Rem took up that role for her; although Rem obeys Misa and follows her lead, she certainly is shown treating Misa as a daughter, up to and including.
 * Meaningful Name: "Res", in Latin, is a feminine noun meaning 'thing,' like a tool to be used. An accusative is when something is happening to it. The accusative for Res? Rem.
 * Also R.E.M. is the state when the mind is dreaming, which goes along well with Rem's idealized notions of love and sacrifice.
 * Monster Roommate
 * Moral Myopia: She is extremely protective of Misa, but she never says a word about the people Misa kills. Justified in that she is a god of death who herself must kill to stay alive and that she comes to view most humans as "such ugly creatures."
 * She is still a mass murderer who kills so she may live, Hypocrite much?
 * More Than Mind Control: "You want Misa to be happy, right?"
 * My Mistress Right Or Wrong: She's on Misa's side, no matter what.
 * My Species Doth Protest Too Much
 * No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
 * Not-So-Imaginary Friend
 * Protagonist Secret Service
 * Sarashi
 * Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right
 * Sidekick Ex Machina
 * The Smart Gal: Though she is frequently tricked by Light and L she is the smartest of the Shinigami who get any screen time and knows the Rules of the Death Note much better than say Ryuk or Shidoh as Light notes when asking Ryuk to clarify some of the rules in the second arc:
 * The Smart Gal: Though she is frequently tricked by Light and L she is the smartest of the Shinigami who get any screen time and knows the Rules of the Death Note much better than say Ryuk or Shidoh as Light notes when asking Ryuk to clarify some of the rules in the second arc:


 * Tertiary Sexual Characteristics
 * Thinks Like a Romance Novel: Dying for love is so tragic and beautiful...
 * Token Good Teammate: To Team Kira.
 * Unwitting Pawn:
 * Woman in White: in contrast to Misa and possibly Ryuk.
 * You Gotta Have Purple-White Hair

Sidoh
"Voiced by: Kazuki Yao (JP), Samuel Vincent (EN)"

A lazy, whiny shinigami and

- Tropes associated with Sidoh:
 * Affably Evil: He may be a Shinigami, with a bizarre appearance typical by their standards, but he's actually a bit of a goofball in terms of personality and is rather forgetful.
 * Butt Monkey
 * Cape Wings
 * The Chew Toy
 * Combat Tentacles
 * The Ditz: He is even dumber than Ryuk (who is considered pretty dumb among the Shinigami).
 * Even Evil Has Standards: "What's with this [Mello] guy? He's human but he's scary..."
 * Hellish Pupils
 * Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain
 * Lovable Coward
 * More Teeth Than the Osmond Family
 * Not-So-Imaginary Friend
 * Shooting Superman
 * The Slacker: Like many Shinigami he was really slacking off writing down names so he needed to find his notebook soon or he was going to die.
 * Spanner in The Works
 * Spell My Name With an "S": English media writes and pronounces the character's name as Sidoh, an error which is present even in the Japanese, as it's the spelling used in Volume 9 of the tankobon - but in Japanese How to Read 13, largely considered canonical, the character's name is spelled Shidoh, which is likely the intended name.
 * This Is Gonna Suck: In as many words, when realizing his notebook is missing in the human world.
 * Trademark Favorite Food: Mello introduces him to chocolate bars.

Gelus
"Voiced by: Kenichi Matsuyama (JP), Michael Dobson (EN)"

The original owner of Misa's notebook, who sacrificed himself to save Misa.

--- Tropes associated with Gelus:
 * Dark Is Not Evil: He has the grotesque appearence common to all the shinigami, but his one and only scene has him willingly dying to save Misa's life.
 * The Dulcinea Effect
 * Friendly Neighborhood Shinigami
 * Heroic Sacrifice: For Misa.
 * Hey It's That Voice: In the Japanese he's voiced by Kenichi Matsuyama, who plays L in the live-action films.
 * Love Martyr
 * Meaningful Name: "Jealous!" Ahahahahaha...!
 * In the manga, he's even spelled "Jealous".
 * No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
 * Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right
 * Spell My Name With an "S": Japanese media spells his name as Jealous, English calls it "Gelus." The latter appears to be preferred by the fans, especially since many of the Japanese romaji spellings are truly bizarre.
 * Thirteen Is Unlucky: The Rank 13 Shinigami. He has no friends and dies in his first appearance.

Armonia Justin Beyondormason
"Voiced by: Hideyuki Umezu (JP), Michael Dobson (EN)"

The jewel skeleton. The Shinigami Realm’s adviser who knows the rules well.

---
 * Cool Chair: He sits on a throne of skulls
 * Dem Bones
 * Everything's Sparkly With Jewelry
 * Gem Encrusted
 * Gold Makes Everything Shiny
 * Nothing but Skulls: He sits on a throne of skulls.
 * Overly Long Name
 * Plain Name/Odd Name Out: His middle name 'Justin' stands out as one of the most normal names in the series.
 * Slouch of Villainy
 * Smoking Is Cool
 * Why Did It Have To Be Crows?

Daril Ghiroza
A high-ranking female Shinigami.
 * Alien Hair: She has Predator-like dreadlocks
 * Captain Ethnic: How To Read 13 says she has a vaguely Asian appearance.
 * Femme Fatalons
 * The Gambling Addict
 * The Grotesque
 * He's A Woman In Japan
 * Puny Earthlings: She has no interest in the human realm.
 * Scary Impractical Armor: She likes metal accessories
 * Un Evil Laugh: She is said to have a goofy laugh.
 * Weakened By the Light: She dislikes bright places.

Deridoveley
"Voiced by: Tetsuo Goto (JP), David Pettitt (EN)"

Another denizen of the Shinigami realm.

---
 * Fish People: He has webbed feet
 * The Gambling Addict
 * Heterosexual Life Partners: He spends all his time gambling with Gukku
 * Mummy: He's wrapped in bandages
 * Sinister Scythe
 * The Slacker: He hates work
 * White Mask of Doom: He wears a bone mask

Midora
A female Shinigami with a spotted body that kind of looks like Jabba the Hutt. She likes humidity and dislikes dryness.
 * Fat Bastard
 * He's A Woman In Japan
 * No Trademarks Were Harmed: She's totally not Jabba the Hutt
 * Trademark Favorite Food: She's shown in the oneshot sitting on a mound of Bananas.

Gukku
"Voiced by: Takeharu Onishi (JP), Lee Tockar (EN)"

An antelope-headed Shinigami. A friend of Ryuk's that watches his exploits in the human world. He likes gambling but he's not very good at it.

---
 * A Load of Bull
 * Fur and Loathing
 * The Gambling Addict
 * Heterosexual Life Partners: He spends all his time gambling with Deridoveley.
 * Horned Humanoid
 * The Slacker: He likes gambling and naps, he dislikes working.

Zellogi
"Voiced by: Kibou Tokumei (JP), John Novak (EN)"

A minor Shinigami character that expresses interest in the human world and what Ryuk is doing.

---
 * Fur and Loathing: He wears fur hides. How to Read 13 says he likes "soft things."
 * The Grotesque: Even compared to other Shinigami.
 * Hook Hand
 * Nice Hat: He wears an Indian Headdress.
 * Sinister Scythe
 * Spikes of Villainy

Calikarcha
Another Shinigami mentioned in How To Read 13
 * Extra Eyes
 * Eyes Do Not Belong There
 * Fur and Loathing
 * Petting Zoo People: He’s vaguely insectoid in appearance with boar-like tusks.
 * Shoulders of Doom
 * Trademark Favorite Food: He likes blueberries
 * Weakened By the Light: He dislikes direct sunlight

Kinddara Guivelostain
A female Shinigami. She’s very violent and not very smart.
 * Axe Crazy
 * Body Horror: She appears to be stitched together.
 * Eyeless Face
 * More Teeth Than the Osmond Family
 * Stupid Evil

Nu
The highest ranking female Shinigami that resembles a stick covered with eyes. Only the King is more powerful than she is. She likes repentance and dislikes sound.
 * Eldritch Abomination
 * Extra Eyes
 * Eyes Do Not Belong There: Specifically, all over her body.
 * Loud of War: She dislikes sound.

The Shinigami King
"The Old Man," The King of the Shinigami Realm, the one who issues the Shinigami their marching orders, and the highest ranked Shinigami of them all.
 * Comically Small Bribe: During the main story, he refuses to give out new Death Notes to Shinigami after seeing what Ryuk does. In the bonus chapter 109, however, he changes his mind and will give anyone a new Note for the price of... two apples from Earth.
 * The Dreaded
 * Eldritch Abomination
 * The Ghost
 * The Grim Reaper
 * He Who Must Not Be Seen
 * Ultimate Evil
 * You Cannot Grasp the True Form

The Unnamed Shinigami
An unnamed Shinigami who appeared in the movie Relight: Visions of a God, where he was searching the Shinigami Realm for Ryuk. He is violent and impetuous, making demands of the other Shinigami. He is very interested in the human world and bored with the Shinigami realm. He bribes Ryuk with apples to hear his story of the time he spent in the human world but leaves before he finishes it. Physically the Shinigami is a skeleton with spiky brown hair and wears a tattered suit, a red tie headband and a grey bookbag, and he walks with a limp. 
 * Axe Crazy
 * Dem Bones
 * Hell-Bent for Leather
 * Glowing Eyes of Doom
 * Goggles Do Nothing
 * Here We Go Again:
 * Limp and Livid
 * Necktie Headband
 * Preemptive Shut Up: When searching for Ryuk the other Shinigami try to give him the runaround. "Shut up and answer my question!"
 * Red Eyes Take Warning
 * Sinister Scythe: Which he makes use of, scaring the other Shinigami.
 * Slasher Smile
 * Slasher Smile