Death Note/Characters/Side Characters

Sayu Yagami
"Voiced by: Haruka Kudo (JP), Kelly Metzger (EN, pre-timeskip), Kristie Marsden (EN, post-timeskip)"

Light's little sister, who has the bad luck of being a normal kid in this fucked up environment. She's completely unaware of her brother's occupation as Kira.

"Ryuk (to Light): I guess even you have a soft spot for your sister."
 * All Women Love Shoes: According to the Guidebook.
 * Ambiguously Lesbian: To recap: she first says that she "doesn't want a boyfriend." Then she exclaims that Misa is "my type!" And she smiles when leafing through one of Light's magazines. The ambiguity here is that she does fangirl over Hideki Ryuga (the pop star), so she might be Bi the Way if the fangirling is sexual in nature.
 * Annoying Younger Sibling: Though nowhere near as bad as other anime examples.
 * Big Brother Worship
 * Bound and Gagged:
 * Bratty Teenage Daughter
 * Break the Cutie:
 * Brown Eyes
 * Damsel in Distress
 * Fan Girl: "HIDEKI RYUGA!!!"
 * Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Sayu and Light, though subverted once Light becomes Kira.
 * Generic Cuteness: Aww, she's so adorable....
 * Genius Ditz: Despite her rather dim disposition, her conceptualization power is apparently 9/10, the same as the genius  Near. Just look at the ease in which she manipulates Light into doing her homework for her... it must run in the family.
 * The Ingenue: Sweet, caring, innocent, and doesn't seem very smart.
 * Morality Pet: She exists to give Light Pet the Dog moments and to be kidnapped. Complete with Lampshade Hanging:


 * OC Stand-In
 * She's All Grown Up and Tall, Dark and Bishoujo: After the Time Skip. You can't blame Matsuda for crushing on her.
 * Ship Tease: Sayu drools over Misa and she says she might consider going out with Matsu if he wasn't so old.
 * Sweater Girl
 * The Teetotaler: Word of God says that she dislikes alcohol.
 * The Ugly Guy's Hot Daughter

Sachiko Yagami
"Voiced by: Ai Satou (JP), Saffron Henderson (EN)"

Soichiro's wife and Light and Sayu's mother. Like Sayu, she is completely unaware of Light's identity as Kira.


 * Break the Cutie:.
 * Brown Eyes
 * Education Mama: Quite possibly. In one of her few appearances she gushes over Light's report card while Light himself looks rather depressed and anxious.
 * Happily Married: To Soichiro.
 * OC Stand-In
 * Yamato Nadeshiko: She's a strong woman who does everything she can to keep the family from falling apart during the case.

Naomi Misora
"Voiced by: Naoko Matsui (JP), Tabitha St. Germain (EN)"

Raye Penber's fiancee and former FBI Agent who worked under L in the L.A.B.B. murder case.


 * Action Girl: Of the Dance Battler variety, since she's well-versed in Capoeira
 * Alone with the Psycho: Twice!
 * Ascended Extra: Both in the prequel novel and in the live-action movies
 * Badass
 * Badass Biker
 * Betty and Veronica: Though it's gender swapped with Beyond Birthday as the Veronica and Raye Penber as the Betty.
 * Biker Babe
 * Black Eyes
 * Born Unlucky: Her "luck" rating is 1/10. Ouch.
 * Capoeira
 * Color Coded for Your Convenience: Official color seems to be blue.
 * Dull Eyes of Unhappiness:
 * Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette
 * Fair Cop
 * Genre Savvy: As she dated a policeman she knows a few tricks such as not to give away her real name
 * Hell-Bent for Leather
 * Horrible Judge of Character: Well, Light seems trustworthy enough...
 * Just a Kid: She's had... trouble with this. In the novel, it explains that
 * Mauve Shirt
 * Names to Run Away From Really Fast: At the F.B.I. she was known as "Misora Massacre" for her Badassery.
 * OC Stand-In
 * Oh Crap:
 * Properly Paranoid
 * Real Women Never Wear Dresses: Word of God says that she dislikes skirts.
 * Revenge: She wants to catch Kira to avenge Raye's death.
 * The Stoic: Her emotional strength rating is a full 10/10.
 * Tall, Dark and Bishoujo
 * : On one hand, she doesn't seem to realise that a creepy kid following her around asking Have You Told Anyone Else? is a bit off, not to mention the Plot Induced Stupidity and Idiot Ball. On the other hand, it was a Contrived Coincidence that she went to the police station when Light was there and L wasn't, Light's trustworthiness is backed up by another person and he comes off as a genuine member of L's team. Regardless of what side you're on, nearly all fans agree
 * Subverted in the live action film, wherein her role is notably expanded from the manga.
 * Tsundere: this is Lampshaded in Another Note.
 * but this was fixed in the prequel novel and the movies.
 * What Could Have Been:
 * Woman in Black
 * You Remind Me Of L: Naomi says this to Light (Lampshading that they're Not So Different).
 * Subverted in the live action film, wherein her role is notably expanded from the manga.
 * Tsundere: this is Lampshaded in Another Note.
 * but this was fixed in the prequel novel and the movies.
 * What Could Have Been:
 * Woman in Black
 * You Remind Me Of L: Naomi says this to Light (Lampshading that they're Not So Different).
 * You Remind Me Of L: Naomi says this to Light (Lampshading that they're Not So Different).

Raye Penber
"Voiced by: Hideo Ishikawa (JP), Michael Adamtwaite (EN)"

The FBI Agent who was tailing Light.


 * Alternate Continuity: Known as "Raye Iwamatsu" in the live action movie, though pretty much everything else about the character is the same.
 * Badass: Credit where credit is due. He charges a dangerous criminal to save a bus full of people.
 * Badass Longcoat
 * But Not Too Foreign: Although American, he is of Japanese descent.
 * : His Stay in the Kitchen line to Naomi was an Establishing Character Moment for Western fandom. It was only meant for the Kira case and he was just making sure she didn't get caught in the crossfire.
 * Gray Eyes
 * Incredibly Obvious Tail
 * It's Probably Nothing: His reaction to Naomi's concerns about the busjacking.
 * Mauve Shirt
 * Morton's Fork:
 * Stay in the Kitchen: To Naomi.
 * Tall, Dark and Handsome
 * Unwitting Pawn:
 * Zombie Infectee: Rather than acting completely Genre Blind, Raye acts like this about  in the live-action movie.

Kyosuke Higuchi
"Voiced by: Issei Futamata (JP), Andrew Kavadas (EN)"

The third Kira and the main antagonist of the Yotsuba arc. He's one of the eight-member Yotsuba board and head of the technological development, but isn't very competent compared to the others, and is obsessed with gaining social status in addition to wealth. Light had Rem send the Death Note to him as part of a Xanatos Gambit to clear himself and Misa of suspicion.


 * Ambition Is Evil
 * Axe Crazy
 * Corrupt Corporate Executive
 * Dirty Old Man: Misa notes that he has a somewhat perverted interest in her. Even Rem is repulsed by this.
 * Fail O'Suckyname: His last name means "fire escape" in Japanese. No one has normal names in this show.
 * Actually, 火口 means the caldera of a volcano - namely, he shoots his mouth off a lot.
 * From Nobody to Nightmare: Apparently, he was a rather unimpressive and unpopular figure in the corporation until he met Rem.
 * Greed
 * I Have You Now, My Pretty
 * Jack the Ripoff
 * Person of Mass Destruction
 * Serial Killer Kira
 * A Sinister Clue
 * Smug Snake: Enjoys insulting people despite his limited abilities.
 * Unwitting Pawn
 * Villainous Breakdown: Loses composure more and more as he gets closer to being arrested.
 * Smug Snake: Enjoys insulting people despite his limited abilities.
 * Unwitting Pawn
 * Villainous Breakdown: Loses composure more and more as he gets closer to being arrested.
 * Unwitting Pawn
 * Villainous Breakdown: Loses composure more and more as he gets closer to being arrested.

Reiji Namikawa
"Voiced by: Hirofumi Nojima (JP), Ted Cole (EN)"

A member of the Yotsuba Eight


 * Bishonen
 * Color Coded for Your Convenience: Official color seems to be purple.
 * Corrupt Corporate Executive
 * Hazy Feel Turn
 * Manipulative Bastard
 * The Proud Elite: He is cold, calculating, and very intelligent. He is also quite attractive.
 * Smart People Play Chess: According to How to Read 13 he's an expert chess player.
 * Tall, Dark and Snarky
 * Unwitting Pawn
 * You Just Told Me: How he figures out that Higuchi is the third Kira.
 * Smart People Play Chess: According to How to Read 13 he's an expert chess player.
 * Tall, Dark and Snarky
 * Unwitting Pawn
 * You Just Told Me: How he figures out that Higuchi is the third Kira.
 * You Just Told Me: How he figures out that Higuchi is the third Kira.

Matt
"Voiced by: Tomohiro Nishimura (JP), Drew Nelson (EN)"

Mello's henchman, and a fellow graduate of Wammy's House.


 * Badass
 * Badass Bookworm: He apparently hates going outside, according to Word of God.
 * Badass Driver
 * Deadpan Snarker: His two canon lines are pretty snarky, and he's always portrayed this way in Fanon.
 * Drives Like Crazy: the Chase Scene
 * Fiery Redhead, Rose Haired Boy, or You Gotta Have Green Hair
 * His official artwork shows he's brunette.
 * Goggles Do Nothing/Memetic Outfit
 * Hey, It's That Voice!: Duncan? Is that you?
 * I Surrender, Suckers
 * Mauve Shirt
 * OC Stand-In: more he does have a character/personality (Word of God at least, although his function is to give Mello someone to play off), but his screen-time is so short you don't see enough of it to stop the fans from using every single interpretation possible whatever way they like (more OC Free for All).
 * Odd Name Out / Plain Name: Of the Wammy's boys. You got L, Beyond, Mello, Near, and... Matt.
 * One-Scene Wonder: He's ridiculously popular for only showing up in a couple of scenes.
 * Parental Abandonment
 * The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: he plays video games and he smokes... a lot. Considering that Wammy's House seems to exclusively rear genius eccentrics, the odds are good that that's his particular eccentricity (or addiction, depending on what you view of what L's sweet-devouring, Near's toy-obsession, and Mello's chocolate-violence as).
 * Real Men Wear Pink
 * Satellite Character
 * Sidekick
 * Smoking Is Cool
 * Must Have Nicotine: He's mentioned to be a chain-smoker.
 * Spear Carrier
 * Suck Sessor
 * Teen Genius: he's the third most talented member of Wammy's House. Yes, Matt was third in line to be L after Near and Mello.
 * Videogame Culture: Often known as the gamer guy in fanfic, since one of his few appearances shows him playing a video game, and it's mentioned on his character page in How to Read 13 that he enjoys video games.
 * Suck Sessor
 * Teen Genius: he's the third most talented member of Wammy's House. Yes, Matt was third in line to be L after Near and Mello.
 * Videogame Culture: Often known as the gamer guy in fanfic, since one of his few appearances shows him playing a video game, and it's mentioned on his character page in How to Read 13 that he enjoys video games.

Hitoshi Demegawa
"Voiced by: Chafurin (JP), Ward Perry (EN)"

Demegawa is director of Sakura TV, a Japanese news channel that is notoriously unreliable, and he shamelessly seeks to exploit the Kira case. He is first seen attempting to broadcast the video tapes Misa sends to his network to get Kira's attention, although Soichiro puts a stop to that. After the Time Skip, he becomes Kira's supporter and self-appointed spokesman, creating and hosting the Show Within a Show Kira's Kingdom.


 * Attention Whore
 * Expy: "I don't care what it takes, get me pictures of Spiderman! ...uh Kira."
 * Fat Bastard
 * Jerkass: Taken Up to Eleven in the second live-action movie.
 * Karma Houdini: In the Live Action movies.
 * Mouth of Sauron
 * Meaningful Name: Actually a case of an ironic one; his given name is written with a kanji character meaning "benevolence."
 * Only in It For the Money
 * Politically-Incorrect Villain: In the second film, wherein he.
 * Strawman News Media
 * Strawman News Media

Linda
An artist and another of the Wammy orphans. She draws the portraits of Near and Mello that are seen in both the manga and anime.


 * Girlish Pigtails
 * OC Stand-In
 * One-Scene Wonder: She appears very briefly in the manga, and not at all in the original anime series. However, she makes a very brief appearance and has one line in Relight 2: L's Successors.
 * The Smurfette Principle

Yamamoto


Light's school pal.

"Friend#2: I did some shoplifting back in grade school and I’m freaking out about it. Yamamoto: Hah, that's peanuts!"
 * Adjusting Your Glasses: the nose bridge push, see picture above.
 * Adorkable
 * Alone with the Psycho
 * Brown Eyes
 * Fan Boy: Either he or the other unnamed friend was a fan of the X-Men.
 * Irony: Tells Light, "Be good, dude!"
 * OC Stand-In
 * One-Scene Wonder
 * One Steve Limit: It's unclear if the Yamamoto in the first volume and the Yamamoto in the ending are the same character or not.
 * Pals With Kira: In the manga Light is always shown walking home with the same two guys, Yamamoto and another unnamed friend.
 * Right in Front of Me: When he and another unnamed friend are talking about Kira in front of Light.


 * Satellite Character: he gives Light and later Matsuda someone to interact with.
 * Where Are They Now? Epilogue:
 * You Will Be Spared: If it is the same Yamamoto then Light probably figured those crimes were too small to bother with.

Rod Ross
The boss of The Mafia that works with Mello.


 * Alliterative Name
 * Bad Boss
 * Bald of Evil
 * The Dragon/Dragon-in-Chief: He's the boss of The Mafia. But he defers to Mello's plans because it's good business.
 * Gonk
 * The Mafia
 * Perma-Stubble
 * Villain Team-Up: With Mello.
 * Walking Shirtless Scene
 * You Have Failed Me...: He and Mello test the Notebook on their own henchmen. "That's what you get when you sell goods behind my back."
 * You Have Failed Me...: He and Mello test the Notebook on their own henchmen. "That's what you get when you sell goods behind my back."

Nori
Misa's friend.


 * Agent Mulder: She's into the occult.
 * All Guitars Are Stratocasters: she's got an electric guitar and some really big amps in her room.
 * Body Double: Trades places with Misa so she can "go on a date."
 * Brown Eyes
 * Fall Guy: Misa sets her up so her fingerprints are all over the Second Kira tapes.
 * Femme Fatalons
 * Messy Hair
 * OC Stand-In
 * One-Scene Wonder
 * The Quincy Punk: she's got like spiky maroon punk hair and a Union Jack on her wall.
 * Rose-Haired Girl: or a maroon-haired girl
 * Unwitting Pawn: to Misa.
 * Wig, Dress, Accent: when doing the Body Double trick for Misa.

Ryotaro Sakajo
Misa's stalker, given a name in the live action movies.


 * Alternate Continuity: In the manga and anime Misa's stalker is a crazed fan that she had never seen before. In the live action movies he is the assistant director of her TV program Misa-Misa's Happy Sweets.
 * Attempted Rape
 * Bald of Evil: in the live action movie
 * Brown Eyes
 * Collector of the Strange: In the live action movie he retrieves Misa's used tissues from the trash.
 * Covert Pervert
 * Crazy Jealous Guy
 * Devil in Plain Sight: In the live-action movie.
 * Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: in the manga/anime.
 * Four Eyes, Zero Soul: in the anime.
 * Identical Stranger: In the manga/anime he looks vaguely like Mikami.
 * Sakajo?
 * If I Can't Have You
 * Loony Fan
 * Murder-Suicide:
 * Stalker with a Crush
 * Yandere
 * Yandere

Yuri
"Voiced by: Ami Koshimizu (JP), Lalainia Lindbjerg (EN)"

The Girl From the Bus.


 * Brown Eyes
 * Clingy Jealous Girl: "I've got you all to myself!" Also, in the manga she insists that she and Light still go to Spaceland after witnessing a gruesome death.
 * Damsel in Distress
 * Identical Stranger: It's been pointed out that she looks like Sayu.
 * OC Stand-In
 * One-Scene Wonder
 * Shallow Love Interest: Light calls her up only because he needs her for his plan and he tries to ditch her immediately afterwards.
 * Unfortunate Names: heh heh Yuri. Next we meet Light's best buddy Yaoi!
 * Unwitting Pawn

Hideki Ryuuga
A famous teen idol and pop star that Sayu fangirls over.


 * Brown Eyes or Eyes of Gold
 * Chekhov's Gun:
 * Identical Stranger: it's been pointed out he kind of looks like Light.
 * It was also pointed out that in the manga he kinda looks like L.
 * Idol Singer
 * OC Stand-In
 * Sharp-Dressed Man
 * Ship Tease: With Misa. Misa looks very stunned when they're acting out a romance scene together but then suddenly objects to kissing him informing all that she already has a boyfriend.
 * Shonen Hair
 * Teen Idol
 * Unwitting Pawn: To L.

Yoshi


Misa's original manager.


 * Bad Boss: Towards Misa. She is very scary, pushy, and controlling.
 * Bifauxnen
 * Brown Eyes
 * Corrupt Corporate Executive: Maybe. L allegedly has her arrested for drug possession offscreen in order to hide the fact that he's detaining Misa from the general public. The show never goes into detail on whether L planted the evidence or not or even if she was really arrested and not just paid off.
 * Fail O'Suckyname: She is not a certain dinosaur from mushroom land but she does wear green.
 * Horrifying the Horror: Misa, the Second Kira, is very intimidated by her and even L and Kira seem a bit unnerved.
 * Hot Chick in a Badass Suit
 * Jerkass
 * Meganekko
 * No Sense of Personal Space: She literally grabs Misa by the wrist and pulls her off to work.
 * OC Stand-In
 * One-Scene Wonder

Anthony Rester
"Voiced by: Masaki Aizawa (JP), Michael Adamtwaite (EN)"

Commander of the SPK, Rester is an honest person who has Near's complete trust, so much so that he reveals some of his thoughts and plans to Rester only. He also helps Near with things he can't do for himself, such as booking a flight on a plane. Appears in


 * The Confidant: To Near.
 * Expy: In a certain way, he acts as a Watari to Near. At least, until the end of the story, when
 * Expy: In a certain way, he acts as a Watari to Near. At least, until the end of the story, when

Halle Lidner
"Voiced by: Akeno Watanabe (JP), Lisa Ann Beley (EN)"

A former Secret Service agent who works for Near as part of the SPK. She joined the SPK to avenge one of her relatives who had been killed by    In the one-shot chapter set three years after , it is revealed that she and Rester continue to work with Near.


 * Affirmative Action Girl: She is introduced after the Time Skip, making her the third action girl in the series and one of the few females in Death Note's predominantly male cast.
 * Action Girl: She still has the physical skills, and
 * Dumb Blonde: Subverted, as she's one of the more competent women in the series.
 * Eyes of Gold
 * Go Through Me: Pulls one of these when Mello threatens to shoot Near. "If you shoot Near, we'll shoot you, if you both die here, what's the point? Only Kira would be happy with that."
 * Het Is Ew: Probably a contributing factor for the lack of fanwork for Mello/Halle (or at least in comparison to other pairings with Mello).
 * Revenge: She wants to catch Kira to avenge one of her relatives.
 * Shower Scene: She gets her own.
 * The Smurfette Principle: She's the only female member of the SPK.
 * Shower Scene: She gets her own.
 * The Smurfette Principle: She's the only female member of the SPK.

Stephen Gevanni
"Voiced by: Hiroki Takahashi (JP), Samuel Vincent (EN)"

A member of the SPK, Gevanni is a skilled lock-picker, stalker and counterfeiter. He tails Teru Mikami when Near suspects him to be X-Kira and plays a vital role in Near's plan to beat Light once and for all.


 * Butt Monkey: Of the SPK
 * Minion Shipping: Often with Mikami again.
 * Tall, Dark and Handsome
 * Workaholic:
 * Workaholic: