Plot
Light Yagami
is an extremely intelligent young man who resents the crime and
corruption in the world. His life undergoes a drastic change in the
year 2003, when he discovers a mysterious notebook, known as the "Death
Note", lying on the ground. The Death Note's instructions claim that if
a human's name is written within it, that person shall die. Light is
initially skeptical of the Death Note's authenticity, believing it is
just a prank. However, after experimenting with it and killing two
criminals, Light is forced to admit that the Death Note is real. After
meeting with the previous owner of the Death Note, a shinigami named Ryuk, Light seeks to become "the God of the new world" by passing his judgment on criminals.
Soon, the number of inexplicable deaths of reported criminals catches the attention of the International Police Organization and a mysterious detective known only as "L". L quickly learns that the serial killer, dubbed by the public as "Kira" (derived from the Japanese pronunciation of the word "Killer"),
is located in Japan. L also concludes that Kira can kill people without
laying a finger on them. Light realizes that L will be his greatest
nemesis, and a game of psychological cat and mouse between the two begins.
Main characters
Light Yagami (Kira) (夜神 月, Yagami Raito?
)
The protagonist of Death Note, Light is an extremely
intelligent but bored 17-year old student. When he finds the Death
Note, dropped in the human world by Ryuk (a shinigami), he decides to
use it to kill all criminals and earns the title Kira. His ultimate goal is to cleanse the world of evil to create a utopia and then reign over this new world as its god.
L (エル, Eru?, real name: L Lawliet) 
L is the world's three top-rated detectives (through two additional
aliases), tasked with tracking down and arresting Kira. As such, he is
Light's arch-enemy. His disheveled appearance masks his great powers of
deduction and insight. L has many quirks, such as sitting in an odd
manner, snacking on sweets constantly, and holding his cellphone and
other objects in a peculiar manner. He often takes drastic strategies
to confuse and force the hand of his opponents. On several occasions he
has willingly disclosed several of his weaknesses to Kira at the risk
of his own life in the hopes that he would lure him into a trap.
Misa Amane (弥 海砂, Amane Misa?) 
A girl with an immense crush on Kira, Misa is a popular idol in Japan,
and tends to wear clothing in many different styles, depending on what
she is doing. She is immature and tends to refer to herself in the
third person in an attempt to be cute. Misa is completely devoted to
Light, and she once said that she loved him at first sight. Light,
however, only views her as an asset to his plans because of her Death
Note and her Shinigami eyes
(that she obtained at the cost of half of her remaining life span,
twice). The murderer of Misa's parents had been punished by Kira,
explaining her later devotion to him.
Mello (メロ, Mero?, real name: Mihael Keehl)
Mello was an orphan who grew up with Near in Watari's shelter for
gifted children. Like Near, 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. Mello wears leather most of
the time, unlike Near or L. He also appears to be less secluded in
terms of his friends and hobbies, and seems to be fond of biking. When
Mello is first released - Light tries to find and kill him, which he
manages to escape - but due to an explosion, he is left with a scar
over the left side of his face.
Near (ニア, Nia?, real name: Nate River) 
Near was 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. Near also sits in an unusual manner similar to L, but with some
slight differences. He offered to join forces with Mello to fight Kira,
but Mello turned him down. Near then gained the support of the US
government and formed the Secret Provision for Kira (SPK).
Teru Mikami (魅上 照, Mikami Teru?) 
Mikami is selected as the fourth Kira by Light, after Light decides
that it is too dangerous for the Death Note to be near Misa or himself,
since he and Misa are currently under surveillance by Aizawa and Mogi.
A prosecuting attorney and adamant supporter of Kira, Mikami shares
many of the same ideals, thoughts, and priorities as Kira, and is
ecstatic when he discovers that Kira, his God, has chosen him, proving
that God is on his side and watching. He is completely devoted and
loyal to Kira, believing that divine justice must be brought down upon
the people. Little is known about his personal life; he appears to have
no hobbies or anything else of the sort. He chants "delete" with each
name he writes down in the Death Note due to events in his past when he
thought God was "deleting" the evil people in his life. He, like Misa,
has made the exchange of half his remaining years for Shinigami eyes.
Shinigami (The Death Gods)
Ryuk (リューク, Ryūku?)
The first shinigami
who dropped a Death Note into the human world, which Light would pick
up. Acting out of pure boredom, Ryuk begins the story of Death Note on
a whim. It is stated that Ryuk obtained the second Death Note in the shinigami
world from "tricking the old man" for another one. Ryuk is not Light's
ally, and in fact declares in their first meeting that someday he
(Ryuk) would write Light's name into his own Death Note. Ryuk often
refuses to aid Light and instead enjoys watching him struggle for his
goals. He acts for his own interests and entertainment, and often fails
to tell Light key details about the Death Note. However, Ryuk will aid
Light if it serves his own goals, such as providing amusement or
obtaining apples, without which he suffers a form of withdrawal symptoms.
Rem (レム, Remu?) 
The female shinigami who first gives Misa her Death Note and trades her for the Shinigami eyes.
Similar to Ryuk, Rem possesses two Death Notes; however, she purposely
gives one of them to Misa Amane. Rem inherited her second Death Note
from Jealous, another shinigami who died when he saved Misa's
life, and thought it only right to pass it on to Misa. Rem inherits
Jealous' love for Misa as well and is prompt to defend Misa even at the
cost of her life. Rem shows this when she states that she will kill
Light if Misa dies before her time.
