Death Note is a gruesome but exciting crime thriller starring Light Yagami, a notorious anime antihero who aims to create a crime-free world where innocent people can live in peace. To do this, he will use the titular supernatural Death Note, and he's not afraid to slaughter anyone who gets in his way. By the series' end, he had written thousands of names into it.
Some of Light's murders are more interesting and prominent than others, and most of his victims are totally unknown. Still, many of the series' most shocking or impactful deaths were at Light's hands, and he has indirectly killed other people too, such as when he pressured the shinigami Rem into killing L and Watari. These were the most significant characters Light killed in order to achieve his goal of creating a New World.
10 Kuro Otoharada Has The Honor Of Being Light's First-Ever Victim
At first, Light was skeptical that the Death Note was an actual murder tool, but his curiosity got the better of him, and he eventually decided to test it. He turned on the news and saw a story about a middle-aged man named Kuro Otoharada taking hostages at a local school. Light decided that Kuro deserved to die.
Light was still skeptical as he wrote Kuro's name down, but to his shock, his victim dropped dead 40 seconds later, and his hostages easily escaped. Still, a small part of Light thought that this was a fluke, so he sought to test the notebook again.
9 Takuo Shibuimaru Died When A Truck Hit Him
Light Yagami wandered the streets one night, seeking a chance to test the Death Note once again. At one point, an obnoxious man on a motorcycle started harassing a woman on the street, and fortunately for Light, the man proudly announced his name: Takuo Shibuimaru. That was all Light needed.
Light wrote a few variations of Takuo's name to make sure he wrote the correct one and specified that Takuo should die in a traffic accident. Sure enough, Takuo sped off into the street, and a truck hit him, ending his life. Now Light knew for sure: the Death Note's power was real.
8 Lind L. Tailor Died To Help Get Clues On Kira
The world's best detective, L, wanted to take down the mass murderer known as Kira, but didn't dare show his face on live TV. Instead, he had a condemned criminal named Lind L. Tailor pose as him on TV, and try to lure out Kira. It worked.
The "worldwide" broadcast was only shown in the Kanto region, where Light was, so when Light killed Mr. Tailor, L knew for sure that Kira was operating in the Kanto region. Light was quite upset that he fell for this trick so easily.
7 Kiichiro Osoreda Hijacked A Bus, Then Saw Ryuk & Died
Light continued to use criminals to test the Death Note's capabilities, and he used a particularly vicious one named Kiichiro Osoreda to learn the name of the FBI agent who was following Light around. Light outdid himself, forcing Kiichiro to hijack a bus and Raye Penber to prove to Light that he was not the hijacker's accomplice.
Light saw Raye's FBI ID with his own eyes, and then he watched as Kiichiro saw the shinigami Ryuk and fled in terror. Kiichiro escaped the bus and thought himself safe, until a car hit and killed him. He was doomed once Light set his eyes on him.
6 Raye Penber Was Used, Then Left For Dead
Raye Penber was soon put to good use, once Light learned his name. Light didn't like the idea of the FBI investigating him, so he wrote down Raye's name in the Death Note and set up specific instructions for him. Raye would die, but he would also take the other FBI agents with him, like it or not.
Light and Raye came face to face in a Japanese subway station, as planned, and Raye looked up and recorded the names of the other 11 FBI agents who were operating in Japan. Raye doomed them to die, and then he perished of a heart attack as Light watched.
5 Light Killed Naomi Misora To Shut Down Her Investigation
Raye Penber had been engaged to a fellow FBI agent, Naomi Misora, and Naomi was deeply distraught at Raye's death. This prompted her to investigate independently, and she determined that Kira had killed Raye. She was on Light's trail, and Light met her by chance on New Year's Day at NPA headquarters.
Light learned about Naomi's background and her investigation, and he tried to kill her. He was temporarily foiled when Naomi gave a false name, but then Light obtained her real name and arranged to have Naomi end her own life in such a way that no one would find her body. It worked.
4 Light Killed Kyosuke Higuchi To Reclaim The Kira Throne
For months, the greedy businessman Kyosuke Higuchi of the Yotsuba corporation thought that he was invincible with his Death Note and Rem by his side. He even got close to Misa Amane but failed to realize that Misa was acting on behalf of Light and L. She was never going to really help him.
Higuchi was cornered one night when Light and L used every resource at their disposal, and then Light used a secret scrap of Death Note paper to kill Higuchi and thus reclaim ownership of the notebook. Not long after this, L met his fate as well.
3 Marrie Kenwood, AKA Wedy, Died In A Traffic Accident As Per Light's Plans
Wedy was one of two criminals whom L recruited to investigate the Yotsuba Kira, and she contributed greatly to this effort. When L died, however, Light eventually realized that Wedy was nothing more than a loose end, and he probably didn't want some other party using her talents against him.
In 2010, after investigating her, Light uncovered Wedy's real name and face, and he had her killed in a traffic accident while riding her motorcycle in Colorado. Perhaps Light could have used her skills for himself, but he ultimately decided not to.
2 Thierry Morello, AKA Aiber, Died Of Liver Cancer
Aiber was a con man and a criminal, and like Wedy, he helped L investigate the Yotsuba Kira. Aiber did a fine job, but he became a loose end after L died, just like Wedy, and evidently, Light didn't want this loose end to linger. So, he got to work.
Off-screen, Light investigated Aiber, and learned his true name: Thierry Morello. A few months after Wedy's death, Light had Aiber killed off with liver cancer, and Aiber died surrounded by his family in France. He could con a lot of people, but he couldn't con Light Yagami.
1 Light Killed NPA Director Kanichi Takimura To Protect Himself
Not much is seen of Kanichi Takimura during the story of Death Note. He died early in the story's second major arc, as a hostage to the scheming Kira hunter Mello. Mello hoped to use him as a bargaining chip to obtain the notebook, prompting Light to take action.
Light saw director Takimura as nothing more than a liability in this situation, so he wrote down Takimura's name and had him commit suicide by hanging himself with his tie. Mello wasn't bothered by this, though; he simply moved on to kidnapping Light's little sister, Sayu Yagami.