It's pretty fair to say that no singular Death Note character gets as much hate as Misa Amane does. However, instead of simply focusing on the things that fans tend to dislike about her, we wanted to also include some things that make us really love her, as well.
After all, no person is defined by a single characteristic, and characters are usually no different. For all of the negatives that Misa might bring to the show, she has her positive moments as well, and fans believe it's only fair to showcase both if there's to any conversation about her character at all.
10 LOVE: Fashion Sense
As Death Note is primarily about the cat-and-mouse game between Kira and L, it makes sense that most characters simply tend to wear one or maybe a handful of outfits, but with Misa being a model she's the exception to this rule. In most scenes with Misa, she's wearing a different outfit, and fans love absolutely all of them. While a majority of her outfits tend to focus on a more gothic black-focused look, sometimes with red accents, she isn't a stranger to pink and frilly outfits, as well.
Viewers can't help but love her for her incredibly diverse and tasteful fashion sense.
9 HATE: Can Be Overly Annoying
Now, there are some fans who believe that Misa is always annoying, and that's certainly not what we're trying to say here. However, she definitely does more things that could get under someone's skin more than pretty much any other character in the show. Despite being extremely faithful to Light, she doesn't always follow his plans the way he wants her to, which leads to her drawing more suspicion to both of them in more than one situation.
After Light tells her not to visit him at his house after her initial visit so they aren't suspected, she proceeds to do so multiple times, being incredibly loud and obvious about it in broad daylight, even. It's hard not to be at least a little annoyed at these actions.
8 LOVE: Dedication
Whether you love or hate her, it's hard to argue against the fact that Misa is one of the most dedicated, loyal characters in the entire show. Her dedication to Light never wavers for even an instant, even during the period where both of their memories of ever being the First and Second Kira are wiped. She rarely, if ever, questions him and is always ready to help with anything he might need.
Although Light's side of their relationship is fake, and he tells her as much when they first meet, she even refuses to kiss another actor during a shoot because she 'has a boyfriend', which is honestly kind of cute.
7 HATE: Over-Possessive
Whenever Misa and Light first meet and he agrees to act like her boyfriend, he states that in order to avoid drawing suspicion, he should still be seen going on 'dates' with other girls. Logically, Misa should know that this is so that they aren't exclusively seen together and thus suspected more as being accomplices in crime. Instead, she threatens to 'kill any other girls she sees with Light', which would only implicate Misa further- and if she were to be suspected and captured, it would only raise suspicion involving Light, too.
A little possessiveness isn't always bad, but it's certainly something to dislike when it disrupts Light's plan, which was founded on logic and avoiding suspicion rather than an emotional response like Misa's.
6 LOVE: Relationship With Rem
In sharp contrast to Ryuk not really caring what happens to Light, but simply enjoying being along for the ride, Rem is incredibly protective of Misa. The death god even tells Light that she will kill him if he tries to harm Misa in any way, even though Rem is aware that she would die if she were to help Misa in such a way. After Misa loses her memory of being the Second Kira, Rem goes out of her way to take a piece of the note from the new owner and meet with Misa in secret to return her memories and be able to help her.
Rem even ends up sacrificing herself to kill L, as it was one of Light's ultimate goals and thus something Misa desperately wanted as well. Though it ends on a bittersweet note, the relationship between these two is incredibly heartwarming despite the circumstances.
5 HATE: Relationship With Light
Just because fans admire Misa's sense of dedication towards Light doesn't mean they admire, or even like, their actual relationship. From the moment they met, every single thing done or said regarding their relationship by Light is completely and utterly fake. He tells her as much when they meet, as well- that he would act like her partner, but that he couldn't actually give her the relationship she wanted. She responds to this by saying that it's a good start, and that she'd try her hardest to make him love her.
It's one thing to meet your idols, but for the sake of both Misa and Light, it's one relationship that really should have ended before it began.
4 LOVE: Takes Initiative
When Misa sets her mind on something, whether it's meeting the man she views as her savior or putting her own plan in action to implicate Higuchi as Kira during the Yotsuba Arc, she does it without a second thought. And though sometimes this can end up getting her into some trouble, she typically puts just enough thought into these things to make it out okay. Not only does she find Light, she does so in disguise so no one can recognize her if they were to watch camera footage back, and she's the one who gets a confession out of Higuchi.
Fans can't help but admire a girl who isn't afraid to go after what she wants wholeheartedly.
3 HATE: Acts Too Much On Emotions
While viewers admire her go-getter attitude, there's a big difference between acting on a well-thought-out plan and acting purely on your own emotions, and Misa is guilty of the latter far too often. The main examples of this are the few times when Light told her explicitly not to come into contact with him in public to avoid drawing suspicion to either of them, and then she proceeds to do so anyway simply because 'she couldn't wait to see him', or because she wanted to go on a date with him- when, again, their whole relationship is fake and one-sided.
There's nothing wrong with having an overly emotional character, but when acting solely on emotions can get you and the person you love arrested or worse, it's probably better to just use your head.
2 LOVE: Comedic Relief
Death Note is a primarily psychological-based show, but that doesn't mean it can't benefit greatly from the few moments of comedic relief fans get, sprinkled throughout the series. While Matsuda is often the butt of other characters' jokes and is a good source of comedic relief, Misa shares that role as well in a lot of scenes, especially during the period of time where her memories of being the Second Kira are wiped.
There's something humorous in Misa whining about not being able to go on dates with just Light while he's handcuffed to L and calling L a pervert for doing so, when everyone else is simply trying to stay focused on catching Kira. You either love or hate her for it, but viewers see it as adding some breathing room into an otherwise serious show.
1 HATE: Way Too Obvious
For our final reason as to why fans can't help but hate certain things about Misa, something that must be touched on just how blatantly obvious she is about being the Second Kira. She openly talks to Rem while in public, and while Light is guilty of this at the beginning of the series, he stops interacting with Ryuk in public once he starts being followed and realizes how dangerous it is. Meanwhile, Misa will have full conversations with Rem in crowded, public places, while also openly saying she's the Second Kira or that she possesses the Shinigami Eyes.
For someone who just wants to help Light, her actions make her more of a nuisance than anything in several situations.