Death Note began as a manga, serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump. Written by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, the manga was later adapted into various art forms: novels, anime television series, anime television films, live-action movies, and even a musical.
Death Note tells the tale of a young teenager, Yagami Light, a brilliant student who reveals his sinister nature when he comes across a black notebook called the "Death Note." The notebook gives him the supernatural ability to kill people by writing their names in the notebook while keeping their faces in mind.
A character with a noteworthy role in Light's plot is the minor death goddess, Rem. What things should fans know about Rem?
9 Shinigami Rem
Rem is a powerful female Shinigami. A shinigami is a Japanese term for "God of death," the equivalent of a grim reaper. Shinigami reside in the Shinigami realm and observe humans. They are ranked by their power, with the Shinigami King at the highest level. Each Shinigami has a Death Note, where they write the names of humans, killing them before their time on Earth is over.
Rem is a rank 4 Shinigami who can see the names and lifespans of anybody she observes. The remaining lifespan of the human is then added to the Shinigami's lifespan, as it's what they do for sustenance. Shinigami are typically not bothered about humans, their feelings, or their actions. However, Rem is different from the beginning. Rem is not amused by humans, she views them with contempt and expects them to act selfishly. She follows the person who takes ownership of her Death Note and plays a vital role throughout the series.
8 Rem's Descent Into The Human World
Rem's involvement begins when she sees Gelus (Jealous), another Shinigami, sacrificing himself for a human, Misa Amane, a celebrity in the human realm. Misa has a stalker who attempts to kill her when she rejects his advances. Gelus, who has been observing Misa and is in love with her, writes down the stalker's name in his Death Note and kills him, saving Misa.
However, this goes against the fundamental values of the Shinigami who are meant to kill people, not save them. As a result, Gelus dies instantly. When Rem sees this, she realizes she has discovered the way to kill a Shinigami. As Gelus turns to ashes, all that is left behind is his Death Note. Rem brings Gelus's Death Note to Misa, forming an alliance.
7 Rem Sees Through Light
Rem is very perceptive. She figures out Light's ulterior motives early on, seeing he plans to use Misa and herself to protect his identity from Detective L and the Japanese task force. Detective L is the investigator in charge of the Kira case and is highly suspicious of Light.
Misa is in love with Kira since he killed the man who murdered Misa's family. Out of her love and admiration for Kira, she sees Light's murderous plan as righteous and decides to protect him. Rem, however, sees through Light's plan but still eventually walks right into his trap to save Misa.
6 Her Relationship With Misa
Misa wants to find Kira's true identity and makes a deal with Rem to acquire Shinigami eyes. Shinigami eyes grant the ability to see the real name and lifespan of any person they look at. The price the user pays for this ability is half of their remaining lifespan, which is added to the Shinigami's lifespan.
Knowing that Misa's lifespan will be halved, Rem tries to discourage her but ultimately has to comply with Misa's wishes and gives her this cursed power. Later when Misa is confined and asks Rem to kill her, the latter refuses to do so and gives the former the alternate solution of losing her memories. Was Rem truly looking out for Misa from the very beginning or was it the transference of her feelings for Gelus to Misa? Was Rem in love with Gelus and did she sacrifice herself because of Gelus's commitment to keeping Misa safe?
5 Rem Trusts Misa With Her Life
Rem trusts Misa with her life. Literally. Shinigami are not immortal and there are ways to kill them. Rem tells Misa a way to kill Shinigami even though this particular piece of information could potentially endanger her own life. Rem tells this to Misa in strict confidence, advising her not to reveal it to Light.
However, Misa discloses Rem's secret to Light soon after. This clearly shows Misa is guided only by her love and devotion to Light (Kira). She does not burden herself with the fact that revealing such an important piece of information to Light could end badly for Rem.
4 An Accidental Revelation
Rem boldly declares to Light that if any harm comes to Misa because of him or his evil plans, she will kill him. Light is aware of the fact that Rem will die if she kills someone to save Misa. This leaves no doubt that she would be willing to sacrifice herself for Misa.
Later when Rem becomes an obstacle in Light's plans, he takes advantage of the situation and has Misa cast as a suspect in the Kira murders. This forces Rem to kill Detective L, Watari, and thus herself in the process.
3 Her Role In Light's Plans
Rem is questioned in detail by Detective L and the Kira task force when they get their hands on her Death Note. She manages to answer their questions without implicating Misa and Light. Rem eliminates two major obstacles to Light's plans, Detective L and his associate, Watari.
What Gelus does unknowingly, Rem does consciously, in order to save Misa. In a way, Rem is the reason the series continued beyond the death of Detective L, who had always been all too careful not to reveal his real identity.
2 Trivia From Death Note 13
The 13th volume of the manga, "Death Note 13- how to read," mentions that Rem was Takeshi Obata's favorite Shinigami because of her good nature. The writers wanted to present a contrast between Ryuk and Rem, showcasing the emotions a Shinigami can experience.
Ryuk simply fears boredom and sets the series' events in motion for his amusement. Rem is more observant and loyal to the owner of her Death Note. The difference can be noted in their appearances too. While Ryuk has a darker, sharper feel to him, Rem has a paler, softer design with a light blue hue. The same volume also mentions that Rem has difficulty writing Japanese.
1 Major Differences In Adaptations
Rem is killed in all of the manga adaptations except for the live-action Death Note television series released in 2015. Here, she is concerned about Misa but not so much that she would sacrifice herself, and lives through to the end of the series.
In Death Note: The Musical, the relation between Rem and Misa is shown in more detail. Rem appears only in the second film of the live-action Death Note film series. It is the only media adaptation where she was voiced by a male actor (Shinnouske Ikehata in Japanese and Michael Dobson in English). In the anime version of the series, Rem has been shown to have a whitish appearance with purple markings on her face. In all other adaptations, she has light blue markings.