Death Note is one of the most popular manga and anime series of all time. The series focused on the titular Death Note, a notebook wherein any name written inside of it is fated to die. There are rules that must be followed in order to use the Death Note, such as the name written must be their real, birth name, and more.
The Death Note can also dictate when and how the person will die. If a specification is not made, the person dies of a heart attack. Death Note plays out like a high-stakes cat and mouse game as everyone tries to catch the user of the Death Note. There are many highly intelligent characters that leave fans wondering about the smartest character in Death Note.
Updated on December 28, 2021 by Scoot Allan: With the disappointing release of the live-action Death Note on Netflix, fans have flocked back to the original anime based on the fan-favorite manga series. Not only does the series handle the premise and characters much better than the live-action movie, it features way more characters who frequently show off their high intelligence in their efforts to either help or catch the killer known as Kira – like L or Near (Death Note.)
15 Aiber Was A Con Artist Who Frequently Worked For L
There were quite a few people who worked for L over the course of Death Note as he gathered useful helpers from all areas, including the con artist named Aiber. There were many skills that made him a useful ally of L's, most notably his ability to disguise himself and his voice while undercover.
Aiber worked with L because of to evidence the detective gathered on the con man, turning him into a loyal ally who helped L do his dirty work. Aiber's con-man skills usually forced him to be smarter than his opponent, though that didn't help when he finally became Kira's target.
14 Armonia Justin Beyondormason Is A Respected Shinigami
There were a number of powerful Shinigami who made an appearance both in their realm of death as well as in the human realm, but the most respected and presumably strongest of the bunch was Armonia Justin Beyondormason. Armonia sits on a throne and holds high favor with the Shinigami King, which has made him a fountain of advice.
While Armonia wasn't seen much in Death Note, he showed his intelligence and observation skills. He revealed to Sidoh who had stolen his Death Note and provided him with the rules that governed interactions between humans & shinigami.
13 Kiyomi Takada Helped Kira As His Cunning Girlfriend
Light Yagami briefly dated the incredibly intelligent Kiyomi Takada in university before he left to follow his path as Kira, which made it an easy choice for him when he needed a spokesperson on the national news.
Takada followed Kira loyally and reignited her relationship with Light, allowing her to temporarily serve as Kira when needed to throw suspicion off of Light. Takada remained loyal to Kira and fell in love with the self-proclaimed god of death, which forced her to commit suicide when she was kidnapped instead of revealing his secrets.
12 Rem Was A Shinigami With A Connection To Misa Amane
Ryuk wasn't the only cunning shinigami involved in human affairs. Rem was a big presence in the life of Misa Amane. Rem hoped to honor the sacrifice made by a former shinigami who gave up their life for Misa Amane, so she attempted to keep Misa safe while allied with Kira.
Rem even helped Light with his schemes as Kira despite her contempt for humanity, and she was smart enough to work through Light's plans in order to keep Misa safe in any way she could. Rem was a powerful and intelligent foil to Ryuk's seemingly uncaring manipulations.
11 Anthony Rester Was The Leader Of SPK And Ally To Near
A special group of FBI and CIA agents were formed together as the Special Provision for Kira/SPK, which was under the command of operations leader Anthony Rester. Rester was a close ally of Near who worked tirelessly to help track down and stop Kira.
Rester was one of Near's closest confidantes, while his history as a military commander put him in the right place to head up the SPK and use his brain to help Near track down and stop Kira once and for all.
10 Misa Amane Played Stupid But Was Really A Calculating Threat
Misa Amane can be quite a handful. That said, she's not as dumb as she comes off at times and even makes it far enough in the series to outlive Light despite his many attempts to kill her.
She is a famous model who comes into possession of the Death Note after meeting a Shinigami. What Misa doesn't know is that there is another Shinigami that is in love with her and uses the Death Note to keep her safe from a stalker.
9 Ryuk Enjoyed Subtly Manipulating The Humans Who Found His Death Note
Ryuk might not technically count as one of the heroes in Death Note but he's not really a villain either. He has seen quite a bit in his long life and knows the Death Note better than any other character in the series. Ryuk is also smart enough to hold conversations with Light regularly, watching Kira's philosophy take the world by storm.
8 Roger Ruvie Is A Mysterious Character Who Assists Near In Hunting Down Kira
Roger Ruvie becomes the "new Watari" for Near the end of the series. Given his new status as a close and personal assistant to Near, he must be smart or else Near would not have let him be appointed to the position. Roger was the former manager of the Wammy House and projects a certain amount of mysteriousness.
7 Watari Is A Worthy Assistant And The Only Person Trusted By The Brilliant L
Watari is of utmost importance to L as one of his main assistants. He is the only person who L truly trusts. Watari is extremely intelligent in his own way. Perhaps not as much as some of the other heavy-hitters in the series, but enough to make him special and invaluable to L.
Everyone needs someone they can trust implicitly. Not only is he a worthy assistant, but he also serves as a father figure to L. Sadly, Watari is eventually killed by Rem in order to protect Misa.
6 Naomi Misora Came Very Close To Catching Kira
She may not be as quick-witted and top-caliber as some of the other characters, but that doesn't mean Naomi isn't extremely smart in her own way. She actually came pretty close to catching Kira before Light reached his apex as Kira. However, she makes the mistake of divulging her real name to Light after he manipulates her and it warrants her death. The fact she came close enough to the investigation to threaten Light enough that he felt he had to kill her speaks to her intellect.
5 Teru Mikami Was Handpicked By Light Due To His Cunning Intellect
Teru Mikami was a fanatical supporter of Kira and even became Kira at one point. He was also a criminal prosecutor and worked closely with Light at one point so that he could hide his identity by using Teru as a scapegoat. Light handpicked Teru because he trusted his intuition and intelligence. Plus, he appreciates that Teru worships Kira as a God. Teru served as Light's Kira proxy for a time before losing his mind.
4 Light Yagami Created Kira To Bring His Own Form Of Justice To The World
Light is obviously very intelligent, and manages to turn Kira into a worldwide sensation before his death. Light outsmarts the Kira Investigation every step of the way, scheming long-term gambits they pay off precisely because of how well Light has gamed the system in his favor. Unfortunately, the more victories Light nets, the worse his ego grows. By the grand finale, Light is too warped in his own mania to recognize when he's falling into a trap. Until then, however, he's nothing short of a genius.
3 Mello Was Raised To Take Over As The Next L Alongside Near
Mello and Near grew up in competition with one another to succeed L. Mello is a strange fellow who is rarely seen without his trademark bar of chocolate. Mello was part of the mafia for a time and even had a Death Note of his own to kill certain people along the way. Near likely would not have been able to catch Light without Mello's help and assistance. Despite his untimely death, he still manages to be a great asset to bringing Kira to justice.
2 Near Became The Next L After The Death Of The First
Apart from L, Near is easily the smartest character in the series – smarter even than his partner, Mello. Near managed to make it to the very end, but he probably wouldn't have caught Light or made it as far as he did without the help of L and Mello.
That said, Near takes over as the new L and manages to outsmart Light & figure out his identity as Kira. Ultimately, he finds out who Light's operative is and lures both of them into a trap. Despite his young age and fascination with toys, Near is a formidable adversary.
1 L. Lawliet Was The First To Find Any Success In The Hunt For Kira Before His Death
L is arguably the most popular and beloved character in the series, even more so than Light Yagami. He is also the one person who was able to go up against Kira and nearly win. His character is eccentric and enigmatic, he is extremely intelligent and communicates through his assistant, Watari.
L is able to catch on to the fact that Light Yagami is, in fact, the serial killer known as Kira. The majority of the series follows an intense cat-and-mouse game between L and Light as Light tries to keep L from catching on to him and discovering L's real name so he can kill his enemy once and for all.