Death Note is a landmark shonen manga/anime series depicting the rise of the genius Light Yagami as one of shonen's most twisted but compelling antiheroes of all time. He is the central figure in a breathtaking crime thriller story where death and betrayal are commonplace. Light will do anything to win against L, Mello, and Near.
At first, Light Yagami was an idealistic high schooler who dreamed of ridding the world of crime so innocent people could live in peace, but that didn't last long. Inevitably, the murderous power of the supernatural Death Note put him on a dark path, and Light committed unspeakable acts without any regret or hesitation. Light was ready to murder, manipulate, deceive, or intimidate anyone and everyone to become the god of Kira's own world.
10 Light Left Misa For Kiyomi Takada
Even if Light's and Misa Amane's relationship was notoriously unhealthy, it was still cruel for Light to abandon Misa in favor of Kiyomi Takada. By then, Light and Misa were properly engaged, but Light only did that to keep the lovestruck Misa happy. He decided that Misa had outlived her usefulness, while Kiyomi Takada was a different story.
Kiyomi was untouchable as a pro-Kira newscaster, and Light knew he could make good use of Kiyomi's formidable intellect and connections, which outstripped Misa's own. Misa even flew into a fit of jealous rage, which was played off as dark humor.
9 Light Orchestrated A Bus Jacking
Early in Death Note, Light realizes that an FBI agent is tailing him, and Light goes to extreme measures to get that agent's name. Light orchestrated an entire bus jacking to force that FBI agent to show Light his ID to prove that he was not the bus jacker's accomplice.
Only the criminal died in that event, but even so, Light took a life just to get Raye Penber's name, and the other bus passengers suffered in other ways. They all experienced mental trauma being held at gunpoint during the hijacking, and they all saw the criminal get graphically killed when a car hit him, too.
8 Light Killed The Remaining Yotsuba Group's Members
At one point, Kyosuke Higuchi gained the Death Note and recruited seven more people at the corporation where he worked to form a Kira group. Everyone in that group was responsible for either being or aiding Kira, but even so, only Kyosuke Higuchi felt like a true villain. The other members were little more than victims.
Light killed Higuchi to reclaim the Death Note, which didn't feel that evil. But then, Light also killed the remaining Yotsuba group members, including those who had decided to reject Kira, simply because they had become loose ends. Many of them were fathers and husbands, too, so Light's murders harmed multiple families.
7 Light Had Rem Create A New Kira
Light Yagami didn't help create the Yotsuba group — that was Kyosuke Higuchi's own idea. Still, Light was the one who allowed Higuchi to have the Death Note to begin with. Because Light asked Rem to give that notebook to a greedy human who would abuse it, Light allowed many more people to die.
Light didn't do this to rid the world of criminals, either. His sole aim was to create a new Kira to take the pressure off of himself and Misa and prove their "innocence," a selfish motive. All those deaths and a new Kira, just so Light could bail Misa out of confinement and convince L that he and Misa weren't true Kiras.
6 Light Killed The U.S. President
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The story of Death Note heavily implies that Light Yagami had a hand in assassinating the fictional U.S. President David Hoope, and Light had sufficient motive to do it. At the time, the villainous Mello had seized a spare Death Note and threatened President Hoope, suggesting he'd launch nuclear missiles.
Light cooperated with President Hoope to retake Mello's notebook by force, but the effort failed. To make sure President Hoope couldn't be manipulated by Mello any further, Light apparently wrote Mr. Hoope's name down to make him end his own life, a brutal move to keep Mello in check.
5 Light Tried To Kill Kiyomi Takada
Light respected Kiyomi Takada's abilities as Kira's new spokeswoman and as a news anchor, but not even that made Kiyomi immune to cold-blooded betrayal. When Mello kidnaps Kiyomi, Light writes her name down and forces her to die in a fire, all while burning all possessions around her to leave no evidence.
It was cruel for Light to turn on Kiyomi like that, but that was also the beginning of Light's downfall. Light didn't realize that his ally Teru Mikami had used his own Death Note to try and kill Kiyomi at nearly the same time, which gave Near a chance to swap Teru's notebook for a replica.
4 Light Used Rem To Kill L & Watari
Light Yagami didn't like how protective Rem felt about Misa Amane, but then Light found a way to exploit Rem's protective ways. Eventually, Light had Misa resume operations as Kira, which L took notice of, as Light intended. Then, Rem realized the danger Misa was in and reluctantly acted.
Light was overjoyed when Rem killed both L and Watari to protect Misa, and in that way, he actually surpassed all Shinigami. It was a twisted idea for Light to force Rem to choose between her own life and Misa's, and Light correctly predicted that the noble Rem would put Misa first.
3 Light Exploited Misa's Loyalty To Him
When Light met the goth girl Misa Amane, he soon realized that a willing tool had fallen right into his lap. Misa had lost her parents to a murderer and felt like she owed everything to Kira for killing that criminal in return, but that just made Misa vulnerable to Light's exploitative ways.
Light didn't just form an alliance with the second Kira. He took full advantage of her loyalty and gratitude, twisting Misa into his personal weapon and robbing her of whatever innocence she had left. To the very end, Light only saw Misa in those terms, never once reciprocating Misa's enthusiastic love for him.
2 Light Used & Killed Raye Penber
Two of Light's most heinous murders took place in the first few episodes/chapters of Death Note, including his mission to eliminate Raye Penber. It was bad enough that Light staged a bus jacking just to get Raye's name to kill him, but then Light performed some indirect murders, too.
Light tricked Raye into writing the names of all other FBI agents in Japan on Death Note papers, meaning 12 innocent lives were lost just to get the FBI off of Light's tail. Light even taunted Raye when the latter collapsed during a heart attack. Worst of all, this meant Raye's fiancee, Naomi Misora, was left alone and heartbroken.
1 Light had Naomi Misora Die Without A Trace
Naomi Misora was devastated when her fiance, Raye Penber, died, and she strongly suspected Kira. Naomi made a heroic effort to find Kira and almost found him on New Year's Day, but then she met Light Yagami and explained herself. Light then got Naomi's name and wrote down a specific death scenario for her.
Light didn't just kill an innocent woman who had every right to seek revenge. He had Naomi end her own life in such a way that her body was never found, meaning her heartbroken parents didn't even have a body to bury.
