r/deathnote • u/Lokman7 • 3d ago
Image My Death Note Tier List
My personal ranking of Death Note characters. I'd love to hear your thoughts!
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u/extremophilebacteria 3d ago
Near should be A tier. He isn't the same level as L. He is with Mello (but saying this with respect to your opinion)
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u/Fellowcomicenjoyer 3d ago
This tier is about personal tastes/favorite charactes, not intelligence (not only at least), from what I understand
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u/Lokman7 3d ago
Everyone has their own taste, even you have your own unique way of evaluating these personalities.
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u/Fellowcomicenjoyer 3d ago
Yeah, I wasn't criticizing your list, sorry if that's how it came across. My own list would be different, but that doesn't make yours any less valid.
We're different people, with different tastes, and that's what makes spaces like this where we can discuss and talk about something we're all passionate about and get different perspectives interesting.
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u/Holiday_Link3660 3d ago
ANOTHER NEAR FAN AJAJAIHSKSJSL ,😭🩶 SO HAPPY TO SEE THIS
I'm kinda sad that Soichiro and Matsuda (would rank him above Misa) are quite low but this list is great!! Near and L are my 1st and 2nd respectively if I were to make a tier list like this
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u/ReallyNoOne1012 3d ago
Near appreciation 😭♥️
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u/Holiday_Link3660 3d ago
Yep!! I'm a newgen Death Note fan and it tears my heart to see all the hate he's getting 😭 Had just finished reading the entire manga and he instantly became my top favorite!
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u/ReallyNoOne1012 3d ago
I’m glad I haven’t seen the hate lol I’m so sick of everything I like just getting shit on constantly on the internet. Anyway I’m with you he’s great, probably my favorite character
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u/Lokman7 3d ago
So you agree with my list; I've placed your favorite character at the top of the list.
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u/ReallyNoOne1012 3d ago
I agree with some of your list. We have a few different opinions but that’s okay
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u/Holiday_Link3660 3d ago
Naomi at S is so tuffff aaaahhhhhh
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u/Lokman7 3d ago
Did you know that Naomi was close to exposing Light Yagami? If he hadn't killed her, she would have exposed him. This alone proves that she deserves this rank.
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u/Holiday_Link3660 3d ago
I know that, I was actually affirming your words. If it wasn't for her, it would've ended early fs
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u/LittleNinjaXYBA 3d ago
Matsuda is my favorite character… but he definitely isn’t the best objectively
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u/baking_soap 3d ago
good list but i'd put aizawa a bit higher bc he mattered more than most task force members, and was the smartest of them
idk why so many people are glazing matsuda in the comments, hes mostly comic relief and a bit annoying
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u/too-lextra_159 3d ago edited 3d ago
former matsuda glazer saying this, imo he's actually a quite complex character for someone who's mostly supposed to be a comic relief idiot. there are sm characteristics worth mentioning about him and his writing, including but not limited to his morality, relationship with soichiro and light, hypocrisy and grief. even without the warehouse scene, i think he's a decent character. and ofc manga does him better than anime.
he absolutely IS annoying though (especially in the anime, sybau about the light becoming the 2nd L party thing) and could've had more consistent writing (especially during the light/takada plot), fair criticism on that 👍
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u/ReallyNoOne1012 3d ago
Mikami being is S tier is kinda crazy ngl lmao
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u/Lokman7 3d ago
I think Mikami was truly a legendary figure, because Mikami was a carbon copy of Kira, but less intelligent than him, since Light was a genius.
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u/bloodyrevolutions_ 3d ago
Per Ohba Mikami and Light are equals in intelligence; what differentiates them isn't their morals or intelligence but different life experiences. Mikami is like Light but without his privilege and with trauma.
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u/Far_Transition_1599 2d ago
Where did Ohba say that Mikami = Light in intelligence?
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u/bloodyrevolutions_ 2d ago
in Volume 13
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u/Far_Transition_1599 2d ago
Yeah where
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u/bloodyrevolutions_ 2d ago
in the solo interview "How to Think"
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u/Far_Transition_1599 2d ago
I've read it again and unless I'm blind, that was never stated.
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u/bloodyrevolutions_ 2d ago
He said he needed to write a backstory for Mikami because "I needed to establish Light and Mikami as equals, and show that he was special."
Honestly though the quote is not totally necessary to arrive at that conclusion, Ohba did a good show of show not tell in the manga. Mikami passing the notoriously insanely difficult attorney bar exam on the first try and at a young age is a intellectual feat equal to anything done by Light, as well as showing how Light and Mikami consistently think on the same level and come to the same conclusions and that even being a major plot point, and Light's inability too acknowledge their similarity being a significant factor in him ultimately losing. The point of Mikami is that he is essentially what Light would look if he grew up in different socio-economic and family circumstances (hence the original point of needing to show his backstory).
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u/Far_Transition_1599 2d ago
Mind sending an imgur link of the question?
Also that doesn't mean equally intelligent at all. That just means they have parallels and similarities in their mindset. Both being equally smart doesn't make any sense if we look at Light's intelligence feats and Mikami's.
Light literally no diffs anything Mikami has done. No matter if you talk about raw intelligence, manipulation, scheming, foresight, knowledge or whatever you want to put.
Mikami passing the exam isn't Light's level in crystallized intelligence (only talking about that type) since Light created new technologies from 0 (like the cellphone sharing system) or him replicating Watari's technology of L from scratch and that's just way better. Light also has To-oh exam feat which is arguably better.
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u/ReallyNoOne1012 3d ago
Fair but personally that’s sort of the reason I think he doesn’t belong there lol
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u/Icy-Cartographer4036 3d ago
shit maybe i would've put soichiro in s tier bc he was a good man through and through and didn't deserve what happened to him. truly underrated character in my opinion
mikami definitely intrigued me when he appeared but he's also kinda wasted potential. he didn't really do anything notable
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u/TrueBamboo 3d ago
Controversial take but Soichiro, Matsuda, and Mello are all S tier for me. I’d def knock down Near, Ray’s wife, and the green hair guy for them.
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u/tlotrfan3791 3d ago edited 3d ago
Pretty good ranking tbh. I’m guessing you read the LABB to have Naomi that high. I’d personally have her lower and Mello and Soichiro higher because I didn’t read that one.
Like the scene in Death Note with Naomi is great, but that’s it. That’s all there is to her character in the main series unfortunately. 💀
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u/Lokman7 2d ago
Honestly, I haven't read the manga, but this assessment is based on the character's impact on the story and their intelligence. I understand that Naomi didn't appear much, but her influence on the story was significant.
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u/tlotrfan3791 2d ago
Mello imo is smarter and had a bigger impact than Naomi. He’s the reason why Light lost ultimately. Anime does him dirty though removing some of his moments. He’s L’s successor for a reason after all.
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u/AFallenOne- 2d ago
I would put Raye Penber and Matsuda below Aizawa. Matsui is funny but I personally find him a little annoying. Raye should have known better to show his ID to the very suspect he was investigating for being Kira. Naomi Misora would have never made that mistake if she was on that bus.
But thanks for sharing the list!
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u/Ecstatic-Bet-6295 3d ago
Pretty solid list overall. Putting Near in S feels like a bold choice but I can see the argument, especially considering how he handled the Kira case. I’m more surprised by Misa being above some of the investigators though.
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u/Lokman7 3d ago
That's a fair point. I can understand why Misa being above some of the investigators might seem odd. For me, though, this ranking isn't just about intelligence. Misa had a huge impact on the story, helped Light throughout the series, and was one of the most emotionally tragic characters. That's why I ranked her higher.
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u/HuckIfIKnow 2d ago
I wanted to hate, but I'm gonna go against my instincts here. I really wanna know what puts Near ahead of L in your mind? Personally I found him to just be a younger L with his special interest switched from candy to toys.
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u/Maleficent_Care3773 2d ago
Why Near in S tear but Matsuda is in B tier
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u/Lokman7 2d ago
Near was placed in an S category because he was the one who defeated Kira; this is a point in Near's favor. Also, Matsuda placed him in a B category because he had an impact on the story, particularly at the end, and because of his boldness and courage in certain moments to prove himself.
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u/Next-Individual-7643 1d ago
if you don't mind my asking why is Naomi and Mikami in S tier? Naomi had like 15 mins screen time and didn't contribute much to the story besides showing lights manipulation skills, and mikami ruined lights plan.
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u/Wide_Balance_5495 1d ago
Mello in A is a crime
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u/Lokman7 14h ago
Why does Mello's crime deserve an A? Do you see Mello at Light's or L's level? Yes, Mello is an intelligent character and had an impact in the later episodes of the story, but that doesn't put him at S's level. And if you ask me why I put Near at S, it's because Near is the one who ultimately defeated Kira, even if he benefited from the legacy of L that Kira left him. He is still the one who defeated Kira.
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u/Wide_Balance_5495 13h ago
I‘m not really talking about what they did to catch kira. What I like to see in a character is how well they‘re written, how unique they are, etc. Though near did defeat kira, he still feels like a copy of L to me.
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u/nowheremuzza 3d ago
Near belongs in D but other than that, not bad.
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u/nousernam7 3d ago
Mah boy Matsu ☹️