Ryuk
is the main Shinigami of the Death Note series. Bored with the activities (or lack thereof) of the Shinigami realm, Ryuk obtains a second Death Note and drops it in the human realm for someone to find, hoping to amuse himself. He deliberately writes the instructions on the front page (in English, which he assumed to be the most popular language in the human realm) so people would understand its purpose. The Death Note is discovered by Light, and Ryuk follows him around for much of the series to see how Light uses it. Ryuk has a fairly humanoid appearance. His skin is gray, or a purple-ish color and his limbs are abnormally long and he has bulging yellow eyes with black irises. He is voiced by ShidÅ
Rem
is the Shinigami who gives Misa her Death Note. Like Ryuk, Rem possesses two Death Notes; however, Rem did not get hers through trickery. The Shinigami Gelus, who had fallen in love with Misa, sacrificed himself to kill her destined murderer. In doing so he was reduced to dust, leaving only his Death Note. Touched by this act, Rem delivered his Death Note to Misa, since it was her life he saved. Her appearance is quite skeletal, with long, spinal cord-like arms and bone-like skin. In the manga and anime, Rem tells Misa that she is actually a female Shinigami. In the second live-action film, this is not mentioned, leaving it ambiguous. She is also given a more masculine voice. Rem is voiced by Kimiko Saito in the Japanese anime and Colleen Wheeler in the English dub. In the film, she is voiced by Shinnosuke Ikehata.
Gelus
appears in a flashback when Rem explains how to kill a Shinigami. He is a small, doll-like Shinigami whose appearance suggests that he was poorly sewn together from mismatched fabric. He only has one eye, despite having two eye sockets
Sidoh
is the Shinigami whose Death Note was stolen by Ryuk. By the time he realizes this, however, the note has already changed hands several times, ending up in the hands of Mello's gang (more specifically, Mello's subordinate, Jack Neylon). After repeatedly hounding Ryuk for its return, he tracks down the gang to get it back. In order to regain his Note, Sidoh agrees to help Mello's gang against Near's SPK and the Kira investigation team. He wears heavy clothing, obscuring most of his features, and his head is wrapped in bandages. He is voiced by Kazuki Yao in the Japanese anime
Armonia Justin Beyondormason,
otherwise known as Justin the Jewel Skeleton, is a briefly-featured Shinigami who informs Sidoh that his Death Note was stolen by the Shinigami Ryuk. As his names suggests, Justin's appearance is that of a skeleton adorned with all manner of jewelery. He is voiced by Hideyuki Umezu in the Japanese anime.
Calikarchais considered strange-looking even by Shinigami standards, having eight eyes lined up two rows on each side of his head. He has a penchant for cherries but dislikes sunlight
Daril Ghiroza
Daril Ghiroza is a female Shinigami who passes time by stacking human skeletons. She has a liking for gold but dislikes bright places
DeridovelyDeridovely is a Shinigami who spends his time gambling. He is humanoid in appearance, but wears a bone mask over his face. He carries a scythe, making him thematically similar to the classical depiction of the Grim Reaper. He usually gambles with Guuku.
Guuku
Guuku is a lazy Shinigami whose most prominent feature is his animal mask. Like Deridovely, he too enjoys gambling. Despite gambling with Deridovely much of the time, he is a poor gambler
Kinddara Guivelostain
is a female Shinigami with a fierce appearance, having a huge fissure jutting out of her head and sharp teeth. she enjoys violence but hates excessive thinking.[1] She does not appear in the actual Death Note story; she appears on the spine of Volume 12.[9]
Obata said that, since the final volume release pended, he wanted to create a new Shinigami to appear in the volume
Midora
Midora is a large, slug-like Shinigami with stubby limbs. Unlike most Shinigami, she does not wear any clothing or decorative elements on her body. She enjoys moist weather but loathes dry seasons. Her enormous size gives her a dominating presence. While she is a background character in the main series, a one-shot chapter set three years after Light's death focuses on her. In the chapter, Ryuk's actions have made apples a commodity among the Shinigami. Midora uses this to bribe the Shinigami King into giving her a second Death Note, which she gives to a human in an attempt to replicate Ryuk's experience with Light. When the Kira-impersonator is brushed off by Near as "boring", he kills himself. Midora tells Ryuk about this, and he relates Light's claim that someone must have strong spiritual strength and conviction to use the Death Note; Midora simply picked a weakling. She admits that Ryuk is better at judging such things, then gives the extra Death Note to him.
Midora appears to have the same feeling toward bananas, as seen in one panel of the one-shot when she is in the new Kira's room, she is eating a banana while lying amongst an enormous pile of banana peels.
Obata said that he liked Midora's design as she appears "more like a salamander" and has a "vastly different" design when compared to other Shinigami. Obata said that her skin feels moist like amphibian skin; due to this Obata said that he worries "if she can survive in the heat of the Shinigami realm.
Nuis a Shinigami whose body is covered from head to toe with eyes. Nu is "supposedly" the second most-powerful Shinigami, with the King of Death's powers eclipsing hers. She is very intelligent and likes the feeling of others' regret, but she dislikes sound.
Obata described Nu as like "a giant rock covered in eyes that sticks out of the ground." Obata said that Shinigami like Nu exist and are "rare."[
King of Death
is the ruler of the Shinigami. An unseen character in the main series, the Shinigami King governs the Shinigami and controls distribution of the Death Notes. It is not made clear if he creates them or just has a certain supply, as he is unwilling to replace lost ones. It is also unclear whether the Shinigami King enforces the various rules of the Shinigami. The Shinigami King is regarded as a sort of father figure by lesser Shinigami, and is said to be almost immortal. Many Shinigami refer to him as "Old Man," and How to Read 13 said he "must be very old" due to this. How to Read 13 adds that "little else about him is known." Chapter 109 depicts the King as a large mass suspended in the air with chains. He has a skull for a head, which is surrounded by a larger, skull-like formation. He has four arms, each with only three fingers on the hands, which hang from his body.
One of the eyecatch rules given in the series states that extra Death Notes found by Shinigami are generally expected to be returned to the King, though this clearly is not something Shinigami are forced to abide by. Likewise, lost notebooks must also be reported to him. Little information is given about the character itself, aside from Rem's assertion that the King is not easy to trick, which Ryuk successfully did. In contrast, he is quite easily bribed, as Midora was able to trade thirteen apples for a second Death Note.
Obata said that he felt too afraid to design The King of Death; he said that he considered placing The King of Death on a book spine and felt that the spine would not have enough space to depict The King of Death
Unnamed Shinigami
An unnamed Shinigami debuted in the Director's Cut special of Death Note; like Ryuk, he too was bored with the Shinigami realm. This Shinigami has an eyeless skull for a head. He wears a coat, a pair of goggles, and uses a tie as a headband. He takes an interest in Ryuk's visit to the human realm, and gives Ryuk an apple in exchange for information about the human world and its entrance. Ryuk accepts, but instead recaps the story of Light Yagami's correlation with a Death Note. After meeting Ryuk, he ventures off with sights set on the human world.
Zellogi Zellogi wears a Native American headdress and has a hook in place of his left hand. He takes an interest in Ryuk's activities in the human world, and humans in particular after learning that Ryuk's Death Note is in a human's possession. Despite his feeble appearance, he has a highly inquisitive nature. His interests are in furry items and he dislikes moist temperature[/b]