Misa Amane

Lore & Background

Born in Kyoto on December 25, 1984, Misa Amane is a famous model known as 'Misa Misa' from the Kansai region who possesses a Death Note given to her by the Shinigami Rem. When Misa was around eight years old, her parents were murdered in front of her eyes by a burglar. She could not forgive the killer and even desired to kill him herself. Still, following multiple delays in his trial, she began worrying about the possibility he would get off.

However, he was killed by Kira, leading to her worshiping him. Before her introduction in the series, Misa was attacked by an obsessed stalker. Unknown to her, a Shinigami named Gelus had fallen in love with her, and to save her life, Gelus wrote her stalker's name into his notebook, killing him. Consequently, Gelus himself died since Shinigami exist only to take human life, not extend it.

Rem, who witnessed the whole event, then took Gelus' Death Note which was left behind and gave it to Misa. Using her Death Note, the media, and her Shinigami Eyes – in exchange for half her remaining lifetime, she could see a person's name and lifespan just by looking at their face. She can identify Light Yagami as Kira and earns herself the moniker 'Fake Kira' or 'Second Kira' by the task force trying to stop him. Having fallen in love with him, Misa vows to do whatever Light says in exchange for him becoming her boyfriend.

Light agrees to use her Shinigami Eyes and even though he tells her upfront their relationship will only be an act, she believes she can ultimately win his love. According to Ohba, Light sees Misa as a 'bad person' who killed innocent people, so he acts emotionally cold towards her and manipulates her. Light and Misa both act together as Kira for over five years, until Light decides that it is too dangerous for Misa to be Kira with members of the task force suspecting him and tells her to give up the notebook.

During the series, Misa performs two eye trades, cutting her lifespan in half twice: the first, with Rem; the second, with Ryuk. Misa loses her memories related to using the Death Note, by relinquishing ownership of it, at Light's orders and retains her love for him. The rest of her fate is not shown in the manga at all; she was last seen staying at the Teito Hotel. Ohba stated that this was simply because he did not have a situation to fit her in.

Reader's Guide

Misa Amane is a famous model known as 'Misa Misa' from the Kansai region who possesses a Death Note given to her by the Shinigami Rem. She seeks out Kira (Light Yagami) as she supports his cause to 'cleanse the world of evil'. Using her own Death Note, she does everything she can to aid Light, including shortening her own remaining lifespan by half, twice, in order to receive the eyes of a Shinigami, giving her the ability to learn a person's name just from looking at their face.

In the anime adaptation, Misa is voiced by Aya Hirano in Japanese and by Shannon Chan-Kent in the English version. In the live-action adaptations, she is portrayed by Erika Toda in the films, by Fuka Yuduki and Sakura Kiryu in the musical, and by Hinako Sano in the television drama. Misa's life changed when she received a Death Note from the Shinigami Rem after Gelus died saving her from a stalker. A year before her introduction, Misa's parents were murdered in front of her eyes by a burglar. Misa performs two eye trades, cutting her lifespan in half twice: the first, with Rem; the second, with Ryuk.