is a fictional character in the

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

series ''

Death Note ''Death Note'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. It was serialized in Shueisha's Shōnen manga, manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from December 2003 to ...

'', created by

Tsugumi Ohba is the pen name of a Japanese manga writer, best known for authoring the ''Death Note'' manga series with illustrator Takeshi Obata from 2003 to 2006, which has 30 million collected volumes in circulation. The duo's second series, ''Bakuman'' ...

and

Takeshi Obata is a Japanese manga artist that usually works as the illustrator in collaboration with a writer. He first gained international attention for '' Hikaru no Go'' (1999–2003) with Yumi Hotta, but is better known for '' Death Note'' (2003–2006) ...

. Known as the famous

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , . Models can be divided in ...

, Misa Misa (ミサミサ), she seeks out Kira (

Light Yagami is the main protagonist of the manga series '' Death Note'', created by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata. He is portrayed as a brilliant but bored genius who finds the Death Note, a supernatural notebook that allows the user to kill anyone by ...

) as she supports his cause to "cleanse the world of evil". Using her own Death Note, a notebook that allows its owner to kill anyone simply by knowing their name and face that she received from the

Shinigami () are that invite humans toward death in certain aspects of Shinto, Japanese religion and Culture of Japan, culture. have been described as monsters, helpers, and creatures of darkness. are used for tales and religions in Japanese culture. ...

Rem, Misa does everything she can to aid Light. This includes 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. Although Misa fills the traditional role of the

love interest (; ) were stock characters within the theatre style known as commedia dell'arte, who appeared in 16th-century Italy. In the plays, everything revolved around the lovers in some regard. These dramatic and posh characters were present within pl ...

, her relationship with Light is one-sided as he uses her simply for his own gains. In the

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

adaptation, Misa is voiced by

Aya Hirano is a Japanese actress and singer. Beginning in the entertainment industry as a child actor in television commercials, she appeared in her first Voice acting in Japan, voice acting role in the anime television series ''Angel Tales'' (2001). In ...

in Japanese and by

Shannon Chan-Kent Shannon Chan-Kent (born September 23, 1988) is a Canadian voice and stage actress. She is known for her roles as Silver Spoon and Smolder and the singing voice of Pinkie Pie in ''My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'', Misa Amane in the Englis ...

in the English version. In the live-action adaptations, she is portrayed by

Erika Toda is a Japanese actress. Career Toda has starred in many Japanese television dramas, including '' Liar Game'', '' Code Blue'', '' Ryusei no Kizuna'', and ''Keizoku 2: SPEC''. She has also had supporting roles in many other popular TV dramas, suc ...

in the films, by Fuka Yuduki and Sakura Kiryu in the musical, and by Hinako Sano in the television drama.

Creation and conception

, the writer of ''Death Note'', decided to create Misa to be the second Kira before serialization began. He felt that having the story solely consist of males would be "boring" and wanted "a cute female." Ohba, intending to introduce her with the Shinigami Eyes, described Misa as having to be "spontaneous and not too bright" and that he determined her personality from the start. Since Light Yagami would never want to trade for the Shinigami Eyes, Ohba needed another character to make the eye trade and decided to use Misa."How to Think." ''Death Note 13: How to Read''.

VIZ Media Viz Media, LLC is an American entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California, focused on publishing manga, and distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. The company was founded in 1986 as Viz, ...

. 62. Ohba said that the conception of the name Misa "was kind of random, but I think it was from ''"kuromisa"'' (

Black Mass A Black Mass is a ceremony celebrated by various Satanic groups. It has allegedly existed for centuries in different forms, and the modern form is intentionally a sacrilegious and blasphemous parody of a Catholic Mass. In the 19th century the ...

). It must have been based on something"."How to Think." ''Death Note 13: How to Read''.

. 60. Ohba ultimately decided to introduce Misa after the death of Naomi Misora. He and

, the artist of ''Death Note'', wanted to use the Gothic Lolita design to convey the "gothic imagery of the

and that world"."Takeshi Obata Production Note: Characters". ''Death Note: How to Read 13''.

. 128. Ohba said that they're "into that fashion" and that having Misa first appear in unusual clothing would be "more interesting." Obata, imagining a mix of an "energetic Japanese artist" and a "foreign

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

singer", felt "set" with Misa's design after drawing her for the first time. Obata said that he felt "apprehension" regarding the length of Misa's hair, he wanted her

bangs Bang, bang!, or bangs may refer to: Products * M1922 Bang rifle, a US semi-automatic rifle designed by Søren Hansen Bang * Bang, a List of model car brands, model car brand * Bang (beverage), an energy drink Geography * Bang, Central African ...

to be "straight across" but believed that creating Misa entirely within the bounds of Gothic Lolita style would be "too much." Therefore, Obata designed her so she looked "a little more natural" and to appear "cute" to people who "weren't into the Gothic Lolita style." Obata revealed that his editor warned him that the scene with Misa in restraints in chapter 33 was on "morally thin ground for a children's magazine," so they placed the title logo over the middle of it. This surprised the artist, who said he "held back" when drawing it.''Death Note 13: How to Read''

. 117 When the

Near NEAR or Near may refer to: People * Thomas J. Near, US evolutionary ichthyologist * Near, a developer who created the higan emulator Science, mathematics, technology, biology, and medicine * National Emergency Alarm Repeater (NEAR), a form ...

and Mello story arc began, and Misa became a top

idol Idol or Idols may refer to: Religion and philosophy * Cult image, a human-made object that is venerated or worshipped for the deity, spirit or daemon that it embodies or represents * Murti, a devotional image of a deity or saint used during puja ...

, Obata decided to drop the Gothic Lolita style and make her look like "a popular actress." Obata said he remembered "having a lot of fun" while looking through Gothic Lolita magazines and drawing Misa. In response to a question inquiring which characters the creators faced the most difficulty in creating, Obata selected Misa. The artist said he had trouble comprehending the concept of "doing anything for the person you love" and felt like the character controlled him when he drew her. ''Death Note 13: How to Read'' also states that Misa "required a lot of artistic variation" because of her "many expressions" that ranged "from goofy to serious."''Death Note 13: How to Read''. ''

''. 191. Obata assigned colors to characters when designing color images to "get the atmosphere right." He assigned

pink Pink is a pale tint of red, the color of the Dianthus plumarius, pink flower. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, p ...

and

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

to Misa. In the manga, Misa wears jewelry with a

crucifix A crucifix (from the Latin meaning '(one) fixed to a cross') is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the (Latin for 'body'). The cru ...

theme; in the anime adaptation, she wears

fleur de lis The ''fleur-de-lis'', also spelled ''fleur-de-lys'' (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a common heraldic charge in the ( stylized) shape of a lily (in French, and mean and respectively). Most notably, the ''fleur-de-lis ...

jewelry, although the cross is retained on the collector's figure included with Volume 5 of the DVD series.

Appearances

In ''Death Note''

Born in

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

on December 25, 1984, Misa Amane is a famous

known as "Misa Misa" from the

Kansai region The or the lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropol ...

who possesses a Death Note given to her by the

Rem. Before her introduction in the series, Misa was attacked by an obsessed

stalker Stalking is unwanted and/or repeated surveillance or contact by an individual or group toward another person. Stalking behaviors are interrelated to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person or monitoring t ...

. 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. Misa moves to

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

to meet Kira, a vigilante who uses his Death Note to serially murder criminals to rid the world of evil, as she agrees with his goal. A year before her introduction, Misa's 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. 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

as Kira and earns herself the

moniker A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...

"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."How to Think". ''Death Note 13: How to Read''. ''

''. 65. 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."The 13 Truths About Chapter 108." ''Death Note 13: How to Read''.

. 200. The author speculated that after someone "like

Matsuda Matsuda (written: lit. "pine ricefield") is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *, Japanese badminton athlete * Aoko Matsuda (松田青子, born 1979), Japanese writer and translator * Eiji Matsuda (1894–1978), Mexican ...

probably let it slip" that Light died, Misa fell into despair and "committed suicide... something like that". Her death date is given as slightly over a year after Light's.''Death Note: How to Read 13''. ''

''. 16. In the anime's finale, Misa appears standing outside the safety rail on the edge of a skyscraper and looking into the sunset. The official anime guidebook lists her date of death as unknown. Misa's English dub voice actress

said of the scene: "To see her commit suicide, inside I felt like, 'No Misa! Don't do it!' But it felt like the right thing for the series, the right decision. I'm sure everyone else knew it was coming but I didn't know!"

In film

Misa is portrayed in the films by

. In the film continuity, Misa has a brother, who is murdered along with her parents. In addition, her appearance is slightly modified: while Misa has blonde hair in the manga and anime, she has brown hair in the films. She is first seen filming a

dorama , also called or J-drama, are television programs that are a staple of Television in Japan, Japanese television and are broadcast daily. Format All major Television networks, TV networks in Japan produce a variety of Drama (genre), drama serie ...

called "Misa-Misa's Happy Sweets", where she states that she is baking treats to make her enemies fat. After filming of that section ends, she expresses support for Kira to a journalist. Her supervisor asks that the statement be cut due to potential controversies that could arise from this particular statement. Misa's attacker, Ryotaro Sakajo, the

assistant director The role of an assistant director (AD) on a film includes tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, and maintaining order on the set. They also have ...

for "Happy Sweets", dies from a heart attack when Gelus writes his name inside of his Death Note. Gelus' Death Note then falls in front of Misa, who immediately picks it up. After reading the notebook, she finds Rem. In the second film, Mogi replaces Ukita as Misa's victim during the Sakura TV incident. Additionally, Misa first learns of Light's identity as Kira when Soichiro rescues Sayu who was at the TV station attending a fair. Misa is present at the final confrontation between Light and the police force, though she is handcuffed and restrained by another officer. When Light dies after Ryuk writes his name down in the Death Note, Misa breaks down emotionally. Her memory of the Death Note is erased, but she retains her obsession with Light, wishing him a happy birthday through a mini-

shrine A shrine ( "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred space">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...: ''escri ...

dedicated to him. Erika Toda said that, prior to filming, she felt "a lot of pressure" due to the character's popularity with audiences. She said the pressure vanished when filming began. In an article in '' The Star'', a

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

n newspaper, writer Kitty Sensei theorized that Toda did not have "the time to think much about how fans would react", citing film shoots that Kitty Sensei described as "physically and mentally exhausting" such as the

straitjacket A straitjacket is a garment shaped like a jacket with long sleeves that surpass the tips of the wearer's fingers. Its most typical use is restraining people who may cause harm to themselves or others. Once the wearer's arms are in the sleeves, ...

scene. Toda said that undoing the straitjacket took a lot of time, and at times she waited in the jacket between takes. Toda also said that on one occasion, she wore a blindfold for an hour during filming. Toda reprises the role once again in '' Death Note: Light Up the New World''. Ten years have passed since Light died. Misa continues her work as an actress while her activities are secretly supervised by police officers. She regains her memories after cyber-terrorist Yuki Shien gives her a Death Note. Initially refusing to cooperate with him, due to Light's death, she makes another eye trade from Ryuk and helps Yuki escape with the six Death Notes he collected by killing two of the Task Force investigators. Although she fails to kill Ryuzaki (whose name was written on a Death Note prior similar to L), she commits suicide by writing her own name, scribbled "Misa Amane dies in Light Yagami's hands". Several years after Light's death, it is revealed in the sequel film '' Death Note: Light Up the New World'' that Light secretly had a son, who was expected to inherit a Death Note and carry on Kira's legacy. Teru Mikami, who is the boy's legal guardian, has a history of working with Misa, which implies that she is the birth mother of Light's son.

In other media

In the live-action television drama, Misa is portrayed by Hinako Sano. Unlike the manga and anime, she has a red death note. Her hair is also brown instead of blonde, similarly to the live-action films. When she goes to dig up her buried Death Note, Mikami's assistant steals it, and Mikami uses it to help Kira. Her Death Note is burned by a fire set by Mikami; consequently, her memory of the Death Note is erased. In the musical adaptation, Misa is portrayed by Fuka Yuduki and Sakura Kiryu.

Reception

Briana Lawrence of ''

Anime News Network Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and ot ...

'' felt that even though Misa was an annoying girl clinging to the main character, "In a series full of geniuses it was amazing to see an average person get a hold of the Death Note. Her presence made things even more complicated for Light and she kept him on his toes as much as L did (maybe even more than L did)." Lawrence was disappointed that the epilogue of the series did not show Misa's ultimate fate. In a review of the anime adaptation, Michelle Yu, from the same website, praised Misa, saying she is physically beautiful and a "good-looking female addition to the screen", while also describing her as a "little diva with some serious issues and a very whiny voice". In a ''

Salon.com ''Salon'' is an American politically progressive and liberal news and opinion website created in 1995. It publishes articles on U.S. politics, culture, and current events. Content and coverage ''Salon'' covers a variety of topics, includ ...

'' article, Douglas Wolk describes Misa as being drawn in a "Japanese comics of cute, tiny, airhead girls with big eyes" and being a "lot cannier than she pretends to be". Wolk added that the reader could "watch her measuring how much quasi-innocent charm to pour on in every situation".Wolk, Douglas.
Death strip
. ''

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...

''. Tom S. Pepirium, a writer at ''

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

'', describes Misa in a review of the ''Death Note'' anime episode "Performance" as being the "show's most mysterious character". Pepirium points out the tone in which the character is written, feeling that her motivation and obsession with Kira are "in league with ''Death Note''s dark sensibilities". He says that when Misa spouts her deep and fully realized affection for Kira in "her wacky, excited,

poodle The Poodle, called the in German () and the in French, is a breed of water dog. The breed is divided into four varieties based on size, the Standard Poodle, Medium Poodle, Miniature Poodle and Toy Poodle, although the Medium Poodle is no ...

-like way", the information "loses all impact". Pepirium uses "girly sophomoric pink fluff" and "Jar Jar" (a reference to

Jar Jar Binks Jar Jar Binks is a fictional character from the ''Star Wars'' saga created by George Lucas. A member of the Gungan race, Jar Jar appears throughout the ''Star Wars'' prequel trilogy—as a major character in '' Star Wars: Episode I – The Ph ...

) as figurative descriptors for Misa. He has also compared Misa to

Dot A dot is usually a small, round spot. Dot, DoT or DOT may also refer to: Orthography * Full stop or "period", a sentence terminator * Dot (diacritic), a mark above or below a character (e.g. ȧ, ạ, İ, Ċ, ċ, etc.), usually to indicate sou ...

from ''

Animaniacs ''Animaniacs'' is an American Animated series, animated Comedy television, comedy Musical film, musical television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Warner Bros. Television Animation. It originally aired on Fox Broadcasting Company ...

''. Pepirium said that he wished that Misa was a more serious character at times. Reviewing ''Death Note'', ''

THEM Anime Reviews THEM Anime Reviews, otherwise known as THEM or T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews, is an anime review website that writes about current and past anime in any form, including OVAs and ONAs. The website offers reviews, editorial content and hosts forums. ...

'' called Misa "adorable, yet tragic", while also commenting how she becomes "pathetically infatuated with Light and obediently does his bidding", while at the same time threatening his immunity to the

Task Force A task force (TF) is a unit or formation established to work on a single defined task or activity. Originally introduced by the United States Navy, the term has now caught on for general usage and is a standard part of NATO terminology. Many ...

tracking him down. Christy Lee S.W. of '' The Star'' said that Toda's portrayal of Misa in the second film "may seem rather annoying for being overly bubbly and cute at first" and that the character grows on the viewer "after a while". Lee stated that at the end of the film she saw the character of Misa as "quite endearing". Erika Toda stated in ''The Star'' that she views Misa as a "complicated and fascinating" character. Toda said that she does not comprehend why a person would willingly use a Death Note, but added that she admired the fact that Misa "does everything she sets out to do", though that the actions of Light and Misa are criminal. Hannah Grimes of ''

Comic Book Resources ''CBR'', formerly ''Comic Book Resources'', is a news website primarily covering comic book news, comic book reviews, and comic book–related topics involving movies, television, anime, and video games. It is owned by Valnet, parent of publicat ...

'' wrote, "Back when the show first released, Misa became one of if not the most popularly-designed goth characters in all of anime. With her super-cute black dress, slightly-wedged black boots and intricate fishnets dotting every possible part of the outfit, there's simply so much to take in and admire with this ensemble. This look is also still incredibly popular with cosplayers, and she'll most likely remain one of the more popular goth cosplay choices for a long time to come."

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amane, Misa Anime and manga characters introduced in 2004 Death Note characters Female characters in anime and manga Fictional characters from Kyoto Fictional characters with death or rebirth abilities Fictional cultists Fictional female mass murderers Fictional female serial killers Fictional hostages and kidnapped people Fictional illeists Fictional Japanese criminals Fictional models Fictional singers Fictional suicides Teenage characters in anime and manga Vigilante characters in comics