Misa Amane

Misa as she appears in the Death Note anime

Born in Kyoto on December 25, 1984,[6] 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.[7] Prior to 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 in order 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 had been left behind and gave it to Misa.[8]

Misa moves to Tokyo in order to meet Kira, a vigilante who uses his own Death Note to serially murder criminals in order to rid the world of evil, as she agrees with his goal.[9] A year prior to her introduction, Misa's parents were murdered in front of her eyes by a burglar. She was unable to forgive the killer and even desired to kill him herself, but following multiple delays in his trial, she began to worry of the possibility he would get off. However, he was killed by Kira leading to her worshiping him.[10] Using her Death Note, the media and her Shinigami Eyes – in exchange for half her remaining lifetime she received the ability to see a person's name and remaining lifespan just by looking at their face – she is able to 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 in order 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.[11] According to Ohba, Light sees Misa as a "bad person" who killed innocent people, so he acts emotionally cold towards her and manipulates her.[12] 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.[13] The author speculated that after someone "like Matsuda probably let it slip" that Light died, Misa fell into despair and "committed suicide... something like that".[13] Her death date is given as slightly over a year after Light's.[14]

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.[15] Misa's English dub voice actress Shannon Chan-Kent 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!"[16]

Erika Toda as Misa in the Death Note film series

Misa is portrayed in the films by Erika Toda.[17] 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 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 controversies. Misa's attacker, Ryotaro Sakajo, the assistant director 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 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 Malaysian 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 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.[18]

Toda reprises the role once again in Death Note: Light Up the New World.[17] 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".

In the live-action television drama, Misa is portrayed by Hinako Sano.[19] 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 Kiryuu.