Rank Death Note Characters

About this poll

Light, L, Ryuk — the genius cast ranked. Anime rankings span four distinct eras of the medium — the classic theatrical period, the late-90s explosion, the long-form 2010s, and the modern streaming-era boom. Every era has its peaks, and your S tier reveals which era shaped your taste. The lineup includes Light Yagami, L, Ryuk, Misa Amane, and 9 more.

Why the question is worth voting on

Ranking a body of work means deciding what you weight: writing, visuals, scope, replayability, cultural footprint. Different criteria produce different tier lists, and the disagreements are where the conversation lives. Your tier list is a position you'd defend; the consensus is what the audience as a whole thinks; comparing them is the point.

How voting works

This is a tier-list poll. You'll see each option one at a time and decide whether it goes in S, A, B, C, D, or F tier. S is reserved for genuine peaks — items that clearly stand above the rest. F is for the ones you'd actually call bad. The middle tiers are for everything else, and the cluster sizes don't have to be equal.

Where the consensus stands

This poll is fresh — your vote is among the first. Be early. The first 100 voters disproportionately shape the consensus, because each new vote becomes a smaller fraction of the total. Lock in your tier list and check back later to see how the aggregate shifts as more people weigh in.

A note on methodology

Hot Ranking uses an anonymous browser fingerprint to ensure each browser votes once per poll. We don't store accounts or personal information; the aggregate you see is the unweighted result of every legitimate vote, with rate limiting in place to filter automated submissions. Results update in real time once you submit. You can read more about how voting works in our About page, and how we handle data in our Privacy Policy.

The lineup

This poll has 13 options to rank. Each one was selected for relevance to the question and verified to have a working image. We don't pad rankings with filler items — every entry is here because it has a real case for inclusion.

• Light Yagami
• L
• Ryuk
• Misa Amane
• Near
• Mello
• Soichiro Yagami
• Matsuda
• Watari
• Sayu Yagami
• Teru Mikami
• Kiyomi Takada
• …and 1 more

Share your result

After voting, you'll see how your tier list or pick compares to the consensus. The result page is shareable — most of our voters end up arguing with at least one friend after sharing theirs. If you want to see more polls in this category, browse anime or check out the Hot Ranking blog for essays on tier lists, ranking culture, and the great GOAT debates.