| NOTE: This page is only about the Manga version of Ryuk as the Netflix Adaptation of the character was voted Pure Evil, and thus only Manga Ryuk's info and crimes should be put here. |
| “ | Humans are so... interesting. | „ |
| ~ Ryuk. |
| “ | There's no heaven or hell. No matter what you do while you're alive, everybody goes to the same place once you die. Death is equal. | „ |
| ~ Ryuk to a dying Light in the finale of manga. |
Ryuk is the deuteragonist of the Death Note franchsie.
He is the one who gave Light Yagami the Death Note and instigated his killing spree, becoming a major contributor in Light's crimes (although he assisted him out of his own benefits).
He was voiced in the anime adaptation by Nakamura Shidō II in Japanese, and by Brian Drummond (who also voiced Vegeta in the Ocean Dub for Dragon Ball Z) in the English dub.
His Evil Ranking[]
What Makes Him Heinous?[]
In General[]
- He is a Shinigami so he doesn't follow human morals and has to kill humans to survive, and he says he and other Shinigami only do so because they're afraid of dying themselves. However, this doesn't mean he has moral agency issues or is a villain by proxy for these two reasons:
- Ryuk caused a lot of trouble with both Shinigami and Humankind for the sake of his entertainment, that even his boss had to get on his case for on one occasion.
- Both of his fellow Shinigami Rem and Gelus are able to sympathize with humans and even sacrifice their lives to save one. While a Shinigami who saves a human will die, they are still able to show sympathy for humans without this happening, so Ryuk's status as a Shinigami doesn't justify his lack of empathy.
- Although the main drive for his actions is boredom, Ryuk is a very sadistic Shinigami as seen when he maniacally laughed at Naomi Misora, knowing that Light manipulated her successfully.
- Although he has no desire to pass judgment on criminals and asks Light why he wants to do this, that doesn't mean he’s sympathetic to those who die, due to his sadistic enjoyment of Light's killings. While he sometimes seems shocked at the depths Light will sink to, his reaction is always one of amusement rather than condemnation.
- Despite basically being a comic relief character, he is also taken very seriously a lot of times too, with several dark moments of pure nihilism, especially in the finale of the manga.
Death Note[]
- He treats Sidoh, a Shinigami of his kind, with disdain and stole his notebook which would have eventually killed him had he not retrieved it. It’s also hinted in his dialogue that he once wrote other Shinigamis' names into his Death Note but failed to kill them due to them being immune to it.
- He dropped a Death Note into the Human World just because he was bored. This would be the catalyst of all the events from the series and therefore, makes Ryuk indirectly responsible for Kira's murders and all the death and chaos that came from it.
- He assists Light several times by informing him of surveillance cameras spying on him for the sake of apples and helps him in delivering the notebook to others such as Misa and Mikami, despite seeing how much more evil Light was becoming.
- He takes half the lifespan of Soichiro Yagami and Misa Amane, and while they chose to make the Shinigami Eye Deal, Ryuk is still very callous about the years of life they both lost.
- He holds no loyalty or attachment towards Light whatsoever other than as a source of entertainment. In the manga, he callously writes down Light's name in his notebook after realizing that Light had lost despite his pleas, though considering all of Light's despicable actions, it is hard to feel any sympathy for Light.
- In the live-action film, Ryuk tells Light at the very last moment of his life the cold hard truth that those who use the notebook go nowhere after death, making his efforts feel totally worthless in the end.
Death Note One Shot's[]
- In the C-Kira story, Ryuk advises Midora to find a better human to use the Death Note.
- A decade after Light's death, Ryuk gives the Death Note to a young Japanese student named Minoru Tanaka and tries to manipulate him into becoming the next Kira to ease his boredom.
- He helps Minoru sell the Death Note at an auction so he can profit from it.
- When the Shinigami King creates a new rule that anyone who sells the Death Note will be killed, he chooses not to warn Minoru about this because Minoru had told Ryuk to never return, then writes Minoru's name down in his Death Note when Minoru receives the profits he got from the auction.
What Makes Him Inconsistent?[]
- He has plenty of comedic moments that detract him from his villainy, such as his love of apples and the withdrawal symptoms he gets from being deprived of them such as doing handstands, as well as his shyness around girls, basically making him a comic relief.
- He is genuinely affable to humans. Even though he doesn't care about whether they die or not, he still respects them and can be honorable sometimes.
- He tells Light and other characters exactly what will happen as a result of using the notebook or making the eye deal.
- He makes it clear to Light that he is ultimately on nobody's side in the beginning, and is honest with Light from the start that he will eventually write his name down.
- He has a Pet the Dog moment when he gives Misa an apple from the Shinigami realm to taste. He also warns Misa of the consequences of making the eye deal a second time when she asks for it and asks if she's sure before doing it.
- He possibly respects Soichiro, as he notes after his death that since he never used the Death Note he got to die happy.
- When Near politely introduced himself to Ryuk, and when he asked the Shinigami whether a person would die if their name was written on a piece of notebook clipping, Ryuk gave an honest answer.
- When Donald Trump claims that he would announce to the world that America has the Death Note but does not use it, Ryuk praises him for his shrewd decision.
- Although he doesn't interfere with Light and others' murder, he still has some slight standards.
- He warns Light that if he kills all the evil people in the world, Light himself will be the only bad person left.
- He tells Light off in the anime for yelling at Misa after the notebook is stolen by Mello.
- He also calls out Donald Trump for valuing his own life over the welfare of his country, despite calling his decision “shrewd.”
Trivia[]
- His Netflix version counts as Pure Evil due to being far more dangerous and sadistic, in addition to not having affability or detracting comedic moments. Coincidentally, while Light is Pure Evil in the manga, his movie version is Inconsistently Heinous, meaning Ryuk and Light essentially swapped moral rankings in the adaptation.
- When Ryuk kills Light, his eyes are completely white (red, in the anime), with zero traces of any humanity or mercy. Word of God says this was done on purpose to remind the audience, for all his quirkiness and simplistic, child-like desire to simply be entertained like a child with toys, he is still a Shinigami, a god of death, who can't be harmed and can kill anyone he wishes.
- To drive this point home, it is implied that Ryuk stalked Light and dropped the Death Note for him;
- Word of God calls Light the first "victim" of the Kira case.
- Ryuk knew Light was "so smart" before ever meeting him.
- Ryuk has at least been watching him and followed him home.
- Ryuk wrote the instructions in English and dropped it outside Light's English class.
- A teenager would be the most likely to use the notebook to try and change the world. Anyone younger would be too scared (i.e. Taro in the pilot chapter) and anyone older would use it to kill people they didn't like (i.e. Higuchi).
- In the C-Kira bonus chapter Ryuk berates another Shinigami when she complains that her time in the human world was short and boring; Ryuk suggests that the other Shinigami should have followed his example and "choose carefully" who they give a notebook to.
- What makes this worse is that Ryuk could be doing this again and again and never be punished for it, as the Shinigami King only interfered with Ryuk for pragmatic reasons.
- To drive this point home, it is implied that Ryuk stalked Light and dropped the Death Note for him;
External Links[]
- Ryuk on the Villains Wiki
- Ryuk on the VS Battles Wiki
- Ryuk on the Entertainingly Detestable Wiki
- Ryuk on the Death Note Wiki
[]
 Inconsistently Heinous
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