Light Yagami

Light Yagami (Japanese: 夜神 月ライト, Hepburn: Yagami Raito) 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 knowing their name and face, after it is dropped by the Shinigami Ryuk. With the power of the Death Note, Light eliminates whom he deems morally unworthy of life, masterminding a worldwide massacre as the serial killer Kira (キラ). He believes he is making the world a better place by purging it of all it's impurities in his own twisted way taking the stance of the "God of the new world" thus fulfilling his goal. Over the course of his efforts to create a world free of crime, wherein he would rule as a godlike figure, Yagami is pursued by law enforcement groups such as the NPA and a world-renowned detective named L.

In the anime adaptation, he is voiced by Mamoru Miyano in Japanese and by Brad Swaile in the English version. In the live-action film series, he is portrayed by Tatsuya Fujiwara with Swaile reprising his role as his English dub voice; he is portrayed by both Kenji Urai and Hayato Kakizawa in the musical; in the TV drama, he is portrayed by Masataka Kubota; his counterpart in the American film is portrayed by Nat Wolff. Yagami's portrayal in the anime was met with praise from critics.