Misa Amane

Misa Amane is a bubbly pop-idol model who bursts into the story already devoted to Kira, convinced he avenged her murdered parents. She's loud, lovesick, and utterly unguarded about her obsession with Light Yagami, latching onto him with a puppyish, jealous adoration that makes her feel like a splash of color against the show's chess-match gloom.

Aya Hirano plays her at a pitch of squeaky, over-the-top sincerity that makes Misa a genuine tonal risk in such a dour show, and it pays off: her devotion is played straight, never mocked, which makes her both funny and quietly tragic. She's the one character whose love isn't a strategy.