Shinigami

In the series manga and anime series Death Note, Shinigami (死神, Shinigami? literally "death god") are a race of extra-dimensional beings who survive by killing humans to extend their own lives. Shinigami in this series are not responsible for every death that occurs; people will eventually die regardless of whether or not the Shinigami pay attention to them, but a Shinigami can end their lives sooner than intended for their own benefit.

Shinigami

All Shinigami must possess at least one Death Note, a necessity to extend their lives. Should they manage to come across a second, it can be loaned to a human. The Shinigami must accompany the human until they die or the Death Note is willingly given back or reach its expiration date; should the human give the notebook to another human, the same would apply to the new owner. Shinigami can explain the purpose of the Death Note to the human, but this is done at their discretion. They can also offer Shinigami Eyes to the human at the cost of half the human's remaining lifespan; however, while a human with the Eyes can also see the name and lifespan of most humans, they cannot see the lifespan of any Death Note owner, themselves included. Likewise, Shinigami cannot see lifespans of other Shinigami. In addition, Shinigami are forbidden from telling the Death Note owner their remaining lifespan, both because it would cause confusion and because a human aware of their fate might react unpredictably (in a negative way).

Shinigami

While in the human world, Shinigami are invisible to everyone except the owner of their Death Note and anyone else who has touched it. Other unrelated Death Note users can only see their specific Shinigami. The ending of both the anime and manga state that all humans, regardless of their actions in life, go to Mu ("Nothingness") when they die, despite the misleadings earlier in the series that only humans who have used the Death Note meet this fate.

Shinigami

Shinigami