Rem (Death; 2004) (Death; 2007 in anime) is a Japanese God of Death (Shinigami) who was a crucial character in the storyline of the popular series Death Note created by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata.
Wiki/Biography
Rem (レム, Remu) also known as Skeleton Shinigami, Misa’s Bodyguard was born many decades ago in an unknown region of Japan. She was the Shinigami who brought the Death Note of Gelus (Jealous) to Misa Amane and eventually fell in love with her. Rem did everything to protect Misa and ended up sacrificing herself while doing so.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 8”
Hair Colour: White and Purple
Eye Colour: Yellow (Red while using powers)
Gender: Female
Species: Shinigami
Wings: Pale white
Nature
Rem appeared to be a very kind Shinigami who cared about humans with contempt and also felt about her fellow Shinigami. She was kind enough to care for the last wishes of Gelus and also to continue what he was trying to do by protecting Misa Amane at all costs. She was extremely protective and caring about her owner and was said to be just the opposite of Ryuk. Her MBTI personality type is INFP, and people with such personalities are introverted, open-minded, and creative.
Statistics
Intelligence: 7/10
Inquisitiveness: 3/10
Initiative: 10/10
Empathy: 9/10
Kills: 4/10
Family
Parents and Sibling
Rem is a shinigami who has been living in the underworld for years but his origins or family were never told or discussed in any series.
Relationships and Affairs
Rem was a female Shinigami who was also in love with Misa Amane and wanted to protect her no matter what. But for Misa, she was nothing more than just a tool and someone to be used for personal benefits. In the end, Rem ended up sacrificing herself for the love of Misa and the plans of Light Yagami.
Misa and Rem
Friends
Rem was very a gentle soul and was hesitant to kill anyone and she tried to do what was necessary and considered no one as a friend except Misa. In the Anime, her feelings were unclear and non-romantic towards Misa and was considered to be her friend.
Rem and Misa
Career
Rem has been Shinigami for many years and has been working to write people’s names in her Death Note. She took the responsibility of taking the Death Note of Gelus to Misa and decided to protect her at all costs. She worked for Misa and Light by doing anything they said.
Anime
Rem appeared in the Anime in Episode 11: Assault.
Rem’s first appearance in Anime
Manga
Rem made her first appearance in the Manga Chapter 25: Fool.
Rem’s first appearance in Manga
Films
Rem appeared in the movie Death Note: The Last Name in November 2006 and was voiced by Shinnosuke Ikehata.
Rem in Death Note: The Last Name
Video Games
Rem was featured in the games, Death Note: Kira Game, Death Note VR Escape Game, and Othellonia.
Rem in Death Note Kira Game
Stage
Death Note manga series was also given a stage show called Death Note: The Musical starting in 2014 in various countries which was translated in Japanese and Korean but not in English. It was composed by Frank Wildhorn and the lyrics were given by Jack Murphy and scripted by Ivan Menchell. Rem was portrayed by Ayumi Tsunematsu.
Rem in Death Note The Musical
TV Drama
Rem was shown in the TV series as a CGI character and was voiced by Ayumi Tsunematsu.
Rem in 2015 Death Note TV Series (2015)
Portrayed and Voiced By
Rem was portrayed by a live actor only in the stage show but was voiced as a CGI character in other adaptations.
Rem Voice Actor English
Rem Japanese Voice Actor
Japanese
Kimiko Saitō (斉藤貴美子, Saitō Kimiko) (anime), Shinnosuke Ikehata (film series)
English
Colleen Wheeler (anime), Michael Dobson (film series), Carrie Manolakos (2014 Musical Demo Album)
Mandarin
Xingchang Liang (梁興昌, Liáng Xìngchāng)
Cantonese
Luk Wai-ling (陸惠玲, Luk6 Wai6 Ling4)
Korean
Munja Choi (최문자, Choi Munja)
Tagalog
Hazel Hernan
Spanish
Azucena Díaz (Spain), Erica Edwards (Mexico)
Portuguese
Alexandre Drummond
Catalan
Azucena Díaz
French
Maïk Darah
German
Michaela Kametz (anime), Gabriele Blum (audio drama)
Hungarian
Gábor Kossuth
Greek
Hilda Iliopoulou (Σάτσικο Γιαγκάμι)
Russian
Aleksandra Kogevnikova (Александра Кожевникова)
Live Stage Actors
Rem was portrayed by Jackie Burns and Carrie Manolakos in Death Note: The Musical.
Rem in Death Note Musical
Weapons and Powers
Death Note
Rem owned his own Death Note along with the Death Note of Gelus which he had given to Misa. Rem was hesitant to use her death note and would avoid killing anyone with it. She used it for the last time by writing the names L Lawliet and Quillish Wammy and killing them at the cost of sacrificing herself to save Misa.
- Owner: Rem
- Humans Who Touched It: Light Yagami, Misa, Mello, Mafia Members
- Used By: Light Yagami, Misa, Kyosuke Higuchi
- Notable Humans Used On: L and Wammy
- Number of Deaths Caused: 1,000+
Rem and her Death Note
Shinigami Powers
Being Shinigami gave Rem various powers such as Weather Manipulation, Electrokinesis, Wings, Invisibility, and Shinigami Eyes, which were used to see the life span, name, and time of death of any human. He could additionally grant these powers to other humans in exchange for half of their life span.
Rem Shinigami Eyes
Controversies
Banned in Many Countries
Death Note features various scenes that are rated to be very disturbing for young audiences and have been in various countries like China, South Korea, and Indonesia.
Rem and Misa, Master and Servant
Rem was a Shinigami who came down to Earth as a Death God, but she became the servant of a mere human Misa Amane. Many people believe that it is wrong on the part of Rem to become a slave to humans and do their bidding and get manipulated.
Mortal Life of Rem
The fans wanted to see more of L and Light’s showdown and how Light will end up defeating L or losing to him, but instead, no one liked the idea that Light manipulated a Shinigami to sacrifice herself as if she was a mortal being and was supposed to die. She was shortlived in series and considered more mortal than anyone.
Awards, Honours, Achievements
Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film (BIFFF) – 2007
Pegasus Audience Award for Best Film to Shûsuke Kaneko
Hong Kong Film Awards (2007)
Best Asian Film
Mainichi Film Concours (2007)
Winner of Readers’ Choice Award for Most Popular Film
Yokohama Film Festival (2007)
Winner Festival Prize for Best New Talent to Ken’ichi Matsuyama shared with Death Note: The Last Name’s Otoko-
tachi no Yamato and Oyayubi Sagashi
Scream Awards (2007)
Nominee Scream Award for Best Foreign Movie
Hochi Film Awards (2006)
Winner Hochi Film Award for Best New Actor to Ken’ichi Matsuyama shared with Otoko-tachi no Yamato.
Death
Rem lived a mortal life along with Misa and knew what was the unspoken rule in the Shinigami World and saw firsthand what happens after breaking it. She still selflessly sacrificed herself in order to save Misa from L who would be a threat to her and wrote down the names of Watari and L on the Death Note, which ended up killing her by turning her into ashes.
Rem Death Scene
Favorites
- Human: Misa Amane
- Hobby: Observing Humans
Facts and Trivia
- Rem was ranked 4 in the Death Note Shinigami ranking list along with other Shinigami, such as Ryuk, Sidoh, and Gelus.
- The creator of the Death Note series, Takeshi Obata said that his favorite Shinigami was Rem and he liked her because of her good nature.
- Shinigami are supposed to shorten the lifespan of people and are considered to be heartless, except for Rem who is the only Shinigami with a heart and humanity.
Rem and Misa Misa
- Light Yagami had negative motives which he called “Justice” and Rem was clearly able to look past him and even threatened him to be the one to kill him.
- As per all the adaptations of Death Note, Rem was killed except for the live-action Death Note television series of 2015, where she did not have the compulsion towards Misa and didn’t sacrifice herself.
Rem and Misa in Movie 2015
- In the Death Note live-action series second movie, Rem is voiced by male actors Shinnouske Ikehata in Japanese and Michael Dobson in English.
- In the Anime version, Rem is shown to have purplish color to her hair, but in other adaptations, it is slightly blue.
- Rem is one of the only Shinigami who has wings, which she can retract and extend at will.
Rem Wings
- The name “Rem” is a play on the word “death” in Japanese, which is “shi” or “shi no” (depending on the context).
- Rem’s relationship with Misa has been compared to a mother-daughter dynamic, as Rem becomes fiercely protective of Misa and will do anything to keep her safe.
- Among various other characters from the Death Note series, Rem was only made into a Nendoroid petite.
Rem Nendoroid
