Naomi Misora is a Japanese character and a former FBI agent in the anime and manga series Death Note and the main protagonist of the spin-off Death Note: Another Note: The Los. She had assisted L on the Los Angeles BB Serial Murder Cases (LABB) case.
Wiki/Biography
Naomi Misora, also known by the name Shoko Maki or Syoko Maki, was born on Wednesday, February 11, 1976 (manga) or Sunday, February 11, 1979, (anime) (age 26 years; at the time of death.) Her zodiac sign is Aquarius. Her blood type is A.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 6″
Weight (approx.): 45 kg
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Hazel
Family
Parents & Siblings
The name of her father and mother is not revealed in the manga or anime since she is a minor character.
Husband & Children
Naomi was not married. However, she was engaged.
Fiance
She was engaged to FBI agent Raye Penber (d. December 27, 2003 [2006 in anime]; April 1, 2006 [film.])
Naomi and Raye in a scene from the Death Note anime
Love Interest – Boyfriend
Naomi dated Raye Penber before she got engaged to him.
Background
Creator
Naomi Misora is a character in the Death Note books, created by writer Tsugumi Ohba and artist Takeshi Obata. She was planned to have a bigger role in the story, but her creator faced challenges in balancing what he wanted for her character with the needs of the plot and story.
Author Tsugumi Ohba holding a Death Note
Development
Naomi was supposed to have a bigger role in the story, including investigating suspects in the Kira Case and more interactions with her fiancé. But when Raye’s character died, author Tsugumi Ohba thought having Naomi look for Kira would make the story more interesting. At that time, Sayu Yagami was the only important female character. Adding Naomi allowed Ohba to create the “cool” female character he always wanted. He planned for Naomi to be in the story for a long time, but he didn’t expect her to figure out important plot details so quickly. Because she discovered key information faster than expected, Ohba decided to end her character early to avoid problems with the story later on. He said the issue with Naomi’s character was the hardest challenge he faced since starting the series.
Story/Mission
After her fiancé’s unexpected death, which she believes Kira caused, Naomi decides to join the Kira investigation. She meets Light Yagami while trying to contact the Task Force. Light uses his father’s position to gain her trust, telling her he is Chief Yagami’s son. Initially cautious, Naomi uses the fake name Shoko Maki to protect herself until she can reach L.
Naomi Misora hiding her real name from Light Yagami
Light eventually convinces Naomi to share her real name by claiming he is part of the Task Force and working with L. Taking advantage of her emotional state, Light suggests that she could join the Task Force and help catch the person who killed her fiancé.
Battles
Failures
She was unable to avenge the death of her fiance.
Enemies/Rivals
The list of her enemies includes Light Yagami and Beyond Birthday.
Friends/Allies
Her friends formerly included Light Yagami. From the Japanese Task Force, her allies were L Lawliet, Watari, and Soichiro Yagami.
Personality
Misora has an INFJ personality type. She is smart and perceptive, able to piece together information so fast that her investigative skills are almost on par with L’s. However, she tends to make decisions based on emotions, which allows Light to manipulate her and exploit her feelings. The loss of her husband and the overwhelming grief it brings cause her to be blinded, making her believe she has nothing left to live for.
Knowledge: 7/10
Creativity: 8/10
Initiative: 7/10
Emotional Strength: 9/10
Social Skills: 6/10
Luck: 1/10
Outfit
Naomi Misora’s classic outfit is a great example of a simple yet stylish look. She often wears black, including a black jacket, turtleneck, and knee-high boots. To balance the dark colors, she chooses blue jeans for some contrast. Her appearance reflects her determination and strong will. Artist Takeshi Obata was excited to design her character, as it was his first time creating someone like Naomi. He used the color black to express her grief over her fiancé’s death and designed her face and hair to complement her clothing. Obata says that Naomi was essentially “born from her clothes.”
Naomi Misora’s outfit in Death Note manga, chapter 14
Naomi Misora’s outfit in Death Note anime, 2006-2007
Naomi Misora’s outfit in the Death Note movie, 2006
Abilities
Skills/Power
Her strengths include high intelligence, detective skills, Capoeira, and skill in handling arms and ammunition.
Weakness
Her biggest weakness was being highly emotional.
Weapons
Naomi frequently kept a firearm in her possession.
Appearances in Popular Media
Her debut in the anime was with Episode 5: Tactics.
Naomi in Episode 5
Her manga debut was in Chapter 8: Woman.
Naomi in Chapter 8
Films
Misora Naomi appeared in the movies, Death Note (2006) and L: Change the WorLd. Similar to the Anime and Manga, she talks to the bus driver from the bus hijacking Ray was on. In this version, though, the driver remembers Light Yagami, which makes him Naomi’s main suspect.
Naomi Misora in the movie Death Note (2006)
Other Media
Novel
Naomi appears in the novel Death Note: Another Note: The Los Angeles BB Murder Cases by author Nisio Isin. The story takes place a few years before Death Note begins and centers on a series of murder cases that L investigates, with Naomi as his agent. She is also a character in L: Change the WorLd, written by M.
TV Drama
In the TV drama, the character Shoko Himura combines aspects of several characters, including Naomi Misora, Halle Lidner, and Mello. The name “Shoko” comes from the alias Naomi uses in the manga series, and just like Naomi, Shoko worked with the FBI and L before the series begins.
Video games
She has made an appearance in video games like L the ProLogue to Death Note: Spiraling Trap, Death Note: Kira Game, and Death Note: Successor to L.
Naomi Misora in Death Note: Kira Game
Voice Actors
Misora Naomi is voiced in Japanese by Naoko Matsui (松井 菜桜子, Matsui Naoko) and in English by Tabitha St. Germain.
- Mandarin: Min Xian Tao (陶敏嫻, Táo Mǐn Xián)
- Cantonese: Luk Wai-ling (陸惠玲, Luk6 Wai6 Ling4)
- Korean: Kim Jeonga
- Tagalog: Grace Cornel
- Spanish: Alicia Laorden (Spain), Claudia Contreras (Mexico)
- Portuguese: Priscila Amorim
- Catalan: Elisa Beuter
- Italian: Domitilla D’ Amico
- French: Marianne Leroux
- German: Silke Linderhaus (anime), Vera Teltz (audio drama)
- Hungarian: Anna Győrfi
- Greek: Pari Trika (Παρή Τρίκα)
Live-Action Actors
Naomi Misora was portrayed in the Japanese Film Series by Asaka Seto (瀬戸朝香, Seto Asaka.)
Asaka Seto as Naomi Misora in the Death Note movie
Death
Anime and Manga
Light tells Naomi that he needs to see her ID before she can join the Task Force, so she shows him her driver’s license. Light writes her name on a piece of the Death Note. When she asks why he keeps looking at his watch, Light hesitates before admitting that he is Kira. Naomi is shocked and realizes that Light has manipulated her into taking her own life. She walks away from Light, and when he offers to let her talk to his father, she declines. Light watches her walk towards a road, and the scene shifts to show her climbing stairs with a rope hanging at the top, suggesting she commits suicide by hanging. Her body is never found due to the conditions Light wrote in the Death Note.
The scene where Naomi Misora dies in the Death Note manga series
Movie
Naomi kidnaps Shiori, Light Yagami’s girlfriend, and holds her at gunpoint to force Light to confess on camera for L. During the kidnapping, Shiori tries to escape, and Naomi ends up shooting and killing her, which is another death planned by Light. Distraught by what she has done and manipulated by the Death Note, Naomi takes her own life by shooting herself in the head.
Facts/Trivia
- Her colleagues also refer to her as Misora Massacre.
- Naomi explains the meaning of her alias, Shoko Maki, to Light, but the show never explores the meaning of her real name. Her first name (Naomi) means “straight” and “beautiful,” while her last name (Misora) can mean “south” and “sky.” Naomi is written in katakana and doesn’t have a specific meaning.
- Her last name might be a dark reference to the way Kira led to her death (suicide by hanging).
- In the Death Note movie, Light discovered her real name from the wedding documents at the church where she and Ray planned to get married.
- In Death Note: Another Note, her birthday is mistakenly stated as February 14 on page 125.
Naomi’s wrong birth date in the novel
- In the anime’s first opening, around the 45-second mark, Naomi is shown holding Raye Penber’s body in a pose similar to Michelangelo’s Pietà.
Naomi holding Raye Penber’s body
- In the TV drama, Raye Penber’s fiancée is Cathy Cambell, who only appears in a photo.
Raye Penber’s fiancée Cathy Cambell
- Although Naomi spent considerable time in America with Raye and for her FBI work, she is naturally fluent in Japanese. In Another Note, while working with L on a case in Los Angeles, she mentions that the English alphabet differs from both Kanji and Hangul. This implies that she can speak or at least read Korean, in addition to Japanese, and is attempting to learn English.
- The 30th Work Anniversary Exhibition of Takeshi Obata, titled “Never Complete,” showcased artwork by the renowned Death Note illustrator spanning his entire career. This art exhibition commenced on July 13, 2019, in Tokyo, Japan, and journeyed through five additional Japanese cities before concluding its final two-month engagement in early 2021.
A poster of Takeshi Obata’s Never Complete exhibition
