Do we like Ryuk?
A character from Death Note (2003–2006)
Our score: 3 out of 10. Fun company and a great sidekick, but he watches a killing spree for entertainment and never lifts a finger to stop it. We'd enjoy him, but we wouldn't back him.
Ryuk is a shinigami, a god of death, who is bored with life in the Shinigami Realm. He tricks his way into a second Death Note and drops it into the human world to see what will happen. A notebook that kills anyone whose name is written in it is found by brilliant student Light Yagami. Ryuk attaches himself to Light, visible only to people who have touched the notebook. He lives on apples and a sense of mischief.
He is a spectator, not a villain with a plan. He answers Light's questions about the notebook's rules and mocks his schemes, but he mostly won't pick a side. He is witty, unbothered and quite funny. He also never feels any guilt over the people who die because of the notebook he dropped. That makes him a good laugh and a poor role model.
His loyalty is to his own entertainment, and the story makes this clear at the end. Ryuk promised to be there when Light's story finished, and he is. He is also the one who ends Light's story, as shinigami rules require. He doesn't do it out of cruelty or revenge, but because the show is over and he has no reason to keep going. We like him as a character, but as someone to back, he scores low.