Shinigami

**Shinigami** (死神, Shinigami, lit. "god(s) of death" or "death god) are a type of death god from Japanese folklore. They are sometimes referred to by their literal translation "god(s) of death," or by the Western equivalent "grim reapers".

In the series, they are a race of extra-dimensional beings who survive by killing humans to extend their own lives. Shinigami 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 to extend their own lifespan.

## General information

### Appearance

Shinigami vary widely in appearance, and their bodies are built in ways that would seem impossible by Earthly standards.

Although some Shinigami do not appear to have limbs capable of holding objects (such as hands, feet, etc.), all Shinigami are able to hold and write in order to use their respective notebooks.

Shinigami are also capable of flight and use wings as a mode of transportation, especially in the Human World. When their wings are not in use, they retract.

### Nature and abilities

The Shinigami each have a unique personality and level of intelligence. Each Shinigami has his or her own written language, with some opting for letters and others for pictures. Takeshi Obata assumes that all Shinigami can understand each others' languages. Some Shinigami can also speak, read and write in Earthly languages.

Although Shinigami have jobs, they do not have a required amount of work to do. Their main job is to find humans they can take life from and write their name in their Death Note. Some Shinigami tend to forget to write names down, causing them to die. Shinigami can also save other humans they care about if that person is about to die; however, the purpose of a Shinigami is to end life, not to give it. Any Shinigami who goes against this will be killed. For the most part, Shinigami live a very vague and meaningless existence. As mentioned by Ryuk, the only reason Shinigami even prolong their own lives by taking the lives of humans is because even they are afraid of death. Shinigami who die are reduced to dust, and their remaining lifespan (converted to human time) is given to the human they saved. If a Shinigami continues to fill their Death Note with names, they will live forever, under normal circumstances.

Shinigami may be male or female. They cannot and are not permitted to have sexual relations with humans, nor can they have sexual intercourse with one another. They are also unable to reproduce. Despite this, Shinigami may still carry emotions pertaining to the opposite sex. In addition, humans cannot easily tell which Shinigami are male and which Shinigami are female, although Shinigami inherently know each other's gender.

Shinigami can materialize and de-materialize their bodies at will and are capable of walking through walls and other objects. The only humans that will see this phenomenon are the ones who have touched a Death Note (i.e. only contact with a Death Note will allow you to see a Shinigami). Physical attacks are useless against a Shinigami. Even if one allows you to shoot/stab them, their wounds heal almost instantaneously and they leave no apparent effects.

In the past, Shinigami once needed sustenance, but due to the Shinigami realm having no consistent source of nourishment, their insides began to evolve making them no longer require such sustenance. In addition, they do not require rest and will not die from a lack of sleep. Ryuk once says that Shinigami view sleeping as "evidence of laziness."

## Shinigami Eyes and the Death Note

The main thing all Shinigami have in common is the Death Note. This supernatural notebook allows them to end the lives of humans before their times, adding the human's remaining lifespans to their own. In this manner, a Shinigami can extend their lives indefinitely. To assist in this, their eyes allow them to see the names and remaining lifespans of humans by seeing the faces of their victims. They are able to give Shinigami Eyes to the human they possess, in exchange for half of that human's remaining lifespan (i.e. a human which is supposed to live 40 more years will lose 20 years of their life in order to receive the Shinigami Eyes. The twenty years the human loses are given to the Shinigami that they are making the trade with). Shinigami give this ability to the human by placing their open hand above the humans head.

All Shinigami must possess at least one Death Note, a necessity to extend their lives. Should they manage to come across a second, it should—at least in principle—be returned to the Shinigami King. When a Death Note is dropped in the Human World, humans who pick up the notebook may use that Death Note to kill others. If a notebook ever reaches the human world and is picked up by a human, the Shinigami must accompany the human until they die or the Death Note is willingly given back. Shinigami can explain the purpose of the Death Note to the human, but this is done at their discretion.