Kira

Kira (キラ) is a god-like figure who kills evil people as punishment for their sins. Individuals who write many names in the Death Note and end up getting noticed by the public are generally given the title.

Though they are different individuals, the public views them as one entity. In the Kira investigation, however, several differences in methods of killing are spotted, and it is determined by those working on the case that there is more than one "Kira". They are each given different names accordingly.

Public View of Kira
After Light Yagami begins killing criminals with the Death Note, the large number of deaths attracts attention from the general public as well as law enforcement.

As the deaths of criminals continues to increase, people begin voicing their opinions of the situation and dub these deaths as the work of "Kira", derived from the Japanese pronunciation of the word "killer". The word itself originates in Japan, but later carries throughout the world as Kira continues to gain fame.

It seems that the figure Kira may have been around before Light Yagami obtained the Death Note. After suspicion had begun to arise about the mysterious deaths by heart attack of criminals worldwide, members of the public refer to it as "The Legend of the Savior Kira",  saying "Kira is among us again", and that he is a "messenger from hell".

As the number of criminal deaths rises and no reason for these deaths are found (the only connection between them being heart attacks), law enforcement begins to strongly take notice. A conference is finally held between the representatives of the world's law enforcement agencies (Interpol). The ultimate course of action decided upon is to bring in L, who is considered to be the world's greatest detective, having solved over many other difficult cases.

L decides to address Kira through TV, hoping to gain a reaction and discover Kira's location. He uses a decoy named Lind L. Tailor, a criminal on death row, who announces on live television that he is searching for Kira and that what Kira is doing is wrong. This causes Light to kill him in rage with the Death Note and narrowing his location to Japan's Kanto region.

Kira quickly becomes news, and various TV stations begin broadcasting anything related to Kira. A very notable station is Sakura TV, which airs the program "Kira's Kingdom".

Within the six years of Kira's existence, the public begins to take sides. Some view Kira as a murderer, while others think of Kira as "God". Kira becomes a religious figure to a large portion of the public. Many people who have been wronged by others largely view Kira as their savior and praise Kira, thanking him for bringing criminals to justice. Misa Amane is such an example since her parents' murder has been avenged by Kira and she relentlessly pursues him. Others view Kira as a criminal who has forced the world to live in fear of being killed for any perceived wrong doing. These include L, Near, the Kira Investigation Team and the SPK. Kira's influence becomes such that governments, including the United States under the weak-willed President George Sairas, give in to his influence and call off all attempts to capture him.

After Light Yagami's death the Kira killings stop and the world seemingly returns to normal, however Kira worshipers remain. In the last chapter of the manga, a rather large group of cloaked worshipers is shown, each one carrying a candle. They are traveling through mountains, heading towards a place beneath the moonlight. As they reach their destination, a young woman emerges in the middle of the group and comes to the front. Near the edge of a cliff, she kneels down and places a candle before looking towards the moon.

Kira
This is the list of Kira, in order, with a description of their time as Kira. All of these individuals are viewed as one "Kira" by the public. They are only refered to as these alternate titles by various individuals investigating the Kira case.

Light Yagami
Known As: Kira or First Kira

Light was the first human to use a Death Note within the series. Soon after finding it he decides to use it to cleans the world of evil. He begins killing off criminals with the Death Note, an act which begins to draw attention from local law enforcement and later on, the world. The detective known as L begins a search for "Kira" and eventually suspects Light Yagami as the killer he is looking for. However, there is no physical evidence to prove Light is Kira, a fact that keeps L from ever capturing Light. After L dies, Light assumes the title "L", and his activities remain unchallenged for five years. Then when Near and Mello come onto the scene, their combined efforts expose Light as Kira. Light seemingly loses his sanity after Near tells him he has "lost", having to be shot several times by Matsuda. Light's name is then written by Ryuk in his Death Note, and he dies of a heart attack.

Misa Amane
Known As: Second Kira

Misa was the second human to use a Death Note, and obtained her notebook from the Shinigami Rem. Misa was initially an extreme Kira supporter, due to the fact that Kira passed judgement on a man who murdered her parents. She makes several attempts to communicate to Kira through the use of the media, and eventually tracks down Light Yagami by using her Shinigami Eyes. Misa begins to follow Light's orders after she reveals her identity to him, and becomes a tool to Light, losing her memory and making Kira's judgments many different times to draw suspicion away from him. Although she remains committed to the original Kira's goal, her devotion largely subsides in favor of simply helping Light Yagami, who she falls in love with.

After coming to the conclusion that the Second Kira had met the first, and being unable to prove that Misa Amane was guilty, the Kira investigation refocuses its attention on the first Kira.

Misa was the only living Kira after Light's death. She had relinquished her memories of the Death Notes shortly before Light died, and since the SPK was now in possession of both notebooks, there was no way for her to ever regain her memories. In the manga, she commits suicide one year later, on Valentine's Day. In the anime's finale, Misa last seen standing outside the safety rail on the edge of a skyscraper looking into the sunset.

Kyosuke Higuchi
Known As: Third Kira or Yotsuba Kira

Higuchi is an executive of Yotsuba Corporations and the only person to hold the title of Kira who is in no way connected to the original Kira, Light Yagami. He obtained a Death Note from Rem after Light and Misa relinquished their Death Notes and their memories to avoid conviction. He only judged criminals for a short time, until Light and Misa were freed from imprisonment due to the deal Rem was told to offer: "kill criminals and you may write any other names you wish".

He later used the Death Note for selfish reasons such as promotion and furthering the business of Yotsuda. For that, he arranged for various colleagues to hold secret meetings in order to discuss how to further their company's fortunes by using Kira's powers &mdash; though they were not told that he himself was Kira. He also continued to kill criminals, though Light notes in chapter 47 "Impertinence" that he also killed people who had caused death unintentionally, such as a driver who had caused an accidental fatality in a car crash, something that the original Kira would never have done since he targeted hardened, established and bloodthirsty criminals.

Higuchi was later exposed as the new Kira and was arrested. His Death Note was given to Light who recovered his memories as Kira and killed Higuchi before he was even put in a police car.

Teru Mikami
Known As: Fourth Kira or X-Kira (by Near)

Mikami has always had a strong sense of justice and is the most understanding and committed to Kira's goals. After suspicion of Misa rose again, Light mailed Mikami her Death Note. Mikami carried out Lights orders as perfect as possible, seeing him as God. Despite this devotion, it was a mistake made by Mikami that exposed Light as Kira. In the manga he dies in prison, though in the anime he stabs himself in the chest with his pen and bleeds to death.

C-Kira
True identity never revealed, C-Kira appears in the one-shot set three years after the end of the series. C-Kira's Shinigami was Midora, and the origin of the Death Note which C-Kira used is unknown. C-Kira would kill the elderly, suicidal, immobile and any others who wished to die. C-Kira gained these sources via the Internet, and once by killing the members of the audience of a live television program who begged him to kill them. C-Kira's reign was short. He was talked down by L who made it clear that he was not going to even bother to investigate the case. C-Kira then wrote his own name down in his Death Note and died. The name of C-Kira was used by Near to mean "Cheap Kira," as Near has a very low opinion of the person.

Trivia

 * In the 6 years of Kira's existence, no one was ever convicted of being Kira. Although Higuchi, Mikami, and Light were arrested for their roles as Kira, they all died before they were officially sentenced.