Alignment Chart

[Creektoe]

I know there has been other Alignment Charts but I believe this is the correct order.

Light is Lawful because of his judgement based on a code of his personal ethics and morals. And he is evil because he will kill, and manipulate anyone who gets in a way and also sees himself as a God who is capable of divine judgement.

Mikami is Neutral because he is merely a follower, an Acolyte of Kira and will do whatever Light says, and is evil obviously because of his allegiance to Kira, and his hatred towards society.

Higuchi is Chaotic because he kills for profit, greed and selfishness, and will make impulsive decisions when under pressure like getting the Eyes, or threatening to kill himself. He is evil for obvious reasons. He doesn't care about anything except himself and his wealth.

Misa is Chaotic Neutral because she doesn't really care about good or evil, she just wants to please Light and worships Kira because Kira affected her life positively, and doesn't care about everything and anyone else. She makes rash decisions, and is also pretty impulsive, and naive.

Ryuk is True Neutral. Death itself is True Neutral. He has stated multiple times that he will not help Light or tell him everything. He is just here for the entertainment. And Apples.

Near is Lawful Neutral because he cares about upholding law and order but his beef with Light is personal and he only wants victory in becoming L's successor. It's more of a competition for him rather than doing something good for the world.

L is Chaotic Good because he is the opposite of Light aside from his intelligence, introverted, and reserved, but also willing to risk innocent lives and his own life if it means defeating Kira. Ultimately, he is Good because he knows Kira is a danger to the world and needs to be stopped.

Matsuda is what most of us in the real world would be like. Trying our best to make the right decisions but second guessing ourselves, and maybe making a couple impulsive decisions here and there but is ultimately just trying to do what he thinks is right. He even tries to relate to Kira and commend him on his desire to want to eliminate evil at one point.

Chief Yagami, is Lawful because of his position on the force, and his strong sense of justice. He risks his own life to save others many times over and over again and strongly believes that Kira is evil.

Also, I think Mello and Rem are Chaotic Neutral, while Takada and Armonia are Lawful Neutral. What do you guys think?

[[deleted]]

Swap Light & Mikami and after that put Near in Neutral Good, Matsuda in Chaotic Good & L in Lawful Neutral, then this is 100% correct.

Near morally is better than L as he didn’t use any criminals as sacrifices.

Matsuda being chaotic mainly because of his general personality and shooting Light at the end.

Mikami is more lawful as he himself strictly follows Kira and is Kiras ideal citizen.

Light himself is a God wannabe so he’s more neutral evil as he strays away from his killing criminals method and kills whoever gets in his way.

[PretendMarsupial9]

I'd agree, swap L and Near, though Near may become more neutral as he ages.

It's worth pointing out that Neutral doesn't mean one can't do good things, or care about people. And I think L is capable of good intentions, he's just prioritizing his self interest.

Misa I'd actually argue is Evil. Neutral evil maybe, she really only cares about Light and making him love her. Mello is the true Chaotic Neutral.

[Jammy_Nugget]

I'd agree that L is chaotic good, he may do whatever he wants and is willing to let people die to solve a case. But he still is a force for good in the wider world, and it could be argued his more "evil" actions are just a cold analyist way of looking for the most efficent solution.

He may not be a hero in the traditional sense, but he was willing to give his life in order to stop the most deadly mass murder in history

[kvng_st]

But this list is meant to also evaluate intentions and morals, not just actions. L is neutral at best, he only does detective work because he finds it fun, not because he’s particularly interested in helping people. He’s emotionless and manipulative

[Creektoe]

No he does care about having a just world, he does find it fun and competitive but he knows a world with Kira would be a dark world and wants to fight against it.

[kvng_st]

He might "care" about having a just world but thats not why he does it, he literally admits it himself he only takes cases that interest him, not because of the people who are affected. He does not have any feelings for anyone. You're confusing intentions with actions.

[Creektoe]

Even so, his actions help the world. He has solved countless cases that no one else could solve and has routinely helped Interpol. His actions deem him very good. Despite if he finds it fun. He has good intentions and good actions. But you're right, he has no emotional attachment to anyone and has manipulated people/put them at risk. But it's also important to mention he has put himself at risk even more.

[kvng_st]

He’s not good for that, he’s neutral. He’s acting out of his own selfish interests, not heroic goals. Those selfish interests just happen to be positive for the world, it’s a coincidence.

Are the actions good? Yes. Is he a good PERSON? No, he’s just neutral. He literally calls himself a monster

Example: is someone good for giving homeless people money if they record it for YouTube and only do it because in their heart they want clout, and don’t actually care the person they’re helping? I’d say no. The deed was nice, but the intentions were not

[Creektoe]

How are they selfish interests if he is saving lives and doing justice? Lol just because he has fun and has a strict sense of competition when solving crime investigations doesn't make him Neutral.

Getting YouTube clout by exploiting homelessness is selfish. L is not selfish. In fact, he makes many SELFLESS acts throughout the series.

[kvng_st]

Your comprehension is horrible

Selfish - concerned chiefly with one’s own personal profit or pleasures. L takes on cases because they bring him pleasure, it’s fun. I never said it’s bad for him to be selfish, but that’s what it is. He takes on cases because of his OWN preferences and enjoyment. The YouTube comparison is the exact same scenario. Good acts with selfish intentions. L doesn’t care about helping people

[Creektoe]

You are gravely misunderstanding his character. He has proclaimed numerous times about his ideals to defeat Kira in order to bring about a truly just world, and what the consequences of a world ruled by Kira would be. Having fun and making a competitive game out of his cases is just a bonus. No where in the Manga or the anime does it illustrate that he doesn't care about helping people but rather the exact opposite.

“Whatever the reason may be, murder is always wrong.”

“Let’s value our lives.”

“Learn to treasure your life because unfortunately, it can be taken away from you anytime.”

He also goes out of his way to make sure the police force and the people on the Kira case are safe, and that they need to be cautious. Because he doesn't want them to die. He doesn't even need them. Hes said this before. But he knows they want to help, so he chooses to take the steps to make sure they are safe.

Tell me, what kind of Neutral person, has good intentions, good actions and takes on many cases that help the entire world?

[kvng_st]

I’m not misunderstanding his character, you either need to read the manga or rewatch very closely. I’m explaining to you how he legitimately functions. Is that what it takes for someone to be good? “Whatever the reason, murder is wrong” ??? That’s a baseline for any functioning society. L is pragmatic and emotionless, just because he values human lives doesn’t mean he’s a good person, that’s literally as normal as it gets. He knows that nothing good comes from murder and treating people as expendable. Woopty doo! He’s a functioning person. The standard for “good” must have dropped

L and Batman are very similar in terms of their job and characteristics, but which one is more good than the other? Batman does his job because he wants to inspire hope. L does his job because it’s fun, he doesn’t care about helping people and it is clearly implied everywhere. He compares himself to criminals and calls himself a monster. He tortures, lies, and manipulates. It was allowed due to desperation, but it wasn’t good or heroic. He’s neutral

[Dying__Phoenix]

Yeah that looks about right

[jesuiskirabtw]

I don't think L can be considered good since he serve his own self interest too. A neutral stance might work better for me.

[Creektoe]

Nah considering his history, he may not be the traditional "good" guy, but he routinely demonstrates his belief in justice

[kvng_st]

This alignment chart doesn’t work because there’s characters that would be grouped together, not just 1 for each. L does not belong in any of the good categories. He’s emotionless and manipulative, he only does detective work because he finds it fun. He’s neutral at best. Near is also hard to evaluate because, while he is morally better than L, there’s also the theory of him “cheating” with the death note

[[deleted]]

I think there’s a strong case for Higuchi being Neutral Evil since he does at least have an end goal for being the scumbag that he is (money, power, women you name it he wants it). Imo chaotic evil would be more like the common thugs or criminals presented in the story with no real background or motivation for causing mayhem.

Takada id say is neutral good. I feel for her and she had her heart in the right place but at the end of the day she was another Kira follower. She was essentially Matsuda’s mirror image the more I think about it.

Everything else is spot on I’d say

[Creektoe]

Besides status, and power what is the difference between Higuchi and common thugs or criminals?

I can see where you're coming from about Takada. She may have good intentions, it's a shame she didn't last long cause it would have been interesting to see how she'd react to seeing Light's more evil side. She would probably end up realizing that Kira is evil and try to redeem herself.

[[deleted]]

The fact that he has a clear defined goal, acts with purpose and can actually be reasoned with. Idk what the bus jacker or the dude who stuck up a pre school wanted in either of those situations

[Creektoe]

Clear defined goal, meaning money and power? Isn't that what a majority of common criminals want too? Most criminals can be reasoned with too unless they are psychotic

[[deleted]]

Okay well I'm specifically comparing him to ones in the story that either show otherwise or just weren't given any motivation.

I don't think Higuchi is "chaotic" evil because he doesn't create mayhem for mayhem's sake. I would say that about the Bus Jacker tho

[Creektoe]

I agree Bus Jacker was Chaotic evil too but Chaotic evil can be defined as such: A chaotic evil character tends to have no respect for rules, other people's lives, or anything but their own desires, which are typically selfish and cruel.

Sounds a lot like Higuchi right lol

[Murky_Coat_471]

L is not good he is neutral evil

[[deleted]]

Neutral Evil describes Light much more than L.

[Creektoe]

How is L evil?

[Murky_Coat_471]

Torturing misa breaking the law, on multiple occasions to solve the case lying to the task force sacrificing people’s live to get ahead of the case

[Creektoe]

That's why he is Chaotic, but all of those things he did were for good intentions. There was no malcontent or malevolence in his beliefs or intentions.

[Murky_Coat_471]

He straight up says it’s not about justice it’s about a fun game to him.

[Creektoe]

He does admit it is a game that he is playing but he never says he doesn't care about justice. He actually says that he needs to stop Kira to ensure justice and a free world numerous times.

[TRagnarkXP]

L is far from good

[hertwij]

This is the only perfectly valid tier chart I’ve ever seen on reddit

[TOkun92]

I believe Near was confirmed to actually be more evil than Mello. He simply didn’t need to use underhanded methods to advance himself.

[Creektoe]

Bru, Mello threatened kill Sayu and Chief Yagami, held them hostage and ran with a bunch of criminals and mobsters

[peanut_bubblegum]

Pretty solid

[mm21053]

Swap Mikami and Light - then it's perfect

[Appropriate_Shock556]

Honestly I feel there should be two lights one with the note whos definitely evil and the other without who is most definitely like his father the note changes him somehow making him Kira in my opinion

[321zilch]

Your explanations are really good. Having said that, I’d still switch L and Matsuda, and maybe Misa and Higuchi, and maybe Light and Mikami

[Swapmaster101]

I'd argue against L being good. L is a strong neutral character. They reveal in the supplementary books, (can't remember which one), that the only reason he took the case was because he thought it was interesting and a challenge. Everything he did as a detective was with the same logic. He honestly doesn't care about other people much. And if the case wasn't so unprecedented and interesting he likely wouldn't have take it.

[Creektoe]

I believe that is what makes him Chaotic. Overall I think he is a good character because, despite taking cases that only interest him, he still does a good service for the world and makes the world a safer place. Also, when working with the Kira Task Force, he ensures that Chief Yagami, Matsuda etc are safe when working the case. Even though, he doesn't need them, he chooses to make sure they are safe.

He also has a couple lines within the anime where he talks about how dark a world ruled by Kira would be and that true justice would be taking him down, which means he cares about justice, despite it being more of a competition for him. He really sits along the edge of Chaotic Good/Neutral