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Grim Reapers. Sometimes appearing in long dark robes, skeletal in shape, bearing scythes. Sometimes seen in flowing dresses surrounded by flowers. And other times grim reapers are seen in the shape of anime characters known as shinigami. What is a shinigami? Well, we have a handy post from past Otakutober’s you can find here to acquaint yourself with the term, but essentially, they are beings/creatures that invite or lead humans to death. They are extremely popular in anime and manga alike, so for today’s 13 Days of Otakutober post, we thought what better thing to do than bring you a list of our top five shinigami characters? Without further ado, here’s our picks!

Ryuk (Death Note)

What kind of shinigami list would this be if Ryuk wasn’t at the top? Ryuk is the epitome of what you’d think of when hearing shinigami. An otherwordly creature with dark wings. He’s devious and playful. Here simply for his own entertainment, Ryuk is a loveable menace ready to lead souls to the afterlife.

Botan (Yu Yu Hakusho)

Opposite to the monstrous Ryuk, we have the lovely Botan. Depicted as a young woman in a kimono riding a broom like a witch, Botan’s job is to gently guide the souls of humans to the afterlife. Botan is the furthest thing from menacing with a bubbly and outgoing personality.

Grell (Kuroshitsuji)

Perhaps the most flamboyant Shinigami I’ve ever seen, Grell from Kuroshitsuji is an interesting combo of menacing and bubbly. Depicted wearing glasses and wielding a chainsaw, Grell is seen in the fandom as an eccentric who is infatuated with the resident demon butler. In Kuroshitsuji, shinigami get to see humans’ lives in the form of film at the end of their lives–a nice and interesting touch that sets that version of shinigami apart from others.

Tsuzuki (Descendants of Darkness)

I thought I’d never mention this anime on this blog but here we are. Tzuszuki, despite being a shinigami in name, honestly feels like an average shounen protagonist from the 1990s and early 2000s. An extremely likeable character, Tzusuku is very cheerful at first but hides darker tendencies underneath.

Ichigo (Bleach)

Just like Ryuk, no list of shinigami could be complete without Ichigo. While I (Luna) am personally not a huge Bleach fan, even I know not to disrespect Ichigo by not including him. Always trying to present his ‘cool’ personality, Ichigo is a powerful shinigami who is hard working and driven. While full of himself or disrespectful at time, Ichigo still has very admirable qualities that make him an overall good person and a compelling protagonist.

Those are our picks for some of our favorite shinigami! Coming in all kinds of forms and personalities, I feel that this list does a good job encompassing the many different depictions of shinigami in anime. If you have any favorite shinigami characters we didn’t mention, let us know in the comments! We’ll see you tomorrow for another terrifying day of Otakutober.

xoxo

Luna