Best Death Note Shinigami

584 duels later, Ryuk remains #1 in the Death Note ranking with 1529 ELO points, while Rem holds second place at 1226 ELO.

The gap between the top two is stark: 303 ELO points separate Ryuk from Rem, a distance that reflects the apple-loving Shinigami's dominance among fans. Ryuk wins 83% of his duels across 23 matchups, a commanding performance that leaves little doubt about his appeal. Rem, despite her second-place position, shows a more contested profile with a 51% win rate over 37 duels, suggesting she divides opinion more evenly. Below the podium, Jealous claims third with 1045 ELO points and a 38% win rate over 34 duels, followed by Shidoh at 983 ELO after 26 duels. The modest showing of the lower-ranked death gods suggests the community's preferences lean heavily toward the series' most prominent figures, leaving supporting Shinigami trailing far behind.

This ranking draws on 584 duels cast by 152 players, all choosing between 4 contenders in head-to-head matchups. The figures reflect the state of voting as of 10 October 2026. VAINKEURZ builds its rankings from these direct comparisons, letting each duel shift the ELO scores until a clear hierarchy emerges. If you have a take on which Shinigami deserves the top spot, cast your own duels and see how the ranking shifts. Every vote counts toward refining the community verdict.

Updated on October 10, 2026

How this ranking is computed

Every duel won lifts a contender and every loss drops them, by an amount that depends on the opponent's strength: beating the leader is worth more than beating the last. It is an ELO, the same principle as in chess. Duels are not drawn at random — an adaptive entropy sort puts the least predictable match-ups first, which settles the ranking far faster than a full round robin. A worldwide ranking is only published past 30 completed plays. Known limit: a contender who has faced few opponents keeps an approximate score, and the bottom of the table moves more than the podium.

How our rankings are made →