Ryuk is a Shinigami from the Shinigami Realm who experiences profound boredom in his existence. To alleviate this, he deliberately obtains a second Death Note and drops it into the human world, intending for a human to discover and use it for unpredictable and entertaining outcomes. His primary motivation is personal amusement, with no inherent loyalty to humans who acquire the notebook. Physically, Ryuk has blueish-gray or purplish skin, an extremely slim and tall build with abnormally long limbs, spiky black hair, thin blue-gray lips, sharp pointed teeth, and large round yellow eyes with red irises. Retractable feather-like wings on his back enable flight. He often wears rings on his fingers. His behavior displays detachment and dark humor, observing events with amusement while rarely intervening unless it serves his interests, such as obtaining apples or prolonging entertaining situations. He exhibits significant addiction to human-world apples, comparing their effect on Shinigami to human dependencies like alcohol or cigarettes, and suffers withdrawal symptoms including physical contortions if deprived. He also shows shyness around human females, becoming intangible to avoid physical contact. In *Death Note Relight - Visions of a God*, Ryuk serves as the narrative frame. He recounts Light Yagami's initial use of the Death Note to an unnamed Shinigami who offers a Shinigami apple for the story. This framing presents the condensed retelling of the anime's first half as Ryuk's recollection. After concluding his tale, Ryuk pauses to reflect on Light's nature before realizing the listener has departed, presumably for the human world. He muses aloud that the unnamed Shinigami might find an interesting human and witness unforgettable events, addressing Light rhetorically in his final line. Across other official media, Ryuk's core traits and narrative function remain consistent though interactions vary. In the manga's conclusion, he writes Light's name after Light is shot and begs for help, deeming the situation no longer entertaining. In the anime adaptation, he writes Light's name to avoid boredom during potential imprisonment. The live-action film series depicts him similarly, though he later attempts to tempt L into using the Death Note after Light's demise. A spin-off film shows him encouraging L again before the notebook's destruction. Ryuk appears in the miniseries *Death Note: New Generation*, delivering a Death Note to a new human and commenting "Interesting." In the musical adaptation, he interacts more with the Shinigami Rem and actively reminds her of rules against helping humans, ultimately writing Light's name due to renewed boredom. The pilot manga chapter portrays him as more incompetent. In the one-shot sequel manga, Ryuk gives a Death Note to Minoru Tanaka and facilitates an auction scheme, resulting in new Shinigami rules and Tanaka's death. Symbolically, Ryuk embodies the neutrality and inevitability of death. He explicitly states his impartiality and operates as an invisible observer, representing death's omnipresence and impartiality. His actions underscore that death cannot be mastered, bargained with, or defeated, as shown by his ultimate role in ending Light's life across all circumstances. This symbolic role remains consistent in every appearance.