Kiyomi Takada appears in the second live-action film adaptation, Death Note: The Last Name. In this version, she is a television reporter working at Sakura TV, a news station known for its sensationalist coverage of the Kira case. Unlike her manga and anime counterpart, she has no prior romantic history with Light Yagami and is presented as an ambitious young professional early in her career. Physically, she is depicted as a striking woman with short, dark hair, reflecting her polished on-screen image.

Takada is a woman of strong convictions and sharp ambition. She openly supports Kira’s ideology, believing that the mass execution of criminals is a form of justice needed to cleanse society. At work, she is frustrated by the station’s management and its main anchor, Saeko Nishiyama, whom she views as unprincipled and willing to compromise for the sake of ratings. Takada prides herself on her professionalism and her refusal to "grovel" for the top position, a stance that reveals her rigid sense of pride. However, this outward morality is paired with a hidden, ruthless ambition and a capacity for jealousy, as demonstrated by her secret wish to see Nishiyama removed from the position she herself covets.

Her role in the story is to act as the Third Kira, a narrative stand-in for the character Kyosuke Higuchi from the original manga. When Rem, a Shinigami acting under Light’s direction, needs a proxy to use a Death Note while Light and Misa Amane are under suspicion, she selects Takada. Motivated by a genuine belief in Kira’s justice as well as a personal desire for career advancement, Takada accepts the notebook. She begins executing criminals, often those covered by Sakura TV, which boosts the station’s ratings and increases her own public profile as the face of Kira’s message. Her motivations are a complex blend of ideological fervor and personal vanity, as she uses the power of the Death Note not only to punish the guilty but also to eliminate her rival, orchestrating Nishiyama’s death in a staged accident to become the lead anchor.

Key relationships in this film are primarily functional. She is a tool for Light Yagami, who manipulates events from behind the scenes. She has no personal connection to Teru Mikami, who does not appear in this version of the story. Her relationship with Rem is that of a master and an instrument, as the Shinigami delivers the notebook and provides instructions. At her workplace, she is in conflict with her producer and the anchor Nishiyama, while her public persona fosters a powerful, abstract relationship with Kira’s followers, who begin to see her as a goddess-like figure.

Takada undergoes a clear development arc from a frustrated but principled journalist to a murderer drunk on power. Initially, she channels her Kira-worship into her reporting. Once she possesses the Death Note, she quickly escalates from following Rem’s commands to proactively using the notebook for personal gain. Her intelligence and caution are notable abilities, allowing her to avoid detection for a time. However, her growing arrogance and the increasing number of killings connected to her news coverage make her a target for the task force led by L. Her ability to function as a public spokesperson becomes her greatest strength, as she uses her television platform to spread Kira’s word, and her eventual downfall highlights her overconfidence. She is cornered by the task force using a ruse and, after being captured and bound, is killed by Light Yagami, who regains his memories and his ownership of the Death Note, writing her name to eliminate the witness.