Hideki Ide

Full Name: Hideki Ide

Gender: Male

Date of Birth: September 29, 1969 (1972 in the anime continuity)

Age:

Part I: 34–35

Part II: 40–42

Special One-Shot: 44

New Special One-Shot: 49

Height: 170 cm

Weight: 62 kg

Blood Type: B

Occupation: Detective, National Police Agency (Japan)

Likes: Literature

Dislikes: Variety shows

Distinctive Features: No eyebrows, usually wears a green suit

Voice Actor (anime): Eiro Ishikawa

Hideki Ide is a member of the Japanese Kira countermeasures team and a colleague of Souichirou Yagami and Shuuichi Aizawa.

He is cautious, principled, and skeptical of mysterious figures like L Lawliet, but deeply committed to justice and the Kira investigation.

Although he initially leaves L’s investigation team, he continues to pursue Kira independently with a handpicked group of officers.

He later returns to the main task force in Part II and often appears as a grounded, straight man to Touta Matsuda’s impulsive antics.

Initial Involvement in the Kira Task Force

At the beginning of the series, Ide serves as a detective in the National Police Agency and joins the Japanese Kira task force under Souichirou Yagami.

He is one of the officers originally assigned to deal with the mass-murder case of Kira.

As the danger of confronting Kira becomes clear, many officers resign out of fear.

In response, Souichirou reorganizes the task force, limiting it to those willing to risk their lives to catch Kira.

Distrust of L and Departure from the Task Force

Ide initially accepts this renewed commitment and stays in the reorganized task force.

However, he cannot accept the policy of working alongside L Lawliet, who refuses to show his face or reveal his identity.

Because he does not trust someone who remains completely hidden, Ide leaves the official task force shortly after it is rebuilt.

At this stage, it seems like his role in the story has ended.

Independent Kira Investigation

Later, it is revealed that Ide did not simply walk away.

After leaving L’s task force, he quietly gathers fellow officers within the police whom he personally trusts.

With this small group, he continues to investigate Kira independently of L.

This makes him a rare example of someone who both rejects L’s methods and still actively fights Kira.

Second Kira Incident

During the Second Kira incident involving the television station Sakura TV, Souichirou Yagami suffers a heart attack brought on by overwork while rushing to stop a broadcast.

Even though he is in poor health, he forces himself to intervene, risking his life to halt the Kira-related program.

Ide appears at this critical moment, leading a police unit to meet and protect Souichirou.

This scene confirms that Ide was still deeply involved in the case despite having left L’s official operation.

Yotsuba Group Incident

In the Yotsuba arc, L’s team begins investigating the powerful Yotsuba Corporation for ties to Kira.

During this period, Shuuichi Aizawa leaves L’s base for various reasons and reconnects with Ide.

Aizawa explains the situation with Yotsuba to Ide.

Recognizing the importance of the case, Ide entrusts Aizawa with command over the independent investigation team he has gathered.

While L and his group succeed in identifying Kyousuke Higuchi as the Yotsuba Kira, L says that his side will handle the actual arrest.

Even so, Ide and Aizawa provide support and assistance.

When Higuchi attempts to flee using the Death Note and the power of the shinigami eyes, Ide and his colleagues play a key role in stopping him.

They use a patrol car with smoke film on the windows to block Higuchi’s escape, preventing him from seeing their names and killing them, and help bring him into custody.

Return to the Official Task Force

Between Part I and Part II, a five-year time skip occurs.

During this period, Ide formally rejoins the Japanese Kira investigation task force.

By the time Light Yagami has become the new L in public, Ide is once again a stable member of the core team.

He works diligently, handling his assignments efficiently and earning special trust from Shuuichi Aizawa.

Position Between Light and Near

As suspicion toward Light Yagami grows inside the task force, Ide begins to harbor doubts about Light as well.

However, he does not fully commit to believing that Light is Kira, maintaining a cautious, middle-ground perspective.

At the same time, he is skeptical of Near from the start.

Near’s manipulative style and high-handed tactics do not sit well with Ide.

When Near orchestrates the kidnapping incident involving Misa Amane and Kanzou Mogi, Ide is furious.

His reaction underscores his discomfort with Near’s methods and his desire to protect his colleagues, even while pursuing Kira.

Attitude Toward Kira and Ideology

Ide firmly wants to catch Kira and sees Kira as a criminal.

However, like Touta Matsuda (though to a lesser extent), he shows some degree of understanding or sympathy for the public support Kira receives.

He recognizes that Kira’s actions have reduced crime and attracted followers who see Kira as a savior.

This nuance makes his stance more complex than simple blind opposition.

Relationship with Romance and Social Awareness

Ide is remarkably inexperienced in romance.

In one conversation, he accidentally reveals that he has no romantic experience at all.

After this admission, Matsuda repeatedly teases him about it.

During Light and Kiyomi Takada’s secret meeting, Ide has trouble following their intimate and layered conversation, highlighting his awkwardness with romantic situations.

Dynamic with Touta Matsuda

By the final stages of the story, Ide and Matsuda spend more time together.

This is partly because Aizawa and Mogi are often away, busy surveilling Light and Misa.

As a result, Ide and Matsuda develop a kind of odd-couple partnership.

Ide frequently gets genuinely angry at Matsuda’s reckless comments or stunts, and he often plays the straight man, scolding Matsuda or correcting him.

Their interactions become more prominent in the finale.

In the last chapter, Ide, rather than some of the more central characters, is given notable focus, with his conversations with Matsuda forming a key emotional thread near the end.

Ide is serious, rational, and somewhat conservative in his thinking.

He values transparency and accountability, which is why he originally rejects working under the unseen L.

He is loyal to his colleagues, particularly Souichirou Yagami and Shuuichi Aizawa.

His independent Kira investigation shows both initiative and integrity.

Despite his stern demeanor, Ide is not cold.

He shows concern for others, gets visibly angry when his teammates are endangered, and can be unintentionally humorous due to his discomfort with romance and his reactions to Matsuda.

His lack of eyebrows and trademark green suit make him visually memorable.

These traits, combined with his grounded personality, give him a distinct presence even though he is not one of the main protagonists.

Souichirou Yagami

Souichirou is Ide’s superior and the head of the Japanese Kira task force.

Ide deeply respects Souichirou, as shown by his efforts to protect him during the Second Kira incident and by continuing the Kira investigation even after leaving L’s team.

Shuuichi Aizawa

Ide and Shuuichi Aizawa are colleagues in the National Police Agency and are described as being in the same recruitment year, effectively making them peers.

They are close friends and trust each other deeply.

When Aizawa leaves L’s team, he reconnects with Ide and joins the independent investigation group that Ide formed.

Ide trusts Aizawa enough to hand over command of his gathered officers, showing just how highly he regards Aizawa’s judgment.

Touta Matsuda

Matsuda often annoys Ide, but the two gradually develop a strong working bond.

Matsuda teases Ide about his lack of romantic experience, and Ide responds with irritation and exasperation.

Despite this, their interaction becomes one of the more lighthearted and human aspects of the late story.

By the finale, their conversations give insight into how the events of the Kira case have affected ordinary members of the task force.

Light Yagami

Ide respects Light’s apparent dedication and capable leadership when Light is publicly acting as L.

At the same time, as suspicions around Light grow, Ide begins to doubt him.

Near’s manipulations and Aizawa’s discoveries push Ide to take his suspicions seriously.

However, when he sees Light seemingly working hard on the investigation, especially in the case involving Kiyomi Takada as Kira’s spokesperson, Ide’s doubts temporarily ease.

Near

Ide is wary of Near from the outset.

He dislikes Near’s cold, calculating strategy and the way Near uses risky plans involving kidnappings and psychological pressure.

When Misa Amane and Kanzou Mogi are abducted in Near-related schemes, Ide reacts with intense anger.

Nonetheless, he continues to operate in the uncomfortable space between Light and Near, trying to stay morally consistent.

Manga and Anime

In the original Death Note manga and its anime adaptation, Ide appears as a recurring supporting character.

The anime follows his basic arc from the manga, including his departure from L’s early task force, his independent investigation, his involvement in the Yotsuba incident, and his return in Part II.

However, because he leaves the main investigation early in Part I, many adaptations and spin-offs cut or reduce his role.

Even within the anime, his screen time is smaller compared to core characters like Light, L, Near, and Mello.

Live-Action Films

Hideki Ide does not appear in the live-action film adaptations of Death Note.

Instead, an original character, a female detective named Sawa, is introduced to fill a similar narrative function.

Live-Action Drama

In the live-action television drama adaptation, Ide is also omitted.

His role is effectively replaced by a female detective named Akiko Himura, who occupies a similar space in the investigative team.

Stage and Other Media

Due to his early departure from L’s first task force and his relatively subtle role, Ide is often omitted from stage plays and various other Death Note media.

When adaptations condense the story or focus on the most central figures, characters like Ide are among the first to be left out.

Ide is one of the few task force members who openly rejects working under L while still continuing to fight Kira on his own terms.

This gives him a unique moral and professional position within the cast.

His fondness for literature contrasts humorously with his discomfort around romance and flirtation.

This contrast is especially visible during the scenes where he struggles to follow Light and Kiyomi Takada’s conversation.

Although he is not a front-line protagonist, Ide receives unexpected spotlight near the very end of the manga.

His late-story interactions with Matsuda help humanize the aftermath of the Kira case and show how it affected “ordinary” members of the task force.