Hal Lidner is a fictional character from the manga and anime series Death Note, portrayed as a brilliant but morally flexible investigator and one of the few prominent women in the later part of the story.
She is an SPK member, a former CIA and FBI operative (depending on the version), and uses the alias Hal Lidner while her real name in the original work is Halle Bullook.
Name: Hal Lidner
Real Name (manga/anime): Halle Bullook
Alias (drama): Shoko Himura (used as an undercover name in the police)
Gender: Female
Date of Birth: 18 February 1980
Age: 29 → 30 (in the main story), 33 in the special chapter, 39 in the new special chapter
Height: 180 cm
Weight: 52 kg (comically underweight, treated as a running gag by the author)
Blood Type: B
Zodiac Sign: Aquarius
Guardian Planet: Uranus
Guardian Stone: Amethyst
Likes: Bathing
Dislikes: Moths
Affiliations (manga/anime):
SPK (Special Provision for Kira)
Former CIA intelligence officer
Affiliations (drama):
Tokyo Metropolitan Police, First Investigation Division, Second Investigation Support Unit
Former FBI agent
Voice Actor (anime): Akeno Watanabe
Live-Action Drama Actress: Megumi Seki
Hal Lidner is cool-headed, professional, and very results-oriented.
She can be loyal to her mission but is not rigid about authority or hierarchy.
She is willing to cooperate with morally ambiguous figures like Mello if it helps solve the case.
This pragmatic attitude reflects her background as an intelligence officer who values outcomes over official lines.
Despite her strict and serious aura, Hal has a personal side: she loves relaxing in the bath and has a very specific dislike of moths.
Her appearance and charisma often make her stand out, and she is aware enough to use her image strategically when needed.
Hal has long, silver-tinged blonde hair and striking model-like looks.
Within the story, she is described as so beautiful that she is featured in magazine articles.
Her tall, slender build (180 cm and 52 kg) gives her a runway-model silhouette rather than a typical action-hero physique.
Nonetheless, she is highly athletic and physically capable.
Hal is introduced as a former CIA intelligence officer in the original storyline.
This background explains her talent for infiltration, information gathering, and flexible thinking.
She is an excellent field operative with outstanding athletic ability.
She is proficient in joint-lock techniques and close-quarters combat, able to subdue targets efficiently.
Her investigative instincts are sharp, and she is quick to follow leads that others might overlook.
Her information-handling style is also very “spy-like”: she is ready to negotiate, trade data, or make uneasy alliances if it helps her reach the truth.
Joining the SPK
In the original story, Hal becomes a member of the Special Provision for Kira (SPK), the organization formed by Near to capture Kira.
She uses the name Hal Lidner publicly, while her real name is Halle Bullook.
One key reason she applies to join SPK is deeply personal.
During the Yotsuba case, someone she knew was killed by the so-called “Yotsuba Kira,” which she believes was a Death Note-style killing.
The victim may have been a person whose death benefited the Yotsuba Corporation, or possibly someone who died in a way associated with a light crime.
Either way, Hal is convinced it was Kira’s doing and seeks revenge as well as justice.
Methods and Relationship with Mello
Hal is faithful to her assignment and carries out her duties without sloppiness.
She follows Near’s strategies but does not hesitate to take independent action when needed.
She also secretly works with Mello, providing him with information in exchange for leads and leverage against Kira.
This dual cooperation shows her espionage mindset: she focuses on results, not strict loyalty to one chain of command.
Her willingness to deal with both Near and Mello helps push the Kira investigation forward from multiple angles.
It also positions her as one of the few characters who can navigate between the rival successors to L Lawliet.
Guarding Kiyomi Takada
As part of the Kira investigation, Hal becomes a bodyguard and monitor for Kiyomi Takada.
Her mission is to protect Takada while also spying on her, since Takada is connected to Light Yagami and suspected of being involved with Kira.
Hal’s watchful presence and investigative work during this assignment are part of Near’s broader strategy to expose Light.
She uses her observation skills and combat training to keep Takada under tight surveillance.
Merged Role with Naomi Misora
In the live-action drama adaptation of Death Note, the SPK does not appear at all.
As a result, Hal’s role is heavily reworked and partially merged with Naomi Misora.
In this version, Hal uses the fake name Shoko Himura while working inside the police.
Here, “Hal Lidner” is no longer an alias but is treated as her real name.
Hal is a detective in the Second Investigation Support Unit of the First Investigation Division of the Metropolitan Police Department.
She joins the Kira Countermeasures Headquarters, claiming she has found clues about a serial killer and directly asks Souichirou Yagami to be allowed into the task force.
Undercover Agent and L’s Hidden Trump Card
Unlike other members of the Kira Countermeasures Headquarters, Hal is not originally Souichirou’s subordinate.
Instead, she is secretly a former FBI agent who once had her life saved by L Lawliet.
Because of this, she swears loyalty to L and accepts a long-term undercover mission.
Under L’s orders, she infiltrates the Kira investigation team as a hidden trump card, unknown to most members.
This twist is only revealed at the end of the case.
By then, her true role as L’s secret asset has already had a major impact on the course of events.
Kidnapping Sayu Yagami and the Death Note Exchange
After L’s death in the drama continuity, Hal takes a much more aggressive approach.
Working together with Mello (who, in this version, is portrayed as an alternate personality of Near), she kidnaps Sayu Yagami, Light’s younger sister.
Hal then contacts Souichirou by phone and demands the Death Note in exchange for Sayu’s safety.
The negotiation is intense, and thanks to Mello’s intervention, the plan to seize the notebook succeeds.
However, Teru Mikami discovers Hal’s real name, Hal Lidner.
Through Light’s strategy and Mikami’s use of the Death Note, they trick Hal into returning the notebook to Light.
Death in the Drama
After unknowingly returning the Death Note, Hal goes back to her hideout.
Realizing how deeply she has been outmaneuvered and trapped, she faces Mello.
In a grim and decisive moment, Hal pulls the pin on a hand grenade in front of Mello and dies in the explosion.
Her charred remains are later discovered by the police, confirming her death.
This version of Hal’s story emphasizes her role as a tragic undercover operative who sacrifices everything in her fight against Kira.
It also underlines how dangerous and unforgiving the world of Death Note becomes once the notebook falls back into Light’s hands.
Hal’s extremely low weight of 52 kg at a height of 180 cm is intentionally unrealistic.
The author has a habit of giving characters oddly light body weights, and this is treated as a kind of in-joke rather than a realistic statistic.
In the original manga and anime, Hal Lidner is the alias, and Halle Bullook is her real name.
In the drama version, this is reversed: Hal Lidner is treated as her real name, and Shoko Himura is one of her undercover identities.
Her combination of beauty, combat skills, and espionage experience makes her one of the most memorable late-introduction characters in Death Note.
She stands out as a rare example of a female character in the series who operates as an autonomous, highly competent professional within the world of intelligence and high-stakes investigations.
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