Despite being a beloved shonen series, Death Note is not about fighting, the power of friendship, or going on adventures. Instead, it is a crime thriller starring Light Yagami, a brilliant high school student who descends into darkness as he becomes Kira. He wants to rid the world of crime by force, and he attracted some enemies. First, the super-detective L, then the vicious Mello.
Mello and Near were both strong candidates to succeed the original L, and a few years after L's demise, these two Kira hunters used every trick in the book to try and capture their hated enemy, Kira. Mello in particular was ruthless and corrupt, nearly as wicked as the Kira he was hunting.
10 When Mello Stormed Out Of Wammy's House
Mello, around his 15th birthday, decided that he had had enough of Wammy's House. This was an orphanage in England that housed brilliant children who were all being groomed to eventually replace L. Mello grew tired of always being #2, behind the boy known as Near.
Mello was well cared for at that orphanage, but he threw it all away to spite Near and find his own way. That showed some serious lack of gratitude, and it also led to Mello working with criminals. His descent into crime began at this point.
9 When Mello Left Matt To Face Kiyomi's Bodyguards Alone
By this point, Mello had few allies to call upon, but he did have a partner in Matt. Late in the story, Mello aimed to capture Kiyomi Takada, and he used Matt as a distraction. Using nothing but his car and a flare gun, Matt took on Kiyomi's many armed bodyguards under Mello's orders.
But this was a suicide mission, since Kiyomi's guards would never spare the life of someone who threatened the beloved Kiyomi Takada. Mello sent Matt to his death, though Mello did feel somewhat bad about it, at least.
8 When Mello Captured Kiyomi Takada
When Mello sent Matt to distract Kiyomi's guards, Mello demanded that Kiyomi get aboard his motorcycle and flee the scene with him, but that was just a pretext. Mello handcuffed himself to Kiyomi to keep her with him, and then he tossed her into the back of a truck.
Mello was planning to use Kiyomi in his investigation, and he even demanded that she undress so she couldn't hide anything on her person (but she did hide a piece of the Death Note's paper in her bra). Kiyomi was quite distressed during this event.
7 When Mello Manipulated Sidoh
Sidoh was the third major Shinigami to appear (not counting Gelus), and he was desperate to get his notebook back. Mello realized that if he had a shinigami on his side, he could get the edge on both Kira and Near.
Mello forced Sidoh to help him kill off his enemies, including an American special-ops team, and Light had to send Ryuk the shinigami to convince Sidoh to switch sides. Fortunately for Light, Sidoh listened.
6 When Mello Threatened The American President
If Mello had been capable of carrying out this threat, it might have been his most vile deed of all. When Mello acquired the Death Note, he tried to get many concessions from the American president and threatened to control a U.S. federal employee with the Death Note to launch nuclear missiles otherwise.
Mello and the president were unaware that this plan wouldn't work (notebook users can't indirectly kill people). Still, it showed how depraved Mello was, that he was willing to do such a thing and tried to make that threat. Just the intention was quite monstrous.
5 When Mello Killed Several SPK Members
In all fairness, the members of the SPK (Special Provision for Kira) knew the risks of what they were doing. Still, Mellow unfairly and cruelly killed most of the members of Near's special task force.
Near was a threat to both Kira & Mello at the time, and Mello wiped out most of the SPK's members as a precaution so Near would have a tougher time capturing him. Those innocent men and women just dropped dead, all thanks to Mello.
4 When Mello Kidnapped NPA Director Takimura
When Mello was ready to make his move on Kira and obtain the Death Note, he tested the waters by capturing the NPA's director, a certain Mr. Takimura. Mello held him in confinement somewhere in Los Angeles, and questioned him.
Mello wanted to use him to get some intel and he also used Mr. Takimura to test what Kira would do. As Mello expected, Kira killed Mr. Takimura to shut him up, and that fact allowed Mello to figure out his next step. The NPA lost its most important employee, just so Mello could steal the Death Note. And worse was to come.
3 When Mello Threatened Sayu's Life To Get Kira's Name
At some point, Mello knew the name and face of Sayu Yagami, the daughter of Soichiro Yagami. Once Mello had the Death Note, he used it to kill many of his enemies. Next, he wanted to know the identity of the imposter L (he and Near knew that someone had killed the real L and stolen that title).
Soichiro didn't want to answer that question, but Mello pressured him by calmly and coldly threatening to kill Sayu if Soichiro didn't give up the name. Sayu was placed in brief but extreme danger until Touta Matsuda leaped in and gave his own name to buy the Japanese police some time. Mello accepted the name and spared Sayu's life.
2 When Mello Threatened Hal Lidner
Halle Lidner was one of Near's best agents, but she was also somewhat sympathetic to Mello. Overall, she simply wanted to help capture Kira and even acted as a sort of envoy between rivals Near & Mello. But that didn't stop Mello from holding her at gunpoint.
Mello waited for Halle in her apartment. After speaking with her, he held her at gunpoint and escorted her to Near's new HQ. This caused a rather tense scene until Mello finally stood down. There was just no need for Mello to use a gun in this situation, and he even pointed it at Near at some point.
1 When Mello Kidnapped Sayu As A Bargaining Chip
This was Mello's single most villainous (and impactful) act in Death Note. Once Mello tested the waters with director Takimura's capture, he had his men kidnap Sayu Yagami and sent his demands to the NPA. Mello would only release Sayu once the Death Note was in his hands. Light was troubled by this, but Soichiro was devastated, and he was wracked with intense fear for Sayu's life, not to mention how his professional and personal needs were now clashing.
After a tense few days, Soichiro gave in to Mello's demands and made the exchange. He felt so guilt-ridden, he wanted to quit his job entirely. Sayu, for her part, was mentally scarred from this experience and her recovery was left somewhat ambiguous. The Yagami family suffered greatly from this event.
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