About Death Note

Light Yagami is an extremely intelligent young man who resents the crime and corruption in the world. His life undergoes a drastic change when he discovers a mysterious notebook, known as the "Death Note", lying on the ground in the year 2003. The Death Note's instructions claim that if a human's name is written within it that person shall die. Light is initially skeptical of the Death Note's authenticity, believing it is just a prank. However, after experimenting with it and killing two criminals, Light is forced to admit that the Death Note is real. After meeting with the previous owner of the Death Note, a shinigami named Ryuk, Light seeks to become "the God of the new world" by passing his judgment on criminals.

Soon, the number of inexplicable deaths of reported criminals catches the attention of the International Police Organization and a mysterious detective known only as "L". L quickly learns that the serial killer, dubbed by the public as "Kira" (derived from the Japanese pronunciation of the word "Killer"), is located in Japan. L also concludes that Kira can kill people without laying a finger on them. Light realizes that L will be his greatest nemesis, and a game of psychological cat and mouse between the two begins.

Death Note History

Death Note (デスノート, Desu Nōto) is a Japanese manga series created by the writer Tsugumi Ohba and illustrator Takeshi Obata. The series primarily centers around a high school student who decides to rid the world of evil with the help of a supernatural notebook that kills anyone whose name is written in it.

Death Note was first serialized by Shueisha in the Japanese manga magazine Weekly Shonen Jump from the first issue in December 2003 to May 2006, with 108 chapters in total. The series has been published in its entirety in 12 tankōbon volumes in Japan and in North America. The series has been adapted into a pair of live-action films released in Japan on June 17, 2006 and November 3, 2006, and an anime series which aired in Japan from October 3, 2006 to June 26, 2007. Also, a novelization of the series, written by light novelist Ishin Nishio, was released in Japan on August 1, 2006.

Death Note Anime Guide

First Arc



Light Yagami is a young but bright high school student who has until recently led a boring and uneventful life. That changed very quickly when he found a strange notebook with the title "Death Note" lying on the ground one day in 2003. It wasn't until later that he realized that this "Death Note" was the tool of a shinigami (god of death in Japanese) from another world named Ryuk, and that it had the power to kill whoever's name was written on its pages, so long as the writer knew the victim's face as well so it wouldn't kill anyone sharing the same name. Light realizes his ability to kill whomever he wishes, and he uses it to begin a "cleansing" of the world from evil.

It does not take the police long to realise that somebody is responsible for the mysterious deaths of criminals, and he is then soon hunted by the Japanese police force and a mysterious detective known as "L". So as Light works towards his "perfect" world, devoid of crime and injustice, L works to catch the mysterious murderer, dubbed "Kira" (Japanese pronunciation of Killer) by the press and end the increasingly senseless deaths of criminals and anyone who gets too close to the truth. L and Light soon begin a cat and mouse chase to see who will be the first to have their identities exposed.

With the help of the FBI, L tracks down Light as a suspect and monitors him closely through the 64 video cameras and microphones installed in Light's bedroom. However Light quickly realizes that he's being spied on and plans several convoluted yet smart moves such as hiding a miniature TV, pencil and a piece of the Death Note inside a bag of potato chips to continue killing criminals without appearing to do so.

Although no evidence is found against Light and the video cameras are eventually uninstalled, L still suspects Light and enters the same university as him under the alias of Hideki Ryuga. After revealing his true identity to Light, L invites Light to join the investigation team in order to continue keeping an eye on him.

Later, Light and L realize that there exists a Second Kira who, unlike the original Kira, is able to kill a person without knowing his name. After a series of investigation on the Second Kira, a girl called Misa Amane approaches Light and demands that he become her boyfriend in exchange for helping him against L. L eventually deduces the identity of Second Kira and imprisons Misa, who decides to give up her ownership of the Death Note and pass it to Light.

Under heavy suspicion and various evidence against him, Light voluntarily lets L imprison him while passes one of the Death Notes to another person to ensure the continuation of 'Kira's action' and bury the other Note in a forest. By giving up the ownership, both Light and Misa lose all their memories related to the Death Note.

After a month or so L is forced to release Light and Misa by other members of the investigation team. However, still suspicious, L chains himself and Light together with handcuffs to keep an eye on him. With the help of Misa and other members of the investigation team, Light and L are able to track down the new Kira, Kyosuke Higuchi, and arrest him successfully.

When Light touches Higuchi's Death Note again, all the lost memories come back to him once more. He then kills Higuchi secretly and regains the ownership of the Death Note. Light then cunningly steers the investigation towards Misa again, forcing Rem the Shinigami to kill both L and Watari. Upon L's death, Light is nominated to act as L by the members of the investigation team.


Second Arc



In Japan, the manga took a 7 week break before the second story arc started. It takes place in the year 2009, six years after the events in the first arc. Possessing the identities of both L and Kira, Light seems invincible now. With many people, even governments around the world declare their support to Kira; Light is about to reach his ultimate goal of changing the world.

However, one day someone who calls himself Near and who claims to be the true successor of L, contacts Light and demands his cooperation in capturing Kira. Near and his rival Mello are two bright young orphans who are trained to succeed L in an orphanage founded by Watari. Although they split ways after L's death, Near and Mello both attempt to track down Kira through their own means. Mello joins a criminal gang in the US and obtains the Death Note by kidnapping Sayu Yagami and using her as a hostage to trade for the Death Note. Although the Death Note is eventually regained by the Japanese investigation team, Mello is able to find out about some of the rules of the Death Note. Near on the other hand, gains the support of the US government and forms the SPK.

With certain information gained from Mello, Near suspects that the present L is actually Kira. Later, Near is able to deduce L's real identity from information he gained from Aizawa. Detecting the suspicion, Light orders Misa to destroy all possible evidence against them and pass the ownership of the Death Note to Teru Mikami, the new Kira chosen by him. Light finally makes contact with Mikami through Kiyomi Takada, Mikami's chosen spokesman who incidentally was Light's girlfriend in college. Light approaches Takada and eventually confesses his true identity as Kira. Meanwhile Near discovers Mikami's existence.

Light instructs Mikami to write in a fake Death Note and to email a list of criminals to Takada each night. Takada is given sheets of the Death Note to write the names on. Mikami's real copy of the Death Note is kept in a safety deposit box, which he was only use when told by Light. Near and the SPK observe Mikami's routine behavior, and eventually gain access to his fake Death Note in his gym locker.

Both Light and Near decide to meet in a final confrontation that will decide the definite winner. Light is confident that Near has found the fake notebook, and will switch it with their own fake prior to the meeting. Suddenly, Mello kidnaps Takada to capture Kira, but Takada manages to kill him with a scrap of the Death Note. Mikami learns about the kidnapping over the news and goes to the bank and uses the real notebook in order to kill Takada and destroy her evidence, unaware that Light possesses a scrap and does the same thing. The SPK notice his sudden change in behavior, and gain access to his deposit box where they find the real Death Note. By comparing the names written in the fake and real ones, Near learns of Light's plan to have Mikami carry a fake notebook to act as bait. Near replaces both notebooks with perfect copies.

Light and Near meet at the warehouse with their members. Light has arranged for Mikami to use his Shinigami eyes and real notebook to kill everyone present except for Light himself. He does, as both Near and Light expect. Light confidently invites Mikami in, but time passes and no one dies. Mikami is apprehended by the SPK, and Near reveals that he has obtained Mikami's real copy of the Death Note earlier, and the fact that Mikami has not written down Light's name. Light finally confesses that he is Kira. He rants about the better world that he has created, but Near puts him down as a dictator and mass murderer. Light then tries to write down Near's name on a piece of the notebook concealed in his watch, but is shot by Matsuda.

In a last ditch effort to eliminate his opposition, Light begs Ryuk to write their names down in his Death Note. However, Ryuk sees his hopeless situation and decides to write down Light's name instead. Light pleads for his life to no avail as Near and the rest watch him die.

Thereafter, Near becomes the new L. A year later, through fate, L's and Light's former colleagues work together to stop a ring of normal drug dealers in the same warehouse they had their meeting a year earlier. The world realizes that Kira is gone, and crime increases again. Matsuda and Ide question the morality of stopping Kira, but are assured by the fact that they are alive today because Kira is gone. Followers of Kira continue to exist thereafter and worship his idea of justice.

Death Note Authors

Takeshi Obata
Takeshi Obata (Obata Takeshi, born February 11, 1969) is a Japanese mangaka. He generally works as the primary artist in collaboration with a primary writer. He has also mentored several mangaka, including Kentaro Yabuki of Black Cat fame and Nobuhiro Watsuki.

He is most well-known as the artist of Hikaru no Go and Death Note. Obata is rare among shōnen artists not only for the detail of his drawings, but in his penchant for fashion; the characters he draws often wear stylish clothes and trendy items like the latest fashionable scarf, tie or handbag.

On September 7, 2006, he was arrested for possessing an army knife in his car. He was originally pulled over for driving his car with the headlights off at 1 a.m., and reportedly said he keeps the knife in the car for when he goes camping.


Tsugumi Ohba
Tsugumi Ohba (Ōba Tsugumi) is a manga writer. As Death Note, the author's only work to date, is suspiciously well-written for a debut work, it is suspected that "Tsugumi Ohba" is only a pen-name for a more famous author.

The VIZ English graphic novels profile Tsugumi Ohba as:Tsugumi Ohba.
Born in Tokyo.
Hobby: Collecting teacups.
Day and night, develops manga plots while holding knees on a chair.
Some believe that Tsugumi Ohba is actually Hiroshi Gamou, author of the JUMP series Tottemo! Luckyman. It is speculated that he chose to hide his identity due to the fact that the Death Note series is very different from his past work. However, the manga does contain subtle hints that point to the author's true identity: for instance, the cram school that the main character attends (as shown in the first chapter) is called 'Gamou Seminar', a kind of inside joke not uncommon for many manga authors.

Death Note Characters

Main Characters



L -



Considered one of the best detectives in the world, no one really knows much about the mysterious L. He speaks to his clients through faceless means such as his lap top, a PowerBook G4, and only takes on cases that interest him. [See also: Ryuuzaki]

Ryuuku -



A God of Death who tricked his boss into giving him two Death Notes. Out of boredom he drops one of them on Earth, and takes to following around the boy who found it. He takes a lot of interest in the travails of humans, and has a penchant for video games and apples.

Ryuuzaki -



The man most refer to as 'L', he was forced to show himself to the Japanese police during the Kira case. He is a young, highly intelligent boy who masquerades as several internationally reknowned detectives. Ryuuzaki is the name he uses with the Japanese police, while Ryuuga is the name he used to enroll in Raito's school. His real name is unkown so far in the story.

Kira/ Raito -



Raito is an above average seventeen-year-old boy when the reader first meets him. He is extremely intelligent, handsome, and popular. When he finds the Death Note he decides to create a kind of Utopia by killing off all the criminals in the world. In some scanlations he is called "Light" instead of Raito. After Raito starts killing off criminals he is given the name "Kira" by his fans, a name they derived from the word "Killer".

Other Characters

Takeshi -



One of the Yotsuba corporation's employees, he is part of a board who decides which competitors should be killed to benefit the company. They use a third Kira to accomplish this. He is head of the TV Enterprise Department. Other board members: Hatori, Higuchi, Kida, Midou, Namikawa, Shimura, Takahashi [Appearance: ch. 37]

Aber -



A con artist who has worked with L in the past. He has extensive knowledge of psychology, linguistics, and diplomacy. [Appearance: ch.4]

Aizawa -



One of the five police agents who decide to work with L to pursue Kira, along with Yagami Souichirou, Matsuda, Ukita, and Mogi. [Appearance: ch.11]

Amane Misa -



Amane is a model and also the owner of a second Death Note. She uses it to become the 'second Kira' because she idolizes the first Kira and wants to meet him. Her parents were killed and the murderers were not punished, until the first Kira killed them. For that reason she would do almost anything for Kira, including putting herself at great risk. [Appearance: ch.23]

Coil -




A detective who is said to surpass even L, he is hired by Yotsuba Corporation to find out L's identity.

Danuvue -



In addition to L and Coil, Danuve is one of the three best detectives in the world.

Demegawa -



The director of sleazy television station Sakura TV, he was nonetheless integral in the Kira case. [Appearance: ch.22]

Hatori -



One of the Yotsuba corporation's employees, he is part of a board who decides which competitors should be killed to benefit the company. They use a third Kira to accomplish this. He is head of the Advertising Planning Division. Other board members: 001, Higuchi, Kida, Midou, Namikawa, Shimura, Takahashi [Appearance: ch. 37]

Kida -



One of the Yotsuba corporation's employees, he is part of a board who decides which competitors should be killed to benefit the company. They use a third Kira to accomplish this. He is head of the Lights Planning Department. Other board members: 001, Hatori, Higuchi, Midou, Namikawa, Shimura, Takahashi [Appearance: ch. 37]

Kitamura -



The vice director of Japan's police force.

Lind L. Taylor -



A criminal on death row who pretends to be L for the purposes of finding out more about "Kira". [Appearance: ch.2]

Matsuda -



A young officer on the Japanese police force. He's not taken very seriously by his peers, though he puts himself in several life-threatening scenarios in the pursuit for Kira. He also works undercover as Amane's manager. [Appearance: ch.3]

Midou Shingo -



One of the Yotsuba corporation's employees, he is part of a board who decides which competitors should be killed to benefit the company. They use a third Kira to accomplish this. He is head of financial planning. Other board members: 001, Hatori, Higuchi, Kida, Namikawa, Shimura, Takahashi [Appearance: ch. 37]

Misora Naomi -



Raye Penber's fiancee and, apparently, one of the FBI's brightest female agents until she quit to get married. Despite the fact that she's a strong American woman, she's perfectly docile to her fiance's statement that "it's true you were an outstanding FBI agent...but now you're just my fiancee" when she tries to help him with the Kira case. Argh. Uses the alias Maki Shouko. [Appearance: ch.8]

Mogi -



One of the five police agents who decide to work with L to pursue Kira, along with Yagami Souichirou, Matsuda, Ukita, and Aizawa. [Appearance: ch.11]

Reiji -



One of the Yotsuba corporation's employees, he is part of a board who decides which competitors should be killed to benefit the company. They use a third Kira to accomplish this. He is head of the First Sales Division and graduated from Harvard. Other board members: 001, Hatori, Higuchi, Kida, Midou, Shimura, Takahashi [Appearance: ch. 37]

Nori -



A friend of Amane's. She helps Amane ditch her bodyguard at one point by dressing up as her. [Appearance: ch. 48]

Kurou -



Raito's first victim. He is an unemployed forty-two-year-old man who killed and/or wounded six innocent people in Shinjuku. Raito gives him a heart attack while Otoharada is holding eight infants and daycare workers hostage at a nursery school. [Appearance: ch.1]

Takada -



Takada is supposedly a very smart girl at Touou. She is one of the girls that Raitou dates. [Appearance: ch. 32]

Ukita -



One of the five police agents who decide to work with L to pursue Kira, along with Yagami Souichirou, Matsuda, Aizawa, and Mogi. [Appearance: ch.11]

Watari -



Watari is L's assistant. He is also a physical go-between that L uses to deal with the police or any other parties that have business with him. He is usually dressed in a trench coat and hat so that no one can see what he looks like. [Appearance: ch.2, ch.13]

Zyerasu -



A God of Death of who fell in love with a human. When he saw that she was about to die, he gave up his life to save hers. [Appearance: ch.27]

Death Note Encyclopedia

Consomme



The flavor of potato chips that Raito eats.

Death Note



A supernatural notebook used by the Gods of Death. If the user writes down the name of a person into the notebook while picturing that person's face in his mind, that person will die. After a name is written, the user has forty seconds to write down the cause of death, and then another six minutes and forty seconds to write the details of the death. If no cause is specified or the cause and/or details are impossible, the victim will die of a heart attack. If a God of Death loses his notebook and a human finds it, the God of Death will have to stay with the human until either the human dies or the notebook is filled up. There are even more complex rules involving Death Notes and their circulation in the human world, which I will not go into here.

The Eye Of the Shinigami



Gods of Death have special eyes that tell them instantly upon seeing a human's face what the human's name and life span is. It is possible for certain humans to trade for a Shinigami's eyes, but the price is half of their remaining life span.

Hisau



The favorite idol of Raito's little sister Maya.

Icpo



The International Criminal Police Organization that is based in Lyons, France. It is also called Interpol or OIPC (for the French wording). As the name implies, it is an international police force, and it starts to investigate the murders Raito commits using the Death Note fairly early on in the story.

Kira



The name that is given to the Death Note murderer, derived from the word Killer. Although Raito is the original Kira, the name is applied by the police to other Death Note murderers that appear as well.

L



The name of the world reknowned detective who takes on Kira's case.

Maki Shouku



The fake name that Naomi Misora, Raye Penber's fiancee, initially gives Raito when they meet.

Note Blue



A club in Aoyama that the second Kira uses to indirectly find the first Kira.

Sakura TV

A sleazy television station that helped Kira get in touch with another human in possession of the Death Note.

Shinigami



The Japanese word for God of Death.

Touou University

The University that Raito ends up going to. It is also known as Toudai, which is an abbreviation.

Yotsuba

A Japanese coorporation that gains ties with the user of a Death Note, using it to their advantage by killing off competition.

Death Note Episode List

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Season #1


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1 Rebirth 10/4/2006

Death Note Episode 1


2 Confrontation 10/11/2006



3 Transaction 10/18/2006



4 Pursuit 10/25/2006



5 Bargaining 11/1/2006



6 Open Seam 11/8/2006



7 Clouded Sky 11/15/2006



8 Gaze 11/22/2006



9 Contact 11/29/2006



10 Suspicion 12/6/2006



11 Break-In 12/13/2006



12 Love 12/27/2006



13 Confession 1/10/2007



14 Friend 1/17/2007



15 Gamble 1/24/2007



16 Decision 1/31/2007



17 Execution 2/7/2007



18 Comrade 2/14/2007



19 Matsuda 2/21/2007



Season #2



20 Successor 2/28/2007




21 Activity 3/7/2007



22 Guidance 3/14/2007



23 Mania 3/21/2007



24 Revival 3/28/2007



25 Silence 4/4/2007



26 Reincarnation 4/11/2007



27 Abduction 4/18/2007



28 Successor 4/25/2007



29 Breaking In 5/2/2007



30 World 5/9/2007



31 Transfer 5/16/2007



32 Selection 5/23/2007



33 Ridicule 5/30/2007



34 Vigilance 6/6/2007



35 Murderous Intent 6/13/2007



36 1.28 6/20/2007



37 New World 6/27/2007

Death Note Game Guide

Game Title: Death Note
Published by : Konami
Developed by : Konami
Genre: Action - rated: E (Everyone)
Online play: No
No of Players : 1
Release date JAP: Q1 2006
Release date US: TBA
Release date UK: TBA
Release date AUS: TBA
Average score: No scores supplied


From a popular manga series in Japan comes Deathnote. Deathnote is about a young boy who receives a notebook from demons that allows him to kill anyone in the manner he writes down. Stay Tuned for more info!