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.
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