Death Note

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Death Note
デスノート (Desu Nōto)
Genre	Detective Fiction, Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Psychological Thriller, Shōnen, Supernatural
Manga
Authored by	Tsugumi Ohba (story) Takeshi Obata (art)
Publisher	Shueisha
Other publishers: VIZ Media Panini Comics Tokyopop Animation International (Chinese) Chuang Yi Publications (Chinese) Tong Li Glénat (publisher)
Serialized in	Weekly Shonen Jump Arena Komik
Original run	December 2003 – May 2006
No. of volumes	12
TV anime
Directed by	Tetsurō Araki
Studio	Madhouse
Licensor	VIZ Media
Network	Nippon TV VIZ GMA Network Animax
Original run	October 4, 2006 –
No. of episodes	37
Movie: Death Note
Directed by	Shūsuke Kaneko
Studio	Warner Bros.
Released	June 17, 2006 August 10, 2006 September 8, 2006 October 19, 2006 November 9, 2006
Runtime	Japan: 126 min.
Movie: Death Note: The Last Name
Directed by	Shūsuke Kaneko
Studio	Warner Bros.
Released	November 3, 2006 November 24, 2006 December 28, 2006 February 1, 2007
Runtime	Japan: 141 min
Novel: DEATH NOTE Another Note Los Angeles BB Renzoku Satsujin Jiken
Authored by	Nisio Isin
Publisher	Shueisha
Publish date	August 1, 2006
No. of volumes
Game: Death Note Kira Game Death Note DS: Kira Game
Developer	Konami
Publisher	Konami
Genre	Action
Platform	Nintendo DS
Released	February 15, 2007 TBA

Death Note (デスノート, Desu Nōto^?) is a Japanese manga series originally written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by 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 first began as a manga series. It was first serialized by Shueisha in 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 is currently in publication 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 respectively), and an anime series which commenced airing in Japan on October 3, 2006. Also, a novelization of the series, written by light novelist Nisio Isin, was released in Japan on August 1, 2006.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Characters 2.1 Main characters 2.2 Shinigami (The Death Gods) 3 Death Note 3.1 Rules of the Death Note 3.1.1 Written rules 3.1.2 False rules 4 Media 4.1 Manga 4.2 Novel 4.3 Movies 4.3.1 DVDs 4.3.2 Theme songs 4.3.3 Movie cast 4.4 Anime 4.4.1 Episodes 4.4.2 DVDs 4.4.3 Anime theme songs 4.4.3.1 Opening themes 4.4.3.2 Ending themes 4.5 Video game 4.6 Soundtracks 5 Shenyang incident 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Plot

Main article: Plotline of Death Note

Light Yagami is a brilliant, but bored, high school student 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 true 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 English 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 race to prove mental superiority between the two begins.

[edit] Characters

Main article: List of Death Note characters

[edit] Main characters

Light Yagami (Kira) (夜神月, Yagami Raito^?)

The main character of Death Note, Light is a brilliant but bored 17-year old student. When he finds the Death Note dropped in the human world by Ryuk, a Shinigami, he decides to use it to kill all criminals, his ultimate goal being to cleanse the world of evil to create a utopia and to be the God of this new world. He calls himself Justice.

L (エル, Eru^?)

L is the world's top-rated detective, tasked with tracking down and arresting Kira, and Light's nemesis. His disheveled appearance masks his great powers of deduction and insight. L has many quirks, such as sitting in an odd manner, snacking on sweets in the middle of meetings and holding his cellphone in an odd manner. He often takes drastic strategies to confuse and force his opponents, and on several occasions he has willingly disclosed several of his weaknesses to Kira at the risk of his own life in the hopes that he would lure him into a trap.

Misa Amane (弥海砂, Amane Misa^?)

A girl with an immense crush on Kira. She is a popular idol in Japan, and tends to wear clothing in many different styles, depending on what she is doing. She is immature and has a tendency to refer to herself in the third person (calling herself "Misa-Misa") in an attempt to be cute. Misa is completely devoted to Light, and she once said that she loved him "at first sight". Light, however, only views her as an asset to his plans because of her Death Note and her "Shinigami Eyes" (that she obtained at the cost of half of her remaining life span). These "Shinigami Eyes" give Misa the ability to know people's names by looking at their faces, thereby giving Kira an edge in his battle against his enemies. Misa read in the newspapers that the murderer of her family was punished by Kira, explaining her total devotion to him, regardless of whether she thinks of his actions as good or evil.

Mello (メロ, Mero^?)

Mello was an orphan who grew up with Near in Watari's shelter for gifted children. Like Near, Mello was one of the candidates to become L's successor. Similar to L's fondness for sweets, he is often seen eating bars of chocolate. Contrary to Near and L, Mello, although quite intelligent, often lets his emotions get the better of him.

Near (ニア, Nia^?)

Near was a primary candidate to become L's successor and calls himself N during the course of his investigations. He too shares a similarity to L: much like L played with things such as sugar cubes and forks, Near is seen playing with toys and his hair throughout the series. He offered to join forces with Mello to fight Kira. When Mello turned down his offer, he gained the support of the US government and formed the Secret Provision for Kira (SPK).

[edit] Shinigami (The Death Gods)

Ryuk (リューク, Ryūku^?)

The original Shinigami who dropped the Death Note in the human world, which Light would pick up. Acting out of pure boredom, Ryuk begins the story of Death Note on a whim. It is stated that Ryuk obtained the second Death Note by tricking the King of Shinigami, although it is not known how. Perhaps neutral by nature, Ryuk often refuses to aid Light and instead enjoys watching him struggle for his goal. The most important facet of Ryuk's character is that he is not Light's friend. He acts for his own interests and entertainment and often fails to tell Light key details about the Death Note. Ryuk is selfish, however, and will aid Light if it serves his own goals, such as providing amusement or obtaining apples.

Rem (レム, Remu^?)

The female Shinigami who first gives Misa her Death Note and "eyes." Similar to Ryuk, Rem possesses two Death Notes; however, she purposely gives a Death Note to Misa Amane. Rem inherited her second Death Note from Jealous, another Shinigami who died when he saved Misa's life, and thought it only right to pass it on to Misa. Oddly enough, Rem inherits Jealous' love for Misa as well and is prompt to defend Misa even at the cost of her life. She brings this to light when she openly shows her lack of trust for Light stating that if Misa dies before her time, Rem will kill Light.

[edit] Death Note

A Death Note is a book held by a Shinigami which has the power to kill people if certain conditions are met. All Death Notes follow a long set of specific rules, and the writer revealed a few of these rules with each volume of the manga in Japan.

[edit] Rules of the Death Note

Main article: Rules of the Death Note

[edit] Written rules

Before releasing his Death Note into the human world, Ryuk wrote some of the rules on the first page in English, because he believed that English is the most popular language in the world. The rules written by Ryuk are the following:

• The human whose name is written in this note shall die.
• This note will not take effect unless the writer has the subject's face in their mind when writing his/her name. Therefore, people sharing the same name will not be affected.
• If the cause of death is written within 40 seconds of writing the subject's name, it will happen.
• If the cause of death is not specified, the subject will simply die of a heart attack.
• After writing the cause of death, the details of the death should be written in the next 6 minutes and 40 seconds.

Each volume of the manga has a page containing new rules or possible uses for the Death Note. In the anime series, each eyecatch contains a different rule written in both English and Japanese, similar to how they were revealed in the Japanese manga. Two new rules are revealed every episode.

[edit] False rules

In addition to these original rules, Light persuaded Ryuk to add a set of fake rules to mislead L and company. The reason behind this was to remove all suspicion of him and Misa being Kira and the Second Kira and preventing L from destroying the Death Note.

• If the owner of the Death Note does not kill within 13 days of the last entry, he or she will die.
• If the Death Note is burnt, destroyed, or otherwise damaged in any way, all those who have touched that Death Note will die.

[edit] Media

Death Note began as a manga series which was later adapted to become a set of live-action films, an anime based on the manga, and a Light Novel. A game has also been released for the Nintendo DS in Japan.

[edit] Manga

See also: List of Death Note manga

The Death Note manga series was first serialized in the Japanese manga magazine Weekly Shonen Jump published by Shueisha in December 2003. The series has since ended in Japan with a total of 108 chapters. Later, the individual chapters were collected into twelve separate tankōbon. Later, a 13th volume titled "Death Note - How to Read" was released, helping to elucidate some mysteries left at the end of the manga, like the destiny of some characters. Death Note was eventually licensed for North American publication by VIZ Media,^[1] and the first English language volume was released on October 4, 2005.^[2] The manga has since been published in several different languages including English, German and Chinese. Currently, VIZ Media has released ten volumes of Death Note in English.

To date, Death Note has sold around 20 million copies in Japan.^[3] Death Note was nominated for Best Manga at the 2006 American Anime Awards.

[edit] Novel

- A novel adaption of the series has been written by Ishin Nishio, called Death Note: Another Note.^[4][5] It serves as a prequel to the manga series, with Mello narrating the story of L's first encounter with Naomi Misora during the Los Angeles "BB Serial Murder Case" mentioned in volume 2 of the manga. Beside Naomi's character, the novel focuses on how L works. Insight was given into Watari's orphanage and how the whole system of geniuses such as L, Mello and Near were put to work.

[edit] Movies

Death Note has also been adapted for big screen in the form of two live-action films, both directed by Shūsuke Kaneko and produced by Warner Bros. Pictures Japan.^[6] The first film (simply called Death Note) premiered in Japan on June 17, 2006 and topped the Japanese box office for two straight weeks, pushing The Da Vinci Code into second place.^[7] It is mostly faithful to the manga (with some slight alterations such as the addition of Light's girlfriend Shiori and the circumstances in which Light and L first meet), starting with Light in a university and flashing back a year or so to him receiving the Death Note. It ends with his first meeting with L.

The second movie, Death Note: The Last Name, premiered on November 3, 2006, and instantly topped the Japanese box office,^[8] remaining at number one for four straight weeks,^[9] and grossed 5.5 billion yen in Japan by the end of the year, making it one of the year's highest grossing Japanese films.^[10] It combines elements from the rest of the storyline creating an outcome similar to the manga, but with a few key differences.

Both films star Takeshi Kaga, who is best known by North American audiences as host Chairman Kaga of the original Japanese version of Iron Chef. A spin-off film, featuring L as the main character,^[11] is currently in production to be released in Japan in 2007. The sequel currently in production and is set in the United States.

Death Note (死亡筆記) was released in Hong Kong on August 10, 2006, Taiwan on September 8, 2006, Singapore on October 19, 2006 & Malaysia on November 9, 2006 with English and Chinese subtitles. The sequel was released in Hong Kong on November 3, 2006, in Taiwan on November 24, 2006, in Singapore on December 28, 2006, and in Malaysia on January 25, 2007, with English and Chinese subtitles. The world premiere was shown in UA Langham Place cinema in Hong Kong on October 28, 2006, and this was the first Japanese movie having its world premiere in Hong Kong. It is also available in American specialty stores. Although the dialogue is still only in Japanese, the DVD has English subtitles.

[edit] DVDs See also: List of Death Note DVDs Currently these Movie DVDs have been released in Japan: Death Note The Movie Death Note The Last Name Death Note Movie 3-Disc Set Death Note Movie Documentary: DEAD or ALIVE [edit] Theme songs First movie "Dani California" by Red Hot Chili Peppers "Manatsu no yoru no yume" by Suga Shikao Second movie "Snow ((Hey Oh))" by Red Hot Chili Peppers

[edit] Movie cast Light Yagami: Tatsuya Fujiwara L: Ken'ichi Matsuyama Ryuk (voice): Shidō Nakamura Soichiro Yagami: Takeshi Kaga Misa Amane: Erika Toda Raye Iwamatsu: Shigeki Hosokawa Naomi Misora: Asaka Seto Shiori (original character): Yuu Kashii Rem (voice): Peter Sayu Yagami: Hikari Mitsushima Sachiko Yagami: Michiko Godai Watari: Shunji Fujimura Matsuda: Sōta Aoyama Aizawa: Shin Shimizu Ukita: Tatsuhito Okuda Mogi: Ikuji Nakamura Kiyomi Takada: Nana Katase

[edit] Anime

The Death Note anime, directed by Tetsurō Araki and co-produced by Madhouse, Nippon Television and VAP, ^[12] began airing in Japan on October 3, 2006,^[13] and is currently scheduled to run for 37 episodes.^[14] Contrary to the movies, the anime series follows the manga's original storyline with only a few changes on Masaru Kitao's character designs and order of facts, as well as a few additional scenes not featured in the original manga. It is also set in the year 2007, instead of starting at the year 2003. The series currently airs on the Nippon Television network every Wednesday at 00:56.^[15]

As of January 10, 2007, the series has been licensed by VIZ Media for United States residents to use "Download-to-Own" and "Download-to-Rent" services while it is still airing in Japan. This move is seen as "significant because it marks the first time a well known Japanese anime property will be made legally available to domestic audiences for download to own while the title still airs on Japanese television".^[16] The downloadable episode will contain the original Japanese audio track and English subtitles.^[17] DVDs of the series will also be released,^[17] containing both an English audio track and the Japanese audio track with English subtitles.^[18] Release dates have not been confirmed for either release,^[17] but VIZ has implied that the first DVD will be released in the fourth quarter of 2007.^[18]

[edit] Episodes Main article: List of Death Note episodes [edit] DVDs Currently these Anime DVDs have been released in Japan (Note, first editions included the figures in the parentheses.) Death Note 1 (Ryuk Figure) Death Note 2 (Light Yagami Figure) Death Note 3 (L Figure) Death Note 4 (Jealous Figure) Anime DVDs scheduled to be released in Japan Death Note 5 (Misa Amane Figure) Death Note 6 (Rem Figure) 7+ = TBA

[edit] Anime theme songs [edit] Opening themes "the WORLD" by Nightmare (episodes 1 - 19) "What's up, people?!" by Maximum the Hormone (episode 20 - ) [edit] Ending themes "Alumina" (アルミナ, Arumina?) by Nightmare (episodes 1 - 19) "Despair Billy" (絶望ビリー, Zetsubō Birī?) by Maximum the Hormone (episode 20 - )

[edit] Video game

A Death Note video game for the Nintendo DS, entitled Death Note Kira Game, was released on February 15, 2007.^[19] Kira Game is a strategy game where the player takes on the role of Kira or L. These are just titles, as any character can be Kira or L. The player will attempt to deduce who their enemy is (Kira will try to uncover L's identity and vice versa). This will play out in 3 phases: Investigation, where the player will discuss the case and clues with other characters; Voting, where each member of the investigation team casts a vote on who they suspect is L or Kira based on the player's performance in the previous phase; L/Kira, where the player can either focus their investigation on one member to see if they are Kira (L part) or force a member off of the team (Kira part).^[20] The gameplay is very similar to that of the common party game Mafia.

Several characters from Death Note appear in Jump Super Stars and Jump Ultimate Stars, a fighting game featuring a plethora of characters from Shonen Jump titles. These include Light/Kira, Ryuk, L, Misa, Near, and Mello.

[edit] Soundtracks

Main article: Death Note original soundtracks

There have been several soundtracks released for this series, such as the ones for the movie adaptations and also for the anime adaptation.

[edit] Shenyang incident

Some schools in Shenyang, China have banned the manga after some of their students started to tease friends and teachers by altering a notebook to resemble a Death Note and writing their names in them.^[21]

The newspaper Shenyang Night Report called Death Note "poison, creating wicked hearts".^[21] Others however, including one major Chinese newspaper, feel that the ban is an overreaction and is inappropriate.^[21]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Shueisha's Death Note manga official website (Japanese)
• Official live-action movie website (Japanese)
• Official anime website (Japanese)
• VIZ Media's Death Note website)
• Death Note (live-action movie) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
• Death Note: The Last Name (live-action movie) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
• Death Note (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
• Death Note at AnimeNfo.com
• Death Note at AniDB

Death Note v • d • e
Main	Manga | DVD | Music | List of anime episodes | Characters | Plotline
Concepts	Rules of the Death Note | Shinigami Eyes
Individual episodes Rebirth Confrontation Transaction Pursuit Bargaining Open Seam Clouded Sky Gaze Contact Suspicion Break-in Love Confession Friend Gamble Decision Execution Comrade Matsuda Makeshift Activity Guidance Mania Revival Silence Reincarnation Abduction