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I read this one around the same time I read The Embalmer.

It's freaking amazing!!!

It's just so SMART!!

And I mean, you have to be impressed because the author thought it UP!

eek There's an anime?!?!

i had heard something about that but i haven't found anything about it coming over, have you?

dang, that could take awhile cry

adult swim on cartoon network is going to start showing this

i think the week after next...

i'm trying to decide whether or not to watch it

Death Note (デスノート, Desu Nōto?) is a manga series created in Japan by two Japanese manga artists, 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 respectively, 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.

Characters

Main characters

Light Yagami (夜神 月, Yagami Raito?) / Kira / Light Asahi (朝日 月, Asahi Raito?)
Voiced by: Mamoru Miyano (Japanese), Brad Swaile (English)
Light is the protagonist of Death Note and an extremely intelligent, but bored, young man who finds Ryuk's Death Note by sheer chance.

Light constantly tries to evade the suspicion of L while both maintaining his identity as Kira (Japanese pronunciation of Killer), and cleansing the world of crime. The fact that he is a genius also adds to his notion that only he is fit to judge humanity and steer it on a proper moral course. Light is seen as somewhat heartless and sociopathic by those who are aware of what he is doing, as he can willingly kill his victims without batting an eye or do things which would seem evil to most, but he believes that he is doing good and bringing justice for most of the series.

Light, born on February 28, 1986, is a third year high school student (12th Grade) at Daikoku Private Academy (大国学園, Daikoku Gakuen?) who also attends supplemental classes at Gamou Prep Academy. In Spring 2004 Light becomes a first-year student (freshman) at To-Oh University (東応大学, Tōō Daigaku?), becoming one of two freshman representatives; L is the other freshman representative. During a tennis game with L at To-Oh, spectators reveal that Light was the junior high school tennis champion in 1999 and 2000; After his 2000 victory, Light quit tennis as he entered high school.

When L is finally able to corner him, Light puts his master plan in practice. He temporarily gives up his Death Note to Ryuk, erasing his memories about his time as Kira from his mind. Rem, under instruction by Light to give it to someone who would use it selfishly, gives it to Kyosuke Higuchi of the Yotsuba Corporation. Now unaware of the fact that he was the original Kira, Light accepts L's offer to join the investigation team to hunt down Higuchi, known as the third Kira. Light requests the alias Light Asahi to be used for him. When he is finally captured, Light touches his Death Note, thereby regaining his memory of when he was the original Kira. He then proceeds just as planned, masterfully killing Higuchi by using the Death Note paper he put in his watch before he lost his memories; and manipulating Rem, who also dies in the process, to kill both Watari and L.

Light is later nominated by L's investigation team (who are unaware that he is Kira) to act as L, due to the fact that they cannot reveal the death of the real L to the world. Light also takes over the role of L's assistant, Watari. Now able to act as both Kira and L, Light can continue killing criminals while leading the investigation team in circles. His secret identity as L is soon discovered by the Special Provisions for Kira, President Hoope, and Mello's gang. Light joins the Japanese Police Force's Intelligence Department in April 2009, believing that no one can stop his plans. Near and Mello eventually appear before him, trying to accomplish what L could not: to expose Kira's true identity, and bring him to justice.

In the end, the combined efforts of Mello and Near, combined with a large miscalculation and miscommunication on the part of Mikami and Light, force Light to reveal himself as Kira. In the final clash between Near and Light at a warehouse, all is revealed and the Kira case comes to an end after six long years.

In the manga version, after completely losing his head and characteristic cool over the prospect of being arrested, and in complete desperation after his attempts to write Near's name down are thwarted by Matsuda, Light begs Ryuk to help him. Ryuk reminds Light that he is on neither side, and fulfills his earlier promise to write Light's name in his Death Note, thus ending Light's life.

In the anime version, Light manages to flee the warehouse after Mikami commits suicide. Near instructs the team that there is no reason to pursue Light given that there should be no more hidden Death Notes, and Light's wounds would prevent him from getting far. Despite this, Aizawa, Mogi, Ide and Matsuda follow Light but are unable to find him before he dies on the staircase of a nearby warehouse due to cardiac arrest from Ryuk writing his name in his Death Note. As Light slowly closes his eyes, an apparition of L appears before Light, mirroring Light standing over L in episode 25 at L's death.

According to the manga, Light's date of death is January 28, 2010. His height and weight are 179 centimeters (5'10") and 54 kilograms (120 pounds), respectively, which puts him at the same height as L (if L stands up in a proper position). His blood type is A (see Japanese blood type theory of personality). His name is also a play on the theme of good and evil in the series, as Light is his first name, and Yagami is similar to "yami" meaning dark, dark being evil and light being good.

In the film, a few changes were made to Light. At the film's beginning, Light is a first-year university student studying Law, instead of still being a high school genius, as in the beginning of the manga and anime. Light's motives differ; his boredom trait does not exist, and he instead uses the Death Note out of frustration from the perceived failures of the Japanese justice system. Light, prior to his discovery of the Death Note, hacks into the government database and finds that the government secretly acknowledges that many criminals are unable to be prosecuted. Light discovers the Death Note in an alley during a rainy night after encountering Shibuimaru in a club and throwing a law book into the rain in a rage. Light meets Ryuk after killing Shibuimaru. Light has a girlfriend, Shiori Akino, who attends his university. Light kills Shiori at the end of the first movie to gain sympathy from L.

After Rem "kills" L and kills Watari, Light writes his father's name in an attempt to kill him, an attempt that ultimately fails. The endings of both the second movie and the manga are similar. In the second film, after being exposed as Kira, Light asks Ryuk to write the names of the team members in the book during the climax. The police shoot but do not kill Ryuk as he writes in the Death Note. Light laughs until Ryuk shows Light the Death Note, revealing that Light's name was written in the book. Light tries to stop Ryuk, passing through the shinigami. Light dies in his father's arms, begging him to believe that he acted as Kira to put justice, which Soichiro had taught him since his childhood, into practice. He is portrayed by Tatsuya Fujiwara, best known for his role as Shuya Nanahara of Battle Royale.

L Lawliet (エル・ローライト, Eru Rōraito?) / L / Hideki Ryuga (流河 旱樹, Ryūga Hideki?) / Ryuzaki (竜崎, Ryūzaki?) / Eraldo Coil / Deneuve
Voiced by: Kappei Yamaguchi (Japanese), Alessandro Juliani (English)

L Lawliet, commonly referred to as just L, is rated the world's greatest detective and takes on the Kira investigation in the first arc. He suspects Light initially, and decides to join To-Oh University, the university that Light attends, using the name of Hideki Ryuga for investigative purposes. He requests that the task force refer to him as Ryuzaki for discretion. His disheveled and languid appearance masks his great powers of deduction and insight. He has some quirks such as preferring to crouch rather than sit, eating only sweet foods like desserts and fruits, and holding items very delicately. L stayed in England for five years, and during that time he was the champion in tennis for the England Junior Cup. L also secretly assumed the identities of the world's second and third best detectives, (Eraldo Coil and Danuve respectively) something only he and the Kira Investigation Team members knew.

L always had his suspicions that Light was Kira, but could not accuse him without any concrete evidence. Even when all evidence apparently proved his theory to be incorrect, and even when Light could not remember his deeds as Kira when he renounced his Death Note's ownership and willingly dedicated himself to collaborate on the investigations, L still suspected him. Because of this and his sometimes harsh tactics, L can perhaps be seen as the series' antagonist. L cannot prove Light's guilt. In Chapter 58, Light tricks Rem into killing L for his own personal gain, making her believe that she must kill him for the sake of Misa's life. L's last sight before death is Light triumphantly smiling over his defeated rival, and in his last moment L confirms to himself that Light is the first Kira.

Although L can not shake the conclusion that Light was the first Kira, Light is the only person L had ever identified or connected with, and he openly stated on one occasion that even though it would hurt his pride to admit that he has been wrong, he hopes that he would be. Despite Kira being L's opponent, at the core, Light and L share many traits, including extraordinary intelligence and strong opinions of what constitutes true justice. Furthermore, L can easily present his conclusions publicly at any time, and with his reputation, is taken seriously. L tends to second-guess everything he is presented with, and is extremely meticulous and analytical.

After L introduces himself as Ryuga, Light believes that if he writes down Ryuga's name, he may have the pop star of the same name in his mind instead of L. This would cause the pop star to die, while L would still live since Ryuga is an alias. The death of the pop star would cause L to suspect Light. This is why Light decides to not write Ryuga's name.

Death Note: How To Read 13 revealed many facts about L. His true birth name is L Lawliet. His date of birth is Halloween of 1979, making him 25 when he dies on November 5, 2004. His height and weight are 179cm/50kg (5'10"/110lbs.), which would have meant he was severely underweight. It is implied that L was a former resident of Wammy's House, one of Watari's orphanages, as well as a safe haven and educational facility specifically for intellectually-gifted children. Therefore, similar to Near and Mello, L's abilities were discovered whilst living there, and he is most likely an orphan.

In chapter 38 of the manga, L suggests that even though he eats only sweet foods, he remains underweight because the brain uses the most calories of any organ in the body. He also says that if he sits normally, his reasoning ability would drop 40%.

In the anime's finale, an apparition of L appears before the dying Light, who closes his eyes in the same fashion L does in the 25th episode.

As there is no time delay between the first and second films, the second film begins soon before L supposedly dies. L retains many of the same characteristics seen in the original series. At the end of the first film, L eats potato chips in front of Light; Light had used a potato chip sack to hide a cell phone acting as a television from security cameras while L filmed his room.

In the second film, his original "death", caused by Rem writing his name in her Death Note, does not take effect, as L had written his own name in Misa's Death Note earlier. It is his self-sacrifice that allows himself stay alive for a longer duration (as he supposed Kira would kill him on that day), and allows the investigation team to apprehend Light. After Ryuk kills Light, Ryuk offers L the Death Note. L refuses, and Ryuk, saying that L is "no fun," leaves.

Twenty-three days after writing his name in the Death Note, and after burning all the remaining Death Notes and having a conversation with Soichiro, L dies peacefully while eating a chocolate bar, with a picture of Watari lying right beside him. He is portrayed by Ken'ichi Matsuyama.

Misa Amane (弥 海砂, Amane Misa?) / Kira (second)
Voiced by: Aya Hirano (Japanese), Shannon Chan-Kent (English)

Misa is a famous model, singer and actress and has an immense crush on Light. She usually refers to herself in the third person by calling herself "Misa-Misa" and tends to be hyperactive. She poses as the "second Kira" to attract the attention of the first Kira.

She decides to devote her life to Light because he punished the criminal that killed her parents when she was younger; a burglar killed Misa's parents in front of her eyes. Misa, unable to forgive the killer and wanting to kill the burglar herself, saw multiple delays in the killer's trial before Kira killed him.[6] The Shinigami who follows her is Rem. Misa also performs two eye trades, cutting her lifespan in half twice; the first was with Rem, and the second with Ryuk (For more information, see Shinigami Eyes#Misa Amane's lifespan).

Misa sends Sakura TV video tapes "from Kira" in order to attract the attention of the real Kira. After receiving a reply video from the real Kira, Misa finds Light and tells him that she will support him in any way. Misa tells Light that she had her friends handle the packages containing the "Kira Tapes" and donned disguises as a method of fooling surveillance.

Misa and Light move into the same household together after L's death. In actuality, Light befriends Misa for the eyes, having her pass judgement on criminals around the world with Ryuk as her personal Shinigami. She also provides assistance to Light when he aids the investigation team in their hunt for Mello. After Near's suspicion of Light being Kira becomes apparent, Light instructs Misa to give up her ownership of the Death Note and pass it on to Mikami. When Misa figures Light starts to build a close relationship with Takada, she fears that Light would leave her for Takada. To prevent this, Misa plans to make a public announcement that she was engaged to Light. Before she could announce it, Near orders her to be kidnapped and put under surveillance. Even after he realizes that nothing would come from interrogating her, he keeps her captive for a while, if only to prevent her from contacting Light while Near prepared his plan to expose Light as Kira once and for all.

According to How to Read 13, Misa falls into despair after learning of Light's death through Matsuda. Misa commits suicide one year later on February 14, 2011. It is also revealed that the cloaked woman who appears at the end of the manga is not Misa, but simply a follower of Kira.

At the anime's finale, Misa's suicide is neither mentioned nor seen. At the final credits, she is seen standing at the edge of a rooftop, with a sad face looking at the horizon.

Misa, born on December 25, 1984 in Kyoto, has a height of 152 centimeters (4 feet and 9 inches) and a mass of 36 kilograms (79 pounds). Misa has a bust size of 76 centimeters, a waist size of 51 centimeters, and a hip size of 75 centimeters. Her blood type is AB.

Misa, portrayed in the film by Erika Toda, is seen filming a drama show called "Misa-Misa's Happy Sweets," where she states that she is baking treats to make her enemies fat. After filming of that section ends, she expresses support for Kira on camera. A supervisor states that the section will be cut due to controversies.

Sakashiro, the assistant director for "Happy Sweets" and Misa's attacker, dies from a heart attack when Jealous writes his name inside of his Death Note. Jealous's Death Note then falls in front of Misa, who immediately picks it up and finds Rem after reading the notebook's rules.

Misa does not commit suicide in either of the films, as her memory from the incident and the Death Note is erased. She still harbors her obsession for Light and bids him a happy birthday from her mini shrine of Light. She feels that a piece of her life is somehow missing. In addition, her appearance is slightly modified in both films: while Misa has blonde hair in the manga and anime, it is brown in the film.

Teru Mikami (魅上 照, Mikami Teru?) / Kira (fourth)
Voiced by: Masaya Matsukaze

Teru, in the original manga and anime versions, is chosen as the new Kira by Light. When Light feels it is dangerous for Misa to keep the Death Note any longer, he instructs her to pass the ownership of the Note to Mikami. Little is known about Mikami yet except that he appears to be a supporter of Kira, and that he is a prosecutor. He has also performed an eye trade with Ryuk, earning him the Shinigami Eyes. When Mikami's decisions reveal that he can follow the thoughts and ideals of the first Kira, as L could, Light wonders if Mikami will become much-needed help, or a new threat.

As the story progresses, it is revealed that Mikami has been bullied at school for his sense of righteousness and therefore wishes to punish those he considers to be evil. Because of this, he chose to become a prosecutor and worships Kira as God. He is also extremely bright just like Light, but he seems content to remain a loyal follower in Kira's kingdom, taking the initiative to ask Kira for direction when he does not receive direction, but also making decisions with Kira's ideals on his own.

Compared to Light, Mikami also seems more psychologically unbalanced, muttering to himself "delete, delete, delete..." with fanatical glee, and a gleam in his eyes as he writes down names in the Death Note (in the anime version he jumps and makes slashing movements with his pen as if it were a sword). At other times, he seems merely intense and calm. Mikami goes beyond Light in his ambition, wishing to judge the unproductive and those who have committed crimes in their past, even if they have since reformed, which alarms Light. Light realizes how loyal he is to Kira when Mikami risks exposure by speaking on Sakura TV, publicly announcing that he will do anything Kira commands.

Mikami's devotion to Kira leads to his and Light's deaths. When Takada is kidnapped by Mello, Mikami rushes to get his Death Note to write her name down in it to prevent her from being captured by the investigation team and forced to speak what she knows. Light had already written her name a minute before Mikami could. This action leads Near's team to his note's hiding place, foiling Light's plan to gather all of his antagonists in a same place (including Near) before Mikami for him to dispose of them. When they are finally cornered by Near, in the manga, an enraged Mikami starts to blame Light for putting them into their situation and claiming that Kira is no god, contrary to what he so fervently believed before. Ten days after he is captured and detained, he dies after going insane. Mikami's death leads Matsuda to believe that Near used the Death Note to control Mikami's actions, allowing Near to convict Light.

In the anime version of Death Note, Mikami commits suicide with the fountain pen he used to write on the notebook, allowing Light to flee the warehouse (though it cannot be asserted whether he did so on purpose or out of desperation).

According to How to Read 13, Mikami was born on June 7, 1982 and dies on February 7, 2010. He is 175 centimeters (5 feet and 9 inches) tall and weighs 56 kilograms (123 pounds). His blood type is A.

Kiyomi Takada (高田 清美, Takada Kiyomi?)
Voiced by: Masumi Okamura (first arc)/Maaya Sakamoto (second arc) (Japanese)

Kiyomi first appears in Chapter 31 as Light's classmate and girlfriend. She is a popular girl also known as "Miss To-Oh" (English version)/"Miss Todai" (Japanese version) (short for To-Oh University) or "'Refined' Takada" (English version)/"Seiso Takada" (which means something similar to "plays hard to get"}}. Light notes that she is not as shallow as her reputation advertises. She makes a brief appearance by Light's side in Chapter 32, not to reappear in the story until Chapter 85 as an announcer of NHN (parody of NHK) chosen to be Kira's spokesperson to the world. This is not a decision made by Light, but by Mikami, who threatens her as Kira, and knows her as someone educated, intellectual and civilized, and who could send out Kira's words accurately in a calm and straightforward manner.

Light has to figure out how an ex-girlfriend could become an ally, especially since he disappeared from everyone he knew in university, and at one point leaves his mother thinking he ran off to live with Misa. Light believes that she was more intelligent and prouder than Misa. Near, after doing a background research on the NHN announcer, believes that she is merely studious and not intelligent, as Light's judgment that she was intelligent was based solely on her grades. Takada is by then famous for being Kira's spokesperson, and Near looked down on anyone who supported Kira. By Chapter 88, when Light reveals his identity to her as Kira, she states that Light is the only man she has ever respected. That he is Kira only enthralls her more, especially when he asks her to be his queen in the perfect world they only dreamed of when they were in school together. Mello and Matt kidnap Takada; Takada's bodyguards shoot Matt while Mello takes Takada. Mello forces Takada to take her clothes off, and Takada writes Mello's real name in the Death Note. In Chapter 99, Light writes her name into the Death Note as a suicide by fire, after she tells him that she has killed Mello.

According to How to Read 13, Takada was born on July 12, 1985 and dies on January 26, 2010. She is 5'4" and weighs 97 lbs. Her blood type is AB.

In the film, her role is combined with that of Higuchi as the third Kira, and she kills those who stand in her way of a promotion. Also, she never sees Light because she is blindfolded. Otherwise, her fate is more or less the same, with Light killing her after her declaration of devotion although the declaration is to Kira and not Light since she never knows Light was Kira. In addition, despite having short hair in the Death Note anime and manga, Takada's hair is fairly long in the films. She is portrayed by Nana Katase.