Death Note (デスノート Desu Nōto?) is a Japanese manga series created by writer Tsugumi Ohba and manga artist Takeshi Obata. The series centers on Light Yagami, a university student who discovers a supernatural notebook, the “Death Note”, dropped on Earth by a shinigami (death god) named Ryuk. The Death Note grants its user the ability to kill anyone whose face they have seen, by writing the victim’s name in the notebook. The story follows Light’s attempt to create and rule a world cleansed of evil using the notebook, and the complex conflict between him, his opponents and a mysterious detective known to the world only as L.
Death Note was first serialized in 108 chapters by Shueisha in the Japanese manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from December 2003 to May 2006. The series was also published in tankōbon format in Japan starting in May 2004 and ending in October 2006 with a total of twelve volumes. The series was adapted into live-action films released in Japan on June 17, 2006, on November 3, 2006, and on February 2, 2008. The anime series aired in Japan from October 3, 2006, to June 26, 2007. Composed of 37 episodes, the anime was developed by Madhouse and directed by Tetsuro Araki. A light novel based on the series, written by Nisio Isin, was released in Japan. Additionally, various video games have been published by Konami for Nintendo DS.
Viz Media licensed the Death Note manga in North America and has published all the twelve volumes from the series as well as the light novel. The episodes from the anime first appeared in North America as downloadable by IGN. Viz later licensed the anime series and it aired on Bionix. The live-actions briefly played in certain North American theaters since 2008. However, none of the video games titles have thus far been published in North America.
Several publications for manga, anime and other media have added praise and criticism on the Death Note series. The plot and violence from the story have been praised, noting it to be very entertaining. However, the series was banned in China due to various problems people had with children altering their notebooks to resemble the Death Note.
Plot
Light Yagami is an extremely intelligent young man who resents what appears to be a relentless increase of crime and corruption in the world around him. His life undergoes a drastic change when he discovers a mysterious notebook, known as the “Death Note,” lying on the ground. 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 notebook’s authenticity, but after experimenting with it, he realizes 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 keen judgment on those he deems to be evil or who get in his way.
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” (キラ?, derived from the typical Japanese pronunciation of the English word “killer“), is located in Japan. He 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.
Misa Amane, another Death Note owner, finds Light. Obsessed by Kira after the death of her parents’ murderer, she devotes herself to helping Light, but is captured by L. Light makes a plan involving renouncing ownership of both Death Notes, and all of his memories of them, and turns himself in to L for surveillance. Together, Light and L investigate eight people from the company “Yotsuba” who are using Light’s Death Note for their own profit. While arresting them, Light recovers all his memories when he touches the Death Note. He remembers and continues his plan of compelling the former owner of Misa’s Death Note, the shinigami Rem, into killing L and his aide Watari.
After L’s death, Light is given the position of the “new L” by the Japanese Task Force. Four years later, Near and Mello – two children who were raised to be successors to L – appear, with the goal of finding Kira. In the meantime, Kira has gained much public support, and has contacts. Mello, one of L’s successors, kidnaps the Sayu Yagami, Light’s little sister as a bargaining chip to get the Death Note. The Japanese Task Force plan to go to Los Angeles to rescue Sayu but end up losing the Notebook. The task force later attempts to retrieve it and succeeds in doing so; but, as a result of an explosive that Mello uses to cover his escape, Soichiro Yagami, Light’s father, dies.
Near begins to suspect the second L of being Kira thus causing some members of the Japanese task force to also openly suspect him. Realizing the risk of being caught, Light has Misa give up ownership of her Death Note. He then finds his next successor, Teru Mikami, a strong, almost crazed Kira supporter. Mikami later recruits a new spokesman for Kira, Kiyomi Takada, a newscaster and one of Light’s former college girlfriends. Teru Mikami and Kiyomi Takada continue killing criminals while Light is unable to do so himself. Kiyomi is later kidnapped by Mello and is forced to kill him with a hidden piece of the Death Note. Light kills Kiyomi to avoid her implicating him after she uses the note to kill Mello. In a final confrontation between Light and Near, the latter reveals that the former is Kira. Light’s name is then written in a Death Note by the Ryuk, as he stated he would at the beginning of the series. Light suffers a heart attack and dies.
Production
The Death Note concept did not derive from any single source but rather a general concept involving Shinigami and “specific rules.”[1] Tsugumi Ohba wanted to create a suspense series because he did not feel that he could have created a fight-style series and that the genre had few suspense series. After publication of the pilot chapter the series was not expected to be approved as a serialized comic by the author who did not consider it to “fit with Jump.” Ohba said that when he learned that Death Note received approval and that Takeshi Obata would create the artwork he “couldn’t even believe it.”[2] Due to positive reactions to the series Death Note became a serialized manga series.[3]
“Thumbnails” were created incorporating dialog, panel layout, and basic drawings, and were sent to the illustrator. The editor reviewed the thumbnails and sent them to back to the illustrator (Obata) with the script set in stone and the panel layout “mostly done.” Obata then determined the expressions and “camera angles” and created the final artwork. Ohba concentrated on the tempo and the amount of dialogue, making sure that the text was as concise as possible. Ohba commented that he believed “reading too much exposition” would be tiring and would negatively affect the atmosphere and “air of suspense.” Significant artistic license was given to the illustrator who worked on basic descriptions, such as “abandoned building”,[4] and this extended to the design of the Death Notes with Obata possessing free rein. Obata originally thought of the books as “‘Bible-like’…something you would automatically think was a Death Note.” He also felt this design would seem “difficult to use” and instead opted for an easy-to-use college notebook. At a later point the concept of Death Notes looking different from one another, depending on the human era (such as Death Notes in ancient Japan looking like scrolls and Death Notes in medieval Europe looking like The Old Testament) was conceived.[5]
When Ohba decided on the plot he internally visualized the panels while being on his bed, drinking tea, or walking around his house, needing to feel relaxed while visualizing the panels. On many occasions the original draft was too long and needed to be refined various times before the desired “tempo” and “flow” for the chapter was finalised. The writer remarked on his preference for reading the previous “two or four” chapters carefully to ensure consistency in the story.[1]
The typical weekly production schedule consisted of five days for creating and thinking and one day using pencil to insert dialogue into rough drafts; after this point the writer faxed any initial drafts to the editor. The illustrator’s weekly production schedule involved one day with the thumbnails, layout, and pencils and one day with additional penciling and inking. Obata’s assistants usually worked for four days and Obata spent one day to finish it. Obata said that sometimes he took a few extra days to color pages and that this “messed with the schedule.” In contrast, the writer took three or four days to create a chapter on some occasions, while on others he took a month. Obata said that his schedule remained consistent except when he had to create color pages.[6]
Ohba and Obata rarely met in person during the creation of the serialized manga; instead the two met with the editor. The first time they met in person was at an editorial party in January 2004. Obata said that, despite the intrigue, he did not ask his editor about Ohba’s plot developments as he anticipated the new thumbnails every week.[2] The two did not discuss the final chapters with one another and they continued to talk with the editor. Ohba said that when he asked the editor if Obata had “said anything” about the story and plot the editor responded ‘”No, nothing” [laughs].’[4]
Ohba claims that the series ended more or less in the manner that he intended for it to end; he considered the idea of L defeating Light Yagami with Light dying but instead chose to use the “Yellow Box warehouse” ending. According to Ohba the details had been set “from the beginning.”[3] The writer wanted an ongoing plot line instead of an episodic series because Death Note was serialized and its focus was intended to be on a cast with a series of events triggered by the Death Note.[7] 13: How to Read states that the humorous aspects of Death Note originated from Ohba’s “enjoyment of humorous stories.”[8]
Ohba said that he did not have a theme that he wished to express throughout the series but that, had he been required to choose one, it would be that “Humans will all eventually die and never come back to life, so let’s give it our all while we’re alive.” He said that he did not intend for Death Note to push an ideology or make a statement about good and evil, and that Near’s statement in Volume 12 about deciding right and wrong is closest to his own personal belief. Ohba also remarked that he understands how debate can form from the story; the answers to the questions raised become “ideological” and he believed this development would be “dangerous” and not “interesting in a manga.” This aspect was ultimately omitted from Death Note.[9]
When the writer was asked, during an interview, whether the series was meant to be about enjoying the plot twists and psychological warfare, Ohba responded by saying that this concept was the reason why he was “very happy” to place the story in Weekly Shōnen Jump. He said that because Death Note is aimed at “the young” the reader can “push back ideology” and focus on “pure entertainment.” He also said that if the series was aimed at an older audience he would expect “more debate over the issues” and therefore believed the story would have had to develop in that direction.[9] Death Note 13: How to Read states that debate about good and evil “sometimes” appears in the series and that the “answer” to the debate is left for the reader to decide.[10]
Ohba was also asked what he considered the most important thing in Death Note, and he responded by saying, “the human whose name is written in this note shall die”; in contrast, Obata responded to the same question by answering “impossible to say.”[6]
Pilot chapter
The Death Note process began when Ohba brought thumbnails for two concept ideas to Shueisha; Ohba said that the Death Note pilot, one of the concepts, was “received well” by editors and attained positive reactions by readers.[3] Ohba described keeping the story of the pilot to one chapter as “very difficult” and he said that he remembered it took over a month to begin writing the chapter. He added that the story had to revive the killed characters with the Death Eraser and that he “didn’t really care” for that plot device.[11]
Obata said that he wanted to draw the story after he heard of a “horror story featuring Shinigami.”[2] According to Obata, when he first received the rough draft created by Ohba, he “didn’t really get it” at first and he wanted to work on the project due to the presence of Shinigami and because the work “was dark.”[11] He also said he wondered about the progression of the plot as he read the thumbnails, and if Jump readers would enjoy reading the comic. Obata said that while there is little action and the main character “doesn’t really drive the plot” he enjoyed the atmosphere of the story. He stated that he drew the pilot chapter so that it would appeal to himself.[11]
Ohba brought the rough draft of the pilot chapter to the editorial department. Obata came into the picture at a later point to create the artwork. They did not meet in person while creating the pilot chapter. Ohba said that the editor told him he did not need to meet with Obata to discuss the pilot; Ohba said “I think it worked out all right.”[2]
Adaptation
Tetsuro Araki, the director, said that he wished to convey aspects that “made the series interesting” instead of simply “focusing on morals or the concept of justice.” Toshiki Inoue, the series organizer, agreed with Araki and added that, in anime adaptations, there is a lot of importance in highlighting the aspects that are “interesting in the original.” He concluded that Light’s presence was “the most compelling” aspect; therefore the adaptation chronicles Light’s “thoughts and actions as much as possible.” Inoue noted that, to best incorporate the manga’s plot into the anime, he “tweak[ed] the chronology a bit” and incorporated flashbacks that appear after the openings of the episodes; he said this revealed the desired tensions. Araki said that, because in an anime the viewer cannot “turn back pages” in the manner that a comic reader can, the anime staff ensured that the show clarified details. Inoue added that the staff did not want to get involved with every single detail, so the staff selected elements to emphasize. Due to the complexity of the original manga, he described the process as “definitely delicate and a great challenge.” Inoue admitted that he placed more instructions and notes in the script than usual. Araki added that because of the importance of otherwise trivial details, the notes became crucial to the development of the series.[12]
Araki said that when he discovered the Death Note anime project, he “literally begged” to join the production team; when he joined he insisted that Inoue should write the scripts. Inoue added that, because he enjoyed reading the original comic, he wished to use his effort.[12]
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