Death Note

Death Note

デスノート
2006 -2007 Madhouse NTV 37 episodes Completed
Psychological Thriller Mystery Supernatural Drama
Details & Synopsis
Light Yagami is seventeen, top of his class, and bored. Not restless-teenager bored. Philosophically bored, convinced that the world is irredeemably rotten and that the people running it are not equal to the task. Then a notebook falls from the sky. Any human whose name is written in it dies. Light picks it up, reads the instructions, and within forty-eight hours has decided he is God.

This is not a villain origin story. Light does not become the thing he becomes through corruption or trauma or a single catastrophic choice. He becomes it because the notebook revealed what was already there. The horror of Death Note is not what the notebook does. It is what Light does with it, calmly, methodically, with genuine conviction that he is correct.

Produced by Madhouse and directed by Tetsuro Araki, Death Note aired on NTV from October 2006 to June 2007. Thirty-seven episodes adapted from Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata's manga. The first twenty-five are as close to perfect television as the medium produced in the mid-2000s. The remainder are contested in ways that are worth understanding before you arrive at them.

The contest is L. An anonymous detective. No last name. No visible biography. A man who sits in hotel rooms eating cake and stacking sugar cubes and holds the single largest sustained record of solved cases in the world. He is assigned to find Kira, the name the internet gives to the unknown killer who appears to be executing criminals globally through untraceable cardiac arrest. L deduces within the first episode that Kira is in Japan. By the third he has narrowed it further. Death Note's first arc is a sustained cat-and-mouse between two people who are the most intelligent persons either of them has ever encountered, operating with incomplete information, neither willing to move without certainty and both moving constantly. It is one of the great dramatic constructions of its era.

In 2006 this show was downloaded faster than Conclave-Mendoi could release it. Not by the anime community. By everyone. Death Note crossed into spaces that had never heard of fansubs, had no context for seasonal anime, had no prior investment in the medium. It crossed because the premise translated instantly, because Light Yagami is a protagonist who works on people who have never watched anime in their lives, and because L is the kind of character who produces the specific obsession that makes people talk about a show to people who were not going to watch it. The mid-2000s fansub era had no larger single crossover event.

The second arc arrives. Near. Mello. The Wammy's House succession. Whether what follows L is adequate to what preceded him is the argument Death Note fans have been having since 2007 and have not resolved. Watch and form your own position. The first arc alone justifies every minute.
Alt Title デスノート
Studio Madhouse
Network NTV
Aired 2006 - 2007
Episodes 37
Genre Psychological Thriller, Mystery, Supernatural, Drama
Status Completed
Search Go to ep Filters
Arc List (2)
L Arc (25) Succession Arc (12)
L Arc 25 eps 25 canon 📷 3
001 Rebirth Aired Oct 3, 2006 canon 📷 144 ►
A Shinigami named Ryuk possesses two separate Death Notes. He drops the spare notebook into the human world out of pure boredom to see what happens. What happens is Light Yagami. He is seventeen, top of his class, holds the highest test scores in Japan, and is possessed of a bone deep contempt for a world he considers beyond saving. He finds the notebook, reads the instructions, tests it on a criminal whose face he sees on television, and watches the news the next morning to confirm. The test works. He does not stop. He does not hesitate. He does not experience this as a moral crisis. The notebook merely gave an exceptional student a tool to reveal who he already was.
Lore The Notebook Light Finds Belongs to Sidoh, Not Ryuk
View all 144 screencaps from this episode →
002 Confrontation Aired Oct 10, 2006 canon 📷 153 ►
The pattern of sudden criminal deaths is officially noticed by global authorities. Interpol convenes an emergency session where a single digital voice on a laptop speaks for L, the anonymous detective whose case clearance rate is entirely without precedent. L deduces within minutes that Kira is operating out of Japan, that he requires a name and a face to execute his targets, and that the original test death was caused by someone watching a decoy broadcast. The confrontation begins face to face via television screens before either principal has ever met the other in person.
Lore · 3 The Lind L. Tailor Broadcast Trap
+2
Light's First Advantage Is Knowing the Weapon L Cannot Imagine Kira Strategy & Information War L Wins Information by Forcing Kira to React Kira Strategy & Information War
View all 153 screencaps from this episode →
003 Dealings Aired Oct 17, 2006 canon 📷 148 ►
Ryuk formally introduces himself to Light inside his bedroom. The cosmic terms dictate that a Shinigami who drops a notebook into the human world must follow its owner until that owner dies, at which point the Shinigami will write that human's name in his own ledger. Ryuk operates purely as an audience who finds human choices entertaining. Light accepts the terms because he has no intention of stopping his grand crusade. The FBI dispatches twelve elite agents to Japan to investigate local police suspects, forcing Light to begin constructing a calculated counter strategy.
View all 148 screencaps from this episode →
004 Pursuit Aired Oct 24, 2006 canon ►
Light eliminates all twelve investigating FBI agents using a single name obtained through one of them under duress. The method requires manipulating an agent into revealing his colleagues' identities before walking to his own fated demise. The sequence demonstrates the specific quality that makes Kira dangerous, which is the surgical precision with which he deploys his untraceable tool. The families of the dead agents are left broken, including a brilliant former asset named Naomi Misora who begins investigating independently.
005 Tactics Aired Oct 31, 2006 canon ►
Naomi Misora constructs a theory about how Kira operates that is entirely correct. She attempts to bring her findings directly to L. Light encounters her by pure chance at the police headquarters before she can make official contact. She does not know his identity and approaches him as a trustworthy ally. Light realizes in real time that she is the single most dangerous person alive to his project and uses her emotional vulnerability to extract her true name. Naomi walks away into the shadows, leaving her investigation permanently cold.
006 Unraveling Aired Nov 7, 2006 canon ►
L reveals his physical form to the remaining members of the Japanese police task force, including Light's father Soichiro Yagami. Operating under the pseudonym Ryuzaki, the eccentric detective establishes a secure headquarters to coordinate their efforts. The task force begins working directly alongside the master investigator. Light learns through his father's phone calls that L is real, present, and actively narrowing the suspect pool to a young student with direct access to police files.
007 Overcast Aired Nov 14, 2006 canon ►
L makes bold direct contact with his prime suspect by enrolling at Light's university under the name Ryuzaki. The encounter marks the first face to face meeting between the two tactical giants, each taking the measure of the other with complete internal awareness. L tells Light directly that he suspects him of being Kira, while Light responds that fanning such suspicions is a logical dead end. The structural trap closes as neither can move without giving away a critical piece of data.
Lore Naomi Misora Gets Too Close
008 Glare Aired Nov 21, 2006 canon ►
Light and L engage in a high stakes tennis match on the university campus grounds. Both geniuses know exactly what the other represents, yet neither possesses the physical evidence to validate their models. The athletic contest functions as an intense sequence of surveillance and performance where each attempts to read the other's physical tells. They are precisely matched in stamina and focus. L admits that playing against Light is genuinely engaging, marking a rare moment of transparent connection between enemies.
Lore The Bedroom Surveillance Counterattack
009 Encounter Aired Nov 28, 2006 canon ►
L extends an official invitation for Light to join the Kira investigation task force. The inverted strategy dictates that if Light is Kira, keeping him inside the inner circle grants L direct visibility into his methods, whereas if he is innocent, his intellect is an asset. Light accepts for the exact same reason, gaining immediate visibility into what L knows. Father and son are now working the same global homicide case from opposite sides of the secure table.
010 Doubt Aired Dec 5, 2006 canon ►
A second Kira unexpectedly emerges in the media space, executing targets without requiring access to police files. Someone has discovered a secondary notebook and accepted the Shinigami Eyes deal, trading half her remaining lifespan for the ability to see names above human heads. Misa Amane operates as a popular model whose family's killer was executed by the original Kira. She seeks to find her savior and pledge her absolute devotion to his cause, presenting Light with a powerful tool and an erratic liability.
011 Assault Aired Dec 12, 2006 canon ►
Misa successfully identifies Light as Kira by using her Shinigami Eyes to confirm his lifespan data is invisible to notebook owners. She tracks him down to his doorstep and reveals her possession of the second ledger. Light immediately assesses her psychological landscape and realizes her absolute devotion can be weaponized. He accepts her as an accomplice while constantly calculating how to manage her reckless behavior before L detects her presence.
Lore · 4 Misa Arrives With the Shinigami Eyes
+3
Misa Understands Light Is Using Her and Chooses Him Anyway Kira Strategy & Information War The Second Kira Turns Sakura TV Into Part of the Case Kira & the Public Demegawa Turns Kira Into Television Kira & the Public
012 Love Aired Dec 19, 2006 canon ►
L acts on physical evidence and arrests Misa on suspicion of being the second Kira. She is confined in a secure facility under maximum restraint. Light understands that L will eventually break her emotional defenses and constructs a cold, complex contingency plan. He surrenders his ownership of the Death Note voluntarily to wipe his own memories completely, passing the notebook to a corporate third party. He prepares to walk into L's custody as a genuinely innocent boy with zero knowledge of his own crimes.
Lore Gelus's Notebook Reaches Misa Through Rem
013 Confession Aired Jan 9, 2007 canon ►
Light turns himself in to the task force and demands voluntary confinement under 24 hour surveillance. As his memory fades along with his ownership of the notebook, his innocence becomes entirely authentic. The Kira executions temporarily cease before resuming under the direction of Kyosuke Higuchi of the Yotsuba Group. Light sits in his cell genuinely oblivious to his past identity as a mass murderer. L watches the security monitors and faces an impossible paradox.
014 Friend Aired Jan 16, 2007 canon ►
L chains his wrist directly to Light using a reinforced metal link to maintain absolute physical proximity during the ongoing investigation. They begin operating as a unified analytical team to solve the Yotsuba corporate killings. The sequence develops their relationship in a tragic context where Light genuinely believes he is an innocent student and L treats him as a legitimate colleague. Their combined intellect quickly narrows the corporate suspect pool.
Lore Rem Knows Light Is Using Misa but Cannot Abandon Her
015 Wager Aired Jan 23, 2007 canon ►
The Yotsuba Group's inner council of eight senior executives meets in secret to select which business rivals Kira should eliminate next. Rem monitors the corporate meetings, having delivered the notebook to them under Light's original instructions. L and Light coordinate their data analysis from headquarters, using their shared chain to cross-reference corporate market shifts. The procedural investigation moves at an accelerated pace as Light unknowingly hunts his own proxy tool.
016 Decision Aired Jan 30, 2007 canon ►
The task force mobilizes an aggressive sting operation against the Yotsuba Group. Misa is released from temporary custody and deployed as an undercover asset due to her celebrity access to corporate executives. She maneuvers through the Yotsuba social circle while Rem provides covert assistance from the spirit realm. Light monitors her wiretap feeds alongside L, entirely unaware that the trap he is closing will dismantle his own innocence.
Lore · 3 Self-Incarceration & Memory Forfeiture
+2
Light's Yotsuba Plan Works Because His Future Self Does Not Know the Plan Kira Strategy & Information War Light Rearranges the Notebooks Before He Gives Up His Memories Death Note Ownership Ledger
017 Execution Aired Feb 6, 2007 canon ►
Higuchi is cornered during a high speed highway pursuit and taken into custody by the task force. L handles the recovered notebook and immediately sees the physical form of Ryuk, validating the supernatural rules of the case. The notebook is passed down the evidence chain to Light. The moment his fingers close around the paper, his wiped memories return in a flash of absolute realization. He resumes his role as Kira while maintaining his innocent mask.
018 Ally Aired Feb 13, 2007 canon ►
Light sets his final endgame into motion with his memories fully restored. The task force analyzes the notebook rules written on the cover, completely unaware that Light fabricated a fake rule stating the user must kill every thirteen days to survive. The false rule effectively clears both Light and Misa of all standing suspicions. L remains deeply skeptical of the contradiction and prepares a final test to verify the notebook's laws, forcing Light to accelerate his timeline.
019 Humility Aired Feb 20, 2007 canon ►
Rem realizes Light is deliberately placing Misa in danger to force a tactical resolution against the task force. She confronts the young mastermind and threatens to execute him if Misa's mortality is compromised. Light absorbs the threat and turns it into the exact mechanism for his victory, constructing a scenario where Rem must use her own ledger to kill L to safeguard Misa's life, an act that will dissolve the Shinigami into ash.
020 Matsuda Aired Feb 27, 2007 canon ►
Matsuda stumbles into the Yotsuba corporate headquarters ahead of schedule and inadvertently compromises his cover to the executives. The task force is forced to orchestrate a dramatic fake death scenario to extract their youngest member from the corporate net. The sequence highlights Matsuda's unswerving loyalty to Chief Yagami and Light, a psychological anchor that will carry massive structural consequences for the final chapter.
021 Performance Aired Mar 6, 2007 canon ►
Light tightens the psychological net around Rem as L prepares to test the notebook rules using foreign death row convicts. The impending test threatens to expose Light's fabricated thirteen day rule and dismantle his alibi permanently. Rem is pushed into a corner where she must choose between her own immortality and Misa's preservation. Light watches the pieces align with cold, absolute certainty.
022 Silence Aired Mar 13, 2007 canon ►
Rem executes Watari first, wiping the investigation database before writing L's true name in her ledger. L collapses from his chair as his heart fails, looking up into Light's eyes in his final seconds of consciousness. Light catches his falling rival and allows his mask to slip for a fraction of a second to deliver a silent look of absolute triumph. Rem dissolves into white dust in the hallway, leaving L dead and the investigation completely leaderless.
Lore · 2 Higuchi Becomes the Yotsuba Kira
+1
Higuchi Receives the Notebook Light Originally Used Death Note Ownership Ledger
023 Guidance Aired Mar 20, 2007 canon ►
The task force processes the devastating loss of their legendary leader. Light skillfully positions himself to assume absolute command of the ongoing Kira investigation, effectively hijacking the global apparatus designed to hunt him down. The narrative begins its major transition toward the next era of the conflict, introducing the first encrypted references to the succession pool inside Wammy's House.
024 Revival Aired Mar 27, 2007 canon ►
Four years pass into the future as Light operates as both the head of the task force and the undisputed shadow deity of the new world. Global governments begin to publicly capitulate to Kira's authority, normalizing his executions as a standard geopolitical element. Light functions at the absolute peak of his administrative power, yet the complete absence of an intellectual equal leaves his crusade entirely unreached.
Lore · 2 The Helicopter Memory Recovery & Higuchi's Death
+1
Light Regains Ownership by Killing Higuchi Death Note Ownership Ledger
025 Mayhem Aired Apr 3, 2007 canon ►
L's chosen successors, Near and Mello, formally enter the global arena after rejecting a joint leadership model at Wammy's House. Near assumes command of an elite American task force called the SPK, utilizing pure deduction and data manipulation. Mello embeds himself within a powerful international mafia syndicate to pursue Kira via raw kinetic violence. The single adversary is replaced by two distinct tactical threats.
Lore · 4 Rem Kills L and Watari to Save Misa
+3
L Never Fully Accepts the Thirteen-Day Rule Kira Strategy & Information War Light Beats Rem by Making Protection Self-Destructive Kira Strategy & Information War Rem's Own Notebook Becomes Light's Hidden Reserve Death Note Ownership Ledger
Succession Arc 12 eps 12 canon
026 Greetings Aired Apr 10, 2007 canon ►
Near establishes his operational command center inside a secure room filled with complex toy models, mimicking his predecessor's eccentric mannerisms. He initiates direct communications with Light's task force to evaluate their integrity. Simultaneously, Mello uses his mafia connections to successfully locate the notebook held by the Japanese authorities, launching an aggressive opening gambit.
027 Abduction Aired Apr 17, 2007 canon ►
Mello orchestrates the high profile kidnapping of Light's younger sister Sayu Yagami to use as direct leverage for the notebook. The violent tactical play bypasses Light's intellectual architecture entirely, forcing the task force to negotiate with a hostage taker who ignores standard legal boundaries. Chief Soichiro Yagami assumes field command to manage the exchange in the desert.
Lore · 3 Near and Mello Refuse to Become One New L
+2
Near Investigates the Man Calling Himself L Kira Strategy & Information War Kira's Biggest Victory Happens Outside the Investigation Kira & the Public
028 Impatience Aired Apr 24, 2007 canon ►
The high stakes desert exchange concludes with Sayu safely returned but the notebook falling directly into Mello's possession. Light is forced to manage three shifting fronts simultaneously, balancing Near's growing suspicions, Mello's rogue notebook deployments, and his own father's deteriorating mental stability. The plot architecture becomes increasingly complex as the Spiders' net fractures.
Lore Mello Takes Sidoh's Notebook Out of the Task Force's Control
029 Father Aired May 1, 2007 canon ►
Soichiro Yagami accepts the Shinigami Eyes deal during a desperate military raid to reclaim the notebook from Mello's bunker. He corners Mello but hesitates to execute him, taking a lethal burst of gunfire instead. In his final minutes in the hospital, he looks at Light's face and uses his eyes to confirm his son is not Kira, unaware that ownership rules mask the truth. He dies at peace, leaving Light to process the cost of his kingdom.
Lore · 5 Mello Steals the Notebook and Forces the Case Open
+4
Mello Forces Information Near Cannot Obtain Safely Kira Strategy & Information War Sidoh: He Wants His Notebook Back, Not Kira's War Death Note Ownership Ledger Sidoh Finally Reclaims the Notebook Ryuk Stole Death Note Ownership Ledger Near Breaks a Kira Mob With Money, Not an Argument Kira & the Public
030 Justice Aired May 8, 2007 canon ►
Near coordinates his data analysis with the survivors of the SPK and begins focusing his suspicion directly on the new L. Mello survives the bunker explosion and goes underground to launch an improvised counter investigation. Light selects Teru Mikami, a hyper rigid prosecutor, to operate as X-Kira, passing him a secondary notebook to maintain the executions from a safe distance.
031 Transfer Aired May 15, 2007 canon ►
Teru Mikami is introduced as a man whose childhood trauma calcified into a fanatical obsession with societal purification. He views Kira as an authentic god and executes criminals with a terrifying, rhythmic devotion. Light monitors his public movements from afar and realizes he has successfully engineered a perfect proxy who requires zero direct commands to execute his grand designs.
Lore · 3 Light Chooses Teru Mikami as X-Kira
+2
Mikami Is Useful Because He Thinks Like Kira Kira Strategy & Information War Gelus's Notebook Eventually Reaches Teru Mikami Death Note Ownership Ledger
032 Selection Aired May 22, 2007 canon ►
Light recruits his former university classmate Kiyomi Takada to act as Kira's official media spokesperson on national television. She uses her news anchor platform to deliver theological edicts to the population. Light manages her investment through calculated romantic manipulation, turning her into a vital, secure communication hub between his office and Mikami.
Lore · 4 Kiyomi Takada Becomes the Bridge Between Light and Mikami
+3
Takada Is a Communication Layer, Not Light's Partner Kira Strategy & Information War Mikami Kills Demegawa for Failing the Kira He Imagines Kira & the Public Takada Gives Kira a Respectable Public Face Kira & the Public
033 Scorn Aired May 29, 2007 canon ►
Near narrows his surveillance net around Mikami, tracking his precise daily schedule to verify his connection to the execution patterns. Mello intercepts a member of the task force to extract a critical piece of data regarding the notebook rules. The two successors close in on Light's apparatus from opposite directions, their asynchronous tactics creating a dual pressure network.
Lore Light's Endgame Depends on Near Watching the Wrong Notebook
034 Vigilance Aired Jun 5, 2007 canon ►
Mello executes a rapid tactical kidnapping of Takada to disrupt Kira's communication lines permanently. Takada utilizes a hidden scrap of notebook paper to assassinate Mello inside his escape vehicle. Light reacts to the crisis instantly by using his own paper scrap to command Takada's immediate suicide via fire, eliminating the witness and setting up the final warehouse confrontation.
035 Malice Aired Jun 12, 2007 canon ►
Near schedules a definitive face to face meeting between the SPK and the Japanese task force at an abandoned dock warehouse. Light accepts the invitation, intending to use the meeting as a final execution ground. He commands Mikami to stand outside the warehouse and write every single name except Light Yagami in the real ledger, confident that his four year reign is about to be globalized.
Lore · 4 Near and Mello Solve Different Halves of L's Problem
+3
Mikami Acting Without Light Is the Fatal Break Kira Strategy & Information War Mello's Takada Kidnapping Creates the One Event Light Did Not Schedule Yellow Box Warehouse: The Complete Breakdown Mikami's Unscheduled Bank Visit Reveals the Real Notebook Yellow Box Warehouse: The Complete Breakdown
036 1.28 Aired Jun 19, 2007 canon ►
The final confrontation takes place inside the Yellowbox Warehouse. Mikami writes the names of everyone present while Light counts down the seconds aloud to his apparent victory. The time expires and the room remains silent. Near exposes that his agents successfully discovered Mikami's hidden vault, replaced the authentic notebook with a perfect forgery, and verified that Light's name is the only one missing from the ledger.
Lore Near's Team Replaces the Real Notebook After Finding It
037 New World Aired Jun 26, 2007 canon ►
Light Yagami completely breaks down under the weight of the undeniable physical evidence on the floor. He delivers a screaming manifesto defending his actions as a necessary sacrifice to save humanity before Matsuda fires multiple rounds into his chest. Light flees the warehouse into the industrial twilight, collapsing on a concrete staircase as his internal clock runs out. Ryuk watches from atop a nearby tower and writes Light's name in his own ledger, bringing the era of the new world to a silent, definitive end.
Lore · 7 Yellow Box Warehouse Showdown
+6
Ryuk Is the Only Major Player Who Never Needs Light to Win Kira Strategy & Information War Light and Near Enter the Warehouse Expecting Opposite Checkmates Yellow Box Warehouse: The Complete Breakdown Mikami Writes Every Name Except Light's Yellow Box Warehouse: The Complete Breakdown Light Reveals Himself Before He Has Another Move Yellow Box Warehouse: The Complete Breakdown Matsuda Is the One Who Stops Light's Last Hidden-Page Move Yellow Box Warehouse: The Complete Breakdown Ryuk Ends the Game Exactly the Way He Said He Would Yellow Box Warehouse: The Complete Breakdown
ⓘ Legend
canon Episode adapts events from the source manga.
mixed Adapts source material but adds anime-original scenes.
good-filler Anime-original episode generally well-received by fans.
filler Anime-original episode not based on the source manga.
📷 Number of user-uploaded screencaps available for this episode.
LY

Light Yagami

Protagonist / Kira

A brilliant, pristine, and fundamentally bored high school prodigy whose reality alters forever when a notebook drops from the sky. Armed with the power to execute anyone by simply writing their name, his cold academic logic transforms instantly into an absolute savior complex. He does not view himself as a criminal but as the solitary righteous deity tasked with cleansing a rotten world. His terrifying intelligence manifests in his ability to maintain a flawless civilian facade while constructing a global apparatus of fear.
+47 LORE
Light Rearranges the Notebooks Before He Gives Up His Memories Death Note Ownership Ledger Rem's Own Notebook Becomes Light's Hidden Reserve Death Note Ownership Ledger Light Regains Ownership by Killing Higuchi Death Note Ownership Ledger The Raye Penber & FBI Surveillance Purge Investigation Chronology The Bedroom Surveillance Counterattack Investigation Chronology Naomi Misora Gets Too Close Investigation Chronology Self-Incarceration & Memory Forfeiture Investigation Chronology The Helicopter Memory Recovery & Higuchi's Death Investigation Chronology The 13-Day Fake Rule Deception Investigation Chronology The Public Names Kira Before Light Builds a Movement Kira & the Public Kira's Biggest Victory Happens Outside the Investigation Kira & the Public Light's First Advantage Is Knowing the Weapon L Cannot Imagine Kira Strategy & Information War Light's Yotsuba Plan Works Because His Future Self Does Not Know the Plan Kira Strategy & Information War Light Beats Rem by Making Protection Self-Destructive Kira Strategy & Information War Forty Seconds for the Cause, Six Minutes Forty Seconds for the Details Rules of the Notebook The Death Note Cannot Make the Impossible Happen Rules of the Notebook Possession, Use and Ownership Are Not the Same Thing Rules of the Notebook The 23-Day Control Limit Rules of the Notebook Light's Endgame Depends on Near Watching the Wrong Notebook Yellow Box Warehouse: The Complete Breakdown Light Reveals Himself Before He Has Another Move Yellow Box Warehouse: The Complete Breakdown Higuchi Receives the Notebook Light Originally Used Death Note Ownership Ledger Mello Takes Sidoh's Notebook Out of the Task Force's Control Death Note Ownership Ledger The Lind L. Tailor Broadcast Trap Investigation Chronology Misa Arrives With the Shinigami Eyes Investigation Chronology Light Chooses Teru Mikami as X-Kira Investigation Chronology Rem Makes Misa the One Person Light Cannot Treat as Disposable Investigation Chronology Mello Steals the Notebook and Forces the Case Open Investigation Chronology Kiyomi Takada Becomes the Bridge Between Light and Mikami Investigation Chronology Yellow Box Warehouse Showdown Investigation Chronology Higuchi Becomes the Yotsuba Kira Investigation Chronology Rem Kills L and Watari to Save Misa Investigation Chronology Takada Gives Kira a Respectable Public Face Kira & the Public Misa Understands Light Is Using Her and Chooses Him Anyway Kira Strategy & Information War Near Investigates the Man Calling Himself L Kira Strategy & Information War Mikami Is Useful Because He Thinks Like Kira Kira Strategy & Information War Ryuk Is the Only Major Player Who Never Needs Light to Win Kira Strategy & Information War L Wins Information by Forcing Kira to React Kira Strategy & Information War Rem Knows Light Is Using Misa but Cannot Abandon Her Kira Strategy & Information War Takada Is a Communication Layer, Not Light's Partner Kira Strategy & Information War Mikami Acting Without Light Is the Fatal Break Kira Strategy & Information War L Never Fully Accepts the Thirteen-Day Rule Kira Strategy & Information War The Eye Contract (50% Lifespan Sacrifice) Shinigami Realm & Eye Deal Light and Near Enter the Warehouse Expecting Opposite Checkmates Yellow Box Warehouse: The Complete Breakdown Matsuda Is the One Who Stops Light's Last Hidden-Page Move Yellow Box Warehouse: The Complete Breakdown Mikami Writes Every Name Except Light's Yellow Box Warehouse: The Complete Breakdown Ryuk Ends the Game Exactly the Way He Said He Would Yellow Box Warehouse: The Complete Breakdown Mikami's Unscheduled Bank Visit Reveals the Real Notebook Yellow Box Warehouse: The Complete Breakdown
LL

L Lawliet

The Anonymous Detective / Ultimate Rival

The world's premier consulting detective who operates entirely from shadow without a public name, face, or biography. Stacking sugar cubes and consuming excessive pastries in secluded hotel rooms, his eccentric posture hides an incredibly sharp, bloodproof analytical intellect. He approaches the Kira investigation not as a moral crusade but as a high stakes game of logic. He single handedly isolates the killer's location within days, setting up an infrastructure of absolute scrutiny around his prime suspect.
+9 LORE
The Lind L. Tailor Broadcast Trap Investigation Chronology L Wins Information by Forcing Kira to React Kira Strategy & Information War L Never Fully Accepts the Thirteen-Day Rule Kira Strategy & Information War Near and Mello Refuse to Become One New L Investigation Chronology The Bedroom Surveillance Counterattack Investigation Chronology Self-Incarceration & Memory Forfeiture Investigation Chronology Rem Kills L and Watari to Save Misa Investigation Chronology Light's First Advantage Is Knowing the Weapon L Cannot Imagine Kira Strategy & Information War Light's Yotsuba Plan Works Because His Future Self Does Not Know the Plan Kira Strategy & Information War
RY

Ryuk

Shinigami / Chaotic Observer

A death god who deliberately discards his lethal notebook into the human realm out of pure, unadulterated boredom with the stagnant realm of the dead. He refuses to take a definitive side in the psychological war between Light and L, choosing instead to operate as a completely neutral, apple obsessed spectator. His presence is a constant reminder of the cosmic indifference underlying the entire high stakes human drama, finding entertainment purely in the lengths to which human ambition will stretch.
+6 LORE
The Notebook Light Finds Belongs to Sidoh, Not Ryuk Death Note Ownership Ledger Ryuk Is the Only Major Player Who Never Needs Light to Win Kira Strategy & Information War Touching a Death Note Reveals Its Shinigami Rules of the Notebook Ryuk Ends the Game Exactly the Way He Said He Would Yellow Box Warehouse: The Complete Breakdown Light Rearranges the Notebooks Before He Gives Up His Memories Death Note Ownership Ledger The 13-Day Fake Rule Deception Investigation Chronology
MA

Misa Amane

The Second Kira / Devoted Accomplice

A hyper visible pop idol and model whose life was permanently refocused after Kira executed the criminal responsible for her parents' murders. Driven by a blinding, uncritical devotion to her savior, she acquires her own notebook and sacrifices half her lifespan for the Shinigami eyes to aid his cause. Her bubbly, chaotic exterior masks a deeply tragic vulnerability and a lethal capability, allowing herself to be weaponized completely as an instrument for Light's grand designs.
+15 LORE
Gelus's Notebook Reaches Misa Through Rem Death Note Ownership Ledger Misa Arrives With the Shinigami Eyes Investigation Chronology The Second Kira Turns Sakura TV Into Part of the Case Kira & the Public Misa Understands Light Is Using Her and Chooses Him Anyway Kira Strategy & Information War The Eye Contract (50% Lifespan Sacrifice) Shinigami Realm & Eye Deal Compounded Eye Deals (Misa Amane Rule) Shinigami Realm & Eye Deal A Dead Shinigami's Remaining Life Passes to the Human They Saved Shinigami Realm & Eye Deal Gelus's Notebook Eventually Reaches Teru Mikami Death Note Ownership Ledger Rem Makes Misa the One Person Light Cannot Treat as Disposable Investigation Chronology Rem Kills L and Watari to Save Misa Investigation Chronology The 13-Day Fake Rule Deception Investigation Chronology Rem Knows Light Is Using Misa but Cannot Abandon Her Kira Strategy & Information War Light Beats Rem by Making Protection Self-Destructive Kira Strategy & Information War L Never Fully Accepts the Thirteen-Day Rule Kira Strategy & Information War The Protection Paradox: How a Shinigami Can Die for a Human Shinigami Realm & Eye Deal
SY

Soichiro Yagami

Task Force Chief / Unyielding Moral Anchor

Lelouch's father figure mirror in the police force, serving as the chief of the NPA and the head of the Japanese Kira Task Force. He represents the absolute old world ideal of law and justice, carrying a rigid moral consistency that refuses to compromise even when the investigation turns toward his own household. His absolute trust in his son is his greatest strength and his ultimate tragedy, serving as the emotional shield Light ruthlessly exploits to stay ahead of the net.
LORE
TM

Touta Matsuda

Task Force Detective / Naive Idealist

The youngest and most impressionable member of the investigation team who constantly struggles with the moral ambiguity of the case. While he remains fiercely loyal to Chief Yagami, his naive perspective occasionally symphatizes with the social results of Kira's executions. He is frequently dismissed by his peers as an erratic liability, but his raw, unvarnished human intuition keeps the team grounded when the intellectual altitude of the battle becomes suffocating.
LORE
NR

Nate River (Near)

SPOILER!

The Analytic Successor / N

The pale, toy stacking prodigy raised within the secluded walls of Wammy's House to inherit L's mantle. Operating as the head of the Special Provision for Kira, his analytical method is cold, bloodless, and entirely detached from human sentiment. He approaches the global hunt not as a personal vendetta but as a complex puzzle that must be dispassionately dismantled piece by piece. He mirrors his predecessor's eccentricities while lacking his physical warmth, treating the eradication of Kira with absolute clinical certainty.
+10 LORE
Near and Mello Refuse to Become One New L Investigation Chronology Yellow Box Warehouse Showdown Investigation Chronology Near Breaks a Kira Mob With Money, Not an Argument Kira & the Public Near Investigates the Man Calling Himself L Kira Strategy & Information War Near and Mello Solve Different Halves of L's Problem Kira Strategy & Information War Light and Near Enter the Warehouse Expecting Opposite Checkmates Yellow Box Warehouse: The Complete Breakdown Near's Team Replaces the Real Notebook After Finding It Yellow Box Warehouse: The Complete Breakdown Light's Endgame Depends on Near Watching the Wrong Notebook Yellow Box Warehouse: The Complete Breakdown Mikami Writes Every Name Except Light's Yellow Box Warehouse: The Complete Breakdown Light Reveals Himself Before He Has Another Move Yellow Box Warehouse: The Complete Breakdown
MK

Mihael Keehl (Mello)

SPOILER!

The Volatile Rebel / Competitor

The fiercely insecure, chocolate consuming orphan who rejects the official succession pool to hunt Kira through the brutal machinery of the global criminal underground. Driven by a burning, lifelong obsession to surpass Near's effortless intellect, his tactics rely on raw kinetic aggression, political kidnappings, and high stakes mafia syndicates. He represents the emotional fire that L suppressed, willing to compromise the entire geopolitical architecture just to prove his individual supremacy over the net.
+6 LORE
Mello Takes Sidoh's Notebook Out of the Task Force's Control Death Note Ownership Ledger Mello Steals the Notebook and Forces the Case Open Investigation Chronology Mello Forces Information Near Cannot Obtain Safely Kira Strategy & Information War Mello's Takada Kidnapping Creates the One Event Light Did Not Schedule Yellow Box Warehouse: The Complete Breakdown Near and Mello Refuse to Become One New L Investigation Chronology Near and Mello Solve Different Halves of L's Problem Kira Strategy & Information War
TM

Teru Mikami

SPOILER!

The Fanatical Hand / X-Kira

A pristine, deeply rigid prosecutor whose life has been organized entirely around a black and white obsession with societal erasure of evil. Selected by Light to operate as the hand of Kira when the investigation grid closes in, his devotion quickly manifests as pure religious fanaticism. He executes criminals with a terrifying, rhythmic precision, screaming the word deletion with every stroke of his pen. He is the ultimate portrait of a righteous civilian mind entirely twisted into a systemic weapon.
+13 LORE
Gelus's Notebook Eventually Reaches Teru Mikami Death Note Ownership Ledger Light Chooses Teru Mikami as X-Kira Investigation Chronology Mikami Kills Demegawa for Failing the Kira He Imagines Kira & the Public Mikami Is Useful Because He Thinks Like Kira Kira Strategy & Information War Mikami Acting Without Light Is the Fatal Break Kira Strategy & Information War Mikami Writes Every Name Except Light's Yellow Box Warehouse: The Complete Breakdown Mikami's Unscheduled Bank Visit Reveals the Real Notebook Yellow Box Warehouse: The Complete Breakdown Kiyomi Takada Becomes the Bridge Between Light and Mikami Investigation Chronology Yellow Box Warehouse Showdown Investigation Chronology Takada Is a Communication Layer, Not Light's Partner Kira Strategy & Information War Light's Endgame Depends on Near Watching the Wrong Notebook Yellow Box Warehouse: The Complete Breakdown Light and Near Enter the Warehouse Expecting Opposite Checkmates Yellow Box Warehouse: The Complete Breakdown Near's Team Replaces the Real Notebook After Finding It Yellow Box Warehouse: The Complete Breakdown
KT

Kiyomi Takada

SPOILER!

The Imperial Voice / Kira Spokesperson

An elegant, fiercely ambitious television anchor who utilizes her corporate media broadcast platform to act as the official theological voice of Kira. As Light's former university classmate, her refined exterior masks a calculating pride that welcomes the opportunity to shape the ideology of the new world. She operates gracefully as the vital communication channel between Light and Mikami, completely blind to the reality that a god views all mortal intermediaries as entirely disposable assets.
+5 LORE
Kiyomi Takada Becomes the Bridge Between Light and Mikami Investigation Chronology Takada Gives Kira a Respectable Public Face Kira & the Public Takada Is a Communication Layer, Not Light's Partner Kira Strategy & Information War Mikami Acting Without Light Is the Fatal Break Kira Strategy & Information War Mello's Takada Kidnapping Creates the One Event Light Did Not Schedule Yellow Box Warehouse: The Complete Breakdown
RE

Rem

SPOILER!

Shinigami / Tragic Protector

The solemn, bone white death god who accompanies Misa into the human realm to monitor her survival. Unlike Ryuk's chaotic indifference, she possesses a deep, profoundly dangerous capacity for human empathy and protective devotion. She watches the manipulative architecture of Light's campaign with absolute clarity and disgust, fully aware that she is walking into a calculated trap where saving Misa's mortality will require the ultimate sacrifice of her own cosmic existence.
+10 LORE
Rem Makes Misa the One Person Light Cannot Treat as Disposable Investigation Chronology Rem Kills L and Watari to Save Misa Investigation Chronology Rem Knows Light Is Using Misa but Cannot Abandon Her Kira Strategy & Information War The Protection Paradox: How a Shinigami Can Die for a Human Shinigami Realm & Eye Deal Light Rearranges the Notebooks Before He Gives Up His Memories Death Note Ownership Ledger Rem's Own Notebook Becomes Light's Hidden Reserve Death Note Ownership Ledger Gelus's Notebook Reaches Misa Through Rem Death Note Ownership Ledger Misa Arrives With the Shinigami Eyes Investigation Chronology Higuchi Becomes the Yotsuba Kira Investigation Chronology Light Beats Rem by Making Protection Self-Destructive Kira Strategy & Information War
KH

Kyosuke Higuchi

SPOILER!

The Corporate Kira / Yotsuba Executive

The greedy, fiercely arrogant director of technology development for the massive Yotsuba Group conglomerate. Handed the notebook blindly as part of Light's high stakes memory concealment strategy, he uses the execution power purely to maximize corporate profits and assassinate business rivals. He represents the complete degradation of Kira's supposed ideological crusade into petty, commercial butcher work, drawing the absolute scrutiny of both L and the task force.
+5 LORE
Higuchi Receives the Notebook Light Originally Used Death Note Ownership Ledger Higuchi Becomes the Yotsuba Kira Investigation Chronology Light Regains Ownership by Killing Higuchi Death Note Ownership Ledger Self-Incarceration & Memory Forfeiture Investigation Chronology The Helicopter Memory Recovery & Higuchi's Death Investigation Chronology
← All lore

Fansub & Scanlation History

2006–2007: NTV Broadcast, 720p MKV Softsubs & Group Rivalries

Death Note Landed in the Middle of a Format Change

XviD AVI, H.264 & Matroska During the Same Broadcast Run

Death Note premiered on Nippon TV in October 2006 right in the middle of a technical transition inside digital fansubbing. Surviving releases from the series show the older XviD-in-AVI format still dominating much of the weekly output, while later episodes also appear as H.264 encodes in Matroska containers. Kuro-Hana is a particularly clear example: several later episodes survive in both AVI/XviD and 1024x576 x264 MKV versions. The change did not happen overnight. Death Note's release history preserves both generations side by side.
[Eclipse]

Live-eviL Took Death Note to Episode 12

Then the License Ended the Run

Live-eviL released the first twelve episodes of Death Note before dropping the project after the series was licensed by Viz. The group's own retrospective describes Death Note as one of its blockbuster projects and remembers the crew as unusually female-led by the standards of the scene. Just as importantly, Live-eviL did not quietly keep going once licensing changed the situation. Twelve episodes survive as the complete Live-eviL Death Note run.
[L-E]

Toriyama's World Was Really There Too

A Scanlation Giant with a Surviving Death Note Fansub Run

Toriyama's World is better remembered for manga, but surviving Death Note release files prove that the group also worked directly on the anime. The archive contains TW-tagged releases across the opening stretch of the series, including episodes 1 through 8 and 10 through 12, while AniDB independently records a twelve-episode Death Note project. The files carry Toriyama World branding and IRC information for #toriyamaworld on Rizon and EnterTheGame. This was not a database mix-up or a later repack. The group really did fansub Death Note.
[TW]

Three Groups Had Death Note Episode One on October 7

Desuno · Live-eviL · Toriyama's World

Death Note premiered in Japan on October 3, 2006. AnimeSuki preserves episode 1 releases from Desuno Fansubs, Live-eviL and Toriyama's World all dated October 7, with Animanda following on October 8 and several more alternatives appearing afterward. The competition visible later in the series was already present four days after the premiere.
[TW]

Animanda Nearly Made It to the End

Episodes 1–31 Survive

Animanda started with Death Note episode 1 and stayed with the series deep into its final stretch. Surviving release files run continuously through episode 31, matching AniDB's archival count of thirty-one episodes before the project was dropped. In a field full of one-episode starts and abandoned attempts, thirty-one episodes made Animanda one of the substantial incomplete runs.
[Animanda]

C1Anime Ran Beside Them for Twenty-Six Episodes

[C1] · XviD AVI

C1Anime is another release line that becomes obvious once the actual files are laid out episode by episode. [C1] releases survive from episode 1 through episode 26, mostly as compact XviD AVI files typical of the period. They never reached the finale, but for more than half the series they were one of the alternatives viewers could follow week to week.
[C1]

Everybody Wanted to Sub Death Note

A Crowded Broadcast-Era Release Field
Death Note drew an unusually crowded field of competing fansub releases during its original broadcast. Live-eviL, Toriyama's World, Animanda, C1Anime, Kuro-Hana and a long tail of smaller groups all released portions of the series, sometimes covering the same episode at the same time. Surviving files from the period make that competition visible directly: episode 1 alone survives here from Animanda, C1Anime, Live-eviL, Otaku-Fansubs and Toriyama's World. This was not one group carrying the show. It was a race.
[L-E]

Kuro-Hana Carried the Back Half

AVI and x264 MKV Versions Survive Side by Side

Kuro-Hana enters the surviving archive around episode 17 and becomes one of the dominant names across the back half of the series, continuing through episode 35. Several episodes survive twice: an XviD AVI release and a higher-resolution x264 Matroska version. That makes Kuro-Hana more than another group name in a database. Its files preserve the exact point where older AVI distribution and newer H.264/MKV releases were overlapping in real time.
[Kuro-Hana]

Even the Finale Had Competing Versions

Ruberia · Episode 36–37 · XviD and x264

By the final two episodes, the release field was still fragmented. Ruberia releases survive for episodes 36 and 37 in both XviD and x264 variants, including revised v2 files. Episode 37 also survives from the wonderfully named WWAHFDNTVFUAUAWGR in two versions. Death Note did not arrive at its finale with one definitive fan release. The competition lasted all the way to the end.
[Ruberia]

The Release Archive Is Messy Because the Scene Was Messy

The surviving Death Note fansub record is full of duplicate encodes, revised versions, groups appearing for a handful of episodes and other groups carrying long runs before disappearing. That mess is useful history. AVI and MKV releases, v2 corrections, alternate encodes and competing group tags preserve the way the series actually circulated while it was airing rather than presenting one clean retrospective release lineage.

2003–2006: Weekly Shōnen Jump & Raw Leak Scanlation Pipelines

Ohba & Obata's Shōnen Jump Debut, December 2003

Death Note debuted in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump in December 2003. Scanlation teams digitized imported magazine raws, hand-typesetting Obata's dense line art and Ohba's text-heavy strategic monologues years before official English volumes existed. A named group, Orange Tangerine (OT), is confirmed via a detailed October 2005 fan translation comparison, published right as Viz's official Volume 1 reached shelves.
[OT]

Viz Reached the Manga Before the Anime Existed

Official English Volume 1, October 2005

Viz Media began official North American publication of Death Note in October 2005, roughly a year before the television anime premiered in Japan. That changed the status of fan translations that had been circulating around the manga. Some groups in the broader scanlation scene followed a drop-on-license code, but the surviving record does not establish one universal coordinated Death Note shutdown. Orange Tangerine remains a documented example of the pre- and early-license fan translation scene.
[OT]

2007–2020s: Viz Licensing, Adult Swim Debut & Global Real-World Panics

Viz Licensed It in 2007, Adult Swim Premiere October 21

Ocean Group Dub, Vancouver

Viz Media licensed the anime, bringing it to Cartoon Network's Adult Swim on October 21, 2007, confirmed exact date. The Ocean Group dub starred Brad Swaile as Light and Alessandro Juliani as L, both confirmed accurate, airing virtually uncut in a late-night slot.

Real-World "Death Note" Bans, 2007–2010

US School Suspensions · Shenyang/Beijing Censorship
Students in the US, China, and Russia were found carrying real replica Death Notes with classmates' and teachers' names, prompting municipal bans in Shenyang and Beijing and formal school warnings across North America.

Notebook-Styled Box Sets & the March 2016 Blu-ray

Viz released 9 DVD volumes, a notebook-styled limited edition box set, and a complete 1080p Blu-ray in March 2016, securing permanent HD preservation.