About This Anime

Within the fictional universe of the manga and anime series Death Note, a Death Note is a notebook held by a Shinigami (or "death god") which has the power to kill people if certain conditions are met. All Death Notes follow a long set of specific rules, which, while not explicitly noted within the Death Notes themselves, were revealed through the course of the individual manga volumes and, in the case of the anime, via eyecatches.

aBOUT the Book

Before the series begins, Ryuk writes instructions in English inside his Death Note with the belief that English is the most popular language in the human world.

The human whose name is written in this note shall die.
This note will not take effect unless the writer has the person'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 person'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.

Fake rules

These rules were written in the Death Note to aid Light in a scheme he came up with to clear his and Misa's names. They were written by Ryuk but are completely false.

If the owner of a Death Note does not use the notebook after 13 days time, he/she will die.
If the Death Note is burned, torn up, or otherwise rendered useless, any people who have touched the Death Note will die.

Other rules

Throughout the series, other rules are revealed, such as "When the same name is written on more than one Death Note, the Note which was first filled in will take effect, regardless of the time of death." This rule played an important role in the movie, as L used this rule to prevent Kira from killing him. A few of them match the rules Ryuk wrote inside the Death Note, but most of them are rules that are not known by humans and in some cases, even the Shinigami. These rules are revealed at the end of certain chapters in the volume format of Death Note and the beginning of the Jump format chapters, on black pages that contain only the rules.

In the eyecatches of the last chapter/episode (then, the two last eyecatches of the series), the "rules" revealed are not Death Note rules, but the rules of life itself, as it says:

- All humans will, without exception, eventually die.

- When they die the place they go to is Mu. (Nothingness)

- Once dead they can never come back.

Each rule is central to the chapter/episode, as it reminds that even Light, self-proclaimed "God", will die one day as all humans.

Shinigami and Death Notes

A Shinigami must own at least one Death Note. That Death Note may also be used and owned by a human, but only if the Death Note falls to earth and is found by a human. The Shinigami have to keep using the Death Note to kill people in order to extend their own lives.

A pact exists between the first human owner and the Shinigami who gave the human the Death Note. The pact is such that at the end of the owner's life, the Shinigami has to write down the owner's name in his own note.

How to kill a Shinigami

Rem is one of the few Death gods to discover how to kill a Shinigami. If a Shinigami uses the Death Note to extend the life of a human they care about, they will die since they have failed in their eternal mission of shortening human lives. This was stated by Rem when she claims she would kill L for Light; she initially states that it would make no difference as it was to protect Light, whom she did not particularly care for. However, since she then had such an attachment to Misa (who would inevitably die if L wasn't killed), she would die. Rem reveals this to Misa, who later reveals it to Light and Ryuk.

A Shinigami could end up killing itself as well, if it neglects to continue filling its Note with the names of humans. If it fails to do this then it will cease to lengthen its lifespan, and eventually run out completely.

A Shinigami may be killed by execution as well, in the Shinigami Realm. If a Shinigami breaks the laws of the Shinigami Realm, it is subject to one of nine levels of punishment, starting with level eight at the lowest infraction, going up to level one, and then the "Extreme" level. If a Shinigami is subjected to levels three or above, it will die after it is finished being punished. This is why Shidoh stops himself from telling Mello where the other Death Note is, after reading this rule in the scrolls he was given for his mission to retrieve his own Death Note.

Controversy

People's Republic of China

Some schools in Shenyang, People's Republic of 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.

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

Beijing also has a ban on "horror stories" around schools to protect the "physical and mental health" of students, which includes local adaptations of Death Note. China itself is likewise trying to weed out pirated copies of the books and television series, as well other Japanese horror magazines, where no legal publication house prints it. Wang Song of the National Anti-piracy and Anti-pornography Working Committee has said that the series "misleads innocent children and distorts their mind and spirit".

Belgian murder

On September 28, 2007, two notes stating "Watashi wa Kira dess" (I am Kira, with "desu" being the more literal and correct transliteration of the verb) were found near the unidentified remains of a Caucasian male. Nothing was found on or near the victim besides these two notes. Belgian police are investigating the matter further.

Copyrights and Credits

Chanlu Design.

The artwork (Death Note characters) belongs to its creator, Obata Takeshi. The brushes used in the layout came from Angryblue and the images came from DeathGod.