What is "death note"

n. (cx rare English) A suicide note; a message written prior to a suicide attempt.

is a Japanese manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. The story follows Light Yagami, a high school student who discovers a supernatural notebook from a Shinigami named Ryuk that grants its user the ability to kill anyone whose name and face he knows. The series centers around Light's attempts to create and rule a world " cleansed of evil" as " God" using the notebook, and the efforts of a detective known as L to stop him.

Death Note was first serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from December 2003 to May 2006. The 108 chapters were collected and published into 12 tankōbon volumes between May 2004 and October 2006. A television anime adaptation 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 also released in 2006. Additionally, various video games have been published by Konami for the Nintendo DS. The series was adapted into three live-action films released in Japan on June 17, 2006, November 3, 2006, and February 2, 2008, and a television drama in 2015. A fourth film is scheduled for release in 2016.

Death Note media is licensed and released in North America by Viz Media, with the exception of the video games and soundtracks. The episodes from the anime first appeared in North America as downloadable from IGN, before Viz Media licensed it and it aired on YTV's Bionix anime block in Canada and on Cartoon Network in the United States with a DVD release following. The live-action films briefly played in certain North American theaters in 2008, before receiving home video releases. In 2015, the collected volumes of the Death Note manga had over 30 million copies in circulation.

Death Note is a Japanese media franchise.

Death Note may also refer to:

• Death Note (2006 film), the live-action film series based on the franchise
• Death Note (2015 TV series), the live-action television series also based on the franchise
• Death Note (2017 film), the American adaptation of the franchise
• The Death Note, a 2016 Chinese horror film unrelated to the Japanese franchise
• Suicide note, a message written prior to a suicide attempt

is a 2006 live-action Japanese detective supernatural psychological thriller film based on the Death Note manga (and later anime) series by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata. It was followed by a sequel, Death Note 2: The Last Name, released in the same year. The films primarily center on a university 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.

The two films were directed by Shūsuke Kaneko, produced by Nippon Television, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures Japan. The film was licensed by VIZ Pictures, Warner Bros..

A spin-off film directed by Hideo Nakata and titled L: Change the World, was released on February 9, 2008.

Another sequel, Death Note: Light Up the New World, will be released in October 2016.

is a Japanese television drama series based on the manga series of the same name by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata. It was directed by Ryūichi Inomata, who directed the television drama Kaseifu no Mita in 2011, and Ryō Nishimura known by the special version of the 2014 drama Kamen Teacher. The show stars Masataka Kubota as Light Yagami, Kento Yamazaki as L, and Mio Yūki as Near / Mello.

The drama premiered on NTV on July 5, 2015. The first episode received a viewership rating of 16.9% in the Kantō region.

Death Note is an upcoming American film directed by Adam Wingard, based on the manga series of the same name by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata. The film will star Nat Wolff, Margaret Qualley, Keith Stanfield, Paul Nakauchi, Shea Whigham, and Willem Dafoe. The film is planned for a 2017 release.