Death Note

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Death Note (デスノート; Desu Nōto) is a manga created by writer Tsugumi Ohba and artist Takeshi Obata. The main character is a very intelligent high school student who discovers a supernatural notebook (nōto being Japanese slang for nōtobukku, "notebook") which has the power to kill any human whose name is written upon its pages, subject to certain rules.

After an initial "pilot" story involving unrelated junior high students, Death Note was first serialized in 108 chapters by in the Japanese magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from December 2003 to May 2006. That serial (along with an appendix of errata) was then published as a 13—volume series of graphic novels from May 2004 to October 2006. Finally, an anime series retelling the story aired on Nippon Television in Japan from October 2006 to June 2007; its translation aired on Adult Swim in the United States from 2007 to 2010.

Anime (Adult Swim dub)[edit]

Wikipedia

Wikipedia has an article about:

List of Death Note characters

Quotes by character[edit]

L[edit]

Greetings to all of you at the ICPO, I am L. (Ep. 2)
Coincidence? No, too convenient. This can only mean that Kira has access to police information. It's obvious now, this is a direct challenge to me. (Ep. 3)
I just find [phones] distracting. I can't stand when people's cell phones are ringing when I'm trying to talk. (Ep. 6)
Kira is childish and he hates losing... I am also childish and I hate to lose. That's how I know. (Ep. 6)
He who strikes first wins. (Ep. 10)
I don't sit like this because I want to. I have to sit like this. You see, if I were to sit normally, my deductive skills would immediately be reduced by roughly 40%. (Ep. 10)
As long as it doesn't kill me, college is a lot of fun. (Ep. 15)
I'll give you a strawberry if you keep this a secret. (Ep. 19)
However gifted you are you alone can't change the world. (L: Change the World)

Light[edit]

Look around you, and all you will see are people the world would be better off without. (Ep. 1)
This world is rotten, and those who are making it rot deserve to die! Someone has to do it, so why not me? Even if it means sacrificing my own mind and soul, it's worth it. Because the world... can't go on like this! I wonder... what if someone else had picked up this notebook? Is there anyone out there other than me who'd be willing to eliminate the vermin from the world? If I don't do it, then who will? That's just it; there's no one! I can do it! In fact... I'm the only one who can! I'll do it. Using the Death Note, I'll change the world... (Ep. 1)
I am Justice! I protect the innocent and those who fear evil. I'm the one that will become the god of a new world that every one desires! (Ep. 2)
L.. I will hunt you down wherever you're hiding and I will eliminate you. I am justice! (Ep. 2)
In this world, there are very few people who actually trust each other. (Ep. 3)
I'll solve equations with my right hand and write names with my left. I'll take a potato chip... and eat it! (Ep. 8)
I'll take a potato chip; and eat it! (Ep. 8)
You can't ever win if you're always on the defensive. To win, you have to attack! (Ep. 10)
L, do you know gods of death love apples? (Ep. 10)
I've never considered finding that notebook and gaining that power a misfortune. (Ep. 10)
This is the first time in my life that I've been provoked to hit a woman. (Ep. 14)
The thing I hate the most is to trample on other people's good will. (Ep. 17)
I've won. Exactly as planned. (Ep. 24)
Humans aren't made perfectly. Everyone lies. Even so... I've been careful not to tell lies that hurt others. (Ep. 25)
Just as I thought. Without L, this is too easy. (Ep. 26)
I have a mind of a genius and a strong sense of justice.
This world is still rotten!.. With too many rotten people.
Our battle will be concluded, and I will begin my reign from the summit of victory!
In the end, L is indeed the greatest detective on earth...
But you know the saying, "play with fire, and you'll get burned". I'll make you regret underestimating L...underestimating me.
I must protect my fledging Utopia.
No matter what the world is, the god of that world creates the rules. In truth, you have been defeated by the rules I created. And as punishment for defying the God of the new world, you will die...
For murderers, there is no good or evil. I know that.
He was someone who deserved to die.
I came to exterminate the vermin of this world!
I will reign over a new world.
Catch me...if you can.
That's right, I am Kira. And what can you do? Kill me right here? (Ep. 37)
I am God of the new world! (Ep. 37)
Kill me? Is that really the right thing to do? Since Kira's appearance 6 years ago wars have stopped and global crime rates have been reduced by over 70 percent: but it's not enough, this world is still rotten. With too many rotten people. Somebody has to do this, and when I first got that notebook all those years ago I knew I had to do it. No, I was the only one who could. (Ep. 37)
I understood that killing people was a crime. There was no other way! The world had to be fixed! A purpose given to me! Only I could do it. Who else could have done it, and come this far? Would they have kept going? The only one who can create a new world - is me. (Ep. 37)
It's a trap! This is all part of Near's plot to frame me! Isn't it a little odd that no one died after having their names written in the Notebook!? This proves it's a trap! (Ep. 37)
Matsuda you idiot! Who the hell do you think you're shooting at!? Don't screw with me! (Ep. 37)

Misa Amane[edit]

Misa-Misa loves to eat. Misa-Misa loves Yagami Light.
Careful what you do, cuz God is watching your every move. Hold my hand in the dark street, for if you do I know that I'll... be safe. Even if I'm far away and alone, I can be sure that you'll find me there, this I know. You told me close for a while, so quiet. You tell me everything. If I forget what to say then you'll come to me and tell me again, yes, you'd tell me once again. But what happens when I know it all and what should I do after that? What then? (Ep. 25)

Mello[edit]

I wanna eliminate my competition. I will be the best. I don't care what it takes. (Ep. 27)

Near[edit]

If you can't win the game, if you can't solve the puzzle, then you're nothing but a loser. (Ep. 27)
Don't worry, Commander Rester, making assumptions is part of any investigation. If we're wrong, all it'll cost is an apology. (Ep. 30)
Keep all important information in your mind only. (Ep. 30)
No. You're just a murderer, Light Yagami. And this notebook is the deadliest weapon of mass murder in the history of mankind. You yielded to the power of the shinigami and the notebook and you have confused yourself with a god. In the end, you're nothing more than a crazy serial killer. That's all you are. Nothing more, and nothing less. (Ep. 37)
Light Yagami, L, Kira, it's over. You've lost the game. (Ep. 37)

Rem[edit]

Humans are truly... disgusting creatures!
Light Yagami might be as pure as Misa... He was not using the Death Note for himself, but rather he was using the notebook in order to better humanity as a whole.
Light... he can even kill a shinigami. He has surpassed us.

Ryuk[edit]

You've taken quite a liking to it. (Ep. 1, first words to Light)
Look at how many people you've killed in only five days. Most are reluctant to write this much. (Ep. 1)
Let's just say this: you will feel the fear and pain known only to humans who've used the notebook. And when it's your time to die, it will fall on me to write your name in my death note. Be warned any human who's used a death note can neither go to heaven nor hell for eternity... That's all. (Ep. 1)
I didn't choose you. Don't you see this is all just an accident? You actually thought you were chosen because you're so smart or something? Don't be so vain. It just happen to fall around here and you just happen to pick it up, and that's all there is to it. (Ep. 1)
You're asking me why? I did it 'cause I was bored. (Ep. 1)
Humans are... So much fun. (Ep. 2)
You have lost, Light. Didn't I say in the beginning... when you die, the one who'll write your name down in a notebook will be me? That is... the deal between the Shinigami... and the first human to get their hands on the note in the human world. Once you enter the prison, I don't know when you'll die. It's annoying to wait... Your life is already over. You'll die here. Well, it was good while it lasted... We killed some boredom, didn’t we? We did some various and interesting things... (Ep. 37)
It was good while it lasted. We eased each other's boredom for quite a while. Well, Light, it's been interesting. (Ep. 37, as Light dies, the last words in the anime)

Quotes in dialogue[edit]

Light and Ryuk[edit]

Ryuk: Why even bother? What are you trying to achieve by passing judgement on them? I mean, why do you care?
Light: Because I've been bored too, Ryuk. (Ep. 1)
Light: At first I wrote the names of the worst criminals I could think of, like I was cleaning up the world one name at a time, so that eventually no one will ever do anything evil again. And while the truly guilty ones who deserve to be punished for their crimes die of heart attacks, the people who are less guilty but who still make trouble for others will slowly be erased through disease and accidental death. Then and only then the world will start moving in the right direction. It'll be new world free of injustice and populated by people who I've judged to be honest, kind, and hardworking.
Ryuk: But if you did that, it'd make you the only bad person left.
Light: Huh? I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm a hardworking honor student who's considered to be one of Japan's best and brightest. And I... I will become the God of this new world.
Ryuk: It's just as I thought.. Humans are so interesting. (Ep. 1)

Light and L[edit]

Light: Kira, deaths by accident, by disease, designated times of death, it's all just as we suspected. We were right.
L: No, unfortunately, we can only be completely sure after those people they've named are dead. We will continue to monitor these meetings and take note of what they say, how they act, and most importantly whether the people they choose actually die. If we can confirm the connection between their plans and the deaths, then we'll definitely be able to catch Kira.
Light (in unison with Chief Yagami): Ryūzaki!
L (with his mouth full): What is it? There is no need to yell in unison.
Light: I can't carry on knowing these people will die. That's just immoral. (Ep. 20)
Light: Ryūzaki. Do you think that I'm actually capable of becoming a murderer, Kira? Even after I help you catch him, do I seem like that kind of person to you?
L: Yes, you do. I've always thought so. (Ep. 20)

Death Note rules[edit]

Episode 1:
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.
Episode 2:
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 person will simply die of a heart attack.

After writing the cause of death, details of death should be written in the next 6 minutes and 40 seconds.
Episode 3:
This note shall become the property of the human world, once it touches the ground of (arrives in) the human world.

The owner of the note can recognize the image and voice of its original owner, i.e. a god of death.
Episode 4:
The human who uses this note can neither go to Heaven nor Hell

If the time of death is written within 40 seconds after writing the cause of death as a heart attack, the time of death can be manipulated, and the time can go into effect within 40 seconds after writing the name.
Episode 5:
The human who touches the DEATH NOTE can recognize the image and voice of its original owner, a god of death, even if the human is not the owner of the note

The person in possession of the DEATH NOTE is possessed by a god of death, its original owner, until they die.
Episode 6:
If a human uses the note, a god of death usually appears in front of him/her within 39 days after he/she uses the note.

Gods of death, the original owners of the DEATH NOTE, do not do, in principle, anything which will help or prevent the deaths in the note.
Episode 7:
A god of death has no obligation to completely explain how to use the note or rules which will apply to the human who owns it.

A god of death can extend his life by putting human names on the note, but humans cannot.
Episode 8:
A person can shorten his or her own life by using the note.

The human who becomes the owner of the DEATH NOTE can, in exchange of half of his/her remaining life, get the eyeballs of the god of death which will enable him/her to see a human's name and remaining lifetime when looking through them.
Episode 9:
A god of death cannot be killed even if stabbed in his heart with a knife or shot in the head with a gun. However, there are ways to kill a god of death, which are not generally known to the gods of death.

The conditions for death will not be realized unless it is physically possible for that human or it is reasonable...
Episode 10:
The specific scope of the condition for death is not known to the gods of death, either. So, you must examine and find out.

One page taken from the DEATH NOTE, or even a fragment of the page, contains the full effects of the note.
Episode 11:
The instrument to write with can be anything, ((e.g. cosmetics, blood, etc)) as long as it can write directly on the note and remains as legible letters.

Even the original owners of the DEATH NOTE, gods of death, do not know much about the note.
Episode 12:
You may also write the cause and/or details of death prior to filling in the name of the individual. Be sure to insert the name in front of the written cause of death. You have about 19 days (according to the human calendar) in order to fill in a name.

Even if you do not actually possess the DEATH NOTE, the effect will be the same if you can recognize the person and his/her name to place in the blank.
Episode 13:
The DEATH NOTE will not affect those under 780 days old.

The DEATH NOTE will be rendered useless if the victim's name is misspelled four times.
Episode 14:
"Suicide" is a valid cause of death. Basically all humans are thought to possess the possibility to commit suicide. It is, therefore, not something "unbelievable to think of".

Whether the cause of the individual's death is either a suicide or accident, If the death leads to the death of more than the intended, the person will simply die of a heart attack. This is to ensure that other lives are not influenced.
Episode 15:
Even after the individual's name, the time of death, and death condition on the DEATH NOTE were filled out, the time and condition of death can be altered as many time as you want, as long as it is changed within 6 minutes and 40 seconds from the time it was filled in. But, of course, this is only possible before the victim dies.

Whenever you want to change anything written on the DEATH NOTE within 6 minutes and 40 seconds after you wrote, you must first rule out the characters you want to erase with two straight lines.
Episode 16:
The time and condition of death can be changed, but once the victim's name has been written, the individual's death can never be avoided.

If you lose the DEATH NOTE or have it stolen, you will lose its ownership unless you retrieve it within 490 days.
Episode 17:
If you have traded the eye power of a god of death, you will lose the eye power as well as the memory of the DEATH NOTE, once you lose its ownership. At the same time, the remaining half of your life will not be restored.

You may lend the DEATH NOTE to another person while maintaining its ownership. Subletting it to yet another person is possible, too.
Episode 18:
The borrower of the DEATH NOTE will not be followed by a god of death. The god of death always remains with the owner of the DEATH NOTE. Also the borrower can not trade the eyesight of the god of death.

When the owner of the DEATH NOTE dies while the Note is being lent, its ownership will be transferred to the person who is holding it at that time.
Episode 19:
If the DEATH NOTE is stolen and the owner is killed by the thief, its ownership will automatically be transferred to the thief.

When the same name is written on more than two DEATH NOTES, the Note which was first filled in will take effect, regard less of the time of death.
Episode 20:
If written the same name on more than two DEATH NOTES is completed within a 0.06—second difference, it is regarded as simultaneous; the DEATH NOTE will not take effect and the individual written will not die.

The god of death must at least own one DEATH NOTE. That DEATH NOTE must never be lent to or written by a human.
Episode 21:
Exchanging and writing on the DEATH NOTE between the gods of death is no problem.

If the god of death decides to use the DEATH NOTE to kill the assassin of an individual he favours, the individual's life will be extended, but the god of death will die.
Episode 22:
The dead god of death will disappear, but the DEATH NOTE will remain. The ownership of this DEATH NOTE is usually carried over to the next god of death that touches it, but it is common sense that it is returned to the Great god of death.

Only by touching each other's DEATH NOTE can human individuals who own the DEATH NOTE in the human world recognize the appearance or voice of each other's god of death.
Episode 23:
An individual with the eye power of a god of death can fell the name and life span of the other humans by looking at that person's face. By possessing the DEATH NOTE, an individual gains the ability to kill and stops being a victim. From this point, a person with the DEATH NOTE cannot see the life span of other DEATH NOTE owners, including him/herself. But, it is not really necessary for the individual to view the life span of him/herself nor other DEATH NOTE owners.

The god of death must not tell humans the names or life spans of individuals he sees. This is to avoid confusion in the human world.
Episode 24:
It is prerequisite for the DEATH NOTE used in the human world that a living god of death makes sure that the humans in the human world use it.

It is very difficult to consider that a god of death who has possessed a human could die, but if he should die, the DEATH NOTE that he brought into the human world will not lose its power.
Episode 27:
If you just write "die of accident" for the cause of death the victim will die from a natural accident after 6 minutes and 40 seconds from the time of writing it.

Even though only one name is written in the DEATH NOTE if it influences and causes other humans that are not written in it to die the victim's cause of death will be a heart attack.
Episode 28:
If you have traded the eye power of a god of death you will see a person's primary life span in the human world.

The name you see with the eye power of a god of death are the names needed to kill that person. You will be able to see the names even if than (that) person isn't registered in the family registration.
Episode 29:
If a person loses possession of a DEATH NOTE, they will not recognize the gods of death by sight or voice any more, If however, the owner lets someone else touch his DEATH NOTE, from that time on, that person will recognize the god of death.

In accordance with the above, the human who touched the DEATH NOTE and began to recognize the gods of death's sight and voice, will continue to recognize it until that human actually owns the DEATH NOTE and subsequently looses possession of it.
Episode 30:
If a DEATH NOTE owner accidentally misspells a name four times, that person will be free from being killed by the DEATH NOTE, However, if they intentionally misspell the name four times, the DEATH NOTE owner will die.

The person whose name was misspelled four times on purpose will not be free of death by a DEATH NOTE.
Episode 31:
When regaining ownership of the DEATH NOTE, the memories associated with the DEATH NOTE will also return. In cases where you were involved with other DEATH NOTEs as well, memories of all the DEATH NOTEs involved will return.

Even without obtaining ownership, memories will return just by touching the DEATH NOTE.
Episode 32:
If a DEATH NOTE is owned in the human world against the god of death's will, that god of death is permitted to stay in the human world in order to retrieve it.

In that case, if there are other DEATH NOTEs in the human world, the gods of death are not allowed to reveal to humans that DEATH NOTE's owner or its location.
Episode 33:
In the event that there are more than 6 DEATH NOTEs in the human world, only the first 6 DEATH NOTEs that have been delivered to humans will have effect.

The seventh DEATH NOTES will not become active until one of the other 6 DEATH NOTEs is burned up, or a god of death takes one of them back to the world of gods of death.
Episode 34:
The DEATH NOTE will not take effect if you write a specific victim's name using several different pages.

But the front and back of a page is considered as one page. For example, the DEATH NOTE will still take effect even if you write the victim's surname on the front page and given name on the back.
Episode 35:
In the world of gods of death there are a few copies of what humans may call user guidebook for using the DEATH NOTE in the human world. However, the guidebook is not allowed to be delivered to humans.

It is perfectly okay for gods of death to read the guidebook for him/herself and teach humans about his contents, no matter what the content may be.
Episode 36:
The human whose name is written in this note shall die.

The human who uses this note can neither go to Heaven nor Hell
Episode 37:
All humans will, without exception, eventually die.

After they die, the place they go is MU. (Nothingness)