Death Note (Japanese: デスノート Hepburn: Desu Nōto?) 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.
Here are the different publications of this story:
o Shueisha Manga series from 2003 -2006in Shonen Jump (108 chapters)
o Viz Media adapted it for North America in 2005
o Television Anime aired in Japan from October 2006 - June 2007 (37 episodes)
o Released on DVD in 2007. Prior to this it was downloadable via the Internet
o Separate Light novel based on the series was published in 2006
o Three live action films released in Japan June 2006, Nov. 2006 and Feb. 2008
o Television drama released in 2015
o Fourth American adaptation will be released 2017
I ran into Death Note around 2009 - 2010. I read a small article about this anime that told the story about a young genius who found a book from a demon that could kill anyone when they put their name in it. I was already into watching Anime suspenseful stories, so this seemed interesting that it was a very long series and was rated very high in Japan. What came next was becoming obsessed with this series and not getting enough of it. Yes, I saw all 37 episodes but really couldn't get into reading the Manga's. So next I had to find ways to get the live action TV series as well as the Movies. I was thoroughly satisfied.
Why is this Death Note Series so good? Think about a serial killer and the best international detective in the world playing a cat and mouse game to figure each other out. One to stop the deaths of people. The other to kill that person that is tiring to stop them. Watching these two geniuses trying to find each other's identity while hiding their own is so entertaining. it was hard to look at this as a cartoon ( not a cartoon, Anime). In the mean while, people are dying for their bad deeds or perceived deeds and new characters and followers appear to cause chaos in the investigation as well as world domination plan. The writing is amazing and for an anime, the characters are well portrayed. I could say great acting but this is illustrated. If you are just looking at this Japanese Anime as American cartoons. Please get that out of your mind. This is serious story writing. I'm revisiting this because there is an American version coming out in 2017. Netflix is the orchestrator to this movie and it looks interesting with the characters they have chosen. The Anime News Network has recent details of this development. Nat Wolf (Paper towns, The fault in our stars) will play the lead Light Yagami. A relative unknown but with good acting reviews. There have been some good Japanese adaptations in the past when it came to horror and some action movies as well. Even though this was made into a Japanese live action film, I would like to see what a Westerner take is on this morally divisive movie. So if you look forward to this new version, try watching the Anime and live action movies. The anime is fantastic and gives you time to see the director develop the characters. The live action speeds through it but gives you enough as a stand-alone. Like the Girl with the dragon tattoo, this really can be an amazing conversion. Take the time to try both, the anime series and live action. You won't be disappointed.