Death Note opens in a world where brutal murders, petty thefts, and senseless violence pollute everyday life, while the realm of death gods remains a humdrum, unchanging gambling den. The ingenious 17-year-old Japanese student Light Yagami and the sadistic god of death Ryuk share one belief: their worlds are rotten.
For his own amusement, Ryuk drops his Death Note into the human world. Light stumbles upon it and immediately tests its first rule: the human whose name is written in this note shall die. When he writes the name of a felon and sees the death occur, he realizes the terrifying power he now holds. Temptation quickly overtakes hesitation, and Light begins using the notebook to shape the world according to his own wicked sense of justice.
Under the alias Kira, Light sets out to cleanse society of everyone he deems evil. But the more bodies fall, the closer the meticulous mastermind detective L gets to uncovering the truth. What follows is a relentless battle of wits between two brilliant minds, each trying to outthink the other while every move raises the stakes and pushes justice, morality, and murder into deadly conflict.
