Death Note (item)

Death Note is a weapon capable of killing people from a distance. It doesn’t matter where the one who uses it is located, but he needs to know the name and face of the victim. Death Note - A thing originally owned by the gods of death . Using notebooks, the gods of death fulfill their main purpose - the killing of people. The origin of the artifacts is unknown, but the death gods are given notebooks by the king of death. Only one notebook can be given to the king of death by the king, however the death god can possess as many notebooks as he can get.

Appearance

On the notebook that got Light from Ryuk there is an inscription “Death Note”, but the notebook received by Misa from Ram looks different, with an inscription in an incomprehensible language. The notebook owned by Light contained the first 5 rules written by Ryuk in English as the most widely spoken language on Earth . There were no instructions on Misa's Notebook.

Ryuk's and Ram's notebooks are also shown. On Ryuk’s notebook there is a metal ornament in the shape of a cross with a skull in the middle. Notebook Ram is completely black without inscriptions and decorations, like most other notebooks. ^[one]

The rules of the notebook say that notebooks of different colors may exist, but notebooks of other colors appeared only in the drama (Death Note Gelousa, which Misa uses, is red) and in the film Death Note: Light of a New World, where Shinigami Armagh uses white notebook. All notebooks, regardless of color, have one effect.

First Notebook

The first notebook appearing in the plot was lost by Shido Shinigami and was found by Ryuk , who threw it to Earth so that some of the people would pick it up. On Earth, the notebook falls into the hands of Light Yagami , who begins to actively use it. Subsequently, Light asks Ryuk to write 2 fake rules in this notebook and refuses it. The notebook goes to Kyosuke Higuchi , a top manager at Yotsuba, who continues to use it actively. Soon, he is calculated, and the notebook goes to detective L and his assistants, who thus learn the method of committing murders. After the death of L Mello , conducting an independent investigation, by means of blackmail abducts her and destroys the team of her competitor, but the notebook can be returned. The notebook is returned to its original owner - Sido.

Second Notebook

The second Notebook was originally owned by the Shinigami Gelous , who gave his life for the model Misu Amane . Ram , another Shinigami, gives the notebook to Misa, who also uses it actively. Later, she passes it to the last " Kira " - Ter Mikami . In the denouement of the plot, this notebook helps to reveal Light as the organizer of the killings.

Other notebooks

The third notebook enters the world of people after the death of Ram. It has no inscriptions and decorations. Light finds it and keeps it for some time, then sends it to the police, so that the police, using this notebook, will take away the first notebook from the criminals.

Ryuk's own Notebook all the time remained with him. In the end, Ryuk writes Light's name in it and returns to his world.

Death notebooks are governed by special rules. The main part of the rules is given at the end of some chapters of the manga. In the middle of each anime series, on the screen for a few seconds, some of the rules in English are shown, a total of 70 pieces. These rules describe in detail various aspects of the Notebook’s operation, some laws that apply in the world of people and in the world of death gods, the relationship between people and the gods of death.

There are a lot of notebook rules, even the gods of death do not know them all. But in the world of Death, there are several guidelines for using notebooks and the gods of death can read and remember them.
Below are some of the rules:

It was these 5 rules that Ryuk wrote down in the Notebook that Light picked up.

Using a notebook, the killer can set the time and cause of death, as well as control the victim and the surrounding circumstances before the murder. But he cannot set conditions that are contrary to the laws of physics or impossible in the circumstances (otherwise death will occur as a result of a heart attack). To kill a person with a notebook, you need to know his real name and surname , pseudonyms for this purpose will not work.
The owner of the notebook may refuse it, but in this case he will lose the memories associated with its use.

Rules for the Interaction of the Death Gods with Humans

Some of the rules describe the laws of interaction of Shinigami with people:

Eyes of the God of Death

The eyes of the god of death is the ability of the gods of death, looking at a person, to see his real name and date, time of death. A person who owns a notebook can at any time receive the eyes of the god of death, while halving the remaining life span. If a person renounces the right to own a notebook, he will lose the eyes of the god of death, but the rest of his life will not return to him.

Statements about the nature of people

Also, the text of the rules contains several comments that are not related to the notebook or to the gods of death. According to them, the life expectancy of each person is predetermined in advance, and people cannot influence it with their actions without using magic.
Here are a few more rules:

Ban in China

In early 2005, the administration of a school in Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning Province (People's Republic of China), banned the Death Note ^[2] . The immediate reason was that the students were noticed in the production of such "Death Note", where they later wrote down the names of friends, enemies and teachers ^{[3] [4]} . The ban was designed to protect students' “physical and mental health” ^[5] from material that “misleads innocent children and distorts their mind and spirit” ^[6] . Jonathan Clements suggested that the Chinese authorities acted in part against “superstitions,” but also against the illegal, pirated editions of Death Note ^[7] . The ban was extended to other cities in China, including Beijing ^{[8] [9]} , Shanghai and Lanzhou in Gansu province ^[10] . In Chinese, Death Note is published in Hong Kong and Taiwan ^[7] .

In the USA

After publishing manga and showing anime in several schools, students found home-made Death Note books, where teenagers entered the names of classmates and teachers.

At the Franklin Military Academy in Richmond , Virginia , USA , a notebook with the names of other students was seized from one of the students, the offender was suspended from classes ^[11] .

In South Carolina , USA, in 2008, school officials confiscated a Death Note note book from a student at Hartsville High School. Officials associated this case with the eponymous manga and anime. The notebook contained the names of seven students. The school scheduled disciplinary hearings and contacted all 7 families of students ^[12] .

In Gadsden, Alabama , sixth-grade boys were detained for possession of the Death Note with the names of several employees and students listed. ^[13]

In Gig Harbor, Washington , one high school student was expelled and 3 were suspended on May 14, 2008 for their Death Note ^[14] .

In 2018, the Japanese-language website gained popularity The death note of her husband ( я ん な デ ス ノ ー ト Danna Desu No: then , Danna Death Note) , which presents the opportunity for frustrated women to express their claims to husbands and openly hope for their death as compensation for their misconduct and shortcomings ^[15] . Later, a huge number of posts on the site prompted the publisher Takarajima to release a printed version ^[16] .

• Death note
• Death Note Characters
• List of Anime Series Death Note
• List of chapters of the death note manga

• Full text of the manga death note rules
• Full text of Death Note rules from anime

• Death Note anime at Anime News Network Encyclopedia
• Death Note anime in AniDB database