Death Note

    (Tokyopop, 2005-2006, 2017)
™ and © 2003 Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata
Black and white; read right to left.

What happens when a human plays both god and the devil? Ryuk, a “death god,” finds out, when he intentionally drops his notebook with which he writes the name of people destined for sudden expiration. When high-school student Light Yagami discovers it, he suddenly can see Ryuk and learn how to write a “death note.” Immediately, Light starts offing prisoners on Japan’s death row to create a new world order.

However, Interpol and Japan’s National Police Agency want to end this vigilantism, and the enigmatic detective “L” challenges the killer. Now both the hunter and the hunted, Light becomes determined to ring up “L” as well by stealing information from his father, the head of the NPA.

Aimless teens surely can identify with Light’s obsession with the omnipotence of being both judge and jury. Light is untroubled by both Ryuk’s startling visage and the moral ambiguity and biased implementation of the death penalty. Therefore, the manga’s amorality hearkens back to Machiavelli’s The Prince, but it chooses to be coldly sensationalistic instead of boldly insightful.

— Oliver Chin

From the Publisher:

Light Yagami is an ace student with great prospects—and he’s bored out of his mind. But all that changes when he finds the Death note, a notebook dropped by a rogue Shinigami death god. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and now Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. But when criminals begin dropping dead, the authorities send the legendary detective L to track down the killer. With L hot on his heels, will Light lose sight of his noble goal… or his life?

Light tests the boundaries of the Death Note’s powers as L and the police begin to close in. Luckily Light’s father is the head of the Japanese National Police Agency and leaves vital information about the case lying around the house. With access to his father's files, Light can keep one step ahead of the authorities. But who is the strange man following him, and how can Light guard against enemies whose names he doesn’t know?
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  • 1
    #1
    Sep 2005
    Cover: $7.99
    W: Tsugumi Ohba  ·  A: Takeshi Obata
    No copies available
  • 2
    #2
    Oct 2005
    Cover: $7.99
    W: Tsugumi Ohba  ·  A: Takeshi Obata
    No copies available
  • 3
    #3
    Dec 2005
    Cover: $7.99
    W: Tsugumi Ohba  ·  A: Takeshi Obata
    No copies available
  • 4
    #4
    Mar 2006
    Cover: $7.99
    W: Tsugumi Ohba  ·  A: Takeshi Obata
    No copies available
  • 5
    #5
    May 2006
    Cover: $7.99
    W: Tsugumi Ohba  ·  A: Takeshi Obata
    No copies available
  • 6
    #6
    Jul 2006
    Cover: $7.99
    W: Tsugumi Ohba  ·  A: Takeshi Obata
    No copies available
  • 7
    #7
    Cover: $7.99
    W: Tsugumi Ohba  ·  A: Takeshi Obata
    No copies available
  • 8
    #8
    Cover: $7.99
    W: Tsugumi Ohba  ·  A: Takeshi Obata
    No copies available
  • 9
    #9
    Cover: $7.99
    W: Tsugumi Ohba  ·  A: Takeshi Obata
    No copies available
  • 10
    #10
    Mar 2007
    Cover: $7.99
    W: Tsugumi Ohba  ·  A: Takeshi Obata
    No copies available
  • 11
    #11
    May 2007
    Cover: $7.99
    W: Tsugumi Ohba  ·  A: Takeshi Obata
    No copies available
  • 12
    #12
    Jul 2007
    Cover: $7.99
    W: Tsugumi Ohba  ·  A: Takeshi Obata
    No copies available
  • CS 1
    Collector's Set #1
    Dec 2010
    Cover: $14.99
    W: Tsugumi Ohba  ·  A: Takeshi Obata
    Collects Death Note #1-2
    No copies available
  • CS 2
    Collector's Set #2
    Cover: $14.99
    W: Tsugumi Ohba  ·  A: Takeshi Obata
    Collects Death Note #3-4; ca. 2011
    No copies available
  • CS 2-9
    Collector's Set #2 - 9th printing
    Aug 2016
    Cover: $14.99
    W: Tsugumi Ohba  ·  A: Takeshi Obata
    Collects Death Note #3-4
    No copies available
  • CS 3
    Collector's Set #3
    Cover: $14.99
    W: Tsugumi Ohba  ·  A: Takeshi Obata
    Collects Death Note #5-6; ca. 2011
    No copies available
  • CS 4
    Collector's Set #4
    Cover: $14.99
    W: Tsugumi Ohba  ·  A: Takeshi Obata
    Collects Death Note #7-8; ca. 2011
    1 copy for $19.00
  • CS 4-6
    Collector's Set #4 - 6th printing
    Mar 2016
    Cover: $14.99
    W: Tsugumi Ohba  ·  A: Takeshi Obata
    Collects Death Note #7-8
    No copies available
  • CS 5
    Collector's Set #5
    Cover: $14.99
    W: Tsugumi Ohba  ·  A: Takeshi Obata
    Collects Death Note #9-10; ca. 2011
    No copies available
  • CS 5-5
    Collector's Set #5 - 5th printing
    Jun 2016
    Cover: $14.99
    W: Tsugumi Ohba  ·  A: Takeshi Obata
    Collects Death Note #9-10
    No copies available
  • CS 6
    Collector's Set #6
    Cover: $14.99
    W: Tsugumi Ohba  ·  A: Takeshi Obata
    Collects Death Note #11-12; ca. 2011
    No copies available
  • CS 8
    Collector's Set #8
    Cover: $9.99
    W: Tsugumi Ohba  ·  A: Takeshi Obata
    No copies available
  • Dlx 1
    Deluxe Set #1
    Sep 2017
    Cover: $39.99
    W: Tsugumi Ohba  ·  A: Takeshi Obata
    Collects Death Note Volumes 1-12; Slipcased
    No copies available