“The human whose name is written in this note shall die.”
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 Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. But will Light succeed in his noble goal, or will the Death Note turn him into the very thing he fights against?
Where to Watch
Streaming, rent and purchase options
Episodes
1. Rebirth
Brilliant but bored high school student Light Yagami suddenly finds himself holding the power of life and death in his hands—the power of the Death Note. He decides to rid the world of evil—by killing off criminals one by one. When the murders start to pile up, genius detective L is on the case, and an epic battle of wits unfolds.
2. Confrontation
While the world’s criminals continue to drop dead, L meets by computer with representatives from various nations. He requests that a task force be set up in Japan, under the direction of none other than Soichiro Yagami, Light’s father.
3. Dealings
Ryuk, the Shinigami, or god of death, who dropped the Death Note into the human world, warns Light that someone is on his trail. Light is troubled that he can’t find out the identity of his tracker, and Ryuk suggests an amazing deal...
4. Pursuit
Light—now known to the world as Kira—tests the Death Note to understand the scope of its powers by killing off six convicts in various ways—and confirms he can control his victims’ actions before they die.
5. Tactics
Soichiro Yagami demands to meet with L in person when he finds out that L has secretly brought FBI agents into Japan. Light, meanwhile, has found a way to get those very FBI agents off the case—permanently...
6. Unraveling
Light meets a woman at the Police Department with an urgent message for the Kira task force. As son of the chief investigator, Light listens to her story, and is startled to discover she may have information that could lead to his arrest.
7. Overcast
Light uses the Death Note to try to get rid of the woman who could get him captured, and is shocked when it doesn’t work. Realizing she must have given him an alias, he’s only got minutes to find out her real name before she tells her story to the task force.
8. Glare
L insists on setting up bugs and cameras in the homes of Chief Yagami and Deputy Director Kitamura—whom Raye Penber was tracking. But Light is a step ahead as usual—he knows he’s being watched.
9. Encounter
The murders continue, and L grows suspicious of Light’s too-perfect behavior and decides to investigate him on his own. In order to get closer to Light, L enrolls at the same university and reveals himself to be L.
10. Doubt
L's suspicion of Light deepens, compelling him to invite Light into the investigation. But then a phone call alerts them that Soichiro Yagami has suffered a heart attack!
11. Assault
As predicted on the tapes sent to Sakura TV, news anchors and commentators who expressed doubt about Kira die one by one. On further investigation, L concludes that this Kira is not the original—there's a second Kira!
12. Love
With a second Kira now on the loose, L asks Light to join the task force and pose as the real Kira in order to catch the copycat. Light agrees, hoping to divert suspicion from himself. To his surprise, this new Kira has a special ability even Light lacks…
13. Confession
Light goes to Aoyama to discover the identity of the second Kira before L becomes more suspicious. But Misa Amane, the new Kira, uses her unusual gift to find Light before he finds her.
14. Friend
Light and Misa show each other their Death Notes, and Light asks Misa to have her shinigami Rem get rid of L. But Misa asks something of Light in return—to fall in love with her!
15. Wager
Evidence turns up that points to Misa Amane as the second Kira. In an effort to spare her, Rem forces Misa to forfeit her ownership of the Death Note.
16. Decision
Misa is in confinement, though her memories of the Death Note have been completely wiped away. When Light is confined as well, the murders stop and suspicion of Light grows stronger. Then suddenly, the killings resume.
17. Execution
After fifty days of confinement the killings continue, and Misa and Light are released. But L has devised a plan to ensure no more murders occur, and has Light's father, Soichiro, take the two for a ride that may be their last.
18. Ally
Though L is still suspicious, Light and Misa, their memories of being Kira wiped clean, return to headquarters, where Light notices a strange connection between the recent Kira killings and the Yotsuba Group.
19. Matsuda
Matsuda, the task force member assigned to watch Misa, is eager to distinguish himself, and while on a job with Misa, he decides to do a little snooping on his own at the Yotsuba Group’s Tokyo headquarters.
20. Makeshift
L's team discovers that the Yotsuba Group meet in secret to discuss the elimination of individuals who are troublesome to their company, and concludes that Kira must be one of the eight executives. Can Light posing as L ferret out the right one?
21. Performance
The Task Force uses Misa as a way to get closer to the Yotsuba corporation. But things get complicated when Rem tries to communicate with her.
22. Guidance
Thanks to Misa, the Task Force now knows the identity of the new Kira and L plans an elaborate scheme to smoke him out of hiding.
23. Frenzy
L, Light and Misa watch from the investigation team building and wonder who he is talking to. L wonders if Higuchi is talking to a shinigami. Rem convinces Higuchi to go to the station, but she has her own selfish motives for doing so.
24. Revival
While Higuchi is finally captured, Light inadvertently regains his memories as Kira.
25. Silence
Light, his memory recovered, orders Misa to begin killing after Higuchi dies. The Shinigami Rem realizes that everything is going according to Light's plan, and that L will arrest Misa as Kira-unless Rem acts quickly.
26. Renewal
Light has removed everyone in his way and is closer to achieving his perfect world.
27. Abduction
A new investigator steps forward-Near, a central figure in the SPK, an organization that is trying to catch Kira without relying on L. Near is aware of the existence of the Death Notes and wants to get his hands on one.
28. Impatience
Light, acting as L, reveals to Near that his sister Sayu has been kidnapped by someone wanting to trade her for the Death Note. Near finds out that the trade will happen in Los Angeles and promises to help, while secretly planning to steal the Death Note and capture Kira.
29. Father
Mortified over allowing the Death Note to fall into Mello's hands in order to save his daughter, Soichiro puts himself into harm's way in order to get it back.
30. Justice
Mello busts into SPK headquarters to retrieve a photograph of himself to make sure he won't be killed by Kira. In exchange for Near giving him the picture, Mello drops an important hint about the Death Notes: some of the rules are fake.
31. Transfer
Near contacts the Japanese task force and determines that Kira is among their members. He asks for insider information, and Aizawa, beginning to doubt Light, responds. Near suspects that the new L is really Light Yagami and that Light is Kira.
32. Selection
Star newscaster Kiyomi Takada becomes Kira's spokesperson to the world, after Demegawa is deleted by Mikami, and she just so happens to have been Light's girlfriend in college. Aizawa's suspicions about Light grow.
33. Scorn
Near goes to Japan, allegedly as bait for Kira. Following Light's instructions, Takada asks Mikami to send her five pages of the Death Note. She tells him that he will continue his work in a fake book made to look like the real one.
34. Vigilance
Aizawa figures out what's going on and tells Near, who already knows about the notes. Near instructs Aizawa to continue watching Light, and then puts in motion a plan to separate Misa from Light.
35. Malice
Light and Near agree upon a meeting place for the final confrontation. A key player is kidnapped and the end results are shocking.
36. 1.28
The Japanese Task Force and the SPK finally meet at YellowBox Warehouse on January 28th. However, a third party has come to the warehouse as well, on Kira's orders to kill everyone else there.
37. New World
Though Mikami has written all the investigators' names in the Death Note, a minute passes and everyone is still alive. Near seizes Mikami's Death Note, and all is at last revealed.
Cast & Crew
Mamoru Miyano
Light Yagami (voice)
Kappei Yamaguchi
L (voice)
Shido Nakamura
Ryuk (voice)
Aya Hirano
Misa Amane (voice)
Noriko Hidaka
Near (voice)
Nozomu Sasaki
Mello (voice)
Kimiko Saito
Rem (voice)
Naoya Uchida
Soichiro Yagami (voice)
Ryou Naitou
Touta Matsuda (voice)
Keiji Fujiwara
Shuichi Aizawa (voice)
Kazuya Nakai
Kanzo Mogi (voice)
Story & Production Details
Reviews & Thoughts
My favourite ever series not just of anime but TV in general, Death Note is simply beautiful television. The production is amazing from great animation to brilliant music and wonderful performances in English and Japanese. The characters of Light, L, Ryuk, Misa and so on are all truly iconic and entertaining, with Light Yagami being my favourite ever fictional character (he is a brilliant psychopath) and his rivalry with L being simply incredible. Episodes 25 and 37 stand-out as two of the greatest episodes of any TV show ever, especially episode 37 which releases the brilliantly built-up tension in a wonderful way. Tension is Death Note's speciality; it is brimming with tension and the few moments it lets loose are really quite special. If you want a high-stakes, morally grey battle of geniuses that sees almost every character get emotional broken and subjected to horrific fates, then watch Death Note. And the end of Death Note actually left me speechless.
Such a great anime; if you're not into anime, Death Note is a welcome mat, a hello, and a welcome to the best of anime. A great intellect battle in a TV show and delivering a compelling story deep and dark and one of the most philosophically dense manga ever written. It's a genuine philosophical argument about power, justice, and human nature.
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