– The human whose name is written in this note shall die. Intrigued, Light picks up the notebook and studies it in the privacy of his room, opening it to find some very rudimentary instructions:

Emblazoned on the front of the book are the words “Death Note”. That is, until one day a mysterious notebook falls into his path. The only problem is that Light is completely, utterly bored. Light Yagami is a brilliant young high school student who appears very serious and focused on his studies, getting ready to take his college entry exams (after already pretesting as the highest score in Japan). I saw the manga on the table next to me, thought the premise looked pretty cool, and I hadn’t tried any manga so…what the heck! Why did I read this book: It was a complete impulse buy while waiting in a very long line at my local Borders. With L hot on his heels, will Light lose sight of his noble goal… or his life? But when criminals begin dropping dead, the authorities send the legendary detective L to track down the killer. 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.

Light Yagami is an ace student with great prospects – and bored out of his mind! But all that changes when he finds the Death Note, and notebook dropped by a rougue shinigami death god. Stand Alone or Series: First volume in a thirteen book series Publisher: Viz Media LLC Shonen Jump Advance Graphic Novel Edition Author: Written by Tsugumi Ohba Illustrated by Takeshi Obata

Death note book volume 1