A shinigami named Ryuk drops a notebook into the human world. The student who picks it up is Light Yagami, a high schooler with a brilliant mind. The rule inside is short. Write a name in the notebook and the person who owns that name dies. Light appoints himself the judge of who counts as evil, and starts writing.
Light, Ryuk, L Lawliet and Misa Amane carry the series as its four leads. It is filed at once as mystery, psychological drama, supernatural and thriller, which is a fair description of a story where a rule printed on paper settles who lives.
The anime aired from 4 October 2006 to 27 June 2007, thirty-seven episodes in all. Madhouse produced it from an original story by Tsugumi Ohba, with original character designs by Takeshi Obata, and Tetsuro Araki directed. Araki storyboarded both openings and episodes 1, 21, 25 and 37 himself, and Aya Hirano performed the insert songs.
