History Manga / DeathNote

* CatchPhrase:

* CavalierConsumption: Despite the high stakes of the Kira investigation, L is always munching on sweets while on the job. He casually explains he needs the high calories for high intelligence, but it nonetheless demonstrates how much calmer L takes on Kira compared to his colleagues.
%%* CentralTheme: Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
* CessationOfExistence: WordOfGod says few alterations were made from the original concept up until the series finale, but this was one biting idea that was necessary to enforce. When Ryuk first confronts Light about using the Note he mentions that, while there are no ''earthly'' consequences regarding its use other than the obvious criminal investigations, those who have used one cannot go to either heaven or hell. [[spoiler:The final two rules of the Death Note go one step further; when a human dies their soul goes to Mu (nothingness), and once dead, nothing can bring a person back to life. There is no afterlife, just the complete removal of your consciousness from the universe for all eternity.]]
* ChainedHeat: Still distrusting of Light, L mandates that he must remain handcuffed to him and Misa as a means of surveillance, much to their annoyance.

* {{Bishonen}}: Light has boyish good looks to match his honor student facade. It also makes him contrast L, who is gaunt and sickly-looking.

* ItAmusedMe: Ryuk set off the '''''entire plot''''' ForTheLulz. More information on the trope page.

L becomes determined to solve the mystery of Kira and his impossible killing method, employing increasingly aggressive and risky strategies to get the information he wants. Meanwhile, Light [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope spirals into madness]] as he becomes consumed by both his [[AGodAmI egomaniacal "Kira" persona]] and his desperate need to stay one step ahead of L's investigation. It's a cat-and-mouse game neither man can afford to lose--and both of them want to win at all costs.

Originally a PsychologicalThriller manga with supernatural elements, ''Death Note''--written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata--soon developed into a multi-media franchise of [[SpinOff Spin-Offs]] and adaptations. See [[Franchise/DeathNote the franchise page]] for a list of works.

* PowerWalk:
** One each in the second intro and outro.
** Also Light does one with the Taskforce in the finale (looking like ''Series/TheSopranos'' in their business suits).

* FoundTheKillerLostTheMurderer: [[spoiler: At Higuchi's arrest.]]

* GainingTheWillToKill: Light's first two kills serve as this. The first guy Light kills is a serious headcase who had taken a school full of kids hostage. Light writes the guy's name into the title notebook as a means of figuring out whether or not it was real or just a sick prank. When the criminal in question dies of a heart attack 40 seconds after Light wrote the name in, Light still isn't completely convinced that the Death Note is real, so after school, he decides to test out the notebook a second time, taking out the leader of a motorcycle gang and stopping his AttemptedRape of a young woman by sending him and his bike into the path of an oncoming semi. After wrestling with the implications of passing judgement upon people like this, Light makes the decision to become Kira and "change the world" by killing off its criminals and evil people, which sets him on the path to [[AGodAmI developing his infamous god-complex]] and becoming the VillainProtagonist of the series.

* GayMoment: The foot massage.

* GogglesDoNothing: The Shinigami from ''Relight''.

* GoodIsNotNice: One of the story's main themes, as whether ''anyone'' in the series can truly be called good is open to interpretation. Quick examples? #1: L, who is quite scheming and manipulative. #3: Near; who is the same.

** And then there's probably the ultimate example of this at the very end when [[spoiler:Light gets his own name written into Ryuk's Death Note, just as Ryuk told him he would in the ''very first chapter'', killing Light the same way he'd killed so many others throughout the series and ending the reign of terror Light had wrought upon Japan and the world as Kira]].

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Of all the things Light learns about the Death Note in the first few chapters, the one he takes advantage of most often is the fact that a clipping from the notebook possesses its full powers. He uses scraps of Death note paper to [[spoiler: evade L's surveillance, and to kill both Naomi Misora and Kyosuke Higuchi (the latter while L was sat ''right next to him'')]]. However, in the end, [[spoiler: he uses a notebook clipping hidden in his watch to kill Takada, preventing him from realizing that Mikami also wrote her name in his notebook. As a result, Light doesn't realize that the secret location of Mikami's notebook has been compromised until it's too late, leading to his ultimate defeat.]]

-->'''Near''':[[spoiler: You didn't realize that Mikami made a move on his own, and wrote Takada's name in the notebook, because ''you'' had already killed her using a notebook clipping yourself.]]

* GenkiGirl: Misa in ''spades''.

** FourIsDeath. The manga has [[Mystical108 108 chapters]]. [[ThirteenIsUnlucky Thirteen]] chapters in ''LightNovel/AnotherNote''. The numbering theme in the manga was, according to WordOfGod, completely intentional.

** [[spoiler: Subverted in ''LightNovel/AnotherNote''. The first three victims are killed in ways that are obviously not suicide (strangulation from behind, beating, etc), and the doors are locked. This is so that, when the murderer ''does'' commit suicide inside a locked room for the final crime, it is thought to be another murder, and the case goes unsolved. Luckily, Naomi realized this just in time.]]

* ThreesomeSubtext: First arc: Misa-Light-L and Second arc: [[spoiler: Misa-Light-Takada / Light-Takada-Mikami]] and in the prequel novel ''LightNovel/AnotherNote'' Raye Penber-Naomi Misora-Ryuuzaki

* OffModel: In one scene in the anime when Misa appears in a {{Stripperiffic}} lacy pink dress the cops' faces disappear when they enter her apartment.

** Also BilingualBonus Light's worldwide alias "Kira" (the word "killer" adapted to the Japanese language). Additionally, Kira is also a Russian name by origin and is the feminine version of Cyrus. Cyrus comes from the Greek Κυρος (Kyros) which is the Greek version of the Persian name Kürush which may mean "far sighted" or "young" — this, in and of itself, may refer to Light's grand, far-reaching dreams and his own youth and inexperience. Where it gets more interesting is that the name is also sometimes associated with the Greek κυριος (kyrios), meaning "lord." Indeed, the Greek word Kyrios means "lord, Lord, and Master" and in religious usage designates God, appearing 740 times in the New Testament referring to Jesus. Consider that one of the songs in the Death Note soundtrack is titled "Kyrie" which is a transliteration of Greek κύριε (kyrie) and a vocative case of κύριος (kyrios). It's an interesting connection, [[FauxSymbolism even if it wasn't done intentionally.]]

** Naomi Misora, who has been consistently shown to be intelligent, competent, meticulous, and above all, ''careful,'' [[TooDumbToLive foolishly]] [[WhatAnIdiot tells Light her real name]] after giving him a pseudonym, when she has no more reason to trust him than before. The result of the writer painting himself into a corner: had she not made this fatal mistake, the story would have been over very quickly.

** Misa does this twice, to the severe detriment of [[ALighterShadeOfGray both sides.]] Once, it's as a PscychoSupporter to Kira, [[spoiler:giving L physical evidence in the case of her sending the tapes]], and the other time, it's out of MadLove to same, [[spoiler:endangering her own life to the point that her shinigami has to intervene]]. For a fervent Kira supporter, she's really a loose cannon: she never fully appreciates her role in either disaster.

%%* VillainousFriendship:
&&** Light and Misa begin as Type III, though seeing as [[spoiler: Light never does get around to killing her]], it is possible that they moved to Type I territory.
&&** Misa and Rem are Type III; Rem cares deeply for Misa, but Misa doesn't really care about Rem as anything more than a casual friend whose death she gets over pretty quickly.
&&** Mello and Matt are Type I, seeing how Matt is [[spoiler: the only person Mello shows remorse for having gotten killed]].
&&** Mikami and Takada are Type I, but [[spoiler:Mikami kills her anyway because his loyalty to his "God" trumps any feelings he has for her.]]
&&** Light and Takada are very much Type III. [[spoiler: Takada loves and admires Light, but when Takada [[YouHaveFailedMe has failed him]] by getting kidnapped, he [[PsychicAssistedSuicide makes her kill herself]] by SelfImmolation.]]
&&** Light and Mikami at first appear to be Type I but [[WordOfGod a diagram in the databook]] actually implies that Light and Mikami are more of a Type III: Mikami is honestly loyal to Light, but Light views both Mikami and Takada as murderers who aren't that much better than other criminals. He does, however, think that Mikami is useful. Mikami [[spoiler: swears absolute devotion to Light when Light entrusts him with the Death Note and in turn he was the only one Light [[YouWillBeSpared was planning on keeping around after he won.]] However, in the anime at the very end it turns into Type III. When his plan to kill Near and others fails, Light tries to save himself by sacrificing Mikami, claiming that he doesn't know him; Mikami, while broken by this rejection, [[UndyingLoyalty remains loyal to Light]] and responds to his call for help by killing himself, creating a distraction that allows Light to escape. In the manga they are not friends at all as not only Light abandons Mikami, but also Mikami responds to Light's call for help by yelling at him that he's not a god.]]
&&** Light and Ryuk are type IV, the evil VitriolicBestBuds variety, Light sees Ryuk as a buddy to brag to, and [[GoKartingWithBowser Ryuk likes playing with Light]], but in the end, Light only wants to use Ryuk as much as he allows it (e.g. making him find hidden cameras installed in his room [[spoiler:or add fake rules to the Death Note as a part of his MemoryGambit]]), while Ryuk sees Light as a shiny new toy [[spoiler:[[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness to be disposed of as soon as he gets bored]]]].
&& ** Light and Rem are type IV, at first Rem ''hates'' Light for the way he [[ManipulativeBastard manipulates]] Misa but later [[spoiler: after spending time with Higuchi, Rem comes to sympathize with Light and his cause, finding Light to be "as pure as Misa."]]

* PoliteVillainsRudeHeroes: Light himself is usually soft-spoken, courteous, and reserved, and to an extent Misa, Mikami, and Takada all share this. L and Near, however, are brutally honest and openly manipulative; Near in particular earned quite a lot of annoyance from Mogi and Aizawa for the way he treated them. Compare some of Light's and Near's conversations, where Light is accommodating and non-confrontational while Near says ''exactly'' what's on his mind in the most blunt manner possible.

* EurekaMoment: Naomi Misora gets a ''lot'' of these in the BB Murder Cases. [[spoiler: They were planted by Ryuzaki.]]

** [[spoiler: Beyond]] too, [[OverlyLongGag for like half a page...]]

* ForegoneConclusion: In ''The Los Angeles BB Cases'', the mysterious stranger who follows Naomi is obviously L because we've read the manga or watched the anime. [[spoiler: Except it isn't. In one of the best subversions of this trope ever, its not L but BB, the murderer suspected of the killings.]]

* StrawmanNewsMedia: Type IV. You'd think that after the emergence of Kira that there would be a massive clampdown on broadcasting suspect's names... '''''WRONG!''''' Trial by media becomes execution by media: Here's the names and faces of people [[YouBastard our viewers want to die in a fire.]] [[IfItBleedsItLeads Let's hope they die on live TV!]] This is especially exemplified with [[AttentionWhore Demegawa]] and [[IntellectuallySupportedTyranny Takada.]] Earlier on, the cops consider a media clampdown as soon as L points out that Kira is killing by reading names of criminals out of the newspaper; however, L shoots the idea down, on the grounds that he reads Kira as a PsychopathicManchild who would just start killing anyone he ''thinks'' is guilty, and blaming any innocent deaths on the police for instigated a media clampdown. [[spoiler:Ironically, it is ''Light'' who successfully implements this idea after taking over from L, but that's just a ploy on his part; the names and faces of criminals promptly leak out to the internet, and Light is able to successfully maintain his facade as Kira-hunter without compromising his true objectives.]]

** In a meta sense, each episode title is only [[IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming a single word]] with the exception of the final episode, "New World."

* ObviouslyEvil: Light by the second live action movie is sporting sinister black attire.

** Also, Soichiro says this when the handcuffed Light and L begin their second fist fight.

** At the end of the manga, [[spoiler:Light himself. After he's exposed as Kira and shot by the last person he expected to turn on him, he's desperate enough to beg [[JerkassGods Ryuk]] to write down the names of everybody else in the room, forgetting that Ryuk is on no-one's side and doesn't care who wins as long as he's provided with [[ItAmusedMe entertainment]]. Ryuk, who had expected Light to think of a way out of his situation, realises that Light can no longer give him the entertainment he craves, [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness and writes Light's name in his Death Note instead]].]]

** Raye, Naomi's fiance. If only if he hadn't told her to StayInTheKitchen and let her work alongside him...
*** Oh if only he hadn't shown his ''[=FBI ID=]'' to a kid that he was following as part of a ''Serial Killer investigation'', either!