Death by Paper: A Look at the World of Shinigami, Detectives, and Lethal Notebooks

Death by Paper: A Look at the World of Shinigami, Detectives, and Lethal Notebooks
(Part 1 of 3)



Imagine the one person that you hate the most. The very thought of him or her frustrates you to no end. In an act of utter desperation, you grab a notebook and write that person's name in it, detailing the most gruesome manner of death you can think of, half-hoping that your wishes come true in the end. In a matter of seconds, you are informed that the person in question dies in exactly the manner you've described. It takes a while, but the implications hit you with all the force of a speeding truck. This notebook somehow killed the exact person you were thinking of and in the exact way that you detailed the death. What should you do? To be specific, what should you do with the power that this strange notebook grants you?

Welcome to the world of Death Note.

Rules of the Death Note

A word of caution before proceeding: this manga is not exactly a light read. Typical examples of shounen have chapters filled with lots of battle scenes and minimal text, cutting the action only to name and describe a particular new, cool move. In Death Note, chapters are heavy with text and analysis, and entire volumes can take an hour or two to finish. Now, this is not a bad thing at all. The pace of the story is such that chapters seem to add pressure to an already tense atmosphere, leading up to a climactic finish a few chapters later. It is quite satisfying to follow a plot so closely and watch how well a plan comes together eventually. Some readers may want their manga fast and furious, though, and Death Note is not optimal to satisfying this need. Thus, those who find themselves in this bracket have been duly warned. With this in mind, we can continue.

Death Notes are notebooks that contain a great many rules, and each one plays a large role throughout the story. Indeed, the rules are a huge part of the action, and they are contorted and abused on many, many occasions. But despite these impending complications, the basics of the Death Note are simple enough.

One: to kill a person, simply write down the person's whole name while thinking of his or her face (the latter condition prevents the notebook from accidentally killing people with the same name as the one slated for death). It must be the person's real name; aliases and nicknames will not work.

Two: a cause of death may be specified within forty seconds of writing the person's name in the note. If no cause of death is specified, the person will die of a heart attack. If a cause of death is specified, details of the death must be written within the next 6 minutes and 40 seconds.

It is sufficient to keep those two summaries of the rules in mind as far as usage of the Death Note is concerned. However, ownership of the Death Note is a different animal altogether. To understand the rules of ownership, we must first take a look at the origin of the note.

This origin can be summarized with one word: Shinigami (god/s of death, also called reapers in some situations). The Death Note is, in essence, a tool that a shinigami uses to kill humans, thereby prolonging the lifespan of the former. This grants a sort of conditional immortality for shinigami, so long as they do not stumble into the pitfalls of sloth. But ownership of the Death Note can be passed onto others, even human beings, and this is how such an event occurs.

Upon touching human ground, the Death Note becomes property of the human world. The first person to touch the Death Note is recognized as its rightful owner. This person will gain the ability to see, hear, and generally sense the shinigami who originally owns the note, and the shinigami will follow the human owner around for as long as the latter remains in possession of the Death Note. Upon death, the owner of the Death Note cannot go to heaven or hell. In addition, while not expressly a rule, it has been noted that humans who use the Death Note tend to live their lives in misery.

Shinigami can see the name and lifespan of any person they see (the latter does not apply when the person they see is in possession of a Death Note). Certain conditions must be met regarding how much of the face must be seen, but the power of the eyes is such that even a recent photograph or video footage of a given person will produce a name. The human who owns the Death Note is able to make a deal for the shinigami's eyes by expressing the desire to do so and losing half the length of his or her lifespan in the process. This transaction takes place instantly and can be made at any time.

Ownership of the Death Note can be relinquished at any given time by the owner's request. Upon relinquishing ownership of the Death Note, the previous owner loses all memory of possessing and using the Death Note. When the previous owner touches any Death Note, he or she will regain the memories of using the note for as long as his or her body is in contact with the note. If the Death Note that the previous owner touches is the one that he or she previously owned, he or she will regain all memories of using the note regardless of whether or not it is in contact with his or her body.

Quite a bit to process, isn't it? While it may be overwhelming at first, Death Note is a well-written story that pulls readers in and doesn't let go until the very end. These rules are discussed because knowledge of them is crucial to the plot… and what a plot it is! The rollercoaster ride through the world of shinigami, police investigations, mysterious killings and evil geniuses will suck every drop of breath from your lungs and will have your heart beating faster than a gallon of coffee. All the while, your mind is poked and prodded with a number of burning questions. What is justice? What is good and what is evil? If I were in that person's position, how would I act?

It is enough to keep those things in mind for now. Next time, we will have a look at the colorful characters that occupy this dark world of Death Note.

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Editor's note: Many thanks to Demi for the column header illustration