Death Note, Vol. 1 introduces the central characters and premise of this dark psychological thriller. Light Yagami, a brilliant but bored high school student, finds the Death Note, a supernatural notebook dropped by the Shinigami (Death God) Ryuk. The notebook grants its user the power to kill anyone whose name and face they know by writing the name in its pages. Light, viewing himself as a divine agent of justice, begins using the Note to cleanse the world of criminals, adopting the moniker Kira. His actions quickly attract the attention of the world's greatest detective, known only as L, who sets out to track down and stop Kira. This volume establishes the intense cat-and-mouse game between Light and L, setting the stage for their thrilling intellectual war.
