Death Note

Death Note opens in Japan with Light Yagami, an academically gifted high school student, finding a black notebook called the Death Note on the ground. He picks it up and reads its rules: if he writes someone's name while picturing their face, that person will die of a heart attack. A Shinigami named Ryuk appears, explaining he dropped the notebook. Light begins killing criminals, initially telling himself it is justice. The Kira case goes global and L, a legendary detective operating from the shadows, deduces that Kira is in Japan and a student. L challenges Kira publicly and the two engage in an intense psychological cat-and-mouse game, each trying to discover the other's identity. Light manipulates others, including the FBI agent Raye Penber and his fiancée Naomi Misora, to further his goals. Light uses his sister Sayu's boyfriend to get close to L and eventually engineers a plan to have L write his own name — but the death is faked. Light takes L's place as the new L. Later, Near and Mello, child prodigies who succeeded L, begin investigating Light. In a final confrontation, Light attempts to escape using a hidden pocket of the notebook but Mikami, his supporter in the Task Force, fails to write Near's name. Near exposes Light, who dies of a heart attack caused by Ryuk writing his name in the Death Note.