When high school student Light Yagami finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by a Shinigami death god, he discovers that any person whose name is written in it dies, so Light decides to use the notebook to rid the world of evil.
Rogue shinigami Ryuk drops his Death note in the human world out of boredom. High school student Light Yagami picks it up and vows to rid the world of evil. When criminals begin dropping dead, detective L steps in to track down the elusive killer known as Kira.