DEATH NOTE

The human lifespan figures seen through the Shinigami eyes were based on a complex mathematical equation created by writer Tsugumi Ôba. However, illustrator Takeshi Obata forgot the formula after the scene in which Light's lifespan first appears, so he inserted random numbers into every later scene showing a human lifespan.

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Light Yagami and L are frequently presented as opposites, down to the point that Light uses a PC while L uses an Apple Macintosh.

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The Death Note cannot kill a person younger than 780 days, a person older than 124 years, a person with less than 12 minutes of life remaining, or a person whose death is set to a date or time beyond their original lifespan.

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Tsugumi Ôba said L is a mix of Japanese, English and Russian along with French or Italian. Beyond being of mixed nationality, L speaks six languages. Although it is not shown in the manga or anime, L can speak Japanese, Chinese, English, Russian, French and German fluently.

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L's real name is L Lawliet.

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Writer Tsugumi Ôba is said to have sat like L while thinking through the plot.

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Light's surname, Yagami, is written in kanji for "night" and "god".

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Death Note began as a pilot one-shot manga revolving around a 13-year-old boy named Taro Kagami, and its story also featured a Death Eraser. This allowed a Death Note user to bring a person they had killed with the notebook back to life by erasing their name.

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Ryuk's character design was inspired by Edward Scissorhands, the protagonist of Tim Burton's 1990 film Edward Scissorhands.

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Because of how attractive a look illustrator Takeshi Obata gave Naomi Misora, writer Tsugumi Ôba initially planned for her to stay in the series a little longer. However, since she learned about Kira much earlier than he had planned, Ôba reluctantly killed her off sooner.

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L dislikes socks so much that he is never seen wearing any in a single scene.

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Death Note: Another Note mentions that L had two more successors before Near and Mello. The first child, known as A, could not bear the pressure of being L's successor and took his own life. BB, short for Beyond Birthday, becomes a serial killer and is referenced in the eighth episode while L is investigating Naomi. L knows him from the Los Angeles BB serial murder case. BB dies of a mysterious heart attack in prison, said to be caused by Light's Death Note.

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If a Death Note owner loses or has their notebook stolen, they have 490 days to get it back. Otherwise they lose ownership of the notebook and, with it, all their memories of the notebook.

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There is a light novel prologue to the Death Note manga series titled "Death Note: Another Note - The Los Angeles BB Murder Cases", written by author Nisio Isin.

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During the creation of the characters Near and Mello, their designs were changed after illustrator Takeshi Obata's editor wrote the wrong names for both of them, and writer Tsugumi Ôba was unaware of this when he approved it, meaning Near was originally supposed to look like Mello and vice versa.

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When Light died, he went to neither Heaven nor Hell. Tsugumi Ôba had planned from the beginning that there was nothing after death. According to a fan theory, however, Light ended up in the Shinigami Realm. In Death Note Relight - Visions of a God (2007), which retells the events of the anime series, a Shinigami asks Ryuk what happened when he left his notebook and went to Earth. Fans believe the Shinigami is actually Light, because of his appearance and his desire to go to the Human World.

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Tsugumi Ôba said that Misa fell into depression after Light died and then killed herself. She was born on Christmas and died on Valentine's Day.

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In the Death Note 13: How to Read manga, it is stated that when L gives a specific percentage probability to someone he sees as Kira, whatever the real percentage is, it means he suspects that person by more than 90%. Several times throughout the series, L can be seen giving a percentage for the likelihood that Light is Kira. Even during his inner monologues, he gives Light a fake number. Judging by L's way of speaking, he assumes Light is 100% Kira but cannot obtain the evidence to prove it.

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In the credits of the second ending theme, the name seen as Light writes in Japanese in the Death Note is "Zetsubô Birî," which is the name of the second ending theme.

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Tsugumi Ôba stated that Light's life was ruined when he obtained the Death Note. If he had never touched it, he would probably have resembled both his father and L.

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Death Notes can corrupt the people who use them. However, how deeply their souls change is determined by how deeply attached they are to their books. When Light is freed from his book, he shows exactly 180 people. Misa, by contrast, is merely confused and unaware.

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Tsugumi Ôba stated that Light's death was one of the hardest things that had to be done across the entire series. Even after he died, his followers continued to worship him, and he achieved his goal of becoming a god for these people.

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Tsugumi Ôba considers Misa the hardest character to create in the manga. He said he struggled to enter the mindset of a person who would do anything for the one she loves, and that while writing for the character he felt Misa would take control.

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There are three ways for a Shinigami to die: 1) If a Shinigami prevents a human's death and thereby extends the human's lifespan, the Shinigami will die; Gelus saves Misa from being killed by a knife-wielding man by killing her with the Death Note, thereby killing Gelus as well. 2) Shinigami live by constantly stealing the lifespans of the people they kill with their Death Notes; this means that if a Shinigami stops killing people for long enough, the Shinigami will die; this is implied by Sidoh searching for and eventually recovering the Death Note he lost after not using it for a long time. 3) There are laws governing the Shinigami realm, and if a Shinigami violates any of them, he will face one of nine punishment levels, with the severity level starting at Eight and rising up to Level One and also the Extreme Level. Any punishment with a severity above Three will result in the Shinigami being punished and killed. Killing a human without using a Death Note requires the Extreme Level punishment.

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In almost every adaptation, Light defeats L. However, there is a story called Death Note: L Change the World (2008) in which L writes his own name in the Death Note so that he has enough time to catch Light before he dies. Even Kira could not see this murder approaching.

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Misa's design drew heavily on the gothic style of Lolita fashion, which fits the themes of Death Note very well. However, as the character developed over time her appearance also changed, and by the end of the series Misa could not maintain the style she once had.

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Although they have genders, there is no visible physical difference between a male and a female Shinigami, and they have neither sex nor the ability to reproduce.

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The series' artist, Takeshi Obata, looked through fashion magazines as inspiration for some characters. He also said that Misa was very fun to draw and that he enjoyed reading the magazines he used as research while drawing her.

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Misa gives Aizawa the nickname Monchichi; it is the name of a toy that came out in Japan in 1974 and became popular in the US in the late 1980s.

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Writer Tsugumi Ôba is said to be Hiroshi Gamo, the manga artist known for Tottemo! Luckyman, Bakabakashiino! and other works published in Weekly Shonen Jump.

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Misa also had a sister who is briefly mentioned in Chapter 46 of the manga. Fans named her "Asa Amane."

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Both were ambitious tennis players. Light had even won a middle school championship in Japan. L had even won a junior championship in England when he was younger. Light won the set they played by four games out of six.

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SPK stands for Special Provisions for Kira.

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