Light Yagami (Tatsuya Fujiwara) is the top high school student who finds a strange notebook called Death Note. The Death Note’s instructions state that if a person’s name is written in the notebook while picturing the person’s face in their mind, that person will die within 40 seconds. Although initially skeptical, Light tests it and finds out that the book is indeed real. He then decides to create his own ideal world, one with no crime and corruption, by killing off criminals. His actions do not go unnoticed, however, and soon the world’s greatest detective L (Ken'ichi Matsuyama) is hired by the government to find who is behind all the murders. Light and L soon ensue in a battle of wits in order to survive.