Light Yagami is the top high school student of Japan who has, until recently, led a boring and uneventful life. All that quickly changes when he finds a mysterious notebook with the title "Death Note" on it, lying on the ground near his school. This innocent-looking object which should remain in the hands of God, may just be the catalyst that would change the fate of the world forever.

Although initially skeptical after realising that it is a tool of a Shingami (God of Death), Light eventually decides to use it to 'cleanse' the world of evil. With the power to kill anyone by writing the name on the page, he begins to hold the scales to judge criminals based in his discretion.