A battle between the world's two greatest minds begins when Light Yagami finds the Death Note, a notebook with the power to kill, and decides to rid the world of criminals.
A Shinigami (Death God) drops a notebook in the human world where a young genius picks it up. The notebook displays the message: "The human whose name is written in this note shall die" It is the notebook of death that can determine when a person will die. Light Yagami, an extremely bright elite university student, is the one to possess this ultimate tool that should remain only in the hands of God. Light decides to create an ideal world and begins to hold the scales to judge the criminals at his discretion. Meanwhile, the ICPO (International Criminal Police Organization) has placed a mysterious detective called "L" in the Japanese police force to investigate a series of criminal cases. "L" is an eccentric genius who has successfully solved many cases in the past that were deemed unsolvable. With L's expertise, the police are able to tighten the investigative screws over these cases, but Light, also cleverly manipulating the notebook of death, tosses and shakes the investigation. The future of mankind is at the mercy of this fierce battle between the two brains.
Light Yagami finds the "Death Note," a notebook with the power to kill, and decides to create a Utopia by killing the world's criminals, and soon the world's greatest detective, "L," is hired to find the perpetrator. An all out battle between the greatest minds on earth begins, the winner controlling the world.—Ryuzaki
Light Yagami is an extremely intelligent university student who resents crime and corruption in the world. His life undergoes a drastic change when he discovers a mysterious notebook, known as the "Death Note", lying on the ground. The Death Note's instructions claim that if a human's name is written within it, that person shall die. Light is initially skeptical of the notebook's authenticity, but after experimenting with it, Light realizes that the Death Note is real. After meeting with the previous owner of the Death Note, a Shinigami named Ryuk, Light seeks to become "the God of the New World" by passing his judgment on those he deems to be evil or who get in his way.
Soon, the number of inexplicable deaths of reported criminals catches the attention of Interpol, as well as a mysterious detective known only as "L". L quickly deduces that the murderer, dubbed by the public as Kira (a Japanese approximation of the English word "killer"), is located in Japan. L also concludes that Kira can kill people without laying a finger on them. Light realizes that L will be his greatest nemesis, and a game of psychological "cat and mouse" between the two begins.
Light, pursued by L and by FBI detective Raye Iwamatsu, outsmarts them, killing Raye and his partners in the process. When Raye's fiancée, a former FBI detective named Naomi Misora, kidnaps Light's girlfriend Shiori Akino, Light pleads for her safety. Naomi accidentally shoots Shiori and commits suicide as the police approach. Light acts sorrowful for his girlfriend's death and asks to join the Kira investigation to get revenge, but he reveals to Ryuk that in fact he had learned Naomi's name beforehand and engineered the deaths of both Naomi and Shiori. The end of the film features Misa Amane, who survives an attempt on her life as her would-be assailant has a mysterious heart attack.
