is a Japanese
manga series written by
Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by
Takeshi Obata. The story follows
Light Yagami, a high school student who discovers a supernatural notebook from a
shinigami named
Ryuk that grants its user the ability to kill anyone whose name and face he knows. The series centers around Light's subsequent attempts to create and rule a world
"cleansed of evil" as a
"God" using this found notebook, and the efforts of a detective known as
L to stop him.