Death manga

, written by and illustrated by , was serialized in ‘s magazine from December 1, 2003, to May 15, 2006. The series’ 108 chapters were collected into twelve volumes by Shueisha, released from April 2, 2004, to July 4, 2006. A chapter, titled “C-Kira” (“Death Note: Special One-Shot”), was published in on February 9, 2008. Set two years after the manga’s epilogue, it sees the introduction of a new Kira and the reactions of the main characters in response to the copycat’s appearance. Several (four-panel comics) appeared in . The was written to be humorous. The issues that printed the comics include 2004 Spring, 2004 Summer, 2005 Winter, and 2005 Spring. In addition Gag Special 2005 included some in a Heroes Super 4-Panel Competition. Shueisha re-released the series in seven volumes from March 18 to August 19, 2014. On October 4, 2016, all 12 original manga volumes and the February 2008 one-shot were released in a single , consisting of 2,400 pages in a single book.

The series release outside Japan has inspired other works, as well as individuals making their own mock “Death Notes”, including one that was associated with a real-life murder. According to magazine, “[turned] Japan’s most-popular print medium into an internationally controversial topic that has parents wondering whether they should prohibit their kids from reading manga entirely”. Live-action director commented in response, “If preventing them from seeing this movie is going to make kids better, then why not prevent them from watching all bad news?”.

Early in 2005, school officials in , the capital of , China banned . The reason was that students had been altering notebooks to resemble Death Notes and then writing the names of acquaintances, enemies, and teachers in the books. The ban was designed to protect the “physical and mental health” of students from horror material that “misleads innocent children and distorts their mind and spirit”. has suggested that the Chinese authorities acted partly against “superstition”, but also against illegal, pirate publishers of . The ban has been extended to other Chinese cities including Beijing, Shanghai and in Province. Legally published Chinese-language versions of are published in Hong Kong. On June 12, 2015, the listed among 38 anime and manga titles banned in the country.

In in March 2008, school officials seized a “Death Note” notebook from a Hartsville Middle School student. District officials linked the notebook to the anime/manga. The notebook listed seven students’ names. The school planned a disciplinary hearing and contacted the seven students’ parents. In in April 2008, two sixth-grade boys were arrested for possession of a “Death Note” that listed names of several staff members and fellow students. According to Etowah County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Lanny Handy, the notebook was discovered the previous afternoon by a staffer. The students were suspended from the county’s schools, pending a hearing. The students, their parents, and school officials had met with Handy and a junior probation officer. In , one middle school student was expelled and three were suspended on May 14, 2008, for having 50 names in their own “Death Note” book, including President .

IGN manga: alles over Death Note