One notebook. One god of death. One brilliant student who wants to reshape the world. Are you sharp enough to crack every secret Death Note has to offer?
Notebook rules, Shinigami, legendary investigators and jaw-dropping plot twists. This quiz tests your real knowledge of one of the most intelligent manga ever written.
Pick your level
Death Note is a manga by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, serialised in Weekly Shonen Jump between 2003 and 2006. It follows Light Yagami, a brilliant high school student who discovers a notebook belonging to a god of death. Anyone whose name is written in it dies. The series quickly became a global phenomenon thanks to its psychological storytelling and battle of wits.
This quiz covers the Death Note's rules, the main characters, the Shinigami, the investigators and the key moments of the plot. For true fans who know the series down to its finest details.
All ten easy level questions, with the answer and the reasoning behind it.
Correct answer: Black
Black, with the title in white lettering. A notebook that makes no effort to look harmless.
Correct answer: A death god
A Shinigami, a death god, and a thoroughly bored one.
Correct answer: Anyone who has touched the notebook
Anyone who has touched the notebook. That makes for some awkward moments in Light's bedroom.
Correct answer: Crouched with his knees up
Crouched with his knees up. He claims his deductive powers drop by 40% if he sits normally.
Correct answer: Killer
Killer, as the English word sounds when spoken in Japanese.
Correct answer: A world without crime
A world without crime, with himself as its god. Modest plans for a schoolboy.
Correct answer: Yagami
Yagami, also the name of the policeman trying to catch him, his father.
Correct answer: A letter L
A single gothic letter L. He keeps his face to himself, and in this story that is wise.
Correct answer: Netflix
Netflix, with Nat Wolff as Light. Fans of the manga have not all forgiven it.
Correct answer: Toys and puzzles
Toys and puzzles. Mello preferred chocolate, and neither of them could stand coming second.
Want to warm up before playing or double-check something? Open any question to reveal the correct answer and a short explanation.
Correct answer: Kira
Light is nicknamed Kira, a Japanese rendering of the English word "killer". The name spreads after he begins using the Death Note to eliminate criminals. He eventually claims this name as his divine identity.
Correct answer: Ryuk
Ryuk is the Shinigami who, out of boredom, deliberately drops his Death Note into the human world. He does not ally himself with Light and watches his actions purely for entertainment. At the end of the series, it is Ryuk who writes Light's name in his own notebook.
Correct answer: 40 seconds
By default, the person whose name is written in the Death Note dies of a heart attack after exactly 40 seconds. The user can change the cause of death by specifying the circumstances within the following 6 minutes and 40 seconds.
Correct answer: L
L is the world's greatest detective, whose true identity remains unknown for a long time. His real name is L Lawliet. He is famous for his unconventional methods and his crouching posture. His intellectual duel with Light forms the emotional core of the series.
Correct answer: Misa Amane
Misa Amane is a famous Japanese model and actress who worships Kira. She has her own Death Note and has traded her eyes with her Shinigami Rem, giving her the ability to see anyone's name and remaining lifespan just by looking at them.
Correct answer: A person's real name and remaining lifespan
In exchange for half of their own remaining lifespan, the user gains Shinigami eyes. This lets them see every person's full real name and remaining seconds of life floating above their head.
Correct answer: Rem
Rem is the Shinigami bound to Misa. Unlike Ryuk, she develops a genuine attachment to Misa. This attachment leads to her downfall: she writes the names of L and Watari in her notebook to protect Misa, which causes her to disappear, as a Shinigami who extends a human's life must die.
Correct answer: Near
Near, whose real name is Nate River, is one of L's two designated successors alongside Mello. After L's death, he leads the SPK (Special Provision for Kira) and conducts the final investigation against Kira. By combining information with Mello, he eventually exposes Light.
Correct answer: A Shinigami who kills a human to extend another human's life will die
The rule states: if a Shinigami writes a human's name in a Death Note in order to extend another human's lifespan, that Shinigami dies. This is exactly what causes Rem's death when she sacrifices herself to protect Misa.
Correct answer: Ryuk writes his name in the Death Note
At the end of the series, Light is exposed by Near. Wounded in a shootout and out of options, he tries to flee but collapses. Ryuk, true to his word from the very beginning (he had warned Light he would write his name one day), inscribes Light's name in his Death Note. Light dies of a heart attack.
Stuck on one, or just curious how nasty it gets? Every hard mode question is here with its answer and the reasoning behind it.
Correct answer: A hostage-taker at a nursery
A man holding people hostage at a nursery school, killed on live TV. The biker comes next.
Correct answer: Half
Half. Misa makes the deal twice, which is not an encouraging financial plan.
Correct answer: Winchester
Winchester, in England, founded by the inventor Quillsh Wammy, also known as Watari.
Correct answer: Mihael Keehl
Mihael Keehl. Nate River is Near, and Mail Jeevas is Matt.
Correct answer: Rem
Rem, to protect Misa, knowing that saving a human this way will turn her to dust.
Correct answer: He kills a man to save Misa
He kills the man about to attack Misa, which extends her life and turns him to dust. Rem then brings her his notebook.
Correct answer: Kiyomi Takada
Kiyomi Takada, with a scrap of the notebook hidden on her, moments after he has kidnapped her.
Correct answer: The Yellow Box warehouse
The Yellow Box warehouse, which is also where Ryuk finally writes the name he promised.
Correct answer: 12
12, from 2003 to 2006. A 13th volume is a guide to the series, not part of the story.
Correct answer: Nightmare
Nightmare, who also sing the first ending. Maximum the Hormone take over for the second half, in a very different mood.