Part I

ARC undefined Part I is the first part of the Death Note anime and manga series. This part primarily focuses on a cat-and-mouse battle between Kira, who is 17-year old Light Yagami, and L, an eccentric detective seeking to catch Kira.

During interviews, Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata refer to this part as the "L arc". Many readers or viewers also use this name.

Chapters 1-22
Light Yagami is a bored student, like Ryuk, a Shinigami, who is bored of the monotonous world of the Shinigami Realm, and drops his Death Note. Light picks it up, and decides to make a safe utopia as well as becoming god of this new world, declaring that after Ryuk arrives, and adopts the name "Kira".

The killings catch the attention of the ICPO and L, who challenges Light, using Lind L. Tailor as bait to reveal Kira's location, bent on discovering his identity. Light, accepting this challenge, began to kill criminals in one-hour increments, breaking the cooperation between L and the police (one of the members of the police including his father).

L sends FBI agents to Japan to investigate the families of the officers, with Light managing to kill all of them. Since the one who was investigating Soichiro and Katimura's family exhibited the strangest behavior, L placed cameras and wiretaps in their houses, although 64 of them are in Light's room alone. Light managed to use this to his advantage to avoid suspicion, but L still suspects Light.

L enrolls in To-Oh University to catch Light off guard, declaring he's L, making Light completely unable to kill him at this time. L also asks Light to join the investigation team, helping both Light and L, bringing them closer to each other.

Chapters 23-33 (Second Kira arc)
Sakura TV receives tapes from the Second Kira. After broadcasting them, L managed to deduce there is a second Kira and Light managed to deduce that they have the Shinigami Eyes. After Soichiro manages to receive the tapes, L asks Light to join the Task Force, not only in the hopes to help against the second Kira, but also because there would be more opportunities to have more evidence of Light being Kira. Light, learning that this second Kira admires him, wants to meet them before L does, and also to not tarnish Kira's reputation.

After a diary from the second Kira tells Light to go to Aoyama, Misa manages to uncover Light's identity as Kira, then visited his house, asking to become a tool for Kira to use to kill L. However, her Shinigami, Rem, is troublesome for Light as she is not allowing Light to bring any harm to Misa.

Since L had already deduced that Kira and the second Kira are working together, Light dates multiple girls at once as an alibi for the second Kira. However, L managed to find physical evidence pointing to Misa being the second Kira, and arrests her, and tortures her for information. Light, also asking to be attained, adds a fake rule, that whoever writes in the notebook must consecutively write for 13 days otherwise they'll die. Furthermore, he wipes his and Misa's memories of being Kira then passes the notebook onto a member of the Yotsuba company.

Chapters 34-59 (Yotsuba arc)
After fifty days of confinement and no evidence, L releases Light and Misa. After staging an execution, they are confirmed to not be Kira, and Light now wants to catch the new Kira alongside L, who hires Aiber and Wedy to help them do so. L is still doubtful Light is not Kira, so he handcuffs him and Light together and keeps a close eye on him.

Light manages to deduce that the new Kira is within the Yotsuba company.

After thinking of a plan, they are ready to do something. However, Matsuda ruins it by entering the Yotsuba headquarters. He manages to gain some information, and escapes by faking his death. Aiber also manages to get in touch with Yotsuba as Eraldo Coil, gaining more information about them.

Rem contacts Misa, telling her who the new Kira is. After managing to find a way to record Higuchi's confession, Misa shows the evidence to the Task Force. L manages to use Matsuda as bait to make Higuchi arrive on the scene, ambushing him and arresting him.

After he is detained, the Task Force learns of the Death Note, and Light and Misa finally regain their memories and continue as Kira, now with a very strong alibi with the fake rule and the memory wipe. Light then manages to put Misa in a situation where she is in danger, forcing Rem to kill L. Rem, knowing that she is being manipulated into doing so, kills L and Watari, also killing herself, finally earning Kira the victory.

Characters
The following is a list of characters featured in this part. Characters who are mentioned are italicized.


 * Light Yagami
 * L
 * Misa Amane
 * Ryuk
 * Rem
 * Gelus
 * King of Death
 * Soichiro Yagami
 * Naomi Misora
 * Kiyomi Takada
 * Watari
 * Touta Matsuda
 * Sayu Yagami
 * Sachiko Yagami
 * Kyosuke Higuchi
 * Raye Penber
 * Shuichi Aizawa
 * Lind L. Tailor
 * Yuri
 * Calikarcha
 * Gook
 * Deridovely
 * Zellogi
 * Wedy
 * Aiber
 * Hirokazu Ukita
 * Hideki Ryuga
 * Reiji Namikawa
 * Hideki Ide
 * Hitoshi Demegawa
 * Misa Amane's stalker
 * Arayoshi Hatori
 * Kiichiro Osoreda
 * Yumi Aizawa
 * Takuo Shibuimaru
 * Shingo Mido
 * Kurou Otoharada
 * Emi
 * Eiichi Takahashi
 * Eriko Aizawa
 * Koreyoshi Kitamura
 * Yamamoto
 * Yoshio Anderson
 * Masahiko Kida
 * Masaaki Shirami
 * Takeshi Ooi
 * Suguru Shimura
 * Ryo
 * Shiho
 * Ginzo Kaneboshi
 * Kyoko
 * Yukito Shiraba
 * Sudou
 * Nori
 * English teacher
 * Film director
 * Tasayoshi Yoda
 * Yasunaga
 * Sasaki
 * Yonegoro Nusumi
 * Unnamed woman
 * Yoshi
 * Light Yagami's friend
 * Misa Amane's friend
 * Matsushiro Nakaokaji
 * Imai
 * Ken Yadanaka
 * Near
 * Mello
 * Roger Ruvie

Chapters
The following is a list of chapters/volumes featuring this part.


 * Volume 1
 * 1) Boredom
 * 2) L
 * 3) Family
 * 4) Current
 * 5) Eyeballs
 * 6) Manipulation
 * 7) Target


 * Volume 2

Woman Slots Confluence One God Countdown Temptation Phone Call Handstand</li> </ol>


 * Volume 3

Trash</li> Gaze</li> Humiliation</li> First Move</li> Duplicity</li> Misfortune</li> Hard Run</li> Shield</li> Fool</li> </ol>


 * Volume 4

Reversal</li> Love</li> Judgement</li> Weapon</li> Bomb</li> Easy</li> <li>Gamble</li> <li>Removal</li> <li>Imprisonment</li> </ol>


 * Volume 5

<li>Whiteout</li> <li>Father and Son</li> <li>Eight</li> <li>Strike</li> <li>Separation</li> <li>Allies</li> <li>Matsuda</li> <li>Heaven</li> <li>Black</li> </ol>


 * Volume 6

<li>Successor</li> <li>Crazy</li> <li>Ill-Suited</li> <li>Impertinence</li> <li>Give-and-Take</li> <li>Potted Plant</li> <li>Yotsuba</li> <li>Misunderstanding</li> <li>Split-Second</li> </ol>


 * Volume 7

<li>Scream</li> <li>Inside</li> <li>Creation</li> <li>Embrace</li> <li>Two Choices</li> <li>Feelings Within</li> <li>Zero</li> </ol>

Episodes
The following is a list of episodes featuring this part.


 * 1) Rebirth
 * 2) Confrontation
 * 3) Dealings
 * 4) Pursuit
 * 5) Tactics
 * 6) Unraveling
 * 7) Overcast
 * 8) Glare
 * 9) Encounter
 * 10) Doubt
 * 11) Assault
 * 12) Love
 * 13) Confessions
 * 14) Friend
 * 15) Wager
 * 16) Decision
 * 17) Execution
 * 18) Ally
 * 19) Matsuda
 * 20) Makeshift
 * 21) Performance
 * 22) Guidance
 * 23) Frenzy
 * 24) Revival
 * 25) Silence
 * 26) Renewal