2 April 2008

A brand new anime based on the best-selling manga by writer Tsugumi Ohba and illustrator Takeshi Obata (Hikaru no Go), the supernatural thriller Death Note makes its UK DVD debut in April as a two-disc release featuring the first eight episodes of the series that is widely being hailed as an anime classic.

Brilliant but bored high school student Light Yagami suddenly finds himself holding the power of life and death in his hands in the form of the Death Note, a notebook dropped into the human realm by Ryuk, a rogue Shinigami god of death. When Light discovers that any human whose name is written in the notebook will die within minutes, he embarks on a vigilante campaign to rid the world of evil by killing off criminals one by one.

But as the body count mounts, Light's killing spree attracts the attention of both the police and a mysterious investigator known only as "L", who vows to track down the killer and bring him to justice. Light becomes aware of his new nemesis and soon finds himself involved in a high-stakes battle of wits with L. Meanwhile, Ryuk, amused by the psychological conflict going on between Light and L, is ever on the sidelines watching and waiting…

To date, the 12-volume Death Note manga series has sold over 21 million copies in Japan and, in addition to the anime series, has also inspired three live action movies. Volumes 11 and 12 of the Death Note manga will be published in the UK by VIZ Media on 2nd June 2008. The first ever Death Note novel (a prequel to the manga series), "Death Note: Another Note - The Los Angeles BB Murder Cases" will be published in hardback by VIZ Media in the UK later this summer.

The two-disc Death Note - Volume 1 will be released on UK DVD by VIZ Media and Manga Entertainment on 28th April 2008 at the RRP of£19.99. Special Features include:

• English voice actor behind-the-scenes feature;
• Japanese animation and character designer interview;
• Audio commentary for Episode 7;
• production art gallery;
• clean opening;
• clean closing.

The sound options are English and Japanese 2.0 with optional English subtitles.