In the manga Death Note, the notebook that kills anyone whose name is written in it is called the Death Note. Its supernatural rule is the central premise of the series created by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata.
The story begins when high-school student Light Yagami finds a Death Note dropped into the human world by the shinigami Ryuk. The notebook’s instructions state that a person whose name is written in it will die, provided the writer has the person’s face in mind. Additional rules govern timing and the circumstances of death.
The title is also the name of the manga, not merely an object within it. The manga was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 2003 to 2006. A common mix-up is calling Light’s alter ego the notebook’s name; “Kira” is the label used for the mysterious killer, while the object is the Death Note.