How to Use: I
The human whose name is written in this note shall die.
This note will not take effect unless the writer has the person's face in their mind when writing his/her name. Therefore, people sharing the same name will not be affected.
If the cause of death is written within the next 40 seconds of writing the person's name, it will happen.
If the cause of death is not specified, the person will simply die of a heart attack.
After writing the cause of death, details of the death should be written in the next 6 minutes and 40 seconds.
How to Use: II
The notebook shall become the property of the human world, once it touches the ground of (arrives in) the human world.
The owner of the note can recognize the image and voice of the original owner, i.e. a god of death/shinigami.
The human who uses the notebook can neither go to Heaven nor Hell.
How to Use: III
If the time of death is written within 40 seconds after writing the cause of death as a heart attack, the time of death can be manipulated, and the time can go into effect within 40 seconds after writing the name.
The human who touches the Death Note can recognize the image and voice of its original owner, a Shinigami, even if the human is not the owner of the note.
How to Use: IV
The person in possession of the Death Note is possessed by a god of death, its original owner, until they die.
If a human uses the note, a god of death usually appears in front of him/her within 39 days after he/she uses the note.
Shinigami, the original owners of the Death Note, do not do, in principle, anything which will help or prevent the deaths in the note.
A Shinigami has no obligation to completely explain how to use the note or rules which will apply to the human who owns it unless asked.
How to Use: V
A Shinigami can extend their own life by putting a name on their own note, but humans cannot.
A person can shorten his/her own life by using the note.
The human who becomes the owner of the Death Note can, in exchange of half his/her remaining life, get the eyes of the Shinigami which will enable him/her to see a human's name and remaining life span when looking through them.
A god of death cannot be killed even if stabbed in his heart with a knife or shot in the head with a gun. However, there are ways to kill a Shinigami, which are not generally known to the Shinigami.
How to Use: VI
The conditions for death will not be realized unless it is physically possible for that human or it is reasonably assumed to be carried out by that human.
The specific scope of the condition for death is not known to the Shinigami, either. So, you must examine and find out.
How to Use: VII
One page taken from the Death Note, or even a fragment of the page, contains the full effects of the note.
The instrument to write with can be anything, ((e.g. cosmetics, blood, etc)) as long as it can write directly onto the note and remains as legible letters.
Even the original owners of Death Note, Shinigami, do not know much about the note.
How to Use: VIII
You may also write the cause and/or details of death prior to filling in the name of the individual. Be sure to insert the name in front of the written cause of death. You have about 19 days (according to the human calendar) in order to fill in a name.
Even if you do not actually possess the Death Note, the effect will be the same if you can recognize the person and his/her name to place in the blank.
How to Use: IX
The Death Note will not affect those under 780 days old.
The Death Note will be rendered useless if the victim's name is misspelled four times.
If the victim's name was misspelled on purpose four or more times, the user along with the victim will die.
How to Use: X
"Suicide" is a valid cause of death. Basically, all humans are thought to possess the possibility to commit suicide. It is, therefore, not something "unbelievable to think of."
Whether the cause of the individual's death is either a suicide or accident. If the death leads to the death of more than the intended, the person will simply die of a heart attack. This is to ensure that other lives are not influenced.
How to Use: XI
Even after the individual's name, the time of death, and death condition on the Death Note were filled out, the time and condition of death can be altered as many times as you want, as long as it is changed within 6 minutes and 40 seconds from the time it was filled in. But, of course, this is only possible before the victim dies.
Whenever you want to change anything written on the Death Note within 6 minutes and 40 seconds after you wrote, you must first rule out the characters you want to erase with two straight lines.
As you see above, the time and conditions of death can be changed, but once the victim's name has been written, the individual's death can never be avoided.
How to Use: XII
If you lose the Death Note or have it stolen, you will lose its ownership unless you retrieve it within 490 days.
If you have traded the eye power of a god of death, you will lose the eye power as well as the memory of the Death Note, once you lose its ownership. At the same time, the remaining half of your life will not be restored.
How to Use: XIII
You may lend the Death Note to another person while maintaining its ownership. Subletting it to yet another person is possible, too. This also allows the person in current possession of the note to trade for the eyes of the shinigami.
The borrower of the Death Note will not be followed by a god of death. The God of Death always remains with the owner of the Death Note. (although the Shinigami is not obligated to.)
How to Use: XIV
When the owner of the Death Note dies while the Note is being lent, its ownership will be transferred to the person who is holding it at that time.
If the Death Note is stolen and the owner is killed by the thief, its ownership will automatically be transferred to the thief.
How to Use: XV
When the same name is written on more than two Death Notes, the note which was first filled in will take effect, regardless of the time of death.
If writing the same name on more than two Death Notes is completed within 0.06 seconds, it is regarded as simultaneous; the Death Note will not take effect and the individual written will not die.
How to Use: XVI
The God of Death must at least own one Death Note, that Death Note must never be lent to or written on by a human.
Exchanging and writing on the Death Note between the gods of death is no problem.
How to Use: XVII
If the God of Death decides to use the Death Note to kill the assassin of an individual he favors, the individuals life will be extended, but the God of death will die.
The dead God of Death will disappear, but the Death Note will remain. The ownership of this Death Note is usually carried over to the next god of death that touches it, or is kept in posession of the human owner of the Death Note.
How to Use: XVIII
Only by touching each other's Death Note can human individuals who own the Death Note in the human world recognize the appearance or voice of each other's God of Death.
An individual with the eye power of a god of death can tell the name and life span of other humans by looking at that person's face. By possessing the Death Note, an individual gains the ability to kill, and stops being a victim. From this point, a person with the Death Note cannot see the life span of other Death Note owners, but they will not be able to see his/her own life span.
The God of Death must not tell humans the names or life spans of individuals he/she sees. This is to avoid confusion in the human world.
How to Use: XIX
It is prerequisite for the Death Note used in the human world that a living god of death makes sure that the humans in the human world uses it.
It is very difficult to consider that a god of death who has possessed a human could die, but if he should die, the Death Note that he brought into the human world will not lose its power.
How to Use: XX
In order to see the names and life spans of humans by using the eye power of the god of death, the owner must look at more than half of that person's face. When looking from top to bottom, he must look at least from the head to the nose. If he looks at only the eyes and under, he will not be able to see the person's name and life span. Also, even though some parts of the face, for example the eyes, nose or mouth are hidden, if he can basically see the whole face, he will be able to see the person's name and life span. It is still not clear how much exposure is needed to tell a person's name and life span, as this needs to be verified.
If the above conditions are met, names and life spans can be seen through photos and pictures, no matter how old they are. But this is sometimes influenced by the vividness and size. Also, names and life spans cannot be seen by face drawings, however realistic they may be.
When a human dies, a Death Note owner with the eye's of a God Of Death can no longer see the deceased human's life span and name in photos and videos.
- excerpt from The Rules of Death Note
- These rules aren't mine! If they are... well *evil laugh*
