On 24 April in the Ural region of Russia, a parents group published an open letter to President Vladimir Putin asking that the popular Death Note manga series be regulated in all its forms (print, anime, live action).
Death Note was a Shonen Jump series that ran from 2003 to 2006 and centered on Light Yamagi, a student who stumbles upon a magical notebook which has the power to kill people simply by writing their names in it.
He decides to use the book’s power to kill evil, while also evading a master detective bent on stopping him.
On 20 February in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, a 15-year-old girl committed suicide by jumping from her 13th story apartment. A suicide note was found in the room which read “I can’t live anymore.”
Nearby there were also four volumes of the Death Note manga. Police are investigating any possible connections between the comic and death.
However, a local parents group feels investigating is for chumps. They began to campaign for the death of Death Note right away saying it has an adverse effect on the minds of children and that it “arouses interest in death” in them.
This is not the first time Death Note has been under scrutiny for influencing people in reality. In Belgium after committing the crime a group of three murderers and an accomplice left notes inspired by the manga when they disposed of the body in what was dubbed Manga Murder (Mangamood). There have also been numerous cases of Death Note-like notebooks made by students across America resulting in suspensions. A similar trend in China led to the series being banned in some parts of the country.
Source: NicoNico News (Japanese)
Image: Amazon