Pilot Chapter

From Death Note - Wiki on Neoseeker

Death Note Pilot
Type:	Manga
Release Date (Japanese):	2003 (Shonen Jump)
Release Date (English):	February 19, 2008 (How to Read)
Volume:	None
Chapter:	Pilot
No. of Pages:	55
ISBN (Japanese):	--
ISBN (English):	1-4215-1888-0 (How to Read)

The Pilot Chapter of Death Note was originally previewed in an edition of Weekly Shonen Jump in Japan. After scoring the highest in the reader survey for the edition, the series was granted a serialization, beginning in December 2003.

Summary

The pilot tells the story of Taro Kagami, an elementary student. While walking home, he finds a Death Note dropped by the Shinigami Ryuk. Not knowing the meaning of the English word "Death", but recognizing the word "Note", he takes home the notebook to replace his old diary. Once home, he writes in the Note about how two students at school bullied him. The next day, he learns that both students died the night before, of sudden heart attacks. Looking up the word "Death", he grasps the meaning of the notebook's title. However, still skeptic, he writes in two more bullies' names.

Differences from the series

Seeing as the one-shot was merely a pilot for Ohba's planned series, which he himself thought would fail, the manga has some acute differences from its later incantations. Namely, the advent of the Death Eraser. The Death Eraser has the unique ability to bring a human killed by the Death Note back to life. This is done by simply erasing the target's name.