Creator

Tsugami Ohba: The Writer
Ohba is a writer no one really knows about. Most say he/she is an anonymous pen name writer. So here, I'll just post some random things that are mentioned in the Panels. Ohba was born in Tokyo, has a hobby collecting Teacups, and develops manga plots day and night while holding knees on a chair (like L :P).
From recent sources, one of which is a friend of an assistant of a JUMP comic, we strongly believe that the author of DEATH NOTE is actually Hiroshi Gamou, who was the author of the JUMP series Tottemo! Luckyman. The reason why Gamou chose to hide his identity is strongly due (as was related by sources) to the fact that the series is very different from his past work (VERY TRUE!). Gamou was born on August 17, 1962 in Tokyo Japan and has the blood type B. Some of Gamou’s previous assistants included Murata Yuichiro (Eyeshield 21) & Nishi Yoshiyuki (Muhyo & Rosie). (I will collect more info on this person later).

Panel Commentaries
The various commentaries (author notes), as translated by Viz in the English manga releases of DN.

Volume 9: I wonder what that was? Whenever I have a strange question in my head, I always blame the old man for it. For example, I am certain that I filled the bathtub, but I find the tub empty. That is because Mr. Pull-the-bath-plug dropped by my house. I wonder what that was…?
Volume 11: To be truthful, I don’t know a lot about difficult subjects, but now that I’ve been given the opportunity to write something here, I struggled to create a great quote or saying that would live on through the centuries. I really tried hard, and it’s not supposed to be a joke or anything. What do you think of this:
“There are no Nudists in Cold Areas.”

Takeshi Obata: The Artist

Takeshi Obata was born on February 11, 1969. He is 174 cm tall, 53kg (at the time of Hikaru No Go), blood type AB. In general, Takeshi is famous for his art, as he collaborates with writers. Some of his works include Hikaru No Go (with Yumi Hotta from 1998 to 2003/04), Ayatsuri Sakon (with Sharakumaro), and Arabian Majin Bokentan Lamp Lamp (with Susumu Sendo). He was sensei to Nobuhiro Watsuki ( Rurouni Kenshin ) and stated in an interview, that he has about 5-6 assistants at a time. For coloring, Obata uses Copic (alcohol based) markers, from the lightest to darkest shades. After the completion of Hikaru No Go, Takeshi paired up with Ohba, and worked on Death Note. His brilliant artwork is known almost to everyone, and sadly, not much is known about him… He likes riding his bicycle ^^.

Panel Commentaries
The various commentaries (author notes), as translated by Viz in the English manga releases of DN.

Volume 1: I hear that the comic version of “Death Note” will first hit Japanese bookstores on April 2, 2004.
Snow Melt flows into streams
And below the dancing petals of cherry blossoms
Stirred by the spring wind
First graders, brightly colored with their shiny leather
backpacks
Hold hands and step out toward hope on the green
Volume 2: Is it okay to draw shinigami? Will I be cursed for doing this? I draw the manga with fear and trembling.
Volume 3: Walking along a street in a small town, I come to a T-intersection and turn right. At the next T-intersection, I turn left. I keep repeating this pattern, wondering how far I’ll get. Finally, I end up on a large road, where I’m not going to come to any T-intersections for a long time, so I turn around and head back. But on the return journey, all the T-intersections I’d turned at have been transformed into plain old side streets. “This is a mystery, this is a trick!” I think, as I ask passers-by for help going home. Just one memory from a foolish childhood dream.
Volume 4: I really loved the old T.V. show Ogon Bat (click here for more info). The main character was a gold skeleton with a creepy laugh, but he was a good guy! Am I the only one who’d like to see a modern remake using CGI?
Volume 5: I figured I’d at least try hard to not be so wordy here. I’m fine and I’m working hard.
Volume 6: The other day I got an x-ray and saw my own bones. It was a pretty shocking image to me. Am I always talking about bones here because of all those shinigami drawing?
Volume 7: I recently moved and couldn’t locate any of my art supplies. Though for some reason I had origami paper, so that’s where I got the red for the apple in this picture.
Volume 8: A while ago we could often find this type of keychain in souvenir stores at a tourist spot. But why is it that they always have jeweled eyes?
Volume 12: While working on this series, I’ve been living in fear of shinigami. And even now that my work is complete, I still can’t be sure I’m safe. So I intend to be wary of them from now on.