Teachers and staff at an I Promise school in Akron, Ohio, experienced panic after an instructor discovered a homemade ‘Death Note’ on the floor of a classroom.
‘Death Note’ is renowned as one of the most popular anime series globally; however, a student’s fan-made iteration of the iconic notebook ignited outrage among parents and staff at the educational institution.
Supported by the LeBron James Family Foundation, the I Promise school aims to assist at-risk youth. On September 11, a teacher at the school was stunned to find a stack of notebook paper with ‘Death Note’ inscribed in black marker, accompanied by a skull image.
‘Death Note’ originates from a popular manga and anime series.
The homemade ‘Death Note’ contained a list of 52 names, of which 30 were students and 22 were teachers.
The teacher who discovered the paper immediately informed the school’s administration; however, due to the ‘Death Note’ referencing a fictional series, no actions were taken, which led to rising concerns and criticisms from staff members.
Pat Shipe, president of Akron’s Education Association, expressed frustration over the lack of response regarding the incident.
“I received a call from several teachers who were understandably concerned and upset, sharing details like, ‘My husband said, don’t go to work tomorrow.’ This student remains in the classroom,” Shipe said, according to News 5 Cleveland.
Conversely, I Promise principal Stephanie Davis stated there was no reason to investigate the student, having researched and confirmed that the ‘Death Note’ was merely a playful fan-made prop inspired by the anime.
“Our thorough investigation found that a scholar had created a journal inspired by a popular anime series as a lighthearted gesture among friends,” she communicated in an email sent to parents.
“While we confirmed there was no real threat to our school community, we want you to know that we take all security concerns seriously and investigate each one comprehensively.”
The ‘Death Note’ manga and anime series, which gained popularity in 2006, follows high school student Light Yagami as he stumbles upon a ‘Death Note,’ a mysterious notebook with supernatural abilities.
In the series, Death Notes are owned by gods of death, known as ‘Shinigami.’ By writing someone’s name and visualizing their face, a user can orchestrate that person’s demise by specifying the cause of death within 6 minutes and 40 seconds.
Viewers across the internet swiftly recognized the origins of the student’s ‘Death Note,’ with one commenter writing on YouTube: “These weebs are a menace.”
“It’s a book series and TV series… are we really going to punish a child for creating fan art?” another added.
“It’s just an anime,” yet another commenter stated. “Some people take things way too seriously.”
Interestingly, this isn’t the first incident where ‘Death Note’ has created turmoil in schools. In 2022, a 6th-grade student from Alabama was expelled for creating their own version of a ‘Death Note,’ while China banned the anime series entirely after students in Shenyang began writing names in modified notebooks.
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