Anime Expo has announced that Death Note anime director Tetsuro Araki and character designer Masaru Kitao will be guests of honor at the show.  The Death Note anime will be released by Viz in the States (see 'Death Note DVDs Later'); the Death Note manga, which has sold 23 million volumes in Japan, is #5 in the U.S. according to the ICv2 Top 50 Manga Properties.   

 

AX has also acquired the rights to screen both Death Note live action features (Death Note and Death Note:  The Last Name) from 35mm prints.  The films have grossed over $60 million in Japan.