Viz Media will release the first Death Note DVD on November 20th in both a Standard Edition (MSRP $24.98) and in a Limited Collector's Edition (MSRP $39.98), which will come with a figurine of Ryuk, the shinigami.  Both editions, which are rated 16+, will contain four original, uncut episodes of the Death Note anime with both English dub and original Japanese (with English subtitles) soundtracks available.  The Collector's Edition is limited to 15,000 units in North America. 

Viz Media plans to issue new volumes of the Death Note anime on a monthly basis starting in December -- and Collector's Editions of subsequent volumes will also come with limited edition figurines.

The 37-episode Death Note anime produced by Madhouse and directed by Tetsuro Araki follows the plot of the 12-volume Death Note manga (written by Tsugumi Ohba and drawn by Takashi Obata) very closely.  The Death Note manga, which features superb artwork (it is one of the manga titles to recommend to comic fans who don't normally read manga), has steadily grown in popularity to the point where it has reached the #3 spot on ICv2's authoritative list of 'Top 50 Manga Properties.' 

The Death Note anime was one of the most eagerly awaited anime series in Japan where it debuted last October 3rd (see 'Death Note Goes Global'). The final episode of the Death Note anime was broadcast in Japan on Tuesday, so the debut of first Death Note DVD in the U.S. in November will occur a scant five months after the anime series finished airing in Japan.

But the Death Note anime narrowed the gap between Japan and the U.S. in another precedent shattering way -- Viz Media made downloads of a subtitled version of the first two episodes of the series available for downloading to rent or own via Direct2Drive while the series was still airing in Japan, the first time this has ever been done (see 'Death Note DVDs Later').  Starting today the first 16 subtitled-only episodes of the Death Note anime will be available on TotalVid.com for $1.99 each with a new episode added every week until the entire 37-episode series is available for downloading.