VIZ Media will be releasing Death Note in various European countries later this year as reported earlier. However, on the topic of whether the company will bring Death Note to other parts of the world, VIZ informed Papo de Budega that it currently doesn't have plans of releasing the manga in Brazil and other Latin America countries.

San Francisco, CA, September 27, 2006 - VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry's most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies has inked deals with Ediciones Glenat España in Spain, Panini in Italy, Tokyopop in Germany and Dargaud Lombard in France to publish the DEATH NOTE manga from Shueisha. It is scheduled for fall 2006 release.

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Tatsuya Fujiwara (24), who plays the role of Light Yagami in the upcoming movie "Death Note - The Last Name," appeared at a DN press event held on 9/20. Despite the recent series of unfortunate events surrounding Death Note, the release date of the upcoming movie will not be affected -- not only will the movie premier in Japan on November 3rd, but it will also be released in Hong Kong and Taiwan on the same day.

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Shidou Nakamura, who provides the voice of Ryuuk in Death Note, was caught driving under the influence of alcohol earlier this month after he passed a red light in Setagayaku, Tokyo. It was stated that this incident will not affect the upcoming Death Note anime TV series or the next movie, and Shidou Nakamura will continue to provide the voice of Ryuuk in the upcoming shows.

Cinematographer Hiroshi Takase passed away on September 7th due to cerebral infarction (plain English: he suffered a stroke). He was 50. His Wake will be held on September 10th at 6 p.m., and his service will be held on the 11th starting at 10 a.m. at the Nikka funeral hall in Fuchu, Tokyo. His younger brother Tsutomu will be the chief mourner.

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In response to Death Note/Hikaru no Go artist Takeshi Obata's recent arrest, Shueisha, his publisher, has announced that, until they can verify the details of the incident, they are not considering any actions such as pulling his work from stores.

Of Obata's work, Hikaru no Go (story: Yumi Hotta) has sold approximately 10 million copies over the span of 23 volumes, while Death Note (story: Tsugumi Ohba) has sold approximately 20 million copies over a span of 12 volumes. Publicists for Shueisha commented, "we are currently verifying the factual details of this incident, and are not considering pulling titles from circulation or any such action at this time."

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Sankei Web is reporting that Takeshi Obata, author of the popular manga series Hikaru no Go and Death Note, was arrested on September 6th for possession of a weapon.

According to reports, Obata was driving a vehicle in the Sakai district of Musashino City, Tokyo at 12:30 a.m with his headlights turned off when he was stopped by a police officer. The officer noticed a small knife hanging off of his keychain, and, upon inspecting the vehicle, found a folding army knife with a blade length of 8.6cm (3 1/2 inches) in the glove compartment.

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The cast of the new Death Note anime will be announced in Weekly Shonen Jump No.40. Mamoru Miyano (Wolf's Rain, Ouran High School Host Club) will provide the voice casting for Light, while L will be voiced by Yamaguchi Kappei (Ranma, Inuyasha).

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The Death Note movie began playing in Hong Kong theaters on 8/10. According to reports, the movie took in 1,030,077 HKD (approximately 130,000 USD) in its first day, making it the highest-grossing Japanese movie to ever hit Hong Kong in the past 10 years.

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Starting 7/20, Nippon TV will make the first 10 minutes of the first Death Note movie available on its online pay-per-view program, Second Nippon Television Network, for free. The Windows Media Player video will be available in 500kbps and 1Mbps, visitors will have to register to watch.