From l-r you are seeing:

Justin as Touta Matsuda
Lara as Misa Amane
Cayanna Carma as Light Yagami
Sara as L
Lindz as Near
and on the floor,
Logan as Beyond Birthday

The event was very well attended. Despite its late hour, three quarters of the venue was full.

It was great fun!  With a tremendous amount of audience participation too.

We had five grand prize questions with the winners awarded a very L-inspired Death Note prize.  It was a dessert glass with his iconic monograph printed on the side.

Inside was a pile of chocolate/apple flavoured candy, plus two bubblegums with wrappers sporting bright red eyes - shinigami eyes, if we ever saw them. In addition, those correctly guessing the answer received a packet of chips (crisps for our European readers) and an apple.

Nor were we the only ones in cosplay.  There were several others in the audience, including a few in Death Note cosplay.

One of our great coups was to have famed cosplayer Cayanna Carma as our special guest at the Death Note Ichibancon panel. 

She is renowned throughout the North Carolinian cosplay circuit for the realism that she brings to her roles. Cayanna Carma didn't just dress as Light Yagami, she became him.

It was in the subtleties, of which no photograph will ever adequately convey, no matter how many taken of her in action.

It really felt like Kira sitting there, ramrod straight and charming. Watching everyone and reacting, as Light Yagami might believably react, to all that occurred.  Serious, even in the face of Sara's shenanigans as L.

Her presence went down a storm with the crowd, just as we hoped it would. In fact, many of those there might have attended simply to watch Cayanna Carma cosplay Kira.

Sitting alongside her on the panel, interacting like we were with Light Yagami himself, was certainly a pleasure for Squad Six Cosplayers.

Once again, we thank Cayanna Carma for being our very special guest at Ichibancon 7's Resurrecting L: Death Note 10th Anniversary panel, and hope that these pictures provide some glimpse of what it was like watching our star cosplayer perform on the night.

They included the L cosplayer pictured left - our old friend Christian Morrison in costume and character - and another Misa Misa too.

There is so much talent, skill and knowledge out there in the Death Note community that we thought it a shame not to allow room for expression.

Thus a brand new feature for Death Note News was conceived.  Now you get to see it born.

Every month, from February 2016, we will declare a new character, theme, item, arena or some other aspect related to Death Note.

This will be our focus for the whole fandom to contribute towards, should the muse and inclination take you.  It won't supplant our usual content, but augment it.  Nor will that be the last time that a subject might be covered, or community content be included. 

The Death Note News Month of... category merely ignites a spotlight.  You will view more upon a given topic than normal, from a greater pool of contributors, for a solitary calendar month.

The inaugural focus for the next four months will be:

• February 2016:  Light Yagami
• March 2016: Touta Matsuda
• April 2016: Quillsh Wammy/Watari
• May 2016: Misa Amane

You may include anything vaguely related in each broad spectrum.  Like Wammy's House for Watari or moral imperatives for Light, or even the reality of modern policing in Japan for Matsuda.

If it can be crow-barred into the categorisation, we'll aid and abet you getting it in.

1, What is the name of Aizawa's daughter?
2, Hal Lidner is a pseudonym, what is her real name?
3, About whom did How to Read 13 state had an 'innocent heart'?
4, Which Death Note character did actor Ken'ichi Matsuyama bring to life in the anime?
5, Which five countries did Tsugumi Ohba cite as mixing to provide L's ancestry?
6, What was Watari's original pseudonym - changed by Tsugumi Ohba before the Death Note manga went to print?
7, From which classic work is lifted the line 'I am the God of this New World'?
8, Which character in Death Note was born on Christmas Day and died on Valentine's Day?
9, What was the name of the Shinjuku spree killer and hostage taker at a pre-school on whom Light first tested the death note?
10, Name a single member of the SPK killed by Mello testing his Death Note.

11, How long does a Death Note owner have to write in the details, after first assigning a mode of death?
12, What occurred within the Death Note franchise on December 25th 2007?
13, Which high school did Light Yagami attend?
14, Which university did both Light Yagami and Kiyomi Takada attend?
15, What accolade was awarded to Kiyomi Takada shortly after entering university?
16, Name any of the FBI agents - other than Raye Penbar - who were killed by Kira?  (Eleven names all told.)
17, How many sheets of paper from the Death Note did Kira initially send to Teru Mikami?
18, How does Near get rid of Mogi's phone - during the Manhattan riot - so that it can't be used to track their party?
19, Where does Misa's sister live?
20, According to Light, for what might he consider giving up half of his life-span rather than shinigami eyes?

21,  On what television shows was Kiyomi Takada a news anchorwoman?
22,  By what nickname was Takada affectively known by viewers at the time of becoming Kira's spokesperson?
23,  Who was admitted to Ibaraki Hospital suffering from a heart attack?
24,  Where did Teru Mikami study law?
25,  Who  was Y320?
26,  'To soar freely through the skies', Light quotes to Ryuk in the manga chapter 'Control'.  But from what is he quoting?
27,  In policing, what is Aizawa's speciality?
28,  Under what circumstance can a God of Death kill the owner of a Death Note?
29, Which pair met in Room 2501 of the Teito Hotel?
30,  What number bus was hijacked so Light Yagami could find out Raye Penbar's name?

31, Who introduced Near to the President of the United States?
32, How many cars does Kyosuke Higuchi own?
33, In which hospital did Soichiro Yagami die?
34, According to Mello, which human character may have been born with Shinigami eyes?
35,  What are Misa's nicknames for Mogi and Aizawa?
36,  How much did Light's mini-TV cost?
37,  Whose name may be Romanised to Mairu Jīvasu?
38,  For what did  Aiber charge the Yotsuba Group $2.5m?
39,  What was Naomi Misora's pseudonym during the Kira case?
40, Who stayed in Room 1054, Holy Chateau Hotel, Hollywood, California?

41, Who booked into the Lake Hotel, Los Angeles, California?
42, Why did Misa kill Ginzo Kaneboshi?
43, The inconsistency of which character annoyed Death Note artist Takeshi Obata (because he identified the same 'flaw' in his own character)?
44, What acts as a key to the secret compartment holding the death note in Light's drawer?
45,  Whose HQ was located at 5836, Gray Street, Las Vegas, Nevada 89152?
46,  How many sugars does Light take in his tea and coffee?
47,  How did Mrs Mikami (Teru's mother) die?
48, Whose call icon depicts a white background with the black Old English font letters - Ai?
49, What was the address, in Los Angeles, CA 90103, where Mello was hiding out when Light and Misa found him?
50,  John Wallace was the fourth alias of which character?

 51,  Which main Death Note characters were killed in Karuizawa, just off the road to Nagano?
52,  What was the pin number, held by Mogi, which unlocked a safebox containing Light's death note?
53, The original press pack CD cover artwork for the three Death Note live-action movie soundtracks contained an unusual feature. What was it?
54,  Post Kira case, Near uses the Old English font for his call icon initial - just like everyone else - but during the Kira case, his N (and Light's L when called by Near) utilized another font.  What was it?
55,  In what capacity did Miho Sato beat Kiyomi Takada?
56, What does Mikami do every Thursday and Sunday, from 9pm-10.30pm?
57, A summarily executed rebel remained unidentified in the Tokyo live news reports on January 26th 2010. Can you identify the rebel?
58, What role did Captain Kyle Block play in Death Note?
59, Before Tsugumi Ohba settled upon the mononym L, he strongly considered two other letters to name his character.  What letters were they?
60, What is the last line of dialogue in Death Note?

1, Yuri Aizawa.
2, Halle Bullook.
3, Mello.
4, Gelus/Jealous.
5, Japan, England, Russia, France, Italy.
6, Shadow.
7, Paradise Lost.
8, Misa Amane.
9, Otoharada Kurou.
10, Ill Ratt (aka Shawn Dunleavy), John McEnroe (aka Larry Conners), Ellickson Gardner (aka Ellickson Thomas).  Death Note Relight adds two more: Adolph Tucker and Kurt McBride.
11,  Six minutes and 40 seconds.
12, The novel L: Change the World was published by Shueisha in Japan.
13, Taikoku Gakuen High School.
14, To-Oh Universty.
15, Miss To-Oh. 

 16,  Haley Belle, Llan Zapack, Arire Weekwood, Ale Funderrem, Freddi Guntair, Knick Staek, Bess Sekliet, Frigde Copen, Toors Denote, Girela Sevenstar and Nikola Nasberg.
17,  Five
18,  Puts it in some random passer-by's pocket.
19,  Kyoto.
20,  Wings.
21,   News 6 and News 9, on NHN.
22,  Takki.
23,  Soichiro Yagami.
24,  Kyodo University.
25,  Ill Ratt - Mello's informant in the SPK.
26,  The Soar feature from Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire games.
27,  Forensics.
28, Only a God of Death that has passed on their Death Note to a human is able to kill the owner of a Death Note.
29,  Light Yagami and Kiyomi Takada.
30, 124.
31, FBI Director Steve Mason.
32, Six.
33, Marvin Hospital.
34, Beyond Birthday (Another Note).
35, Motchi and Monchichi.
36, Yen 39,800.
37, Mail Jeevas (Matt).
38, To show his face and work alongside them to identify L.
39, Shoko Maki.
40, Misa Amane.

41, Soichiro Yagami.
42, To prove to Kyosuke Higuchi that she was the Second Kira.
43, Touta Matsuda.
44, The plastic cartridge of a pen.
45, Kal Snydar, aka Jack Neylon, owner of the Mafia's Death Note.
46, None in coffee; one sugar cube in tea.
47, Joyriders - Teru's school bullies - crashed their car into a wall.  She was a bystander, who was crushed to death in the accident.
48, Aizawa.
49, 945 Clydown Avenue.
50, Thierry Morello, aka Aiber, aka Eraldo Coil.
51, Mello and Kiyomi Takada.

52, 62-324.
53, Glow in the dark artwork.
54, Wedding.
55,  A magazine popularity poll.  Miho Sato was her fellow news anchor at NHN.
56, Go to the gym.
57, Matt.
58, He was the pilot of Flight SE333 from Narita to Los Angeles, who deviated from his flight path in order to drop Soichiro Yagami off in the desert.
59, I and J.
60, Kira, our Saviour.

Cayanna Carma will be Squad Six Cosplayers' special guest at Ichibancon. Joining forces at our Resurrecting L: Death Note 10th Anniversary panel.

She will be cosplaying Light Yagami for us, and we just know that will bring in a huge crowd.

Cayanna Carma is known through the convention community for her ability to encompass the attitude and personality of each character she portrays. She's just fantastic.  She's a 24 year old that can draft her own cosplay patterns, taught herself to sew, and can piece together shoes, props, pants, shirts, gloves, and even wigs with no issues.

Though Cayanna Carma will be taking on Kira at the Ichibancon anime convention, she's MOST known for her cosplay from Kuroshitsuji and Naruto. You can check out her ability to become each cosplayed character on her Facebook page, though nothing beats seeing her in action.

Now all Squad Six Cosplayers have to do is live up to that precedence too. No pressure then!

Answers to the collage quiz for Death Note's female characters:
Clockwise (l-r from top):
Kiyomi Takada; Hal Lidner; Naomi Misora (central); Wedy; Misa Amane; Maki; Linda; Eriko Aizawa; and Sachiko Yagami.

Death Note actor Masataka Kubota clinched the title and trophy for Best Actor in Japan's 86th Television Drama Academy Awards.

He won the award for his portrayal of Light Yagami in the 2015 TV drama Death Note.

The Japanese Drama Academy Awards are organised by My Television Weekly magazine. Unlike famous counterpart galas elsewhere - like the Oscars - they are held quarterly and without any great, spectacular ceremony.

A triparate pool of the magazine's own jury, assorted television journalists and the general public - all nominating and voting - each determine the winners for each category.  The trio's results are then collated into an final overall score and ultimate ranking.

In an 86th Drama Academy Awards which otherwise saw Democratization sweep the board, Masataka Kubota held off two of that show's leading actors in order to take the top spot trophy. 

According to the judges' comments, his transformation from 'mediocre' student to manically obsessed killer was how Masataka managed to impress as Kira. It was an 'acting of the eye', echoed in his 'eerie' facial expressions, compelling all to keep watching to witness the 'gradual flowering of its genius'.

Masataka Kubota's Kira took first place as Best Actor in both the public vote and the TV reporters' panel. My Television Weekly's in-house jury had him positioned fourth.

Of further Death Note interest was the presence of Kenichi Matsuyama in the running for Best Actor, usually right behind Masataka Kubota. 

Which is probably quite ominous in the Death Note fandom mind, considering that Kenichi is best known to us as L in the live-action movies.

However, in this instance, he was there for his role in the Japanese drama Dokonjō Gaeru.

The readers voted him second; the reporters fifth; and the magazine staff placed him at joint second with Democratization's Kenichi Endo.  Nevertheless, Kira won this round.

Wondering otherwise where Death Note came in the Television Drama Academy Awards?   It was there, but to no great array.

My Television Weekly's readership voted the Death Note TV drama second in the Best Show category.  But neither the magazine's jury nor television journalists factored it in at all.  Death Note didn't place overall.

The readers also placed two Death Note actors in the Best Supporting Role category.  Kento Yamazaki came fourth as L, while Yutaka Matsushige's Soichiro Yagami found fifth place.  But neither they, nor any other actor from the drama featured elsewhere, thus missing out on the collated acclaim.

Beyond that, there were no other accolades for Death Note (2015) in the 86th Television Drama Academy Awards.

Congratulations, Masataka!

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