On a global scale, Misa-Misa has been dubbed, played and in some instances sung into life for the delight of Death Note audiences everywhere.

In honour of her monthly event on Death Note News, we have collected together the names of the twenty-one Misa Amane actresses from Death Note adaptations across the world. Who for you, amongst these ladies (and one gent), wore the face or spoke the voice of Misa the Second Kira?

It seemed out of character for her. This was the woman who would have died for Light Yagami; who twice shortened her lifespan by half each time on his behalf; who withstood torture for weeks on end in his defence; and who killed indiscriminately, in truly mind-boggling proportions of mass slaughter, to impress him or else cover his back.

Yet Misa wouldn't leave an unguarded penthouse, when every clue at her disposal hinted at a showdown moment for Light. She stayed put because it was pretty.  Though, to be fair, Light did tell her to remain there for the time being. Though since when did directives like that figure, if Misa had any inkling that her erstwhile fiancé might need her.

We barely needed Death Note author Tsugumi Ohba to state what was obvious.  Misa Amane was sidelined at the end, as he didn't 'have a situation in which to fit her'. (How to Read: Death Note 13)  Just like Mello, Misa was simply bundled out of sight, however out of character the requisite actions and decisions, in lieu of her creator to pen a plot-line that accommodated all personae dramatis.

Perhaps it was hoped that we wouldn't notice.  We did.

Do you agree with this reading of the situation?  What do you think would have occurred had Misa Amane been in the Yellow Box warehouse?  Would Light's mental disintegration have shaken her devotion to him, thus saving her from the suicide that finally constituted Misa Amane's departure from the Death Note story?

To all extents and purposes, was Misa now immortal, barring accident or, you know, jumping off a bridge as she eventually did?  We know that she wasn't actually immortal, because she did die.

We can also be certain that a date did appear above her head, and that it could change, because Rem knows immediately upon meeting Misa that she'd made the eye deal again with Ryuk.  For the second time in Misa's life, her remaining years had halved.  But therein lies the rub - Misa should already have been dead on both occasions when her life-span was thus curtailed.  She should have died on the day of Gelus's self-sacrifice in her stead.

For shinigami, prematurely ending a human life by writing their name in a death notebook evokes its own reward.  That time stolen from their victim is now added onto the death god's own life-span.  If the newly deceased human should have lived another twenty years, then the shinigami authoring their demise is now assured an extra twenty years to their own tally.

Misa did not kill Gelus directly.  She did not write his name in her death note (which anyway didn't belong to her until shortly thereon). However, by Gelus writing the name of Misa's would-be murderer in that same book, she inadvertently became the cause of the shinigami's disintegration into dust.

If that was the case, we can calculate the dates displayed at any given time above Misa Amane's pretty brow.  But only if we assume that she received no extra life from the two shinigami, otherwise all but the first and last dates must remain unknown.

Misa Amane is the archetypal It Girl; she has charisma in abundance, especially before a camera, and in life can delight just about everyone she meets. Give or take those with broader concerns (for whom she poses a distraction and a nuisance), like her lover Light, locked in fatal bouts of gladiatorial competitiveness with whichever Wammy boy offers the fight.

Death Note 13: How to Read describes Misa as having tremendous screen presence, resulting in a plethora of offers for film roles. This is coupled with beauty and a physique in great demand for modelling in top fashion magazines.

The actress and model knows well how to use such charms. Her flirtation with Higuchi Kyosuke prompts him with ease to divulge information that will ultimately lead directly to his death. Misa's coolness under pressure and ability to read social cues and situations with aplomb is also very much in evidence during the Yotsuba arc.  Hosting an impromptu private party for the company's executives, Misa's able to help Matsuda affect his escape. Assessing and playing her part with barely a tip off regarding what was about to follow.  She took it all in her stride.

It's not surprising then that the aforementioned Death Note manual affords Misa Misa top marks for charm, social skills and initiative.  Don't let the big, batting, innocent eyes foll you, Misa Amane is one canny lady.

That conclusion is borne out in canon time and again, yet belied in the graph's piddling 3/10 ranking for her intelligence.   There are equally low points for creativity, despite the canon Second Kira seeming quite resourceful.  While her Genki Girl style outbursts does concur with the mid-range score for emotional strength.

Death Note's Misa Amane cannot be underestimated, but then perhaps we shouldn't ask too much of her either.  And, of course, none of this accounts for her propensity to kill at will and whim, but mostly for her intense, jealous and all consuming passion in love with Light Yagami.

In any case, being an unpredictable blood type already produces one strike against Miss Amane.
 
Why is the AB blood type known as the ‘split personality’ blood type? Well, it is associated with being both shy and outgoing, and serious yet not. AB people are known for having one personality that they show to the ‘outside’ world, and another personality they show to the people who are closest with them.

They are known for being a bit delicate and not being able to stand having too much pressure put upon them.  They are known for being rather sentimental but also quite strict with themselves.

Considering how different Misa’s character is depending on who she interacts with, it is absolutely no surprise that this description fits her to a T. Sometimes she can come off as quite ruthless, while other times she seems warm and loving towards Light Yagami, her love interest (of a sort) in the manga.

Due to her status as an Idol, which necessitates a persona to show to the world, it is unsurprising that her regular personality is ever-changing as well.

Veterans will know the score by now, however here is a recap for those needing the links to hand, 0r new to these kinds of events:

• General submission page - all the media via which you may message us or submit content as files;
• Cosplayer Questionnaire - to be answered by Death Note cosplayers (particularly those with Misa costumes) in order to advise others wanting to follow suit;
• Fan-art Questionnaire - to be answers by Misa Amane artists and/or those creating Death Note artwork per se, who are happy to pass on tips to newcomers in the Death Note fan-art communities;
• Fan-fiction Writers Questionnaire - to be answered by Death Note fan-fiction writers (Misa storytellers especially welcome) ready to extend the baton to those new authors coming through;

We have about four items ready for publication already, which demonstrates how on the ball some of you are. Everyone else, this event started yesterday, where's your Misa Amane articles, essays, analyses, images, photographs, tales, recipes and all the rest already?  Off you go!  Contribute now!

Adam Wingard's Death Note is likely to start filming in June 2016.  But it won't be Warner Bros behind the production anymore.  At the moment, it's highly likely to be Netflix.

That is the startling news circulating today.

It's unknown why Warner Bros. has decided to surrender the project, which it's held firmly in abeyance since 2009.  During that time, the studio has ordered script rewrites; actors have been linked with various roles, but the rumours rarely came to fruition; while directors have come and gone, one - we're indebted to you, Shane Black - with horror stories of Warner Bros. US attempting to sanitize the Death Note story out of all comprehension.

By the end of 2015 through early 2016, it seemed that Warner Bros. finally had a format which worked for them and all concerned.  Adam Wingard was directing; Nat Wolff had signed up to play Kira, with his real life girlfriend Margaret Qualley poised to become the movie's Misa Amane.  There was much talk of initial photography beginning in the spring.

Hence the shock nature of the news (broken by Justin Kroll at Variety) that Warner Bros. chose now to put their Death Note film 'into turnaround'.

Opening up a bidding war which Netflix currently seems set to win. Though SFX and Lionsgate are also strongly in the running.  (Anyone else think that something about a Lionsgate Death Note feels so right?) 

However, there is some speculation that giving up Death Note is part of Warner Bros. previously declared cull on 'homegrown movies', in order to concentrate its resources upon extant franchises known to be successful.  The monetary profit for Warner Bros - raised by the sale of its film rights to Death Note - is expected to fall into the ballpark of $40m-$50m.

Adam Wingard, Nat Wolff and Margaret Qualley are all apparently still on board, whichever company snaps the movie up.

Netflix, of course, already has some data concerning the popularity of Death Note.  It recently started streaming full episodes of the anime, so can see for itself how many Western viewers are interested in this particular story.  However, it's not yet game over for the other bidders.  The current status for Netflix and Death Note is 'in final negotiations', which could pretty much mean anything, besides what it says on the packet.

As for fans, it's mostly looking like we will finally get our US live-action Death Note movie, whomever produces it, though it remains to be seen whether that will be available online only, or also released as a theatrical run.

Aya Hirano - who was the original voice actress for Misa Amane in the Death Note anime - has announced that she's leaving Japan for the USA, in order to further her education.

It's not known what she's actually studying, however Aya Hirano will be in America for the next six months - not four, as various sources erroneously reported - as per the anime Misa actress's announcement on Instagram:

Roughly translated by Death Note News' Rene Hardigree, the actress confirmed her forthcoming plan to study abroad and apologised to fans for the confusion regarding the dates of her  study leave.  Hirano was originally going for just four months, but that was recently extended to half a year away.  During that time, her position as announcer and host of Tokyo hi-IMAGINE (Japanese television show) will be undertaken by a substitute.  Namely Rena Matsui.

Good luck to her!  Though I can't help thinking that we should be a little more concerned that Death Note's Second Kira is gaining access to the Big Apple.

Shout up, Americans, if you see her there, and do pass on our love.

Squad Six Cosplayers were at Ichibancon, one of the largest anime and manga conventions in North Carolina, USA.  There, in Events 4 room, we held our Death Note review panel - Resurrecting L - to mark the 10th anniversary since the manga's first chapter was published in Weekly Shonen Jump.

Since then, Ohba and Obata's story has become an institution, we hope we did it justice.

Ichibancon's Resurrecting L: Death Note 10th Anniversary panel happened on January 1st 2016, at 11pm.  We should have finished by midnight, but the buzz was awesome and we were having so much fun discussing the new media developments for Death Note.  We almost ran well over time!

Here's how it all played out.  But first the cosplay and, created from scratch, a dress for Misa Amane.

Each of Squad Six Cosplayers' Death Note panel members arrived for the event in full Death Note cosplay.  Every part of which had been created especially for Ichibancon during the run up to the convention. 

Founder Lara Sizemore opted to cosplay Misa Amane.  She explained, "I chose to do Misa's Last dress/suicide dress instead of her usual ensemble as sort of a nod to our title. It took me two weeks to complete the dress but I am very proud of it. The ribbons are all appliquéd on."  She makes it sound so easy.

As for the rest, they were in Death Note costume too!

If you wish to catch up with us in all our other projects and endeavours, please do join us on Tumblr and Facebook.

It's not just the Panel itself that needs to be organised.  We are cosplayers - reasonably professional ones at that, insofar as these things can be measured with oodles of fun thrown in as the main event - therefore we need to look the part.  Act it too.  As well as physique allows, Squad Six Cosplayers must take the stage as near clones to those characters we choose to inhabit for a night.

That in mind, Lara has spent the holidays working on her Death Note Misa costume.  She cosplayed the character before, hence knows that her old wig is not up to scratch.  One should not have to redo those derpy pigtails ten times an hour!

This year then, she will be entering Ichibancon with a thicker, better quality Misa Misa wig; totally replacing the old with something new.  It was expensive, but worth it.  Here's your sneak preview of the hairy part of Lara's Misa Death Note cosplay, as it was restyled to match Second Kira's locks.

Meanwhile, it's crunch time here with just a couple of days to go and all hands to the deck to make our anime con panel run smoothly.  Wish us luck!  And if you are attending 2016 Ichibancon 7, we'll see you there!

Squad Six Cosplayers will be hosting Resurrecting L - Death Note 10th Anniversary Panel at Ichibancon 2016, January 1st 11pm-midnight, in Events 4.

Just a reminder about a Death Note event on Tumblr, which began yesterday and continues over the Christmas period to finish on December 26th 2015.

Death Note Ladies Appreciation Weeks looks to redress the balance in focus given to Death Note's women and girl characters.  Let's face it, the fandom really does relish its male personae over the female cohort.  Yet there are some extremely kick-ass and/or fascinating ladies in this universe.  Explore their stories in canon pics; elaborate upon them in fan-fiction and fan-art; discover that they even exist, if you blinked and missed their cameo.

This is the second year running for the Tumblr event for Death Note fans.  Anyone can join in. You just tag your update with #dn ladies appreciation and post away, preferably on the day scheduled for your yuri pairing and/or each individual female Death Note character's bespoke date:

For more details, check out our original head's up about the event; where you'll also find a slightly easier collage of Death Note women to test your knowledge of characters in the Death Note universe.  For answers to the much more difficult one posted at the top here, see below:

And if you're looking for inspiration and/or something to post on each day, then our sidebar has all of these ladies listed under Death Note News Categories - archives full of things about them!  Feel free to post links to what you will.

However, then Britain's most insidious tabloid actually reproduced the Tweeted photographs of the young Tory campaigner, so that we could gasp in shock and outrage at someone in suspenders daring to express an opinion regarding politics.  Instead, every undiscerning Death Note fan out there (i.e. those daft enough to read the Daily Mail) and the folk catching it on social media later all frowned in abject familiarity.

Ms Muttik was wearing Misa Amane cosplay.  She was even holding Misa-Misa's replica Death Note.  The clues were there.  In a secondary cited picture, she's even got shinigami eyes, hopefully courtesy of contact lenses.

Thus raising a much more pertinent question - the British Conservative Party have a Death Note?  And a second Kira to wield it on their side?!