Editing Death Note (section)

===Pilot chapter===
The ''Death Note'' process began when Ohba brought thumbnails for two concept ideas to [[Shueisha]]; Ohba said that the ''Death Note'' pilot, one of the concepts, was "received well" by editors and attained positive reactions from readers.<ref name=" HowtoRead58"/> Ohba described keeping the story of the pilot to one chapter as "very difficult", declaring that it took over a month to begin writing the chapter. He added that the story had to revive the killed characters with the Death Eraser and that he "didn't really care" for that plot device.<ref name="HowtoRead215"/>

Obata said that he wanted to draw the story after he heard of a "horror story featuring {{Transliteration|ja|shinigami}}".<ref name=" HowtoRead174"/> According to Obata, when he first received the rough draft created by Ohba, he "didn't really get it" at first, and he wanted to work on the project due to the presence of {{Transliteration|ja|shinigami}} and because the work "was dark".<ref name="HowtoRead215"/> He also said he wondered about the progression of the plot as he read the thumbnails, and if ''Jump'' readers would enjoy reading the comic. Obata said that while there is little action and the main character "doesn't really drive the plot", he enjoyed the atmosphere of the story. He stated that he drew the pilot chapter so that it would appeal to himself.<ref name="HowtoRead215">{{cite book|last=Ohba|first=Tsugumi|title=Death Note 13: How to Read|year=2008|page=[https://archive.org/details/deathnote00ohba_0/page/215 215]|publisher=[[Viz Media]]|isbn=978-1-4215-1888-6|url=https://archive.org/details/deathnote00ohba_0/page/215}}</ref>

Ohba brought the rough draft of the pilot chapter to the editorial department. Obata came into the picture at a later point to create the artwork. They did not meet in person while creating the pilot chapter. Ohba said that the editor told him he did not need to meet with Obata to discuss the pilot; Ohba said "I think it worked out all right".<ref name="HowtoRead174"/>