Is the death note 23 days rule inconsistent? We all know about the 23 day rule. Well. I've been rewatching the series, and I've found something strange in episode 8...

At 4:10 (youtube) Light asks Ryuk if you can use any date, as long it's before the victims lifespan, to which Ryuk replies; yes
The 23 days rule does not apply to the time of the death but to the time of manipulation. You can manipulate someone e.g. to be a loyal sevant befor s/he dies but all manipulations can't start more than 23 day befor the death. If you give someone a task that takes more than 23 days it counts as impossible and causes a heat attack. But if you write a possible death and a date than it is perfectly fine as long as it is within the normal lief span and you are not too specific about either time or a slow cause of death.