Lawliet

Personal Data
Real Name: L Lawliet
Also Known As: L, Ryuuzaki, Erald Coil, Danuve.
Birthdate: October 31, 1979 (Age 24)
Deathdate: November 5, 2004 (Age 25)
Height: 179 cm (5’9’‘)
Weight: 50 kg (110 pounds)
Blood type: unknown
Likes: sweet things
Dislikes: socks
Lifespan: 75231362 (according to ep. 15)
Occupation: Private Detective
Death Note: No
Anime Seiyuu: Yamaguchi Kappei
Movie Actor: Matsuyama Ken’ichi

The Character
L is a “weird” character. He is a genius of course, who knows how to do a variety of things. His personality is supposed to counter Light Yagami, the “genius, pretty boy”, as he is a “genius, freak”. L likes to play around a lot, and is very blunt. He loves sweets (especially cakes), and insists that if he does not sit the way he does, his reasoning will drop by 40%. L seems to be sort of a loner, and trusts no one (except Watari of course). L is also a very animated character, his expressions are clearly visible unless he decides not to show them and doesn’t hide his true self behind a mask, like Light does (well at least personality wise). He is very courageous, as he even shows his face and steps outside to confront Kira in danger of his own life. L himself is probably a type of character you will never meet. If you want to read about how to be like L, refer to the L guide, which highlights his physical habits, and take a look at his Stomach as related from HTR13.

Basic Data—Chasing after Kira, the most famous detective of the world
He is one of the top detectives of the world, but because he has never appeared in public, for years and years, his real identity has been shrouded in mystery. With the Kira case, for the first time in history, he steps onto the stage, but the result of that is…

“I’m suspicous as to whether or not you are Kira.”
“But even with that said, if there’s something you wish to tell me, I will listen no matter what.”
^ He takes initiative with his words that hold undertones of a lie. He put pressure on Light by rushing/pushing him.

“Ryuuzaki!”
“Oi, Ryuuzaki!”
^ If you only look at the results, L lost against Kira. However, he had discovered the truth behind the case after his long struggle.

Personality—a child-like personality in his hate of losing
Even L himself knows about his almost child-like trait of hating to lose in even the most trivial cases. He is extremely suspicious (of things), and in order to ascertain the truth for himself, he uses various means to uncover the truth. Because of this, there are many times in which other people misunderstand him.

“Once is once.”
^ For some reason, he has the South American martial arts Capoeira mastered. He has also shown us these serious fights many times.

Ability—A genius-like intelligence and a bold ability to take action

It’s obvious that L is a famous detective worldwide because of his intelligence, but it is also because of his ability to take action. From the boring activity of looking at a monitor day after day, to the fast arrangements of securing the culprit, he can do everything by himself.

-He stole Misa’s cellphone in the mist of the crowd. It was a great steal, but it is only in criminal cases that he will not hesitate to do so.

Tastes/Preferences—a considerably picky eater
Even during the investigation, there was no record of L, with his sweet tooth, having ever eaten a decent (real) meal. Normally, he is seen eating sweet things like candy. It seems like he needs to replenish his sugar level in order for his mind to work. For him to be able to remain in good shape even after eating so many sweets is one of his abilities. Even Misa was envious of him.

-Even in the middle of a meeting, there was no lack of snacks. This may seem like a flippant attitude, but it’s just his style.

L’s famous lines
“Saa! Try and kill me!” (JC volume 1, page 75)
For L, who is catious, this is a very bold statement, but he is confident that ‘he cannot kill me.’

“Justice will ,without fail, prevail.” (JC volume 2, page 87)

A line that is too immature. Being able to say this without feeling embarrassed shows the strength of his resolution, or does it show…?

“It’s because you are my very first friend.” (JC volume 4, page 132)

In the battle against his enemy, L acts out his friendship with Light and Misa. Their cooperative investigation against Yotsuba was a great combination.

“I’ll end up liking you, you know?” (JC volume 6, page 49)

Words towards Misa. From his expression, his real intention is hard to read, but it’s most likely false. It seems that he isn’t immune to woman.

History
L is a well-reknown detective who takes cases only if they interest him. In Death Note, there are three main detectives: Coil, Danuve, and L. L later admits that he is all three of the characters, and Watari of course handles all these identities. Interesting enough, under Coil he charges a lot, and under L he is stubborn in taking interesting cases. In either case, after seeing all the killings, L puts himself on the case even before Interpol calls him about it. Interpol calls for his service, and L continues to be on the case. L has a lot of manpower and money behind him, and from with almost no evidence he cleverly narrows down the suspects.

Some Interesting Commentary : A Character Like No Other
No matter where you look, or what you see, I’m almost sure you will not find another character like L. He is one of a kind, and throughout all of Death Note the perfect reference point against Kira. L is the type of person who isn’t afraid to show what he is, though he does not show WHO he is. He constantly speaks his mind, and many times I believe that L is L inside and out. He is blunt, never to decorate his words, unless for some good reason (testing people etc.). He is what many people should be, a total mirror image of his inside. He doesn’t seem to mind his weird tendencies, and although he does have emotions, he never lets his emotions get away with him. L does like Light Yagami, he says this himself, since Light has the same reasoning abilities like himself, but in no way does L let this get in the way of his work. For this reason, he is simply amazing, because he has very little pride, and he does not have that emotional tendency to cloud up his judgement, while Light Yagami, although using his brain, uses his emotions and pride to get away with himself.

Perhaps one thing to note about L is that his isn’t exactly a protagonist and shouldn’t be confused with one. Sure, he is trying to bring Kira to light, but at the same time he is carrying out his own type of Justice. Even when the group gets their hands on the DEATH NOTE from Higuchi, he says they will try it out on criminals to see if it actually works. Hence, L has no limit, and even went to the lengths of torturing Misa to get information out of her. He is still one to do his job, and like mentioned, he does have emotions but he always does what he needs to do. L is also quite dangerous because he is not afraid to die at all, while Light values his life quite a lot, as we see even in Volume 1 as Light says he will not do the shinigami eye exchange. L really is the mirror opposite of Light— though his reasoning capacity is high, it is not that similar. Light and L come to the answers, but in different ways, and also in different scenarios. All in all, L is a character that is lovable till death.