L

Overview

L Lawliet (typically referred to as simply "L") is a mysterious and brilliant detective from the Death Note series. L appears in nearly all adaptations, spin-offs, and expansions of the series, almost always as a major character in the story, in part due to his role in the original series as well as his major popularity among fans, consistently scoring among the most popular anime characters of all time.

As a child, L was raised in an orphanage named Wammy's House, which focused on raising promising children. The most successful child of the orphanage, L became renowned for his detective skills soon after leaving the orphanage, with the orphanage's owner following him as his assistant. While his time at the orphanage caused him to become a famous detective, it also caused jealousy in many other residents at the orphanage, with some (such as Near and Mello) swearing to surpass him.

Underneath his mysterious exterior, L's behavior is often unsophisticated. He refuses to eat anything that isn't sweet, simply out of preference, as well as never wearing socks or shoes. As well, he never sits in chairs, instead crouching in them, claiming it improves his deductive reasoning. L is also incredibly reclusive, both from his status as a detective and from his personality, with few having met him in real life. Because of this, he has trouble getting close with others, causing him to view Light Yagami as his only friend, in spite of his suspicions that Light may actually be Kira.

Appearances in Games

L appears almost any time Death Note characters appear in video games. The most prominent of these features are the three Death Note DS games, appearing as a main character in all three, on top of acting as the impetus for Successors to L, wherein other characters attempt to surpass L's detective skills.

As the Death Note manga originally aired in Weekly Shonen Jump, L also appears in some Shonen Jump video games, such as Jump Super Stars and Jump Ultimate Stars, where he serves as a support character.