L was one of the main characters in the first half of Death Note, being Light's greatest enemy at the time. He was an amazing detective that solved many cases, with the Kira Investigation being the most difficult for him. Though he always suspected Light of being Kira, he couldn't do much about it since there was barely any proof.
Because of his mannerisms and intelligence, many fans of the series instantly liked him, with some even arguing that he was the hero of the manga and that Light was the villain.
10 L Challenged Kira In Chapter 2: L
The second chapter was actually named after the character. Before readers even knew what he looked like, L was an important character. While police officers from all over the world joined together to try to figure out how so many criminals were dying of heart attacks, Watari let them know that L was already on the case.
Later on in the chapter, Light was watching TV and was challenged by Lind L. Tailor, a criminal that was about to receive the death penalty and was used by the real L to confirm that Kira was in Japan. After Lind L. Tailor challenged Kira and died, L revealed the truth. He and Light knew that they had to find out who the other person was and take them down, leading fans to get very excited.
9 L Met The Task Force In Chapter 11: One
After the FBI agents that L sent to Japan were killed, he knew that he would have to reveal his identity to members of the NPA that he could trust. Soichiro, Matsuda, Aizawa, Mogi, and Ukita met up with him and told L who they were. Upon doing so, L told them that if he was Kira, they would be dead.
He also spoke with them about his ideas on who Kira could be and made sure that none of them were Kira. After gaining each other's trust, the police officers were looking forward to working with the world's best detective.
8 L Told Light Who He Was In Chapter 19: Humiliation
When Light went to his entrance ceremony for college, he was the freshman representative, along with L, who became a student so he could keep an eye on Light. Because of this, it was easy for L to speak with his suspect, and told him exactly who he was.
Though he remained calm and treated L with respect at the time, Light was actually infuriated. However, by the end of the chapter, he realized that the two of them going to school together would be just as beneficial to him as it would be for L.
7 L Challenged Light To An Epic Tennis Match In Chapter 20: First Move
One of the things that make Death Note such an interesting series is how even the simplest actions can be so intense due to the thoughts that the characters have when performing them. A great example of this is when L and Light played a tennis match against each other shortly after they met.
It felt like the two of them were actually fighting when they were really just playing a fun game as a lot of people watched them. Light ended up winning the match and L revealed to him that he was a Kira suspect.
6 L Confined Misa In Chapter 33: Removal
After Misa met L, Light thought that he finally won and planned to call Misa so she would write their opponent's name into the Death Note. However, it was revealed at the beginning of this chapter that L had taken her phone. Being many steps ahead of them, he had gotten evidence that Misa was the Second Kira before they met and had her confined.
While he questioned her, she asked Rem to kill her. Refusing to do this, Rem took away Misa's ownership of the notebook and began working with Light on a plan to take L down.
5 L & Light Fought Each Other In Chapter 38: Strike
Because Misa wanted to go on a date with Light while he was handcuffed to L, the three of them had to spend some time together. During the date, L was depressed because he thought that he was wrong about who the two of them were.
Being insulted by this, Light punched L in the face, who kicked him in return. In order to break up the fight, Matsuda called L and told him some good news about Misa's career, after which he called him an idiot.
4 L Was Able To Start Working With Criminals In Chapter 40: Friends
After the NPA decided to not investigate Kira anymore, the members of the Task Force had to choose between their careers and their goals. While the decision to catch Kira was easy for most of them, Aizawa had a family to take care of and didn't know what to do. However, once he learned that L had already made sure that they would be taken care of financially and didn't tell them in order to test their loyalty, Aizawa decided to go back to the NPA, not being able to trust L.
After this, L was finally able to have a couple of criminals that he knew join the investigation. One of them was a con man named Aiber and the other was a thief named Wedy. Though the Task Force wasn't thrilled to work with criminals, they welcomed them into the group.
3 L Saved Matsuda's Life In Chapter 42: Heaven
After Yotsuba discovered that Matsuda was spying on them, the young detective needed L to save him. L called Matsuda, pretending to be a friend that was inviting him to the bar so he could learn more about Matsuda's situation. In order to save Matsuda from being killed by Kira, L came up with a plan to make it seem like he already died.
Matsuda pretended to fall off a building but was saved by his friends, who had a mattress on the floor below to catch him. L may not seem like he cares much about those around him, but this chapter proves that he does.
2 L Came Up With The Plan That Defeated Higuchi In Chapter 49: Potted Plant
After Misa was able to trick Higuchi into confessing that he was Kira to her, L came up with a plan to catch him, along with Soichiro and Light. They would use Sakura TV in order to get Higuchi to learn that someone found out who he was and that they'd reveal it to the world.
The person to do this would be Matsuda, since Higuchi thought it was possible to kill him, and even though Matsuda could have died, he was willing to do it so he could prove that he was just as heroic as those around him. In the meantime, everyone else would observe Higuchi to find out how he killed people. It was this plan that would end up resulting in Higuchi's defeat.
1 L Died In Chapter 58: Feelings Within
Though many characters die in Death Note, as the name would suggest, most of them didn't have much of an impact on fans. L's death, on the other hand, was one of the most emotional moments in the series. Rem wrote his name, as well as Watari's, into her notebook in order to protect Misa.
As L fell out of his chair and onto the floor, Light pretended to be concerned and got close to him. As he did, he smiled. Though nobody else there knew what Light's true feelings were, L died knowing that he was right about Light all along.
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