L is at least a little evil. Being lawful doesn't necessarily mean good, in fact in many political races, only evil acts ensure victory. I'll leave it at that.
@@ntrg3248 yes but this is one of the very very rare cases were the authors statement is not a fact, as it depends on your sense of good and evil. Death Note tells us over and over again that justice is subjective. it ask the question of "what is justice?" but doesn't answer it on purpose. That means that saying "the author said L is slightly evil, so L must be slightly evil." is disregarding the messages of the series and the author himself. not trying to claim you said any of that just wanted to mention it
@@revengance4149 What is justice can be pondered about, with L also being slightly evil. The two are not mutually exclusive. L goes beyond the moral scope of his power to but Kira in his place, and Kira disregards human life for existing if he thinks its beneath him in his image, and doesn't like L challenging him but accepts the challenge. They are literally playing king of the hill.
@@mimszanadunstedt441 that’s what’s so cool about this series I’ve seen dozens of analyses with dozens of interpretations, conclusions and commentaries and they’re all in a way equally valid the author made a good move leaving most of the stuff ambiguous it allows us to have this much fun even almost 20 years later 🤗
@@revengance4149 personally I do think L is the hero (within the context of the story) especially since I view someone trying to play God due to their ego and boredom as the single most immoral thing a person can do (no it doesn’t matter if he stopped crime and war)
This wild side of L is what Mello got, they said Mello and Near is the half-half of L so that's it. Mello got the wild side while Near got the reserve side and both are geniuses, even their habits--Mello likes to eat chocolate while Near loves puzzle, when combined it is equal to L, a guy who loves sweets and puzzles.
"It's not a sense of Justice. Figuring out difficult cases is my hobby,"-L I found your opening line about how fewer people would be fans of L if more of them understood him to be the most interesting. I think this point becomes particularly profound amongst the member of the "Near is an L clone" segment of the fandom. I think that point becomes so salient because it shows how many people don't understand that L really doesn't have a particular moral compass. He outwardly speaks of Justice but inwardly is singularly focused on winning the game against Kira. This can probably be made most evident when he has Watari to organize that the Death Note be used in an execution. In the moment I think the reader let's this slide the first time around because they understand it's just L reaching the conclusion that Light manipulated the hole thing and wants to poke a hole in his alibi. When one takes the time to think about it though it really is no different from the same tactics Light used when experimenting on criminals to confirm the extent of the Death Notes abilities. In a weird way he actually has a similar moral thought process to Light which is predicated on a warped hierarchy of intelligence. L and Light both justify doing whatever they damned well please on the basis of "I'm smarter than everyone so they should just do what I say." An attitude that clearly makes itself apparent in his interactions with the Task Force. Conveniently like many pseudo intellectual philosophers before them the 2 have conveniently constructed a hierarchy of morality that firmly places them in charge. Obviously L's interpretation of this goes unnoticed because he simply uses it to extend his desire to win intellectual contests.He goes after Kira out of that interest initially and then continues in large part because he realizes that Light is for all intents and purposes his intellectual equal something that obviously threatens the position he holds in his own moral constructs. Seldom does he seem to ever call or consider Kira evil simply a serial killer that he will catch because in truth he enjoys the game. By contrast while Near outwardly says "If you can't win the game if you cant solve the puzzle you're just a loser." While Near vocally states he is single minded in his concern with winning the game he is in fact truly morally outraged by what Light is doing. He openly berates numerous Kira supporters who try to raid his headquarters.When Gevanni expresses concern about touching the Notebook Near acknowledges that he must do so to test the theory but if Gevanni doesn't want to he can arrange for some else to do so. He mocks Light himself upon having cornered him lamenting that while Near does strive for his own pursuit of his vision of Justice he would never do so at the expense of enforcing a single minded rigid morality onto those who may think differently even if there were a God and he had his teachings before him. At all times Near is acutely aware of the moral implications of whats going on around him and renders judgement accordingly. In this way he alone was fit to defeat Light because of the minds involved he alone was the one who had the greatest concern for the morality of the case. If more people understood L they'd be bigger fans of Near.
I think we all like L because he is infinitely cooler. Honestly, when people talk about how much better Elle is, it’s never about his morals or anything but just how awesome he is as a character. In fact, I honestly think all of this deduction might actually lead to the reasoning as to why so many people like him in the first place.
ehh #1: I actually kinda like that L doesn't care about morality. #2: Near also was opposed to just assassinating the Kiras, not because that would be wrong but because it would be an insult to L's legacy. Near probably had a bit more of a concept of morality...but even that is somewhat debatable as he could just be aware of the morale perspective. basically there's a difference between understanding the moral implications of each side and choosing BECAUSE of those moral implications
Yeah but nears victory was bs and all he did was jump to conclusions that just happened to be correct, to then finish off with some stupid switcharoo. The ending was half assed and only happened the way it did to close off the series.
It’s the main reason people bump heads with nears character, next to the fact he just isn’t at all interesting. L being a equally as smart and as much of a psychopath as Light made their duel with each other entertaining
@@Masked_SVincent ah…a member of the “Near pulled conclusions out of his ass” segment of the fans. His thought process is all laid out in the manga. The anime did him dirty; it doesn’t mean he’s not a good character.
"There are many types of monsters that scare me: Monsters who cause trouble without showing themselves, monsters who abduct children, monsters who devour dreams, monsters who suck blood... and then, monsters who tell nothing but lies. Lying monsters are a real nuisance: They are much more cunning than others. They pose as humans even though they have no understanding of the human heart; they eat even though they've never experienced hunger; they study even though they have no interest in academics; they seek friendship even though they do not know how to love. If I were to encounter such monsters, I would likely be eaten by them... because in truth, I am that monster."
This is a great video and raises some points about L I never considered despite reading/watching this series so many times. But... while I agree that L's priority with the Kira case is a personal challenge rather than a moral objection, I actually don't think they're mutually exclusive. Again, the challenge of the case is the priority fo L, but I do think he is also driven by the fundamental notion that Light/Kira is doing something wrong and that HE is the only one in the world who can stop him. The scenes where he shows fondness for the Kira taskforce especially come to mind, and I think he does genuinely grow to care for them and understand them as he spends time with them (not as intensely as Light, but still that "farewell" he has with Aizawa really adds so much to his character imo). I do think he has room in his heart for doing the right thing and caring for others, despite his primary fixation on being "the best." This is especially well reflected with Near's final speech/death blow to Light where he comes crashing down on him by calling him "just a crazed serial killer." He says this with so much conviction and passion, and I think Near represents the small moral part of L. The part that Mello lacked, but Near has.
Truly L has transcended the human mindset of "most smart" to all smart. He uses real detective and psychological strategies to ascertain light when boldly telling him he knows he's kira. This immidietaly throws light off and L knows as of that moment his true identity. While light has literal demons/death gods working for him, L just has himself.
I mean you don't even have to get into supplemental material really. L states in the series itself, multiple times, in many ways, that he does not give a fuck about morality XD
That would've been cheating at the "game", though. L wanted to beat Light at a battle of wits and prove that Light was Kira. Just killing Light would be the equivalent of smashing up a puzzle because you can't find the last piece.
No cause then there would be no difference between L and Kira. If L wants to stop Kira because what he’s doing is wrong, he can’t do the wrong thing. It’ll create a vicious cycle. OBVIOUSLY.
The funny thing is, that’s addressed in the manga with Near. They both wanted to beat Light with hard evidence rather than just ending the case by any means necessary.
This video is pretty similar to my video about Light where I compare him to cult leaders in that I'm presenting an interpretation of the characters as though it's the sole interpretation. One thing I love about Death Note is that you can choose to perceive Light and/or L as good or evil, or choose to disregard those concepts completely. So I'll probably do videos soon about why each of them could have still acted as they did if they were good
L is a very complicated character for sure. He isn’t a perfect hero and definitely has some prideful selfishness to him, but regardless I say he is a truly good person at heart. He risks his life for his cases, works insanely hard for his perception of justice, and genuinely thinks he’s doing the right thing in the end. Yes he has pride to him, he won’t detain light until he’s 100% certain and often accepts cases purely to improve his own mind or for fun. However, at the same time his compassion towards the world seems to conflict that selfishness. He donates hoards of his time and money to people in need and to his colleagues, he even does it without telling anybody. He risks his life countless times even if he won’t be recognized. He steps into the hardest situations that nobody else would dare. He does so much stuff that says otherwise but the initial evidence is still there. I like to think L is a duality. He is selfish but also selfless. He is prideful but also compassionate. He pursues power and might because he genuinely thinks he can do a better job than anyone else and wants that to be known. To me L seemed extremely double faced all the time, oftentimes his actions intertwined with selfishness and selflessness, such as the thing with matsuda or the kira case as a whole. He played both sides perfectly, selfish and selfless, without conflicting. He was like a perfect balance, ready to do what he feels needs to be done regardless of what everyone thinks solely because he feels it’s the way to do it. I feel this is also a part of the reason why he accepts so many cases, to prove he knows what hes doing to himself and he probably enjoys knowing he’s the best at that. That’s what makes him so complicated. He is willing to do extreme things to solve cases, both for his pride and for the sake of others. He’s many things. He’s hard to pinpoint. However when the chips are down L is definitely ready to sacrifice his pride, such as in L change the world or just sacrificing his life. That’s what makes all the difference. He is willing to do what’s right in his heart when the chips are down and that is often shown with selflessness. That’s what makes him and light so different in the end. L is ready to give up his pride and even his life for the sake of his overall morals, while Light never was. L is a duality like anybody. He isn’t perfect. He’s got many traits and his detective cases often intertwine with them all. Overall though I say L is a good man in the end regardless of what he may think of himself. He is very analytical and sees the worst in himself and everybody else at times, however, he’s also smart enough to know that can be illogical at times. L is like a paradox to himself which makes him all the more confusing. That’s a big difference between him and light. L is willing to check himself to avoid going too far, he has countless safety measure. Light didn’t care in the end, he wanted to be god. He got more corrupt with each passing episode while L stayed consistent. At his most vulnerable we usually see the softer and truly kind side to L while on a normal basis he can afford to be a little prideful or selfish because he’s so smart and powerful he can solve almost anything perfectly.
@@chrisfromkc5698 Idk because in the moments L possessed the death note he didn’t use it for evil or even good. In L change the world he used it in himself and then destroyed it. In the canon death note story he just kept it hidden only to be used during a test on himself or a death row inmate to see if it was real because he knew how corrupting it would be should a person hold it in the event it is real. I mean look what it did to light, it brought out the absolute worst in him. L is different than light because he has the same urges and selfishness as any other person, but does what he can to prevent it from corrupting him in many ways.
@@J99___ that’s a fair assessment. Mine was more of a blanket statement. I think they have a lot in common. I do wonder what L would have done however had he been the first one to discover the death note. Imagine how tempting it would be for him to deliver justice and be a vigilante & less of a demigod, like Light was. Would be an interesting paradox to consider.
He risks his life cuz it’s fun he wouldn’t find it fun otherwise that’s why Light turned evil cuz he was bored L isn’t a good person he just choose a path he found fun
I love this. It adds so much context to the show and really alines with the gritty nihilistic mood of the story. It's just flawed, yet extraordinary people, placed in different circumstances in life, clashing, masked in the thin veil of justice rhetoric.
2:00 At the end of episode 26 we see Twin Towers so it could be that L stopped 9/11 and that's one of the reasons why he has so much power over international police.
I feel like L doesn't "care" for the lives of the Task Force like we understand it, as in I don't believe he has an emotional connection with the people in it. However, I do believe he respects or at least aknowledges determination and skill in detective work, therefore he is upset when one of the people he deemed decent detectives is killed. This is further enforced by how highly he speaks of Naomi Misora when she's brought up, having worked with her in the past, clearly respecting her skills.
He’s also kind of a dick for not mentioning to members of the task force when they were presented with the option to quit when the police weren’t pursuing KIRA that they would be financially taken care of even if they quit their jobs as cops. I think he’s says something like: I forgot to mention it, dumbly. Blithely. Subtle detail. Still he’s a great character and perhaps the closest thing to a protagonist in Death Note
Say what you want about Near, but at least he was man enough to offer using the notebook himself against Mello, instead of selfishly using the lives of inmates as a sacrifice. A death row inmate by the way, which means if the notebook didn’t kill him he would have set someone who committed horrendous crimes free. L does not care about Justice he has the same mentality of Light in that the person who wins is Justice.
@@Saber23 Near does admit he has more in common with Light than he thought, but you could easily argue that's because he knew Light had a sense of justice before he picked up the notebook.
@@KatoBeyond I don’t think you could “easily” argue that, they all had a sense of “justice” but while Light was acting solely on his idea of justice Near was more inclined to act amorally from it he himself stated that both he and Light think similarly, they believe what they think is moral to be righteous and make decisions based on that but the difference is, while Light has the ego to try and impose it forcefully on the world and consider himself a God Near acknowledges that it’s only that, ego nothing more or less which is what I feel makes Near less of a successor to L’s character and more of a successor to Light with only their ideals separating them in a way but anyway that’s my 2 cents on it although I probably could elaborate more (if you want)
L is the saying ends justify the means personified. He works for his justice meaning as long as he solves the cases and his justice prevails even at the expense of his life he is satisfied. Take Seijūrō Akashi from Kuroko no Basket the captain of the Generation of Miracles, Rakuzan and Vorpal Swords. He believes himself to be absolute and because he always wins he is always right, losers are denied, however winners are granted glory through victory. L has a similar mindset if he is never wrong and he believes himself to be justice he will always solve the case meaning he will be victorious no matter the sacrifices made. Anything short of victory is unacceptble to them almost unforgivable. L and Akashi desire victory and will achieve victory no matter what.
I agree mostly with this video except for a couple of points, first I do think L did have some moral reasons for opposing Kira but they were just not primary or even secondary reasons and I don't think he would have ever used the Death Note as for him it has very little purpose (I mean after he was already the world's greatest detective) he was already able to enact his own brand of justice upon the world and he didn't seem to see killing criminals as something worth doing. He didn't need the Death Note to control governments or defeat his enemies, he was a god not through a magical artefact but through his unfailing genius and he would have found the Death Note too easy it would spoil the challenge for him.
If he had received it early enough he 100% would've become Kira tho, they are exact parallels with the only real difference being L is a bit smarter and less socially acceptable than light Lmao
I do agree on most of what you said. But I do think L grow beyond Light god complex, there was a moment were L was questioning Kira god complex and what kind of human he is (after they removed camera's from Light's house)
Also I don’t think L would’ve “become Kira” if we’re talking about him finding the Death Note he’s a curious person so he’d probably try to see if it worked then he’d probably lose interest so he can keep doing his detective work
I was watching some Death Note videos few days ago and was thinking “wouldn’t be great if Kato dropped a Death Note vid”. If only I had wished for Elon Musk’s money…
Light and L are two highly manipulative psychopaths with different loose principles and goals to justify their actions who get depressed when they're bored and would die for a sense of purpose. That's why I didn't feel sad when they both died, they died doing what they enjoy the most, facing death for a sweet addictive adrenaline rush. Light was a vigilante and as the first OP song lyrics imply, has a revolutionary sense of justice which is often chaotic, swift and brutal while L represents the authorities fighting to be the exclusive enforcers of violence. They both strive to be leaders of both opposite sides of the battle and take the challenge very personally. Neither of them care about the material conditions and injustices that cause crime to rise in the first place as Light only once wacked a group of degenerate shareholders of a major corporation as a distraction and wasn't that much focused on combating wage theft or imperialism, only surgically amputating the resulting symptoms of the broader issues which in turn ended wars and lowered crime rates. This was all done with a sense of simple reward and punishment without any nuance and as a bonus so he can justify playing god.
Uh you said L was competing against Coil and Doneuve, but actually we find out during the ... forgot the name, but the big coorperation arc were Higuchi took the part of Kira, there we learn that Coil and Doneuve are also alter Egos of L.
Granted I'm at the beginning of the video right now so you might be right but I don't know if I can dislike him the more I find out he's an imperfect person who's a sociopath the more I love him
I would like to see a death note movie with Sota Fukushi as Light. He kinda fits the bill after seeing Bleach live action. And perhaps Timothee Chalamet as L. He has the build and quirkiness I think to pull it off. But that's just my opinion. Everyone's entitled to their own
Nah, L just likes to provoke people and has a very pragmatic attitude - which explains why he is okay with lying, testing boundaries, and risking lives (including his own) when he sees it as necessary for the greater good. He is morally grey, yeah, but not the type of person who would use the death note.
I don't think L is a good person... there really aren't many characters in death note that could stand the test of being "a good person" but I do think L does have atleast some compassion towards others. Not saying he feels a lot of guilt or remorse but he does have a little compassion towards others. If he had no compassion then he would have basically been Light. Light who discards people like chess pieces and feels closeness to almost no one in some sad attempt to play God. But L does feel compassion, respect, and pity. He may not show it the same way and it may take a back seat to his childish nature and his ego but he does have those things and can be swayed to give into those parts of him. I think he's a complex character that isn't a good justifiable person but he's interesting and complex. I think focusing only on his morality or tragic past does him a great disservice since he's got a lot of layers.
If he really wasn't at all compassionate... how the hell did watari survive all those years? I feel like at some point even watari would have been sacrificed for the sake of L's ego. L is very utilitarian in his nature but he doesn't actively try to suppress parts of himself, he has a huge ego and a belief that might makes right. Light does though. Light tries very, very hard to suppress his emotions and aspects of his humanity. L is willing to sink low but Light will sink even lower. The difference between them is where is the line? Will they cross any line? Who will take it farther? Obviously in the end Light seemed more will to destroy literally everyone to get what he wanted while L just didn't come across as willing to cross certain lines. That doesn't mean he's a good person or morally righteous it just means yeah the dude is complex.
@@soup1594 You made the comment I'm replying to. Turn back now or lose your right to complain about me replying to a 5 month old comment. Why would there have been a need to sacrifice Watari? Watari is both very loyal, competent and L needs him to act as the middle man between him and the police.
@soup1594 might makes right in the minds of the masses and the materialists in general though. At least that's my interpretation. And that's both the problem and the solution.
Well simply put, being lawfull is different from being good. And simply having power doesn't make you evil. Yes L had the power to become a world leader by some evil self serving steps, but it's clear he doesn't really care. He could take the law in his hands at any point and have light executed, but he didn't.
I like how the show is more of a battle of pride than wits as they both figured each other out beforehand and could have easily dispatched eachother I the name of justice however L wanted the fame and challenge of solving the world's hardest case by proving light to be kira whereas light on the other hand could have assisnated L with a random death instead of a heart attack but wanted to let the world know kira surpassed L.
I mean Light did want to kill L right away. He killed the decoy thus confirming L’s assumptions that Kira was in Japan and killed by knowing the victim’s name and face. He also eventually got REM to kill L. He always want to kill L, just doesn’t want to be implicated. That’s why L revealing himself at the school is a genius move.
no ... L 100% knew... that was stated many times. Or he was at least 99.9% sure. in the manga he only said "I was right" because it was his own validation of himself before he died. Im sure it was irritating that others wouldnt get on board with it being light and made the case harder because of it. The entire rooftop scene was basically L telling light i know you are kira and you dont fool me at all.
@@takatotakasui8307 do you walk around just assuming everyone is lying to you? No obviously not it’s impossible to live like that you always assume honesty before you assume dishonesty L is actually a very good example of why
@@Saber23 My point is that L obviously would have a good reason to lie about that. But he invited the FBI agents after Lind L. Tailor died, so L must have known they would be at a huge risk of death. L never really warns anyone about how dangerous challenging Kira is until after they're involved, and that even pissed off some of the cops at the NPA
This is why I love Death Note, it would have been so easy to paint L as the good guy in all this but he's ultimately fighting Kira for selfish reasons. I don't think he's as heartless as some people say but he does have a blatant disregard for ethics and human life, including his own. He was willing to put people's lives at risk to get closer to the truth and kept Misa and Light in solitary for LONG after they proved their innocence. I always say that Death Note wouldn't be Death Note if Light and L hadn't died. They were both mere humans whose arrogance led them to overstate their own position. If the show had ended with L catching Kira or Light killing Near, it would be like saying that arrogance was justified.
Is intersting of how much L character is changed in the L Change the World/Japanese live action timeline, as he is someone who truly believes in the justice of the law, with the novel even mentioning that this is why his back is bented, as he carries the weight of justice in his shoulders, he also has way more sympathetic as he apoligizes to Soichiro saying regrets all the lives he putted at risk, even expressing sadness at not being able to save Light, in the novel he even says the he will meet Light in the other side saying "Let us explore the world of nothingness together" He is just overall a better person and someone that truly cares about justice and protecting other
Yeah those incarnations really took the character in an interesting direction, I especially like the breakdown scene that basically says that L's overall appearance is because of the traumas and horrors he's witnessed over the years
Yes!!!! L is incredibly selfish, egotistical and cruel at times and I wish more people acknowledged this. He's downright malevolent at times imo and only barely has a moral high-ground over Kira.
I take him over Light for sure. L may be a jerk and not necessarily the most ethical dude around when it comes to methods BUT, he owns that part of himself & doesn't play the false niceties game. Light ? Light is a deluded egotist that is in it for his own vanity & never wanted to acknowledge how blatantly harmful the Death Note is (something Soichiro and L absolutely agree on.).
L was definitely sure that light was kira from a very early point. he just needed to play the game and prove it. when L assured the task force that light had only a "1-5% chance of being kira," he was lying to light and the task force. he also pretty much manipulated light's dad and the whole task force and sugarcoated his belief that light was kira just to keep them on board as resources. i think L as a character is far from moral, in fact, he even has a similar ideology to light when it really comes down to that. the only deviation between the two is that the difference in situation made it that L's particular stance was socially acceptable.
L is the saying ends justify the means personified. He works for his justice meaning as long as he solves the cases and his justice prevails even at the expense of his life he is satisfied. Take Seijūrō Akashi from Kuroko no Basket the captain of the Generation of Miracles, Rakuzan and Vorpal Swords. He believes himself to be absolute and because he always wins he is always right, losers are denied, however winners are granted glory through victory. L has a similar mindset if he is never wrong and he believes himself to be justice he will always solve the case meaning he will be victorious no matter the sacrifices made. Anything short of victory is unacceptble to them almost unforgivable. L and Akashi desire victory and will achieve victory no matter what.
