L (character)/Drama

"Such a willful young man..."

- Watari, multiple episodes

L (エル, Eru) is a main character in the 2015 television drama Death Note. After criminals begin to mysteriously die of heart attacks, L begins to investigate and narrows his suspects to Light Yagami.

Appearances
L is a young man of Japanese descent with black hair and black eyes. He generally wears white clothes and white shoes.

Character
L is a skilled detective. When driven, he will lie and use unethical means to solve his cases, such as sacrificing Lind L. Tailor to narrow down Kira's location, and illegally detaining suspect Misa Amane in torturous conditions.

Known globally for his skill, L is extremely confident in his verdicts and tends to look down on others, especially his coworkers on the Japanese Task Force. He enjoys seeing others humiliated, whether by predicting their behavior, creating logical loops in conversations, or by watching buffoonish characters on TV.

L constantly drinks energy juice packs. He dresses immaculately in white clothes, and will change if even a drop of his drink gets on his sleeve.

History
L was an orphan adopted by Watari, who encouraged his detective work. L gained the reputation of being the greatest detective in the world. At some point, he took on the aliases of detectives Marie Deneuve and Eraldo Coil.

Watari
Watari fostered L's talent from an early age, and provides him with many essential assets for his detective work. Watari produces some incredible assets for L, including a tailor-made headquarters under the Oriental East Hotel, dozens of impersonators to protect him during excursions, and fake copies of the Death Note. Watari bristles at L's coldness towards others, and gently teases him about letting others under his skin, being overly "willful," and the smile he gave to the Task force members as a means of encouragement to capture Kira. L ignores much of his banter and focuses on solving cases, appearing to treat Watari as little more than a servant. After the FBI agents are killed, L directs some of his anger at his longtime assistant.

Despite this, Watari views L almost as a son, and cares for him deeply. After L's death, Watari wallows in a deep depression while watching the videos L left behind.

Near
L and Near are close in this adaptation, with L acting as an older brother and mentor. They talk to each other often over the phone when L leaves to work on the Kira case. When Near joins him, they spend casual quality time together, such as working on Near's puzzles.

L actively encourages Near to grow into a detective and take over after him, even leaving instructions for it in the event of his death.

Soichiro Yagami
When L first calls the NPA, he notices Soichiro's vocal complaints about his arrogance and shady methods; Watari is keen to make fun of L's cool exterior faltering. After inviting Soichiro to his headquarters, they start to understand each other. L respects Soichiro as an upright and trustworthy person, which he values in the tense investigation. Soichiro is less trusting of L, and criticizes his unethical, sometimes illegal methods.

In the videos left after his death, L encourages Soichiro to trust his feelings about Light, and reveals he considers Soichiro not only an excellent policeman, but a father figure.

Light Yagami
"Then, I met you and for the first time I became interested in a person."

- L to Light

L first interacts when he directly accuses the student of being Kira on a phone call. Later, L personally visits him at Suginami university, and challenges him to a game of tennis to build a psychological profile. If L lost, he would have asked Light to be his friend. The two grow closer when Light asks to join the Kira Investigation, with L creating more tests to determine Light's guilt. His actual perception of Light's guilt is uncertain; he remains suspicious even after Light forgets the Death Note, yet his final video apologizes to Light for doubting him.

Following their tennis match, L asks Light to be his "friend." L refers to Light as his "first" or "only friend" several times, and seems to enjoy his company on some level. It is unclear which parts of these feelings are genuine and which are fabricated to lower Light's guard. Light similarly manipulates their friendship, often mentioning it in their conversations and pretending to scream in horror when L dies.

Several times, L delights in watching Light struggle under pressure, smiling as he arrests Light's girlfriend or subjecting him to an invasive lie detector. They inevitably come to blows during their final confrontation.

As the series progresses, L is increasingly impressed by Light's deductions. L claims his influence has helped Light's innate talent bloom, and suggests Light become a detective alongside Near in his final video.

Character changes

 * L does not go by the alias Ryuzaki in this adaptation.
 * Instead of dressing casually in a loose white shirt and jeans, he's always immaculately dressed in fitted white clothes. He commonly wears shoes, unlike his manga version who was adverse to wearing them.
 * Instead of sitting hunched over with his feet and knees up, he sprawls in his chairs or sits with his legs crossed. Instead of frequently eating sweets, he constantly drinks energy juice packs.
 * Compared to the manga, L is more socially confident and more overtly arrogant. He frequently uses conversations to manipulate targets and belittle coworkers, particularly Light and Matsuda.

Trivia

 * L's underground headquarters contains a Teepee tent. L is only seen using it once, and lies down with his lower body inside the tent and his upper body sprawled out on the floor.

Quotes
"You’re the type that always ends up on the losing end of things, aren’t you? Unfortunately, the way things are right now, the more trustworthy someone is, the more they’ll lose."

- L to Soichiro, Episode 1

"If Amane mentions Kira’s identity, it could clear the last 1% of my suspicions about you. Or it could bring them up to 100%. That is… if you are Kira. Just speaking hypothetically. What’s wrong, Light? You’re looking pale."

- L to Light, Episode 5

"Light (on the verge of laughing, panting and weak): Do you enjoy pushing me around? L (starting to grin): Do you find it humiliating?"

- L to Light, Episode 6

"I believe you are… an extremely wonderful policeman. And to me, you are like a father, as well."

- L's video message for Soichiro, Episode 10