About

L Lawliet (エル・ローライト, Eru Rōraito?), commonly known by his given name alone, is considered the world's greatest detective. Through clever use of aliases, he's also known as the world's second and third greatest detectives, Eraldo Coil and Deneuve, respectively. When it becomes clear that the one known as Kira is responsible for the many heart attacks among the criminal population, L makes it his duty to bring him to justice. He is voiced by Kappei Yamaguchi in the Japanese anime and by Alessandro Juliani in the English dub. In the live-action film, he is played by Ken'ichi Matsuyama.

L was born on October 31, 1979 (1982 in the anime),[1] making him 25 when he dies on November 5, 2004. It is implied that L was a former resident of Wammy's House, one of Watari's orphanages, as well as a safe haven and educational facility specifically for intellectually-gifted children. L stayed in England for five years, and during that time he was the champion in tennis for the England Junior Cup.


Despite being about as tall as Light (179 cm), L only weighs 50 kg, making him severely underweight for his size. Though outwardly appearing as disheveled and languid, L is a genius on par with Light. His powers of deduction and insight allow him to draw conclusions from the smallest of clues. Furthermore, L's reputation makes others take his conclusions seriously, even when based on a seemingly flimsy pretext. He tends to second-guess everything he is presented with, and is extremely meticulous and analytical. He has several quirks such as preferring to crouch rather than sit, eating only sweet foods like desserts and fruits, and holding items very delicately. He claims that his eating habits have not made him overweight because the brain uses the most calories of any organ in the body. Likewise, he explains that his odd sitting habits are a matter of necessity, as his reasoning ability would drop 40% if he sat normally.