L

L Lawliet (エル・ローライト, Eru Rōraito?),[3] known universally by the letter L (エル, Eru?), is a fictional character and the main deuteragonist in the manga, anime and film series Death Note by Tsugumi Ohba. He is also the main protagonist in the film L: Change the WorLd. In the storyline, L is considered the world's greatest detective, whose identity remains unknown before the story takes place because he has never revealed himself to the public. L takes on the Kira case in order to find the titular murderer able to kill people whose names are written in the Death Note. He meets Kira, a teenager named Light Yagami, and becomes determined to convict him.

The character of L is portrayed by Kappei Yamaguchi in the anime and Kenichi Matsuyama in the live-action films Death Note, Death Note: The Last Name and L: Change the World. He is voiced by Alessandro Juliani in the English versions of both the anime and live action films.

Designed by Takeshi Obata, L's character was created to be the deuteragonist and Light's antagonist with his appearance contrasting Light's although during his first cameos he was intended to be a good looking man. Since his introduction in the series, L has received praise by publications from manga and anime with most of them commenting on his personality.